Poor Constipated Toddler

K.,
I would like to suggest more fiber in her diet, you may not have her on good vitamins also. Many vitamins out there actually isolate because they cannot absorb in your stomache and they crystalize in a 7 % ph acid level, which is the itenstines. My husband and I are dedicated to help people become healthier with all the bad stuff out there and give alternatives. Most vitamins end up causing more free radicals which in turn cause sicknesses, diseases and even faster aging. Would love to see you get your daughter on a good vitamin and possibly if you use Johnson and Johnson products for her, they contain formaldahyde which is linked to cause cancer, bleach and ammonia products may also cause her to become ADD, my son was also 2 1/2 months early and it cost us way too much money in medical bills to find out we were unitentionally poisoning him with cleaners and such. If your daughter likes fruit and eggs, these are good comminations to get her started in normal bowell movements. Smoothies with the fruit was always a hit with our children, banana, strawberry, blackberry, a fiber mix, water, ice and mango is the best my kids always said. gotgreennow.fourpointwellness.com

1 mom found this helpful

My daughter is experiencing similar problems and the doctor advised I give her Miralax. It's in the grocery store or at Wal-Mart on the shelf next to other laxatives. It works and it is something the body does not grow immune to.

You can still give her a little cheese, it just seems you need to balance her diet with other things like fruits and juices and even water. Apple juice works great for my kids and I try to give them some kind of fruit with their meals every day. This seemed to help because both of my kids went through the same thing.

Try Activia yogurt, and sprinkle ground flax seed in her food, it is easy to disquise in oatmeal, peanutbutter, homemade bread and rolls, etc. Raisins are also good, and popular with kids. Good luck!

My pediatrician said the BRAT (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) diet will constipate (so it helps with diarrhea). He also said carrots constipate as well. Apple juice should help, as well as most other fruits (except of course bananas and applesauce).

K.,

I have similiar troubles with my daughter. Her doctor suggested P-foods (pears, prunes, peaches, peas...). I agree with the oatmeal suggestion because if you make it thick enough you can make little oatmeal balls so she can still feed herself and put in food that will help her "move" like blueberries. We also made our daughter's oatmeal with prune juice (it looks kind of gross but works).

Best of luck,
M.

~K.~
I have been having this problem with my 17 month old too since March a year ago- he has gone over 2 weeks before, it's awful. Prunes are wonderful- I actually just started giving him Activa Prune yogurt (although you said your daughter doesn't like to wait for the spoon, so that might be tricky). Regular yogurt seems to help too. Foods that are high in fiber will help. One thing I started making my son is "bean quesadillas" with a tiny bit of cheese and refried beans spread over the tortilla and cooked. I cut it up and let him go at it- he loves it, it helps him poop and surprisingly, is not that hard to clean up. We use Miralax and put it in his drink or on his food. We also put flax seed in most things. If that doesn't work a suppository can be used- I found the ones with the applicators are much easier to use. Good luck and (hopefully) happy pooping :)

Pears, Peaches, Prunes are all great for relieving constipation. Stay away from anythig starchy like potatoes, bread and such.

I did not read any other posts. But my son only has 6 teeth so I know your struggle with finding foods for him to eat. for breakfast I give my son the Yobaby yogert, you can find it where all the rest of the yogert is at the supermarket. seems to keep him pretty regular. You can also try getting little fruit cups and just drain the liquid out and let her eat the pieces of fruit on her own. boil some carrots to make them soft and cut those into pieces for her to eat on her own, you can just refrigerate the rest and they keep for about a week. maybe instead of giving her cheese on a tortilla, just give her the tortilla plain? I also just give my son little bits of what ever it is I'm eatting, he likes trying new things and makes it easy just to make myself a little extra food and just share with him. You can also substitute milk with some juice/ water mixture once every few days, might help. I hope you find my suggestions helpful? Good luck.

The P fruits and their juices - pear, prune, peach, plum

My kids love canned pears and pear juice!

My 4 year old tends to get constipated these days, I'm not sure why. It's sad because he sits on the toilet and cries because he can't get the poop out. :(

When it gets too bad, we use the Kids Pedia-Lax products. They have a chewable tablet as well as a liquid glycerin suppository (we've used that once). http://www.pedia-lax.com/

Hope that helps!

