my almost 15 month old daughter is always consstipated, anyone have any ideas?

Question

I have tried evrything that my pediatrician has recommed and it is not helping. I even cut her milk with water. She loves her milk. Cow's milk yes. I do give her juice watered down and I watch her dairy intake so that does not bind her up either. She screams when she does have a BM, and they are very hard. She has had fissures, I feel awful for her but I do not know what else to do for her. I have done the mineral oil, milk of mag, suppostories, more fiber, wheat pasta.. everything!! She has been this way for months. I am afraid if this continues for a lenght of time by the time she is ready to potty train this is goig to interfer, yes she has a ways to go before that but..it hurts her and on some level will she remember? My two boys who are 5 & 8 never had this problem. I am at a loss....any ideas I would love to hear..ones that really worked for your child and of course that were safe!

Answer 1

Girl..I have got experience with this.

My son who is now 21 months old began having the same problem around the same time as you baby girls. He hated having a BM. Whenever he had to go he started crying and sweating and dancing around and shaking. So of course, off to the doctor we went. The Doc asked about his eating habits first. He is picky. Everyone young and old needs good fruit and vegetable intake for there body to function normally. He wasn't great with the veggies. So we started giving him natural fruit and vegetable drinks ( he didn't like V8 so we use Green Goodness by Bottlehouse Farms, it has spinich, brocolli, spirinella, kiwi, banna, apples, blue green algea, and a host of other things without added sugar) And a multivitamine (polyvisol drops) to make up for his lack of veggies. Nevertheless constipation was still a problem. So, Doc started out with a 1/2 ts of milk of mag twice a day. Didn't work. Up the dosage 3 times a day. Didn't work.
HERES THE GOOD THING. Because we were always able to tell when he needed to do a BM we introduced the potty. Everytine he did his little dance we sat him on the potty. That didn't help with his constipation of course, but he began learning that when he had to make a BM he goes to the potty.

Now with the milk of mag not working, Doc prescribe MIRALAX. Its a odorless, tastless powder that can be mixed into any liquid that the baby enjoys, so he drinks all of it. I asked the Doc if there were long term effects of this. ( I hate medication, especially unneccessary) However, this isnot a stimulant, it helps the baby pass waste by drawing water to it. ( see the baby is activily making his or her constipation worse by being afraid to go because of pain, so the baby is holding it in making it build up and become hard. My son was holding it, and even passed blood when he finally did go, FREAKED ME OUT TO SAY THE LEAST)
Now, by the MIRILAX taking it's course, the baby won't be able to hold it even if he tries because the BM's will be loose at first. The doctor warned of the big mess in the diaper ( OH THE THINGS WE MUST GO THROUGH) We were lucky because we introduced the potty while he was still having trouble, and thank goodness because so much junk came out of that trunk!!!!WOW!
Now I didn't want to continue with the MIRILAX forever, so we started using less and when his refills ran out, I waited. He still had a little difficulty. But we started giving him OATMEAL. TWICE a day. A good amount for breakfast and a little with his lunch. And Miralax every other day. Now we are getting great BM"s with NO FEAR, and he is not holding it. He is off the miralx for this month to see what we get but DOC said the oatmeal may have been the added kick he needed. There is so much fiber in a bowl of oatmeal. And Im talking a ggod sized bowl for a baby, not just a spoonful. Also, make sure the baby drinks lots of fluids, thats the other thing. LOTS AND LOTS of FLUID to help move the bowels and kick the fiber action up a notch. Im telling you, this sounds crazy, but we are getting the most beautiful BM's. LOL

Dont fret, and good luck. Also, comfort the baby when she goes. Let her know its OK to let it out.

Hey we got our baby doing number 2 in the potty, but we can't seem to get him to pee in there. The Floor and the Tub are his favorite spots. LOL. If its not one thing it's another. ENJOY IT.

I ran and got a bottle of the Green Goodness I was talking about. These are the exact ingredients. (GOOD STUFF especially for finicky veggie and fruit eaters):

apple juice, pineapple juice, mangoo puree, banana puree, kiwi juice, natural flavor, spirunilna, open cell chlorella, vitamin c, lime uice, zinc sulfate, broccoli, green tea, spinach, barley grass, wheat grass, blue green algea, echinacea purpurea extract, odorless garlic, tamarind puree, dragon fruit juice, lemon bioflaviinoids, jerusalem artichoke, and nova scotia dulce

Hey that last one i think is sugar...hmmm..but it's still good stuff if you don't have time to hit the juicer or blender.

