Help with Poop on the Potty

MellyK12

Two and a half weeks ago we potty trained DD using the 3 day method. She's 26 months old and showed all the signs of readiness. She actually started using the potty at night for a couple weeks beforehand. She caught on right away and has done awesome the past two and a half weeks going potty. She has only had three accidents total this entire time and two of them were during the first three days. So we have potty down but poop is a different story... 

She tells us that she has to go poop and will go sit on the potty for 15 minutes but doesn't go. 10-15 minutes after getting up she goes in her underwear and then runs up to us yelling poo. The same thing is happening at daycare. We don't scold her or anything, just say remember poop in the potty and not in your underwear. We then clean it out into the potty and she says bye and flushes. It's so frustrating because she knows she has to go, will tell us and even says poop in the potty but she won't do it. She has only gone once and that's because we caught her right away and ran to the potty chair. She loves the poop book we got her but it hasn't helped. We've tried food and toy rewards as well. I've been asking others for advice and looking online and everyone just says she's scared, it takes time and she will go when she's ready, not to worry about it. 

Any others with insight or ideas to help her? I really want to keep her in underwear because she's doing so great with potty and I'm afraid she will regress if we use pull ups.

ELF4321

She might be nervous about it. DD has been using the potty for months but still has trouble pooping sometimes if she isn't relaxed/distracted. We start by putting a few squares of toilet paper in the potty to "catch" the poopy, which she thinks is funny (and reduces splashing - she hates when it plops and splashes water back up on her). Then we read books.

kderham

We did the same thing! It took a bit of time and we thought we were going to lose our minds. But, it just took one time! After he did it one time, he understood and had no more issues. I bought him a movie he really wanted to watch and told him he could watch it after he goes poop in the potty. We also had to really watch him - he kept pooping in his undies behind his rocking chair or next to the couch - and run him to the potty when he started showing signs that he needed to go. It took 3 weeks - hang in there!

ashiscute

I think it's hard to realize when they have to poop.  Sometimes you feel like you have to poop ages before you actually do so your LO hasn't quite figured out the timing.  That's something she needs to learn.  If it were me I would be keeping an eye on her and everyone time she began to poop in her underwear I'd move her to the potty.  

It takes time to learn how to read our bodies and figure out what works.  I wouldn't give rewards for using the potty other than hugs.  I don't think stickers or candy help.  

MellyK12

Withholding was becoming an issue so we've been giving her lots of fiber rich foods and she's going every day now but in her underwear.  We do keep taking her to the potty when she says she has to go but she never does. Then as soon as she has a free minute, even just standing and playing with her toys, she will go.  

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm going to try the big potty again.

Did you use pull ups or underwear during the training time?? Do you think if we switch to pull ups she'll "unlearn" the potty part?