M.

Hi K.,

Looks like I'm not the first to suggest apple juice! Applesauce also will help. Lots of water too!! (Or gatorade, juice, whatever). Good luck! I'm sure she'll be back to herself in no time!

Poor thing! It's hard to see them go through this. I do know you should avoid the BRAT diet which is recommended for diarrhea- bananas, rice, applesauce and toast- as this is a binding diet. Otherwise, any fruits and veggies are good, as is juice. Plenty of water is critical, too. And if she has been on antibiotics any time recently, probiotics can sometimes help, too- acidophillus an bifidus can both found in good, quality yogurts or you can find them sold as supplements (liquids or chewables for kids) at healthfood stores. Hope this helps!

Lot's of fluids is really key, you didn't say how old she was. Apple juice can help with constipation as well as mixing in with it some prune juice. Raisins can help.
Cheese is great for children, but yes overload can cause back up. Make sure she stays hydrated and even try children probiotics. My kids actually love Activia the yogurt.
I would stay away as much as not so much cheese. Give bananas, applesauce to help with the digestive process too.
If you are really concerned, call your Pediatrician and ask them.

Fruits, veggies, and beans are great for loosening up constipation. They have fiber to help get things moving. Most fruits are soft enough if you cut them up that she can gum them (applesauce is a good way to do apples). They have individually wrapped prunes now that are soft - you can cut up for her - great for loosening up her bowels. You can cook veggies to make them soft or get the finger-sized ones from the baby food isle. And cook beans and make other dishes with them (red beans and rice, lentil soup, beans and ham, mild chili). You can even cook them till they're soft enough to mash and spread them on her tortillas before adding a bit of cheese. Beans are a great source of fiber, vitamins, and protein (pair them with a grain for best protein). And make sure you give her whole-grain bread and tortillas.
You won't just be helping her constipation for now, but building a taste for nutritious foods and teaching her healthy eating habits.

I had a 24 week preemie (1 lb 11 oz) and constipation can be a long term issue. We put her on Children's Senakot - a natural vegetable laxative - with the doctor's approval - as well as increasing her liquid intake and increasing fruits and veggies in general, as others have suggested. You don't say how old she is now. My daughter was about 18 months when we started the Senakot (be sure you do the Children's version) and she was on it for several years, on a very very low dose.

there can be many many other preemie issues. If you want to talk about those, feel free to contact me directly.

take care, S.

I had this problem with my boy who is 15 months now. I fed him oatmeal in the morning and that seemed to help. Also I'd cut grapes in half and peel them because he gagged on the peels up until lately. Any fruit helps and if you cut it up they love feeding themselves, my son likes raspberries and blueberries and stuff like that. I noticed that fruit helps more than veggies and giving her lots of juice is a definate cure. Especially juice with antioxidants! Hope this helps! Good Luck! Let me know if you need anyting else.

my doctor told me apple juice..and my grandma always told me to use Karo Syrup..about 1tbl mixed in their drink..seems to work..I mix it into my sons milk when hes having a problem..

Organic apple juice does the trick every time!

Hi K., as a mom of a toddler that suffers from this constantly I have tried many things. All the fruits that start with "P" are great to have a little in her diet daily. To help her get started we used Fletchers laxative for kids, it's behind the pharmacy counter. You use a small amount and it tastes like rootbeer. Once kids start getting backed up its hard to "re-train" the bowels. It starts stretching out their bowels and in about 6-8 weeks of no constipation it will go back to normal size. I have to use miralax (about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp) daily on my 3yo otherwise she gets it bad. Also, making sure their is adequate amoutns of fiber in her diet help. You can google "foods high in fiber" and come up with some sites that can help you. I hope this has helped and good luck!!

