14-Month-old Is Constipated

Hi,

I am a mom of 3 and have been researching holistic health for many years. In most of the research I have done everyone seems to agree that cows milk can cause severe allergies and intestinal reactions in babies and adults, because our bodies were not made to process cows milk.

A natural way to relieve constipation that well known pediatrician Dr Sears recommends is Flax oil.

A healthy alternative to mineral oil is flax oil, which not only has laxative properties, but is a valuable source of omega 3 fats as well. (Although you may hear that mineral oil is a good oil to relieve constipation, because it is a mixture of hydrocarbons dried from petroleum products, I have never been convinced of its safety. And, unlike flax oil, it certainly has no nutritional benefits.) Unlike mineral oil, which slides through the intestines, possibly taking vitamins with it, flax oil is a nutrient that facilitates absorption of the vitamins.

Dosage of flax oil:
Infants: one teaspoon a day
Toddlers: two teaspoons a day
Children and adults: one tablespoon a day

Flax seed meal (ground flax seeds) is an even a better laxative than flax oil since it contains fiber. They look similar to finely ground bran flakes and mix well with soupy cereal, or even better, added to a high-fiber smoothie .

Dosage of flax seed meal:
Toddlers: one tablespoon a day
Older children and adults: two tablespoons a day

If you want to give your baby a good substitute for cows milk please check out the link at the bottom of this post.

It is for a toddler organic goat milk formula.
Goat milk is more easily digestible than cow milk.
Goat Milk’s fat globules are finer than those of cow milk, enabling goat milk fat to be broken down and digested more easily. Goat milk also has more medium chain triglycerides and a more friable curd than cow milk, leading to more rapid digestion.

Goat milk is more nutritious than cow milk.
Goat milk contains more vitamins and minerals than cow’s milk, and has a lower bacteria and sediment content. In addition, the nutrition and safety benefits of organic goat milk continue to amplify with the increasing danger of bovine encephalitis, avian flu and hormone concerns associated with cow, egg and soy producers.

Goat Milk has a low allergic reactivity and less lactose than cow milk.
Goat milk protein is the perfect solution for many children and adults who suffer from cow or dairy soy allergies. Goat Milk contains only trace amounts of the allergenic casein protein, alpha-S1, found in cow’s milk. Goat milk also contains slightly lower levels of lactose, providing advantages to lactose-intolerant individuals.

https://www.genesisorganics.com/formulas.aspx

2 moms found this helpful

Try lactose milk or 1% Alot of times this is a side effect or a allergic reaction to the whole milk. My daughter did just he same and tried this and it worked maybe it will for you also.

1 mom found this helpful

From my experience, more more more liquids. Miralax is NOT a good idea for his age. Keep to food-based fibers like vegetables and fruits.
Maybe fruit juice (1/2 water)? I buy whatever does NOT have high fructose corn syrup in it--there is a Juice Medley by Safeway that my daughter drinks.
good luck!

Same thing happened to my son at around the same age when he began to solely drink milk instead of breastmilk/formula. I tried everything you're trying and only after I put a teaspoon of flaxseed oil (5 to 8 ounces) into his milk did his constipation resolve. Good luck!

Hi SA--
I had the same problem with my daughter. I asked her pediatrician if I could put a teaspoon of Benefiber in one bottle of milk once a day--he said that would be fine and it helped to make softer bowel movements...

We had issues from the time our son was born. We began using Miralax after exhausting all other options around 3 mos old. It does work, and as he took less and less formula and started eating more solids the problem resolved it's self....until we went to switch him to whole milk. The prob started all over again, so we kept him on toddler formula for quite a while and then gave him skim milk instead of whole. His Dr. said skim is fine since it's what works better for him and it's better than having to medicate him everyday. Our son does get juice mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with water and we also give him Kool Aid 1/2 and 1/2 with water. It cuts down on the sugar and calories some and tastes better than plain water.

You have pin pointed when this started, try going back to formula. They make a toddler formula. Some little digestive systems aren't ready for regular milk yet. My kids both had trouble with milk. It was the opposite problem, they got diarrhea, but the same principle. We kept them on toddler formula until their bodies got ready for milk. My older boy was good a 15 mos, my baby not until 21 months.
They both take milk fine now, and have no food sensitivities at all. It just takes time. Put him on the formula and every couple of weeks try milk again. That is what worked for our boys.

My ped suggested the p's for constipation (pears, peaches and prunes). Although, prunes are nasty! I won't even eat them! So, whenever my son gets a little constipated I give his some pear juice and it works wonders! I also try te feed him a cut up pear everyday, but you could even try canned peaches or pears this time of year. (Also, as another Mom suggested the apricot juice will work too.) I hope this helps. I hate to see your little guy on meds at such a young age.

