Creative Solutions for Constipation..please, Help Again! Nothing Seems to Work!

with her having celiac disease & not eating the foods you mentioned, I would say that she is probably not going to have as many bm's as you would expect I would look for 2-3 a week...(my son has different issues but with kids with different eating habits you start to expect differences & with no wheat/oats etc she is not getting as much fillers & therefore I would expect less bm's & a less amount each bm) (remember that a bm is your body getting rid of what it is not using to sustain itself, so if she is eating mostly fruits, veggies & breastmilk her body is going to be using the majority of this up & there is less "extra" so to speak to get rid of)

also with miralax I would also say that she definitely needs to take it consistently (after regulated) to ensure that it is or is not working. if she starts to regulate then continue use to see if it stays regular (her regular is most likely going to be different than others so be sure to track amounts to see what seems regular for her)...if you still do not think that the miralax is working then I would push to see a dietician (for suggestions) & possibly for a prescription laxative (my son is on lactulose, he started on miralax & nothing, he does not take the laxative daily though & only takes a small amount about 1/4 the dose which was prescribed, about every other day to stay regular) but again I would stress to find what her normal is going to be & that it will probably be different from others

also will/can she eat prunes? my kids will eat them & it usually helps
this is just from my experience, hope you find answers :) gl!

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Make her fruit smoothies and add a crushed magnesium tablet. I take my magnesium at night for good results in the am. Not sure if 250 milligrams would be too much for a toddler or not tho, you might want to ask the pediatrician. Magnesium is a wonderful bowel softener/mover. Since she doesnt eat grain fiber make sure she gets pears, I blend mine with the skin for extra performance. Also keep in mind that not everyone goes EVERY day, some bowels move only every 3 days.... she may have her own rhythm.

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Since she is still nursing, maybe it's something you're eating, not her?
Just a thought.

:)

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Have you ever tried abdominal massage? It worked WONDERS with my DD when she was constipated!

(this is one technique I learned from an infant massage class)

Give her a nice warm bath to get everything all relaxed.

Pump some lotion on your hands and let it warm up before using it.

Lay baby down facing you on a soft towel (Don't diaper... Maybe stick a diaper under her butt, but don't actually put the diaper on.)

Use gentle pressure (No more pressure than you would use on your eye) use a hand-over-hand downward stroke on her abdominal area.

Rub small CLOCKWISE circles in the area between her belly button and hips, working from the left hip (YOUR left) to right.

Trace a capital 'I' to the left, 'L' in the center, and 'U' to the right. (Known as the 'I Love You' massage)

You can repeat the 3 massages in whatever sequence you like, for however long your DD likes.

My DD LOVES getting her tummy rubbed like this. Even when she's not constipated, and only having tummy troubles it soothes her. When she IS constipated, I will usually get a poop from her within 1 hour of doing the massage. Sometimes, I will get one DURING (hence the suggestion of laying an open diaper under her...)

Good luck!

~Oh... I also like to buy prune baby food for my DD when she's constipated. She's not much of a juice drinker, but she seems to like them pretty well. She's also 17 months, so that's the only 'baby' food she gets. She hates the texture of 'real' prunes.

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Hi,

I am not sure of the dosing for kids, but magnesium supplements works wonders for constipation. Ask your doctor about that-best wishes. Hope she feels better soon!

M

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Ultimate Aloe Juice. Strawberry kiwi for kids. 2 ounces a day and she will poop everyday. :)

http://bit.ly/ripp5j

I can't say enough good things about this product. It will also boost her immune system. Fewer colds.

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Probiotics AND Prebiotics. Don't use one without the other. The probiotics "eat" the prebiotics, so if the prebiotics aren't in the colon, then the probiotics don't have anything to digest.

Shaklee (and no, I don't sell it) is a brand you can trust.

Have you looked into your diet since you are breastfeeding her? Do a little research on that.

