Constipation in 12 and 1/2 Month Old Dd

Updated on October 24, 2010
D.O. asks from Springview, NE
17 answers

I need a little help ladies. My daughter is twelve and half months old and seems to be constipated alot! I have cut her down on alot of things like dairy but it's not helping much. When she was under a year old I was told by our one of our doctor office nurses to give her a teaspoon of karo syrup but she is too old for that(?) or so I am told. Any that else I could try out to help her with going. Most of time she's grunting and crying and makes me feel so bad. :( Please help! Thanks in advance.

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L.V.

answers from Sioux Falls on

Prunes. I make smoothies for my son as he won't eat fruit or veggies. I put frozen strawberries, fresh or frozen banana, apple juice and a prune or two in the blender. He loves them and they keep him regular.

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M.A.

answers from Minneapolis on

We have that issue with one of my little child care kids. We use prume juice. Doesn't take much but, works like a charm!

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R.Y.

answers from New York on

My daughter has the same problem. Giving her raisins, prunes in bite size pieces, extra water, etc. helped a little. But ask the doctor about the Miralax (or pedialax). My daughter is 22 months and we started with this around 20 months at it is helping a lot. She still cries and fusses a little when she poops and sometimes passes a huge poop. But she is not screaming and crying most of the time and the poop is not rock hard anymore either.

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R.C.

answers from Chicago on

My daughter was the same way. We still have to watch her diet to make sure she gets enough to drink, and especially apple juice.
Try giving her apple juice or fruits. You can also talk to your doctor about Miralax. My daughter took a teaspoon a day for almost a year. It is used to help bring more water into the stool and make it easier to pass.
Good luck, and hang in there. My daughter will be 3 in a few weeks and we are finally getting into a more 'regular' schedule.

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L.S.

answers from New London on

Fiber One cereal really helps. And you can give her some milk of magnesia (mom) in the morning it should help produce a bowel movement. Add some benefiber into some yogurt or cereal add lots of veggies and fruits to her diet.

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D.G.

answers from Philadelphia on

My daughter is 2, but also is constipated a lot. I realize that in her case it is her diet, but I really can only get her to eat pretty much what binds you. When she gets stopped up I add a little prune juice to her apple juice and it works like a charm! A little bit goes a long way! I would reccomend trying this before moving to Karo or medication. Good luck!

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T.O.

answers from Minneapolis on

Miralax works great!

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E.I.

answers from Duluth on

try milled flax seed. sprinkle it on everything. only use a little at first, like a teaspoon. and remember lots of water.

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E.J.

answers from Milwaukee on

I always had a lot of luck sauteing a few slices of onion in olive oil until translucent, then adding baby spinach and pureeing. Things moved right along, and that a couple times a week at least kept things going.

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J.H.

answers from Sioux Falls on

more pears and prunes (these are most effective), less bananas and apples (they are binding foods).

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T.C.

answers from Des Moines on

Apple juice, prune juice. Or even just apples and prunes.

J.S.

answers from San Francisco on

The BRAT diet is what has worked for us when we need to get things moving or slowing down. Bananas, rice, apples and toast/bread will constipate a child. Cut down on these things and it could help. Drinking a goodly amount of water definitely will help. Prunes, pears and peas ares supposed to be good too I think. A warm bath has also been helpful for my dd at times. Good luck!

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V.E.

answers from Minneapolis on

I see you have some good advice on the foods already. My suggestion is bicycle legs and rubbing the lower abdomen with slight pressure. When I do the bicycle legs on my daughter I sing her a song or make something up to sing/ say to go along with it that way laying there getting there legs moved back and forth is more fun. It gets the intestines to work things out a little better.

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J.D.

answers from Philadelphia on

My LO is having the same issue and it makes me feel bad to see him struggling and crying when he goes. PRUNES are great! Prune juice works too. He loves Earth's Best Peas and Brown rice. Give your daughter a lot of fibrous foods like peas, whole wheat foods like pasta and crackers, graham crackers, surprisingly have fiber too. Fruits, beans like chick peas, lentils. And above all, lots of fluid!!! Water! The more fiber you feed them the fluid they will need. Fibrous foods can be binding too. Apple juice is fine, but applesauce is binding because of the pectin in it.

The other thing you can try is Milk of Magnesia.

Hope this is helpful.

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L.G.

answers from Minneapolis on

Lot of good suggestions here but I had the same issue with son from birth and we had used a little prune juice in every bottle until he was one when he quit formula and bottles. Then we made sure he had apple juice and water every day. Grapes are a natural laxative *purple/red are best - be sure to cut them up as they are a choking hazard. When they get older fruit snacks help too - I get the ones that are made from fruit juices. Raisens and dried prunes help. the bicycle legs and tummy pressure and warm bathes help too. Walking will also help move things along - when they get to that point.

Good Luck!

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K.H.

answers from Minneapolis on

try mixing a 1/2 teaspoon molasses with her milk in bottle-its all natural-my daughter had the same problem as an infant so we just did this mix-worked great.then hust start giving her prune juice-good luck

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J.M.

answers from Madison on

I have seen this multiple times at the pediatric GI clinic and it can cause longer term problems if not dealt with immediately! I firmly support figuring out the root cause, if it is diet related, exercise, stress etc. However, this may take a bit to work out and in the meantime some terrible fears and habits are being created for your child. A regular laxative like miralax is key. Start with the smallest dose, give for a few days, then increase gradually until soft, non-straining poops are at least a daily occurrence. It is important that your DD not associate pooping with pain or it will increase her resistance to pooping, which makes it worse. If she uses the potty, have a set time everyday, usually in the morning, where she sits for at least 15 minutes. You can give her a game or books or toys to keep her there. If she doesn't use the potty yet, try the same routine, but with squatting, which will help bring the internal and external rectal sphincters closer to the outside of the body. The external one is the one we control, the internal one is triggered by poop in the rectum. Then maintain a good poop regimen for at least 6 months to allow the rectum to shrink to a normal size as it is probably enlarged from the chronic constipation, which makes the whole cycle worse. If she doesn't get regular within a week of this regimen, please see your doctor right away. The dietary suggestions below are good ones.

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