Answer 2

Seriously, my daughter was this way too. I don't know why it happened. I started to give her the fiber chews - they are safe to give one to a child (I give her one a day still, have been since she was about 18 months old). In addition I gave her a tsp of Mineral oil to drink every day (for about 2 months). If she has problems now I still give her the mineral oil for about 3 days. Anyway, it does work - not over night but with time. I would try it again and do it for about 2 months before you stop with the mineral oil. I would even have her drink 100% pure juice at least once a day or give her about 5 prunes to eat everyday. The added fiber over time will help to keep her regular, and then the mineral oil is going to coat her intestines to help ease it out. After she starts going easier, it isn't so hard (could take a few days) then I would ease off the prunes/juice but continue the mineral oil and fiber tablets. She has such a build (or back) up that it's going to take time to work itself out. You might even want to take her to the doctor and explain that nothing is working, demand that they figure out what's wrong and how to fix it.

HTH!

Answer 3

It is very difficult to prescribe treatment for an infant/toddler because their constitutions are very delicate and something that seems harmless and simple for an adult can be devastating for a baby.

Your pediatrician should be trying to find out why your daughter has such stiff bowels. Meanwhile, try to work more water (very important!) and vegetables into her diet and resume the daily dose of mineral oil. Avoid stool softeners except on the advice of your physician.

Drop individual things out of her diet and see if that has an effect. If you give her a daily vitamin, you may want to stop as iron can have a binding effect (or try to get one without an iron supplement). Since the constipation is persistent, it may be one component in her regular diet (or not in her diet) that is causing it.

Even an infant will avoid doing hurtful things and if she is resisting having a bowel movement, it will have a psychological effect. Part of the reason the condition has lasted as long as it has may have to do with her forcibly postponing bowel movements.

I hope you and your doctor find a solution for the problem soon. Good luck!

Answer 4

I would stop cutting her juice with water. I am really not sure why you're doing that, if it was doctor's advice or what, but one reason that parents mix juice with water is to stop diahrea. Give her straight juice, and try to use a variety that is known as a natural bowel stimulant....cherry, prune, pear, and peach are all good options. Most doctors recommend only 4 ounces of juice per day for this age group, but you might try upping her juice instake to 6 ounces until the problem is resolved. Also, try giving more whole fruits, again cherries, prunes, pears, and peaches are all known for assisting in bowel movements. It may not be her diet, but a bowel problem that is causing her difficulties, and if so, she may need a colonoscopy to be sure that there are no problems. Please make it clear to your doctor that your child is in pain and something needs to be done. If you get the brush off, get another doctor.

Answer 5

Change pediatricians. Or ask your current ped for an RX for miralax (glucolax). It is a NON STIMULANT, NON HABIT FORMING stool softener. Both my kids used this for as long as 6 mos. When she is older, feed her popcorn, it has great fiber. Also my Dr. recommended all the p fruits -- prunes, pears peaches -- she can still eat the babyfood ones. Give her a spoon and let her go to it! But check into that miralax - it is WONDERFUL!! It is clear and can be dissolved into ANY liquid.

And I woudl steer clear of suppositories. They can become dependant on them and lose the "urge" to go on their own.

My son used the miralax from 5 mos - 10 mos. My daugther intermittently around 2.5-3 and some from 3.5-4.

Good luck!

Answer 6

When she eats rub her belly clockwise for a few minutes then make sure she stays sitting up so her food digests properly. Twisted movements are good for the organs too.
Try gripe water that helped my son digest better when he was young and it is herbal too so there are no side effects like over the counter medicines. Go to an indian market and ask for anise seeds and boil a small handful in water then strain into a cup add sugar cubes to taste and it should help tremendously.

Answer 7

Pear juice worked for my son. Prunes actually plugged him up. His doctor finally diagnosed that his anus was too small, and had to be surgically enlarged. What a wonderful experience that was, pulling the gauze packing out.

You may want to have your child checked by an allergist, just to make sure that something in the diet is not contributing to the problem.

Good Luck.

Answer 8

My daughter had a short bout of constipation when she was 5-6 mths old. I gave her a tsp of karo syrup in her formula a day and that really helped plus it tasted good to her. I remember when i was a child my mother giving me karo syrup for constipation, i loved the taste of it so much that i would ask for more LOL.

Answer 9

My son, who is now, 15, was also constipated as an infant. his pediatrician recommended using 1 tbsp. of Dark Karo syrup in his formula once a day until his b.m.'s were more regular and not hard. It worked like a charm.

Answer 10

Miralax. Everyday as perscribed by her doctor. And also, you may want to try to cut out all juice except 100% apple. Give her some apples sliced in teeny little pieces and if your doctor says it's OK, give her warmed apple cider- the real stuff.