Constipation - San Jose,CA

Hi! I could be wrong, but maybe the change in milk is affecting her. When mine were babies, I think they recommended started them on milk at about a year of age. I know that she is really close to 1 yr old, but maybe it's the milk. Does she eat fruits & veggies? Did you speak to her pediatrician?

I hope she feels better soon! Good luck!

Don't know if she's too old for this, but we used infant glycerin suppositories occasionally when my son was 3 months until he was walking. This did the trick. Now he doesn't have a problem.

The number 1 cause of constipation is not being hydrated enough.

The intestines primary function is to pull water and nutrients from the broken down foods and poop in them. If a person is very hydrated, the body pulls less water. If the person is dehydrated... the body pulls so much water out that they can be almost dry... hard & rocklike poops are the result. ((The reason why dehydration occurs with diarrhea is that the intestines don't have the time to yank the water out... our body is *always* pulling water out. Our poos *always* look like diarhhea until the body pulls the water out. When we're hydrated we also poo more often, because the body shrugs at the water loss. When we're dehydrated our intestines slow the process down as much as they can so that they can get every last drop of water they can.)).

How much milk is she drinking in comparison to how much she used to drink? When you add in solid food into the equation, you need a LOT more fluids than when they were primarily on human milk or formula... because the solids in solids need more fluids to keep things operating smoothly. Especially if she's eating a lot fiberous foods (whole grains, veggies) & dry foods (like meats and crackers... things that absorb liquids because they don't have a lot of their own). Think of it this way: How much liquid would you need to add to what she's eating to make it a soupy puree?

What helped both my son and daughter was a diluted form of pure apple juice, then when they were older apple sauce, when older cut up apples, etc. Hope this helps! I've also heard that raisins help, but did not use them myself as the above worked for my children. It may be a try and see sort of thing as all children/people are different.

Does a warm bath help? Does she drink juice? Pear juice always did the trick for my son. Or baby food prunes mixed with something else...applesauce or yogurt?

Pear juice, prune juice, if those don't work a suppository will most definitely do the trick. Not sure what her solids diet is like but foods such as bananas, applesauce, or rice will only worsen her constipation. Call her pediatrician for their advice, they may have some more suggestions of things to try.

Dairy and bananas were big constipating foods for my daughter. We had to limit bananas for a long time. She outgrew the problems after about a year. To reduced future episodes, if you can sneak a little prune juice in oatmeal? One of my dr. suggestions that helps. We purchased some flax seed oil and put a little (maybe 1/2 tsp) in her morning yogurt. Also apricot and peach juice really work. She'd have 4-5 oz of Kern nectar. yes i know lots of sugar but to stop fissures I'll take the sugar.
Just be sure you are treating constipation not just infrequent bowel movements. If you are transitioning from breastmilk to cows milk bowel movements might become less frequent as breastmilk is a natural laxative. Constipation is usually hard, big and/or painful bowel movements.
And ask your dr how much Benefiber they would recommend at your kids size/age. I liked Benefiber because it dissolved away in food and drink and was tasteless. Treat early.

Constipation can be expected in babies who are starting to take in lots of solids. My daughter had BM problems in her 7th month when she started eating purees.

Here are some suggestions:
* Bicycle legs every time you can - up and down, massage the belly area softly in clockwise motion.
* Give warm baths.
* Feed tons of fruit: pureed Pears, Peaches, aPricots, Prunes. Limit apples and bananas because they tend to constipate.
* Limit squash and yams - they also tend to constipate.
* Limit rice cereal and grains - she may be absorbing too many nutrients from there.
* Give apple, prune, or pear juice.
* Stimulate her rectum using a rectal thermometer and vaseline.
* Try a suppository - will help her "empty" herself out, but it's not a long-term solution.
* Yogurt - like Yo Baby or Activia with probiotics.

A lot of these things did not work with my daughter because she had been plugged up for too many weeks. With the permission of my doctor, I started my daughter on a low dose of Miralax (over-the-counter laxative) and kept introducing water to her in a cup. She'd only play with her sippy so she was hardly drinking anything. Offering her the cup forced her to drink or spill it out, then she got used to drinking water through a sippy. Fast forward 2 months, and she's able to drink 4 oz of water a day. Offering yogurt every day also helped, or a jar of pureed fruit combo (i.e. prunes + apples, apricot mix, peach + banana oatmeal). My daughter was on Miralax for 3 months, and I think she was so dehydrated because she took to solids in large amounts right away. Every since her water intake has increased, her explosive BMs have returned and she is now weaned off of Miralax. I'd start with the suggestions and then talk to your doctor if you don't see results. Good luck!

Give her a little apple juice, she will clear out. When my son was 3 months old he got constipated and the PED told us apple juice or Pedialite it will make him go. And sure enough it did. Good luck

I second the milk sensitivity. You really shouldn't give cow's milk to a baby less than 12 months, as their digestive system is still immature and not equipped to digest the proteins. To be honest, I'm not sure why 12 months is the magic number, but my son had problems with cow's milk until he was almost 2. He drinks it just fine now, but my mom said I had a similar sensitivity, so don't discount the milk as the cause of the problem. Yes, it could be other things, but cut out milk and see what happens. If the problem remains 7-10 days later, then it may not be the milk, but it's always worth a try. I love my milk, but I often wonder why humans are the only mammals who drink the milk of another species. I don't know if you're still breastfeeding, but breast milk has WONDERFUL laxative properties!!!!

