17 Month Old - Constipated

My son used to get constipated at that age. I was told to avoid bananas and try apple juice, prunes (maybe you can mix the prunes with something to hide them), or even peas. I know the peas sounds strange but it actually worked for us. Also, there is a new juice - Plum juice - which prunes are actually dried prunes. I tried it and it tastes pretty good - a little sweet even. That could be a suggestion. Good Luck!

I know when my oldest was much younger I the ped told me to add 2 tablespoons of Karo syrup to his bottle. Also, I know straight apple juice should help. It sounds like he could be dehydrated or maybe eating a lot of white fruits (bananas, pears, etc.) Just a thought. Good luck

A teaspoon of corn syrup with his juice, milk. Have you tried prune juice. Ugh, I know. But it works.

try probiotics. You can find them in the healthfood store and they restore healthy balance in the gut so BM's will be more regular. It's basically like super yogurt and you can sprinkle it on food or mix it in milk with no taste or texture they don't even know it's there! I have used them with much success and it's something your body needs anyway. I always had issues with laxatives...only a temp fix :(. Good luck!

oh yeah been there done that!! I have two boys as well, and my youngest had struggled with this for months and I stayed up nights trying to find a way to help him

First try to remove as much dairy as possible. No apple juice, no carrots for starters. Give him prune juice, pear juice, peaches..Think "P". then try to get him to have some WHOLE grains, oatmeal, Brown rice, flaxseed( which you can also grind up and put in his food). This is a lifestyle for a while. Get used to it. I have heard lots of different ideas but I try to stick to the natural remedies but here are some others too: dark corn syrup, benefiber, miralax. But I would try all others first , you can get drops at the health food store just ask for baby constipation drops. They work. Tea especially senna tea. Just a little, don't over do it on him his belly is sensitive so don't shock his system all at once I would try the prune juice first and OJ is good too. Lots of water. His bowels have to be re trained and you don't want him in pain where he avoids bowel movents then you will have a much bigger problem. I also made some cookies, These worked well. I used oatmeal, whole wheat flour, ground flax and some whole flax seeds, raisins, dried apricots cut up into bits and any other dried fruit you like,currants, dried cranberries etc.. brown sugar or organic sugar,honey if you want but they suggest no honey for kids under two due to spores but you can try agave sugar or the dark corn syrup, or just stick with the brown. you can add some dark chocolate chips too and basically anything else... Make them as if you would oatmeal raisin..follow that basic recipe. These are a yummy treat and filled with FIBER. That will help him. If he still drinks out of a bottle try putting some pureed baby food in there. PRUNES , pears , peaches mix with his milk I know you can't avoid milk all together but you can also supplement with almond milk, rice milk, hemp milk, yogurt is also good, it has essential bacterias that can aid in his digestion etc.. keep soy to a minimum. You can also add some baby cereal with warm water in his bottle shake to dissolve it then add his milk or do a combo, cereal (WHOLE grain oatmeal, WHOLE grain brown rice) then fruit puree and then top off with milk so he will drink it. I also would add some olive oil to his diet. I hope these things help. Please remember to read the labels. Try to keep his food WHOLE foods, no preservatives, no corn syrup, NO food DYES!, LOOK for whole grains, If you give him just rice cereal or white flour you are defeating the purpose. Fruit, veggies,squash are good too, leafy greens etc.. Whole grain bread. Maybe try some toast and things like that... Good Luck I know how frustrating it can be and how much we want to take the pain away..

T.,

My daughter started with constipation issues since 9 months of age. We took her to a pediatric GI specialist. She wanted bloodwork- Thyroid & some sort of marker to check for celiac disease.- NO ONE could get blood on this child.

She has been on Miralax since 18 months of age,(daughter now 2 3/4 yr). I think she just needs to grow into her colon.

If she doesn't get enough miralax, I use the Pedialax- liquid glycerin enemas (not the suppositories). sometimes I have to give her more than one.

Talk to your ped. We used Milk of magnesia- for a while- when that didn't work we went to the Ped- GI specialist & started the Miralax.

Did prunes,fruits, juice,
probiotics, increased fiber (which we still do)- none of that has helped.

A teaspoon of olive oil will lubricate the system and he'll poop it all out. It's natural and cannot harm the system. Try it yourself so you know the reaction you have to it.

