Dear Mamas,
I gave my child, who hasn't had a bm for almost 4 days, a suppository almost 24 hours ago. It hasn't worked which is unusual. Anything wrong with this? Is it ok to give him another one? The poop is really compacted in there.
Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
Btw, my child is 17 months old. Another question...if he is eating a lot of food and not drinking enough water or juice during his awake times, will that cause constipation? He catches up on breast milk when he nurses at night. But is it too late? Is the food already compacted?
Hello Mamas,
I'm so thankful for this community. I've been absent from it for many months and am relieved that you all are still there. Thank you.
My son pooped (yippee!). He has constipation problems and is on a diet of high fiber, fluids and a laxative. He still gets constipated when not drinking enough fluids. There were many good suggestions here. Thank you so much again.
First, did the suppository pop out? Has happened to my daughter and I have to reinsert a couple times. Otherwise, yes I think you need to get him drinking more water. I spend everyday reminding my daughter (2 1/2) to drink some water or (water/juice). Good luck!
Suppositories really arent dangerous, it's mostly to stimulate the urge to "go". Your toddler needs some fiber and lots of water. Try having him eat a pear, skin and all, pear skin is pretty tender and a great form of fiber. You can blend it in your blender and have him eat it witha spoon if thats easier.
Our bodies need quite a bit of fiber during the day and it has to be followed with clear liquids. Milk can cause constipation.
Fiber him up and let him play in a warm bath for awhile. Baths stimulate the urge to poop too... that's why we get floaters many times between the age of 1 and 4 in the tub.
4 days is NOT that BAD, so dont get too stressed. It will probably be a lot of poop when it does come tho, so be prepared :)
Really look at the labels from now on when you feed your son, check the fiber content, it's usually very low.... so you have to pay attention to that.
Make a habit of blending fruits and adding it to his diet regularly as a sweet end to every meal.
First part -yes, it is normal for a suppository not to work. I unfortunately have first-hand experience with this! (TMI, I know...) You can use another as long as the first one is completely dissolved and it's been a day, but if it's seriously impacted you may need to visit his pediatrician.
NOTHING will constipate like a lack of liquids! Not drinking enough water and/or juice will really do a number on him. Is there a reason he's not drinking enough? Does he just not want to drink? Keep going with the breast milk, but if you're giving him regular milk during the day -cut that out. Give him some prune juice -that will usually help. Also, while I usually don't advocate this, try some white grape juice. It is SO sweet that little ones usually gulp it down and it does have a laxative-type effect! In order to keep constipation at bay, yes, he needs to be well-hydrated around the clock with water and juice as well as his breast milk at night. Another "sure to poop" item we've found at our house are the little bottles of yogurt smoothies. DanActive makes one for kids and Activia claims to help you poop, but they all seem to work the same for my kids. My children also LOVE them. Again -they can have a lot of added sugar, so I usually limit their intake, but he'll probably want to drink several of them -so let him. It will usually REALLY get things moving!
This is probably not what you want to hear, but if he doesn't go -as I suggested, take him to the doctor. Sometimes they have to "dig it out" if it's truly and horribly compacted and hung so that an enema can't be properly administered. The doctor can also check to see if he has any little fissures or areas around his anus that may be causing him pain and therefore cause him to want to hold it in instead of going.
when my daughter was a baby the suppositories did not work for her plus stressed us all out. eventually we turned to mineral oil, mixed it it with the juice and let it do its job. don't over do it though phew you'll get the opposite effect... ask your ped about that route and how much to give. in the mean time i would just keep up on lots of water, fruit and fiber. sometimes these things just take time. good luck.
Hi, Green:
Get some Hyland Vit. C tabs 5 mg. Give 2 a day.
If his stools are too soft cut back to 1. If not enough,
increase to 3
Good luck.
D.
Have you tried pear juice or prune juice diluted? Call the pharmacist or ped about giving another one. Im sure it wouldnt be a problem, how old?
I don't have any experience with this once so ever. My question is, why do you have to give him anything? Can't nature just do it's job?
Again, I'm just wondering, and have never dealt with this.
I had a child who had ongoing problems with constipation throughout childhood. The good---she's now 24, healthy and normal. So try not to worry too much---easy for me to say now but not while you're the young mother.
Some ideas though. We tried the suppositories, prune juice, lots of peaches, apricots and the prune jarred baby food. I don't know if they still sell the prune baby food, but my daughter ate jars till she was 10 or 12 after she was old enough to realize how much it helped.
4 days is a long time, but I'm betting he will today or tomorrow.
