Constipation in 23 Month Old

Common clear Karo Syrup mixed in the milk- about a scant tablespoon. It is a natural stool softener. My pediatrician recommended this when my son was younger. There are NO adverse effects and really no more sweetener than common fruit juices-it defnately taste better than prune juice! It works in a real gentle way- no painful explosions or accidents after painful belly cramps. My son is five now and I will still occassionaly use this to get things moving if he gets tight. It really does work

P.,
Eating lots of dairy can make for tendancy of constipation. Lots of water, fresh fruits and veggies. Specifically, cucumber, melon, celery, banana. Stay away from any laxatives. Try the dried fruits if you need to. You can also add flax seed oil or powder to her foods.
L. M

Will she eat yogurt (or drink one of the drinkable ones)? Oatmeal? Fruits (apples, grapes, raisins)? Will she drink prune juice - apple-prune juice?

Dehydration can cause constipation. Try to increase her daily fiber intake, and make sure she stays hydrated. Too much milk/cheese/etc can cause constipation, as well as kidney stones, so you should monitor that.

Milk causes constipation. You may try cutting back on the milk and upping the fruit. You do not want to become dependent on anything that is not natural to the body. Let her body work for her. It can mess he system up even more. A.

I agree with going the natural route first - eating fruits high in fiber (pears, prunes), drinking plenty of water, and eating yogurt.

If that doesn't work, try the MiraLax (or something of that nature)). It does work wonders, I've heard, b/c many friends have used it with their children.

You've gotten some good advice so far, so I don't have much to add. I just want to clarify one point. My kids' pediatrician said to give them no more than 24 oz of milk a day at that age, and 16 oz should be enough, especially if they eat yogurt too. Any more than that can cause constipation. If she won't drink water or juice try giving her lots of watery fruits, especially pears, grapes, and prune purees. You might be able to sneak some prune puree or prune juice into some of her other foods if she won't take them straight. Good luck!

Yogurt has always worked for us...my son likes to add fresh fruit to each bite...a grape on top of each spoonful usually. Good luck! D.

A small handfull of raisins once a day? Always helps my kid.-S

lots and lots of fruit!
khairete
S.

My 3yr. old daughter has had constipation issues since she was 6mths old. We tried all the fruits, juices, cutting back on dairy, using lactolose and nothing worked. Finally, we took her to a pediatric gastroenterologist when she was starting to hold her poop because it was too painful for her to go. She got to the point where her poops were so big she could not pass them without me helping her to get them out. Sorry to be so graphic but it got bad. The pediatric gastroenterologist had us clean her system out with enemas and laxatives for a few days. Once she was cleaned out we then started Miralax which is over the counter and is just mixed in with her juice. The Miralax works great and we use it still whenever she is constipated. So, for us the only thing that finally worked was Miralax which she was weaned off and then we use it when needed.

Hi P.,

You can try massaging her tummy and lower abdomen and laying her on her back and stretching her legs up towards her belly. Another thought is that she could be having a sensitivity to all the milk she is drinking, not a true allergy but it can cause ALL sorts of GI and other issues. Try cutting out dairy for a couple of weeks and see if her symptoms go away.

Good luck!
S.

Hi,
My daugther had the same problem, she actually still does if I don't give her Miralax on a daily basis. She got really impacted a few months back because the peditrician told me she was just holding it and was a little constipated. I bypassed the peditrician and took her to a pediatric gastroenterologist. They discovered she was impacted. We had to do a clean out. They told me to make sure I gave her a half a cap of Miralax(can be bought over the counter now)once a day. I simply mix it in her juice, water, milk and it dissolves. You cant taste it. I asked about weaning her off because I was worried about giving her too much, and the doctor said it was just like drinking a big glass of prune juice.

My babay girl did the same thing. Doc told me to put a tsp of dark Karo syrpe in her bottle and go down to 2% or less than what you have until this passes. Also aplle juice, canalope, prunes. We had the constipation issue for about 6mo. She is fine now and we went back to whole milk, for brain develpoment. I hope this helped but nothing seems to help when your baby hurts.
T.

You can try putting Raw Bran in her food (found in the cereal an oatmeal isle), it works great. Hydration is very imporant. Stay away from BRAT foods (banana, rice, apples, toast) as these are constipating foods. However, apple juice is not binding and actually helps with constipation as does prune juice...mix them with water, she may take them better if she feels it is too sweet.

Try pedialite, it always worked for my daughter, and was the only thing that worked. Kiwi's also worked well and seem to pass right through my daughter. Watch out for starchy foods, simple grains, quick cooking oatmeal, cereal and the like. Also bannanas tend to cause back up.

Good luck!

I know that when mine drink a lot of water it's helps a lot plus fresh fruit.
Mama of three

The child needs fluids! Create a habit of drinking together in mid morning and in the afternoon. Perhaps get a fancy straw or a new cup to make drinking more fun. Or try salting her food so she will feel more thirsty. Vigorous exercise will make her thirsty too.Increasing fluid intake will eliminate the constipation problem. You don't want to create a dependancy on laxatives. AF

I am 29 years of age with 3 children, ages 2, 5, and 11. When my 2 year old was 6mos- 1 year old he was constipated on a regular basis. I was advised by my pediatrician and family to give a teaspoon of dark Karo syrup in his milk or water a couple times a day. It did help a bit after a couple days. U can find it most likely in the baking section of grocery stores. Also, rub olive oil on the baby's tummy a couple of times a day. Believe it or not, that definitely helps.