I love your videos. my boy got complete bladder control by 13 mo, he's 14mo now but he won't poop in the potty. He poops once a day mostly in the morning right after breakfast but he's also been constipated for weeks. So he's more comfortable pooping standing up rather than sitting in the potty, I'm sure it hurts him a lot to squat and make hard poop (sorry too much poop info). He doesn't seem to understand when he needs to poop but for peeing he crawls himself in front of the toilet and I take off his big boy pants and he pees. I just want to know how can I make him understanding when he has to poop? He doesn't continue to poop when sitting in the potty which is making me worried. He loves peeing standing up so that's easy for him rather than his bowel movement.
If you haven't started already, feeding him foods like prunes, peaches, pears, berries will help with the constipation. Make sure he's well hydrated too. A deep squat should help him go. Try sitting him on the tiny potty with books under his feet.
Hi Andrea. In this video you talk about saying wait if your baby needs to poop. Can you also disrupt the feeding, put him on the potty and feed again? In your 'Newborn Poops While Nursing - what to do' your third option is to only make the pooping sound and clean afterwards. Which option is ok or are both ok? And if you let him poop in the diaper during feeding, will he eventually learn he gets to go on the potty after the feeding and hold it?
You can certainly try disrupting a feeding, but many kids will cry because they are still hungry! But do whichever is working best for you👍 If you let him poop in a diaper during the feed, no, that will likely not teach him to hold it. However, the pooping while feeding phase only lasts a few months, he'll grow out of it soon-ish!!💖
Hi Andrea, I’ve started part time EC with my 7 month old mainly to catch poops. I’ve been observing her, looking for cues and such, trying to figure out her natural timing although her poops are not regular right now. Whenever she passes gas, I feel like I become a helicopter mom waiting to pounce on my baby and take her to the potty because I don’t want to miss a poop. How can I be in tune with her and communicate with her without any stress or pressure on her?
Sarah, the pressure helicopter is real! (Who likes cleaning a poopy bum or diaper?) Poops usually go through an unpredictable stage when solids are introduced and baby's digestive systems adjusts. Have you downloaded my observation log and charted her "ins and outs" for a day? (no pressure to catch, just observe) Putting it on paper can be huge, sometimes. She may not poop at the same clock time, but you may discover she's an evening pooper, for example. After observation, when you feel a poop is coming, offer, and if she goes a little (or not at all) but you feel she is really has more to go, you can carry her around for a minute, naked-bottomed, on your hip, while you "busy" yourself with something else, then try again. Sometimes the break in potty pressure, combined with the body position changes for her, can work magic in helping it out. Above all, know this is a phase that will pass. :)
I haven’t gotten to read your book but I do intend to once I can keep my eyes open. My newborn poops in 2 or 3 bouts. This morning I caught the first one and waited a while on the potty. I wasn’t sure how long to wait. About 5 min later after I got the diaper on him he did the second poop in the diaper. Is there info in the trouble shooting section of the book of how long to sit on the potty for poop and what if baby gets too squirmy on the potty?
Usually you can tell they are done when they kick legs out and get really squirmy. Sometimes, if they've been sitting there awhile, you can take them off, go for a little walk around the house, then pop them on the potty again to see if they have any more to come!! 👍
I sure do! Its all about choosing the right back-up and clothes! For newborns, baby leggings or chaps with long sleeved shirts is a great way to keep them warm. And you can find baby chaps online at my shop at www.tinyundies.com 😊
Hi Andrea, I have a question. You mention that babies can understand your words like “wait” but you use sounds like “psss” and grunting to indicate consent to release but why not use the words “pee” or “poo”??
It's really up to you, the parent. In some cultures, the parents don't say anything at all. The reason I personally use "psss" and grunting for young infants is their physiological effect. The sound of running water ("psss" or "shhhh" in some cultures) has a relaxing, releasing effect upon the bladder, and grunting mimics the abdominal action of bearing down for a poo. I encourage parents to transition from noises to words around the time the child herself is beginning to mimic words. In the end, though, it's completely up to you.
I've been doing EC with my daughter for about 3 weeks now. Every time she acts like she's pooping and I interrupt her to put her on the potty, she completely stops and won't go again. She's 6 months old, is it possible she is too nervous to poop in her potty? She will hold her urine as long as she can but not her poops. Any advice would help, I'm enjoying your videos and I appreciate all the info I've gotten from them, they have helped us immensely!!
Thanks Victoria! That's pretty common and usually related to the parent's level of nervousness (like "will it work?" "will I harm her?" "am I pressuring her?") - not that you're nervous, but definitely take a few deep breaths when you take her to poop. :) And try a Prince Lionheart toilet seat reducer if baby can sit unassisted...it is very comfortable. Run some water and help her relax. You can also use a mini potty on the floor but get a cozy for it so it doesn't feel cold. Could be a number of factors, but mostly, we need privacy and calm to poop (all of us!). At 6 months old she isn't nervous - she is just experiencing something new that needs to feel comfortable. When she's really sitting on her own, go ahead and turn your back and busy yourself in the bathroom to give her "privacy." :) xx Andrea
Hey!! Wanted to let you know that I've changed some things up based on your suggestions and so far things are working a lot better!! She's been doing a lot better, thank you so much :))
Hi Andrea ! Thanks,for all this Lot's of info. Re poop. Until we started solids at 6 months (few,weeks ago) we always knew when she poops. Lot's of noise before and during... but now since solids, she is very QUIET and very easily with all the racket (siblings around:)) we miss to many... on the carpet, on the towel...:( and usually to late.. cause she started crawling so until there's a lot underneath her and she's splashing in it it's,very easy to miss...what do I do? Also re pee she does sometimes pees right on me when sitting with no very clear signal (to me).. any help? Thanks a lot!
I have a ton of tips in my book so definitely look in the troubleshooting section. I would start taking her based off her natural timing and generic timing, and then do observation time. Try to get the kids involved with ECing your little one and observing signals. They can really enjoy it, and it helps everyone out.
Hi Andrea, I have a question. We have a newborn (exactly 12 days old today) and we've been doing EC with him as much as we can. This has happened on two separate occasions when he was placed over our tiny potty and prompted with the psshh and grunt sounds, sometimes he cries bloody murder and sometimes he is calm and collected- these two times he was crying terribly, and I noticed several very very tiny poop droplets and also a droplet of pee forming. Is this from him crying so forcefully or is he showing us he knows that he's supposed to do that on the toilet, but just doesn't really have to go? (Wishful thinking) Thank you!!
Likely from crying. I'd say if he's crying so much, its probably best to stop pottying at that point. Or try feeding him with a potty under his bum in case he needed to go but was upset because of hunger.💕
Me again! I have a similar experience with another commenter for 6mo, but my baby always bends all over the place when on her potty, going way forward to start crawling, trying to stand up, etc. How do I keep her there without making her uncomfortable to poo? Most of the times I think she stopped pooing because she's there.