I used a great probiotic for my son. Transformation probiotic. It is a little pricey but I still give it to him regularly to keep him healthy and his immune system strong. If he is eating well and getting plenty of fluids then he may have a little digestive issue. The probiotic should help this before it becomes a bigger problem.
Good luck.

Probiotics (Three Lac), and find out what he is sensitive to. Have a stool sample done and find out if he is yeasty. Gluten free/casein free diet might be what he needs. Google it. The problem almost always comes from food sensitivity. Try looking for NAET in your area. It clears up allergies that we don't even know we have but causes symptoms like constipation, asthma, eczema, learning problems etc. Give Nordic Naturals Cod Liver Oil as well. It's called Children's DHA and they are strawberry chewables.

Gerber apple/prune juice works wonders! It's out of stock a lot, so grab a couple cases. Start with one, and if that doesn't work try two. I've also heard that a Tablespoon of Aloe Vera juice works wonders, and so does ground flax seed sprinkled on his food. If you use flax seed, make sure it is stored in the fridge or freezer in a dark container. It can go rancid, so make sure before using it that it has a slight nutty taste, with NO bitterness at all. There is also flax bread and cereal, if he'll eat that. For sure the apple/prune juice should work.

Milk of magnesia will help. Also make sure he's getting enough exercise.

If you can get him to eat prunes, this seems to help. If he is straining and the stools are hard, you can try vaseline or suppositories. These things worked and works for my little girl!!

Give him a dried plum (prune) followed by warm (not hot!) green tea. Good luck, poor little guy!

I had the same problem with one of my boys. Any food or juice with a "p" helps with constipation. I gave mine pear juice (gerber makes one) every am. and that helped. I would avoid apples and banana's until he gets through it. Blueberries, mangos, peaches will all help. If he won't eat fruit, maybe make it into a smoothie...my dr. also recommened miralax once a day. I did that for a few days until he seemed to get regular and then really worked hard to make sure he was eating lots of high fiber foods. Now that he's a little older he eats everything so it's not a problem....

Have you consulted with your pediatrician?
Have you tried an infant enema?

1- probiotics- I thnk Simplexity has the best, I can tell you how to get them, or I think you can find them on line- bifidus is the one of theirs you want.
2-get eat right for your blod type- and check his blood type- and see if he is eating anything that would be a problem for him.
3WestonPrice foundation has great suggestions- find on line
4 Last time he was adjusted- International Chiropractic Pediatric Assoc
ICPA on line find someone close to you
Regards, doc

my dr said that sugar causes poopies. she said that the best time to give him sugar is when hes constipated

Morningstar black bean burgers!!!! And they're tasty!

No cold drinks, it slows digestion. No cheese. No white bread. Give your child apples, apple sauce, belly massage in a clockwise direction. Beans have lots fo fiber, good for pooping. Kidney beans are soft, easy finger food.

Hello,

I understand what you are going through. When my boys were constipated I would give them warm apple prune juice from the baby isle. Give the applesauce to eat; either by itself or in the oatmeal.

Another thing I would do for them would be to exercise their legs, when you are changing diapers of playing with them, gently place their feet in your hands and push gently toward their belly, both feet together and then seperately. I would make it as personal time with them, and keep them smiling.

If they had trouble with regular milk, I would use 1 or 2 percent milk. Those things worked well for me. Sometimes we would drink something warm, that seems to help.

I am not a user of laxatives, for they can do more harm thant good.

Babylax Glysorine suppositories. Work like a charm! My oldest had constipation issues as a baby and this helped a lot!! you can buy them OTC

The typical cause of constipation is dairy or gluten so I would cut those out of his diet and see if that works. If you try a medication or something and it works I would still cut out the dairy or gluten or try it because you don't want his body dependent on the medication. His body is clearly saying that he is unable to digest and clear something and if that is the case and he keeps eating it, it will end up leading to more health issues.

I ended up taking my 3 yr old to the Dr for this same type of thing. He has always been the best eater of my 3 kids, including veggies and fruit, etc. I had finally realized that it was cyclical, so it became more of a concern. Dr told me that his intestines/bowels were most likely stretched and every time he was able to void, what was filling him back up, was going to be as big as the last one. We put him on laxitive (Miralax) once a day and that has helped 100%. It will take a few months to shrink his bowels, but once we do, we can start some fiber therapy along with the laxitive. Some people are concerned about giving the laxitive to children every day, but I think you would agree, it is much better than watching your little guy suffer.
Good Luck!

