1 year old always crying when he poops :(

[babytobe]

Hi Mommas,

So, we have been having poo drama with my 1 year old for quite some time now. He was very constipated while getting used to solids for about 2 months. We did LOTS of things to try and help, but eventually it seemed what helped things to "normalize" was to just make sure he was consistently eating solids and drinking lots of fluids. His plumbing just seemed to take a while to catch up to speed. But he cried every time he had to poop for a long time, because his poop was clearly too hard (sorry if tmi).

ANYHOW, he has been pooping FINE for about 2 months now. When I say FINE, I mean, he poops regularly (4-6x/week.... I always thought he should go everyday and 1-3 times, but after he was so constipated this is a GREAT improvement and he seems to be happy otherwise...his belly is never distended or anything), and his poops are soft but formed. They look great! His bum looks great and I have no worries about him digesting things properly anymore. But he still cries EVERYTIME he poops, and it's this HUGE production! I told the doctor, and he said maybe my son is just remembering how his poop hurt for so long, and he's still scared to go. So he just said to try and comfort him and make him as comfortable as possible. That's what I've been doing for 2 months, but I feel like it's not getting any better! Has anyone dealt with his before? Will my son get over his poop fears? Or could he still possibly be in pain when he's pooping?

I just hate watching him cry every time he poops. I don't want to be ignoring a digestive issue if there is one. And I'm just concerned that when it comes time to potty train the drama is just going to get worse! Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Prinny_1]

Not exactly the same issue here, but DS1 used to go through periods of being really constipated between 2 and 3. When he was potty trained we would sit in the bathroom for up to an hour with him crying and shouting out in pain. It was horrible. We got into a routine of making sure he had fruit after every meal, dried fruit snacks, drank plenty and ate very veg based foods (it was a good routine to get into, because at 4 he has a great diet). He was very scared to go to the toilet when it had happened for a few weeks and used to hold it in, then it would hurt again when he finally had to go. We talked a lot about good diet and after a while he just gradually stopped being worried about it when he could poop with no pain. Obviously it's a bit different for you as your LO is still a baby really. Being afraid to poop def happens though and eventually it eases if this is the case.

Has the doctor checked around the area the poop "exits"? That would be my only worry considering everything you've said; damaged skin around there from when he was constipated?? If all is physically fine, hang in there and it will get better. Xx

 

[TTC First]

I had a thought similar to Prinny_1. When adults get constipated don't we get haemorrhoids? You think that there could be some type of injury down there from being constipated or forcing it out?

 

[baileybubs]

A similar thing happened with my dd when she was about 18 months, she had been constipated for a while which had hurt her but even once her poop was soft again she would cry and hold it in because she was scared or so I thought. One day I noticed a little blood and it turned out she had a little anal fissure (a cut round the anus) that must have been hurting every time she passed a poop regardless of how soft. I started putting some coconut oil on there as often as I could as I heard it was good for softening and healing (not sure if that's true!) but it seemed to work! Don't know if that's any help to you!

 

[Insomniash]

A similar thing happened with my dd when she was about 18 months, she had been constipated for a while which had hurt her but even once her poop was soft again she would cry and hold it in because she was scared or so I thought. One day I noticed a little blood and it turned out she had a little anal fissure (a cut round the anus) that must have been hurting every time she passed a poop regardless of how soft. I started putting some coconut oil on there as often as I could as I heard it was good for softening and healing (not sure if that's true!) but it seemed to work! Don't know if that's any help to you!

I was going to say something very similar, because apparently I had the exact same issue when I was a baby. However even after I healed and it no longer hurt I would let out a cry when I was going out of habit. Which could be the case here. It may just be habit or there may be a small anal fissure causing issues.

 

[ClairAye]

Get them to look for a tear. My son was horribly constipated from 12-23 months, he ended up in hospital under a GA to get a botox injection into an anal fissure, it took me pushing the doctor twice to get her to refer us to the surgeon to have a look.