Good luck.

NO NO NO! your daughter is having a symptom for a REASON! GOOD for you to know that what he is telling you is NOT the solution! Sounds to me your child may have an intolerance to milk. Have you tried cutting it out for 3 to 4 weeks and then addding it in and seeing if the symptoms return? I would also give your child probiotics daily (especially if she has ever been on antibiotics) probiotics are found in yogurt but there is not enough in yogurt to recolonize, just to help maintain so you must supplement (can find at CVS or whole foods) just mix into applesauce, there is NO taste. Also try adding in fish oil if you have not already. BUT since this started when you started adding in milk i am thinking that it is either a sensitivity or intolerance issue and the only way to know for sure is to rid the system of it (that is the 3 to 4 week part) and add it in and see if symptoms return. Good luck and always follow that Mama instict!!!!

Adding in fruits such as pears,peaches, and apricots will really help. If he will not eat the fruit, give him the juice full strength 4-5 ounces a day. These fruits will help regulate him more compared to the prunes. The prunes are sort of a last resort. Prunes are intended to make the kids stools really loose so the poop can come out within a couple of hours. The other nectar fruits are more gentle and work much better with little ones.

That happened to my daughter as I was switching her to whole milk. Did you gradually introduce whole milk or make a straight switch? I start with 3/4 formula 1/4 milk for a couple of weeks, then go to 2/3 formula 1/3 milk for a couple weeks, then 1/2 and 1/2 for a couple weeks, then 1/4 formula 3/4 milk for a few weeks and then no formula. I tried to shorten the transition to about a week inbetween the first round and she became severely constipated and had to poop but couldn't get it out. To lessen the pain I used Aquaphor on her rear and put her in a warm bath. Within about 10 minutes she was finally able to go. I then immediately upped her back to 3/4 formula and 1/4 milk for another week or two. That with prune juice to make sure she didn't have a recurrence and she was fine. It's a lengthy process but doing it slowly and gradually helps them adjust to cows milk. Getting to much dairy will stop them up. If that doesn't help, he might be slightly lactose intolerent and you should talk to your doctor about alternatives.

Hi SA, my daughter had the same scenario. It happened at 12 months, also coincidentally when we switched to milk. It was awful. She would tense up her whole body and cry and we couldn't do anything for her, so I would cry too. We had to put her on Miralax. Believe me we wanted to not have her be dependent upon it her whole life. We tried soy milk, increasing the fiber in her diet, taking her to a specialist...in the end, as the doctor said would likely happen, she grew out of it. It took a lot longer than we expected, we had her on it until maybe 3 or 3-1/2. Now she hasn't had it for at least a year and she is fine. So my advice to you is keep your baby boy comfortable and do the Miralax (assuming Doc advises as well!) as long as he needs it. Be careful to wean slowly, as soon as you see it's not working get him back on it. Good luck, have patience, and hope it works out!

Yep, Miralax helps! As far as I know it's pretty innocuous - at least in that it is not habit forming. I would do it - or at least give it a shot. If it gives him relief, why not?

Sounds like my oldest daughter at that age. I tried everything! Corn Syrup, prunes, water, nothing worked that great. She would be playing and having a good time and all of a sudden, she would stop & start crying. We knew right away what was wrong. My savior.. Benefiber. It comes in a powder and you can mix it in anything. I give it to her in her milk, I put it in pancake batter, sauces, everything. She is almost seven now and I still have to ask her every day if she has gone. She knows, now, to ask for the Benefiber if she hasn't gone. She always feels better. Little things to stay away from, bananas, cheese (of any kind), apple juice, and some juice boxes made things worse as well. Get the Benefiber and start using a teaspoon in his drinks. When you add it to larger things like pancake batter and sauce, it's good but it's hard to judge if they are getting enough to matter. You should see a big difference in just 24 hours. The Benefiber is also good for us. It increases our daily fiber intake when we add it to our food & drinks. I buy the big container at Costco because the little one doesn't seem to last very long when you are using it every day, a few times a day. Good luck, I feel your pain. It will get better. :)

One thing to try is probiotics. You can buy it in a powder form or open a capsule and put it in his milk or food. Another thing to try is a different type of milk. Try almond milk and rice milk. That might help. Also, make sure he eats plenty of fruits and vegetables. That should help.