You have lots to work w/, but I thought that I'd let you know what helped me when I first got preg.
I stopped eating uncooked bananas; they are the only fruit that constipates you- one mom suggested feeding bananas, maybe her son has a different reaction then most. And an apple a day.
I made awesome apple flautas this morning with two old apples, 4 tortillas, lots of cinnamon, a tbsp. brown sugar, and honey + butter in the apples after boiling and basted on the tortillas before I baked them at 400'F for 20 mins. I am not an advanced cook, but it turned-out super. I prefer homemade- it has more nutritional value compared to store bought applesauce.

As a pharmacist and an herbalist I have always given my kids fish oil which helps as well as fiber and antioxidants from a greens powder that tastes like berries and some Mila which is a powder form of chia seeds that are extremely high in fiber, omega fatty acids and antioxidants. All are very safe for kids. Also, make sure she is staying hydrated.

pineapple, prunes (my kids beg for these),

Yams/sweet potatoes are high in fiber. I used to buy the canned ones and cut them into little squares. Most kids like them.

I also did canned green beans (no salt added) and other soft vegetables. They were a real favorite. Soft avocados are a good source of healthy fat. You could also try soft cooked apples.

Neither of my daughters really liked "baby food" so I fed them anything they could pick up themselves.

Lots of fruits (except bananas!) and vegetables should help and Cheerios have whole grain now too.

Make water available (or some apple juice if she resists) and you will probably have a happy daughter in no time.

My second daughter sometimes needed help it got so bad and they have little glycerin suppositories if you get desperate!

Have fun! L.

Careful with this one but it works like a charm. Remember what they filled the fridge with at the hospital when you had your daughter? Yup, prune juice. DON'T give her a whole 6 oz can (I'm guessing she will love the stuff, my son did) but give her about 3 oz. You will notice lots of results very quickly. Good luck!

Hi K.,
Cut up dried apricots into little pieces, so she can feed herself. Also, Raisins and dried cranberries are a favorite at our house. I don't know how old your daughter is, but citrus fruits are good, mandarin oranges or clementines are little enough if you break the sections if half, plus they're so soft, she'll be able to "chew" them up with her gums. Lots of water, will help flush out her system too. Hope this helps. Good luck!

S.

I like a lot of the Fiber One products and have discovered that my 3 year old does too. She especially likes the Fiber One strawberry yogurt. It's a good way to get some extra fiber in the diet. Good luck!

Hi K.

I would suggest raisins they are easy for little ones and they also have those cranberries in different flavors and prunes you can cut up plus lots of fruits and veggies will keep her regular. They have those frozen bags of veggies with the corn and peas and carrots in small pieces my son loves those and will eat it by the bowl full. Fruit you can cut up a apple or cantaloupe with one of those potatoes mashers to make them into fun bit sized squares. He has never had a problem with constipation so I would try those things. And if all else fails use Kayro syrup just like when she was a baby. Good luck :)

Avocados help and our kids love them. Pears and peaches are also great for moving things along. Apple juice in large quantities does the trick, too. That's all I can think of for now. Hope something works! We have a little one that loves cheese and milk. These are what we do for him.

K.,
Make sure she is drinking water everyday. My DS gets constipated when he doesn't drink enough fluids. I also give him apple juice or white grape juice to treat and prevent constipation. As long as the juice is 100% fruit juice it's not bad for them as long as you limit it to a serving a day. Any of the sugary dried fruits help to draw water into the bowels and will loosen things up but if she is running a little bit dry (dehydrated) it won't help much.
Good luck.

Stop feeding her cheese all the time!!! Cheese constipates.

K.,
When my daughter gets constipated, I give her apple juice. For her it works within two cups of juice!
S.

I have found whenever my little guy gets stuck that a whole bananna for 2-3 days straight gets everything moving...

Many toddlers get constiated so don't blame yourself.
I use flax meal in every thing.
Also my GI suggested Miralax. I used that in her cereal and sprinkled on. We called it princess sugar.

Don't give her any ripe bananas! Almost any other fruit will help loosen things up a little, also lettuce.

Our daughter was doing this for a while. She's ADDICTED to macaroni and cheese, so we started feeding her a bowl of oatmeal every morning, along with a small glass of water. The fiber and water combination keeps her regular now. Good luck to you. I feel so bad for them when they are feeling bad . . .

Chrissy