Constipation in an 13 Month Old

My son, who i a twin, had the same problem at the same age. I tried karo syrup and everything. I took himto the hospital and everything they told me to do i had already done. My mammaw always had a cure for everything so i called and she told me to buy something called "fletcher's castoria" not caster oil....she told me to put 5 drops in his bottle and thats it. I did and that night he pooped everything out. You can find it in the pharmacy area. It looks like it is from the olden times, but i promise it works.

1 mom found this helpful

You might also try 2% milk instead of whole milk. You can also try organic milk. If he's getting a lot of foods with calcium, that might be the cause as well, try more fiber in his diet. Hope this helps.

Love and Light,
Rev. G. Hudson, Reiki Master.
www.reikigailhudson.com
www.hopehousemckinney.com

My pediatrican recommended Pear Juice. It totally works and its as harsh as prune juice. I have never hear of apple juice helping with constipation before. Switching from cow's milk to soy or rice would be good also. Try one and if that doesn't work - do both! My daughter loved vanilla soy milk. Thwy make chocolate too. We always bought it at Kroger. They have the best deals on their store brand. You will be amazed how much this will help. My daughter was so constipated she would vomit while trying to poop. It was so sad. I had to do something and these is a natural, non addictive way to help regulate your child.

we had constipation also, my 2nd used to get constipated when he ate rice cereal (even a small amount) so I gave him oatmeal, which helped a lot, with my 3rd he was worse, we had to give him suppositories on occasion, then the dr had me put a half teaspoon of B. sugar in his milk (4 oz or 1 teaspoon for 8 oz) I did this for every bottle, but it worked! I have also used warm apple juice which works in a pinch as well. (the pear juice sounds good also)

My second child had wetting problems and his ped. urologist had me giving him miralax, which did make is stools softer but I had to give him a lot of it for him to poop every day. I asked about the magnesium citrate and the dr said that it was okay for once in a while but not for everyday that it would tear up the inside of the intestines so be very careful with that one, check with your Dr and DO NOT use it everyday!!!

Constipation seem to be a way of life at our house, it can also affect potty training, (day and night training) which if you want more details on that email me, I'll be glad to share that experience too. I've tried increasing fiber foods but my 2 constipated kids are picky eaters! Avocados and black beans are very high in fiber, if you can get your child to eat them it may help... my 2 wont touch the stuff!

try the B. sugar! if that doesn't work keep talking to your Dr. to find other ways to improve the situation. best of luck!

Have you tried real organic apple juice? That worked for us-it's not clear yellow like Motts. It's B. with particles floating in it, you have to shake it. We use R.W. Knudsen. You can get it at Kroger in the healthy section or Whole Foods.

You can increase his Miralax to an amt that works. Make sure he is drinking enough (not just milk) during the day and eating lots of fruit. Apricots worked better then prunes when my son was that age.

Also watch how much milk and cheese he gets. Banananas are constipating as well. You might try increasing his fiber. Oatmeal in the morning is great. Apples and apple juice have lots of fiber. I used to give my son store bought smoothies to get his bowel moving. The extra sugar seemed to help. Now I make them myself with yogurt and fruit...it really seems to help move things along.

My son is on Miralax...if he is getting the right amt you should see a difference in the consistency of his stools.

Good luck!

Thank you for posting this...I'm going to read the responses you get. I was just about to post this question. My 13 month old girl is going through the same thing. Very hard stools and very dark. Also in round balls and they smell horrible (like a ammonia or moth-ball smell). We are also on prunes and I am making her have her first bottle in the morning be warm juice/water combo instead of milk. Then milk later in the day. She is thirsty in the morning and she drinks it better then juice/water in the afternoon. It still isn't helping though. I hope you get some great advice.

Pears seem to do the trick for my little guy (he's 6.5 months though) - I bake them in the oven for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees and then puree them - you wouldn't have to do that w/your little one since he's older. Poor fella! Good luck!

Just thought of one more thing - I've also taken a rectal temperature and that seems to always help - just use a little vaseline of course - I'm sure the infant suppositories would work the same way or better.