And, again, do you have a pediatric gastroenterologist? I am VERY irritated that your doctor isn't more concerned. That would be a real dealbreaker for me, I have to say.

I hope so much that you and your little one can get some relief SOON!

D.

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Don't give her rice, bananas or any foods that will make it worse, that goes for you too since you are breastfeeding. Does she eat prunes? If not try to hide it in other foods. I would also suggest getting probiotics they worked wonders for my daughter. They also sell fiber gummies in the vitamin section.

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Stone fruits (peaches, apricots, etc.) are good for this, as are grapes. Those are foods that tend to blow right through my daughters.

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How we stopped our daughter's constipation (she's 2 )
.
1. Add a little fiber one or benefiber to milk or foods.
2. prunes (baby food or packaged) or gerbers prunes with apples.
3. Calm (can be bought at a health food/organic store on medicine aisle, its magnesium powder flavored with raspberry/lemon)
4. magnesium liquid bought in grocery store you'll find it where the laxatives are in the clear bottle, sometimes green bottle. One to two ounces of that drink usually produces bowel movement within 8 hrs or less. in our daughter it was 2 hours.)
5. Sit on the pottie and let gravitiy take effect. Play their favorite cd, makes it more pleasant.
6. Vibrating massager on stomach or tickling makes our little one go too.
7. Pears, or apples.
8. Lots of water.
9. fresh greenbeans from whole foods store; work wonders for our little one too.

I hope your daughter gets to feeling better soon.

Oh what plugs our daughter up...marshmallows, peanut butter, and chicken.
And we eat a lot of veggies (cooked and raw), fruits, and grains. We don't eat beef or pork. What our doctor said was its normal for them to not produce a bowel movement every day due to growth spurts. As long as they are going at least every other day; no worries. For us we think a good poopin' every day is best, but those every other days its like she makes up for the one day she didn't.

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You said she is breast fed, are you still taking iron?? Iron stopped my son up REALLY bad. So, I stopped the extra iron and it helped him tremendously. Our pediatrician didn't do chemicals unless everything else had been tried. He said, fruits that start with "P" will make you poop. We got some Gerber Pear juice and gave him 4-6 ounces depending on his age, and it cleaned him out everytime. He's 10 now, and will ask for pears if he hasn't had a movement for awhile- it just take more now :)

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My daughter didn't have chronic problems, but she got constipated and her pediatrician told me to use the glycerine suppositories.
They worked.
I only had to use them a few times and her tummy got straightened out.

The thing about Miralax, prune juice, etc, is you're just putting more in the tummy when the baby is already stopped up.
Sometimes you have to unblock at the other end.
The suppositories aren't painful at all. They melt pretty rapidly and without too much TMI, I held my baby's butt cheeks together for a couple of minutes to keep the thing from sliding back out, but they really do work. The infant ones are tiny.
If nothing else has worked, I really think you should try it.
She'll feel a lot better.

Best wishes.

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What stops up my son: Bananas!! Plugs him up like crazy. What works for him: Probiotics and fresh plums. Prunes have never worked for him. Only fresh plums help!

Too much fiber, can also cause this problem.

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This seems to be my regular answer on here to questions such as this, but I'm seriously so amazed at my own outcome and my husbands outcome of having this blood test done for food sensitivities! Check this out :) www.betterhealthusa.com
My chiro introduced this to us and our lives have drastically changed for the better!! GL, HTH!

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Bananas, bananas, bananas.

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I've heard coconut/coconut juice is a natural laxative (she's old enough; I wouldn't recommend it for an infant under 12 months). I've heard watermelon is also good to get things moving.

I've heard cows milk and food made with cows milk can cause constipation. You can try goat milk and goat milk dairy products for the short-term and see if that helps.

Have you thought of making rice with diluted prune juice instead of plain water? You can try boiling rice noodles in diluted prune juice also. Drizzle prune juice over fruit? And if she'll eat raisins, you can try slicing up some prunes.

