Toilet Habits in a baby

A baby may have 3 or 4 bowel movements a day. Some babies have only one movement every 2 or 3 days. It is not the frecuency or even the regularity that matters, it is the consistency of the stool. It should be yellow or brownish and soft. If the movement is hard, take steps to relieve constipation before the child becomes antagonistic to bowel movement. If baby is on formula your health consellor may suggest a change, specially in the kind and amount of sugar. Give him more water and, depending on his age, more vegetables and fruits, such as pureed cooked prunes. Do not become worried if you notice changes in the color and consistency of the stool when you start baby on solid foods. (When the baby starts to eat solid food there may be something call transitional poo -heces- the baby can stay without soil his diaper for over a week and this is normal, he doesn't feel anything, he is not fuzzy or anything, if it goes for more than 10 days or if he cries a lot you must take him to the doctor)

Concious bowel and bladder control is not well developed until far into the second or even the third year. It is impossible to "train" a child under one year in the use of the toilet. Trying to observe the baby's rhythm and putting him on the pot at the right time does not help the toilet training of the baby as much as training the mother to anticipate the movement. Effective training begins at a time when muscle and nerve control is being stablished, usually in the early months of the second year. At first a warmed potty is used, and later the toilet. Never leave him more than 5 minutes, and if, as often happens you take him off the toilet whereupon he promptly soils his diaper, do not make any fuss. Never show you are disappointed, but give praise if he succeds.

Bladder control is slow and may not come before the child is between 2 and 2 1/2, although many children continue to wet their beds at night for even longer.

To help in the formation of good toilet habits, parents should not "start" training a very young baby, and they should always attend to his bowel movement in a casual and friendly manner.