I didn't read all the posts but the same thing happened to our daughter between 11 and 12 months.

I transitioned her to quickly and you could see that she needed to go but couldn't. I knew if she could pass it that she would be hurt. To help her, I put Aquaphor on her as a protectant and put her in a warm bath. Within about 15 minutes she passed a log in the tub. I had to get her out, disinfect the tub and then reclean her but I think it helped her without hurting her.

For the milk, I started w/ 3/4 formula and 1/4 milk for a few days, then to 2/3 formula and 1/3 milk for a few days, then 1/2 and 1/2 for a few days, then 1/3 formula and 2/3 milk, then 1/4 formula and 3/4 milk and then finally no formula. If she is getting straight milk right now try going to 1/2 milk and 1/2 formula for a few days plus give a little bit of apple/prune juice to help soften her. Once she seems ok with that then step down the mixture from there. If she still doesn't show improvement than she may have a sensitivity but if she's on regular formula then I would think she'll be ok but needs a slower transition. Good luck. =)

I would give her lots 9of green grapes to soften her stool ..lots of water and put a little bit of vaseline around the hole (sorry to sound so harsh) and it will ease the pain ...

CHIROPRACTIC! I can't begin to tell you how many constipated and colicky babies I have worked on in the past 7 years and often the parents don't even mention the constipation but bring them in for other reasons (check ups, earaches, etc.) and after working on their bellies and low backs figure out there is something abnormal going on with their digestion. They proceed to say, "oh, ya she's been a bit constipated for the past week." After their first adjustment the parents come back with, "we went home and she pooped 3 times!" It works, and not only do i do it on the patients, I also work on my own baby and it works everytime. Also, Perhaps try goats milk or return to toddler formula, occasionally it takes just a little time before the baby's tummy realizes that cow's milk is a no go, and goats milk mimics human fat gobules much closer than cow's milk.
I wish you the best of luck, and if you need a chiropractor in the SJ area, feel free to contact me.

My son did get constipated on regular milk. Probiotics mixed in milk helped. Pediatrican reccomended--can but children's form at whole foods in the cold case, vitamin aisle.

R., AS THE MOTHER OF 5 AND NOW AS A GRANDMOTHER OF SEVERAL IT IS ALWAYS HARD TO EAR OF THE SUFFERING A CHILD GORES THRU WITH THIS. i HAVE BEEN TOLD BY THE DOCTOR TO USE WHITE GRAPE JUICE , PRUNE JUICE AND TO GENTLY WIPE THE ANAL AREA TO ENCOURAGE THE PUSH FOR A BOWEL MOVEMENT.
GOOD LUCK MY DEAR TO BOTH OFYOU!

It sounds like she needs fiber and good living water in her system. If you want to get her on a natural path I can educate you. There is a panel of doctors coming to the area on the 29th of this month at the Santa Clara convention center to educate individuals a new way of living healthy.

If you are interested in more info let me know.

Have a great day.

N. Marie
____@____.com

Hi there,

Our daughter has suffered a lot from constipation. She's three now.

When she was younger we tried all of the tricks: fruit, juice, limiting certain foods, everything that other mommies have suggested so far. Nothing worked. We always offered her water but she was never interested and didn't take enough liquids.

We went to a specialist who suggested that we cut out dairy, but otherwise keep all other foods in her diet. He said the foods that others suggested eliminating from her diet were not the problem. He said her dairy allergy was causing her pain when she passed stools (he said her little anus was very red and irritated, but I didn't know he difference, had never looked at anyone there before!), and that pain caused her to hold her stools. This created a horrible cycle of holding the stools, making them harder, causing passing of them more painful.

Anyway, I'd suggest cutting out the dairy for a while (I think it was a few weeks) to see if that helps. It would be worth it to find the cause at this point before the problem escalates. Constipation can be so awful for little ones and can take a long time to get over! If it doesn't clear up soon, whatever you decide to try, take your little one to a specialist instead of waiting. I don't mean to be alarming, I just wish we'd done so sooner. Our daughter really suffered.

Good luck!

My daughter, now almost 2, has had on and off issues with constipation... what we've tried:
- smart bran (with psyllium) - really tasty, can eat it as cereal or sprinkle it on anything (like yogurt, oatmeal, applesauce)
- applesauce
- prunes (very carefully, a little at a time; too much means painful gas)

good luck! constipation is no fun at all.

I can guarantee that it IS the milk. It isn't an allergy or lactose intolerance. It's a sensitivity to milk. People with sensitive systems tend to have a problem digesting it. I just had to un-constipate my disabled 21 year old daughter b/c she ate too much cheese at the holiday parties we have had since Thanksgiving and it just bound her up in the last week. I'm lucky because she is 21 and I can treat her with Senecot but I had to fill her up with tons of water to get it to work. My suggestion is lots of prune juice (I think you can get it now in an infusion like V-8) and water. In the future, I suggest you switch to soy milk. My daughter has been drinking it since she was 7 and we finally figured out what was constipating her so badly. You can also try Kondrumel. It's mineral oil that actually tastes good and works really well. Good luck.

an oz of prune juice in at least 2 oz of water- that should do the trick- if not ask your doc about miralax.

good luck