Good luck!

make sure he is getting no more then 16 oz of milk in a day, that should solve all the issues right there
also make sure he is having WHOLE grains and enough fiber
Also by 14 mos old your child should be on table food, the same stuff YOU eat only cut into smaller pieces. Get him off babyfood and I bet you'll see dramatic improvements.
Try that before you try Miralex

Karo syrup is a very old remedy, which does not work as you are experiencing. Is he getting more than 16oz of milk per day? Sounds like to me he is having issues with cow's milk, can you try switching your dairy source up to like rice milk for a couple of weeks and see if that helps? I would also omit cheese for the same 2 weeks. Rice milk is fortified as cow's milk so they are not missing nutrients.

He is probably old enough to have old fashioned oatmeal for breakfast, just puree it up a tad for his liking. Instant oats is stripped of its fiber.

You can safely add 1-2tsp of flax oil daily to help with his colon, this works VERY well and better than Miralax as it is full of DHA which is great for their growing brain (75% of their brain develops in the first 2yrs of life) and many kids after 1yrs old do not get enough DHA/fish oil.

Also adding probiotics is great for constipation. I attached my family health column below and you can read up about probiotics.

Those should work! Good luck.

J. MPH
Chicago Family Health Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-7158-Chicago-Family-Health-Exam...

We had to give our daughter Miralax to get things going again. Then after she finally went, she was afraid to go anymore because of the pain she associated with it. She would hold it in until she was in pain and then would just scream while going. We ended up having to give her Miralax for several days again just to force her to go. Then we decided to continue to give it to her in decreasing amounts just to wean her off of it slowly while she relearned that it doesn't usually hurt to poop. At the same time, we have cut out her favorite food-cheese, and started giving her more juice (which I strictly rationed before because of the sugar) and suggest water over milk for snack times to help keep things moving. After a couple of weeks we are now off of the Miralax and she seems to be back to normal. I don't think her situation was as bad as your son's, but the Miralax did work without any sort of side effects for my daughter. I am one that chooses medication as a last resort, but this saved my daughter a lot of pain and me a lot of sleepless nights trying to comfort her.

Sounds like your lad isn't capable of digesting unmodified cow's milk. Not surprising, because a lot of people can't.

Since he doesn't have any need for dairy products (human or cow's or sheep or goat...) once he's weaned, the simple and free answer seems to be eliminating milk from his diet.

He may have less problem with yogurt, because the protein molecule is partly digested and there isn't so much of the cow's milk sugars that many bodies find difficult to deal with.

The dairy industry will argue until they're blue in the face, but milk is only ONE healthy option for a balanced diet --millions of people all over the world never eat dairy, ever, not even as cheese. Many cultures traditionally feel that cow's milk is as disgusting a food as we think dog's milk (or meat) is.

No human child should be fed corn syrup. What a gross idea.

Hi
I have a 2 year old you was having a horrible time too. I gave him Miralax occasionally, but as soon as it was out of his system, he was back to having problems. I finally took him off cow's milk, and he is a new boy-he drinks enriched almond milk for the calcium.
Now your little guy may just need some more time to adjust to milk from formula. Your little guy probably still needs the milk fat from whole milk so don't take him off milk before talking to his doc.
I have a girlfriend who swears by the Miralax regiment too. I've heard it is not habit forming, so if you have to do it for awhile it is better than him hurting his bottom!
Don't worry-this too shall pass.
A.

My son started having constipation issues around 18mo-24 months. He was potty training and he was a stubborn drinker, however he ate more than enough of all the fiber etc. We saw a GI and the answer we got was some kids are like that.

We did Miralax for awhile (I would not recommend doing it without doctors supervision, the standard does was 3-4x too much for his little body). It worked but no one liked being on it.

We have been off it for two years and this is how I manage it. We only have milk at breakfast and dinner, no more than 8oz each time (kids don't need as much milk as we *think* they do if they are eating other foods). We bought new cups that were his "special" cubs and he loved them so he drank out of them. I also added Kiefer (Probugs is the kids version) after years of meds and fighting to get him to drink water/juice (if he doesn't drink 8-12oz he can't have milk at dinner). we have found that 6-8oz of Probiotic (I buy Kiefer b/c it's cheaper than Probugs) is all that is needed to keep him regular.

Also, baby rice cereal can be very constipating, switching to oatmeal or barely could help. My daughter, whose had problems, but not as bad as my son, could not eat rice cereal. It backed her up every time.

Probiotics, probioics, probiotics!! Renew life makes a baby flora that is powder. You can measure out the amt. put it on your finger and stick it right into baby's mouth. I'd recommend doing this before you do anything else. I hope this helps!
blessings,
J.