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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Sacral dimple(s) and late potty training?

15 replies

duchesse · 12/04/2012 10:07

DD3, now 2.7 yo was born with two small sacral dimples in a Y-shaped groove just above her bottom. Apart from raising an eyebrow at her newborn discharge check in the hospital the paediatrician mentioned nothing about it. Physically she is developing very normally apart from the fact that she still pees every 10-20 minutes making potty training very difficult. Has anybody had any experience of later potty-training with a sacral dimple, and in your opinion should we be seeking medical attention for this (yet)?

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Original poster

duchesse · 12/04/2012 10:38

Shameless bump. Anyone have any experience of this?

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OddBoots · 12/04/2012 10:41

I can understand your concerns (I have neural tube defects myself so know where you're coming from) but unless she has mobility problems too or regresses with a growth spurt I think it's a little bit early to worry, 2y7m is still thought of as normal to be in nappies.

Original poster

duchesse · 12/04/2012 10:43

Ah, she doesn't really have growth spurts as such- she's still tiny for her age, but so were her sisters so that's not a cause for worry in itself.

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ReallyTired · 12/04/2012 10:50

Trust me 2.7 years is not that late for potty training. Some children aren't trained by four years old.

Are you worried about her growth? Are the health visitors concerned.

GeekPie · 12/04/2012 10:58

DD has a sacral dimple and had no trouble potty training. She may be a bit young to potty train yet.
Does she drink a lot? It may be worth going to GP about the weeing every 10-20 minutes as this does seem a lot.

ReallyTired · 12/04/2012 12:42

How long have you been trying to toilet train? What approach have you chosen?
Were her sisters toilet trained by 2.7 years? Does she want to be toilet trained?

Children vary considerably with their development, even in the same family.

Original poster

duchesse · 12/04/2012 19:22

Yes, her siblings were all potty-trained but still having accidents by this age. In fairness they continued to have accidents until about 6 yo (always smelled of wee coming out of school). We've been trying to potty train her for 2 months when we noticed that she could stop weeing mid-flow and get herself to the loo before a bath one day. Nursery are cheesed off though as she's having 10-12 accidents a day so we've slightly shelved the potty training and put her into pull up nappies.

She was very enthusiastic and very good at it at first, and it's like as soon as the novelty wore off she just lost interest. I just wonder whether the fact she seems to need to wee every 10 or 20 minutes has just made her bored of the whole process.

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CecilyP · 13/04/2012 10:59

Not so much bored with the process, but if she is weeing that often, it means she has to stop the fun things she is doing every 10 to 20 minutes in order to have a pee. This will be even more of a problem in nursery where there is a lot going on. She possibly has quite a small bladder which doesn't hold very much. I would leave her in pull ups for a bit longer and try again when you are on holiday and have a bit more time to devote to potty training.

Rubirosa · 13/04/2012 11:08

My ds has a sacral dimple and although we haven't started potty training him yet (he's only 20 months) he can go 3 hours or so between wees. So I'm not sure if there is a link between dimples and frequent weeing are linked.

Can you see the bottom of her dimples - are they definitely covered with skin?

welovesausagedogs · 13/04/2012 11:12

My daughter has one, very minor though, not a definite y shape more an indent about an 1 and a half long, she is too and my GP recommended waiting till she was two and a half before potty training properly, but to start talking to her about it now age two so that she understands what she has to do etc.

Original poster

duchesse · 13/04/2012 11:21

Yes, they are very minor- you can definitely see the bottom of them but she has a little bony bit sticking out slightly off centre near the base of her spine that I'm not sure should be there.

She's at nursery now but I'll take a picture later and post it.

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AlpinePony · 13/04/2012 11:27

I've got a sacral dimple and to my knowledge didn't give my mum any particular problems.

I'm interested in this thread as my newborn has one.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 13/04/2012 12:27

DD (two) has one, it was never flagged as something of concern - except to make sure no poo was left in it!

What is it an indicator of? (paranoid)

OddBoots · 13/04/2012 12:41

Almost all sacral dimples are entirely normal. Occasionally they are a sign of a form of spina bifida. If you have a child with one the pediatrician will have checked it during the new born check.

Very very occasionally it will be a problem later in life but that's rare and you'd notice because of mobility and bowel/bladder problems and pain, usually at times of significant growth.

AMCanada · 03/07/2021 03:41

Re:sacral dimples
I’m 61 years of age and have had sd since birth. It did not disappear as I aged. Never a problem until recently with leg numbness and twitching which MAY be related. I’m also late onset diabetic. It may be a combination of the two that is causing the symptoms.

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