Good luck!

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What works for me is taking EXTRA vitamin C...too much vitamin C has a laxative effect.

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Yogurt, milk and cheese all plug him up. Bananas are also constipating. Give her prunes, apples with the peel, pears, and grapes, (use the juices of these in smoothies,) broccoli, peas, beans and rice. Limit fatty foods that are low in fiber. Keep up the water, too.

Try the warm bath and massaging her belly like Red said, it works. Also make sure she's getting enough exercise, at least an hour each day of walking around, running, climbing, etc., it helps to keep things moving.

The suppositories are small and really work, they don't cause the baby pain. If your attitude is positive she'll pick up on that and it won't be a big deal.

Do keep her on the Miralax once she is regulated, otherwise you're doing her a disservice by starting and stopping it, making her body adjust to it each time rather than allowing her to stay regulated.

Hang in there!

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Prunes and pears in combo. My daughter used to have bad constipation issues at that age too, sometimes she still does. We will give her the baby food prunes followed by some super diluted pear juice. Warning though, it really clears them out so be prepared. If she won't drink the pear juice you might just try baby food pears.

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My daughter had the same problem at that age. We used Benefiber and Pedialax daily for a several months to get her on track. The Benefiber seemed to help more than the Pedialax. I definitely used the Pedialax suppositories many times--if she was straining and screaming but couldn't go the suppository was a kinder alternative in my opinion. The "streak" could be she tried to go and couldn't get it out so I would just do the suppository and get it over with. I didn't like to let it go over 4-5 days definitely not over a week with my daughter.

I think with my daughter she was eating a lot of cheese at that age as well as drinking a lot of milk. She eats pretty much what we do at 2.5 but wasn't quite there yet at 1.5.

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Definitely try probiotics. Culturelle is a widely available reputable brand, it comes in individual packets of powder that can be added to any cool beverage or soft food, and is available in an infant dose.

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Probiotics have been known to help http://www.naturalnews.com/031690_probiotics_constipation...
I use Florajen 3

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We had a run of this same thing with my son. We gave him pear juice and used the Fleet Pedia-Lax Liquid Glycerin Suppositories they worked great for us. Hope this gets better it is so frustrating.

Flax Seed has helped me in the past

What worked for my son Metamucil Clear and Natural ( I dont know anything about Celiac's disease-maybe she cant have?)

Wow. This sounds like my son. He was potty trained and then decided he just wasn't going to go #2. I tried pedialax but that wasn't strong enough. The doctor put him on Miralax and said to continue even after it regulated. We started with a large dose for a month and then gradually reduced it as things improved. We also had to give him a suppository every 4 days until he was emptied out of all the hardened old stuff. They were the worst. My husband and I would have to lay him on his side and hold him down. Lots of crying from all of us. We probably did 4 suppositories in total. 3 at first and then he got backed up again about a month later. We liked that u couldn't taste the Miralax so that wasn't a struggle. We mixed it with his morning juice. Good luck :)

If you want to try something other than a prescription drug (like Miralax), try CALM magnesium. It comes in original and flavors; my daughter likes orange. Magnesium gently stimulates the colon, leading to elimination.

As to what makes a child constipated--it's different for everyone. Since your daughter doesn't eat much grains, does she eat a lot of dairy products? Dairy will make many people constipated.

Her not drinking fruit juices isn't so critical, since she drinks water and eats lots of fruit (fruit in whole form is better for the body anyway than in juice form, which has a high concentration of fructose).

She can't get "used to" or "hooked" on taking CALM magnesium, so you could keep her on that for a long time. It might be that she's not getting cleaned out enough, even though it "looks" like she's regulating.

will she eat a popcicle? if so I would make some homemade popcicles out of pure cherry juice. it was the only thing that my son would drink when he was a kid. it helped. his medications made him constipated all the time but pure cherry juice worked wonders