Is this stool witholding? Please help

[GreenShades]

Hi,

So it's coming up to 4 weeks since I potty trained my twin girls.

When they were in nappies they were each having one or two bowel movements a day.

Now with the potty training they can go 3 days between a bowel movement. But the days in-between they can be going up and down to the toilet only to pass wind or just sit down and then quickly jump off. I will try to distract them but it doesn't really last longer than a few minutes. If I give them my phone to watch something (we don't have ipad/tablet) I take them off after 5 minutes but I find they are asking to go quickly again in a few minutes and they request my phone too. Then I feel like they are just going so they can watch something on the phone.

Another thing I have noticed with one of them is, holding the back of her trouser and walking weird but she then does ask to sit on toilet. When she does sit I think she needs a poo so I distract her but then she ask to come off then.

Today becuase neither had done a poo since the other day, towards the evening there was constant going up and down to sit on the toilet. I timed and they were sitting for 5 minutes. But neither did anything. This carried on until bedtime. I notice also that their behaviour changes, could it be becuase they are annoyed by the poo?

I have read across this forum that children ask for a nappy to do a poo but my girls are not asking or even doing it in their trouser. In the beginning there were a few accidents in the pants but now they don't do that. They are going to the toilet but then that's where they are struggling I think?

Is this signs of stool witholding?

Is it normal to not have a bowel movement every day after being out of nappies?

Sorry for the long post and thank you for reading.

I would sit them on the toilet half an hour after they've had a meal. It's kind of a case of building it into your routine, setting a timer and then sitting them down. Get them a stool for the toilet if you have one. They're probably constipated so some stool softeners would help (like Movicol) but seek advice from GP on this. The stool withholding habit comes about from one painful poo and then they understandably don't want to experience the discomfort again. It certainly does affect their behaviour on a subconscious level due to either anxiety and/or a bit of a physiological stress response.

Check out the ERIC website.

@Kaleidoscopic101 thank you for your reply. I have had a look on the eric website about stool witholding. One twin did have a bowel movement this afternoon. It was soft and she didn't seem to look in pain but she did spend most of the day going up and down to the toilet. But once she went she was done in minutes.

The other twin has spent all day until bedtime trying her best. I even put a nappy on her but she would still go to the potty. I tired her with no trouser but didn't help either.

They have been taking lactulose and diet is all fibre and loads of water etc.

Sounds like things are going well really I think they're still learning to read the signals and understand what their muscles are doing and how things feel. The combo of the regular 'sits' and the lactulose are great...they'll get there :)

@Kaleidoscopic101 thank you. Today hoping for a bowel movement from the twin that hasn't had one for now 4 days. But thinking to make a doctors app tomorrow for her. I don't want the constipation to escalate further.