I feel for the little guy well hopefully you are giving him plenty of water..that helps, and also not sure if they still have it but there was a baby laxative called castoria that we used when my son was having problems but that was years ago he is now 22 yoa. I wish you well!

More liquids, - mostly water putting a little juice in to make it palatable.

Magnesium citrate... You can find it in liquid form at the drug store. They have different flavors and can mix in in juice. There's a powder form you can also get at any vitamin store (but it's pretty tart, like lemonade).

Give him alot of vegetables, mainly carrots. Prunes does miracles with my baby. I give him Gerber Prunes. Make sure he is always hydrated with plenty of water. Also white rice seems to constipate baby's more, try oatmeal. Oatmeal helps my baby alot with his constipation as well, as it has alot of fibre. Papaya, and banana's which are ripe is also quite helpful with constipation problems. I have tried banana's with my baby and works great. Let me know how it goes. Also watch out for his diet, it could be his diet affecting him to constipate. Introduce foods one day at a time and see which one is affecting him. Now that he is off breastmilk, his body is acting different to solids.

My sister-in-law puts 1/2 teaspoon of Metamucil (the berry flavored) in a glass of apple juice and gives that to my 2 year-old niece. It has helped her TREMENDOUSLY.

He needs more miralax. You have to either increase the amount you give him or you increase the frequency you give it until you have the desired results. Which are soft formed stools like play dough. If the doctor knew that he was still straining and having hard stools he would tell you to probably give it to him twice daily and if that didn't help to give it 3 times daily. If that didn't work than increase the dose that you are giving. Like if he said to give two teaspoons daily, then go to three teaspoons daily, until again you get the desired effects.
If you haven't already called the doctor, than just call and ask the nurse how much more and how often to increase the miralax. It doesn't necessarily require a visit. If he gets diarrhea than you know he is getting to much miralax. Skip a day and then reduce the dose. Again, until you have desired results. Then when you find the amount that lets him have BM's without pain, straining and are soft that is where you leave the dosing at that. You just aren't therapeutic on the miralax, because if you were he wouldn't be having anymore problems.
I would be careful with the magnesium citrate suggested earlier. There are several reasons I would not give that to little ones. You can overdose on magnesium, it is a cathartic laxative which causes cramping and belly aches before results are seen, it would be difficult to get the dose for a small child without calling the doctor, and it tastes bad. So I would steer clear of it unless specifically recommended by the doctor with the correct dosing and only in the most problematic times and only occassionally.
You can email me and I will help you some more if needed.
Good luck to the little guy,
L., RN

Hi T.,
Both of my boys experienced this at this age after eating some more solid food and switching to milk. I would recommend that you give him some (small amount) of prune juice mixed in some apple juice EVERY day to keep him regular. It worked great for me until their body became adjusted to a more solid diet.
Best Regards,
C.

Someone else said about the organic apple juice but we use Simply Apple juice. It's not see thru either and you can get it at any store. Our Dr told us about this, she used it when she was pregnant and it works wonders. Good luck!

Have you tried giving a suppository? It got my daughter going again within 15, 20 minutes. Also, a warm bath helps get things going as well.

My 8 month old has been constipated a few times and regular apple juice works wonders...worked each time...

Be sure he's getting plenty of water, a good quality probiotic and essential fatty acids (Omega 3's).

Since you have tried prunes I would give him prune juice or apple juice and bananas. This worked for me when my children were younger. I would also rub (massage) his belly in a circular and downward motion when he is trying to poop to help him. I hope this works for you, it really helped my children!!

I've heard pear juice works wonders. Also, my son was on Enfamil Lipil, and I tried to switch to the Target brand to save money. For whatever reason, he was severely constipated when on that formula. I switched back to Enfamil and he was fine again. Just a thought . . .

My granddaughter was found to have a too small anus which caused her problems. He said that problem was not uncommon but I don't remember the medical term he used for it.

The pediatrician discovered it when she was about 2 months old and he recommended it be done when she reahed 3 months. In her case, it was a 6 minute surgery. No problems since!