My daughter is also 17 months and has struggled with constipation since birth. When she was an infant he Ped had me put 1tsp karo syrup in her bottle. When she started on solids we gave her some prunes. Once she started eating table food I found that if I give her beans every day she doesn't get constipated. I found that bananas and cheese are the main culprits for her. Since she loves both, on the days she eats them I give her a serving of beans at lunch and some prunes with breakfast. Hope this helps!

Buy fresh sweet potatoes, pop them in the microwave until done. Mash it up good. Add a little butter, brown sugar, cinnamon to it. Or buy canned yams and just heat them and mash them. Guarentee they will end his constipation by the next day. Also spinach is a good source of fiber to help. Blueberries are also great. You can use a fiber product from the pharmacy but I would make that a last resort after trying every thing else. Shredded wheat I find to be the best for any age. Child or adult. It keeps you regular. If you can get him to eat that for breakfast or even dry for a snack. It comes in several flavors now. It works great for constipation. If you Google constipation you will get all the information you need. But I have just named things that I use for constipation and I know that it works.

I keep liquid glycerin suppositories on hand just in case my little girl gets constipated and is having difficulty. I have only had to use it a few times but each time it worked in only minutes! Ask your peditrician which one he/she recommends but I use Fleet Pedia-Lax.

At 7 or 8 months old, my daughter was very constipated and I found out that bananas can be constipating - and it was one of her favorites - so stop the bananas if you are giving him that. To help relieve the constipation I had to get glycerin suppositories. Sounds scary and I was apprehensive, but she never even noticed what was happening and they worked like a charm. You should be able to find them in any drugstore, they come in a small jar - make sure they are for infants! I hope this helps.

Grapes, grapes, grapes. Have you considered milk might be making him constipated?

how much milk and dairy is he getting?
this might be the culprit...
also, how much 'processed' food is he eating?
this could be it, too...

my son had a that problem at that age too. about 1 tablespoon of karo syrup in his apple juice worked like a charm! good luck!

One word: Mirilax. Please call your pediatrician and ask the dosage amount and how often to give it. It's a miracle substance that disappears completely (not gritty and zero flavor) in any liquid-- then it softens the stool. You just have to be careful with the amount because it could make the stool too soft (like pudding)

Graham crackers could help to keep him regular, too

My daughter still has this problem at 6. She is now taking probiotics and it really helps. I don't know when they can start taking that. I would ask your doctor. When she younger i use to exercise her legs while she was in a bath push her knees to her chest ect..Pear juice works wonders forgot about that one... Good luck it is awful to see then struggle like that.

I have an 18 month old daughter. The only thing that works for her is Gerber Prune/Apple juice, not diluted. Go to Publix and buy a 4 pack of the prune/apple juice, and let him drink some every few hours. It works!

Also, rasberries are great, non-choking hazard snacks that help keep the stool soft as well. I let my girl eat them daily.

Good luck!

try warm prune juice. or maybe you could boil some prunes and see if he will eat them.

Try prunes juice or the gerber one stwed fruit of prunes, for my daughter works excellent. She's 3 years old and I still using those when I need it. Good luck!

prune juice! Half juice half water. I would start with a half ounce of each and gradually move up. At 18 months old my son was drinking 2-3 ounces total a day. If he doesn't like the taste of it, you can mix it with apple juice or something as well. Also feed him prunes if he will eat them. At that age my son had just about all of his teeth, so I would take real prunes and cut them up into small pieces (smaller than a raisin) and he would eat them like candy.

my 2.5yr old has this problem sometimes and when i notice it i just give him some grapes and within an hour or two he has a bowel movement.you can just cut them into little pieces and watch him while he eats to make sure he doesnt choke,my son loves grapes and they work everytime! good luck!

Give him lots of fiber...oatmeal, apples, grapes, prune juice. My son was constipated and my pediatrician (sister in law) recomended to put Karo syrup in the drinks... about a teaspoon of it. It helped him tremendously!