My 17 month old granddaughter has been having poop problems for nearly 2 months. So help me, her poop is like goat pellets and is the most foul smelling I have ever seen!! The dr. has been asked and asked what could be wrong and all they say is give her apple juice. Well that isn't working. She is in lots of pain trying to pass it and has awakened screaming in the night. I just today gave her baby apple/prune juice and some oat bran hot cereal. Has anyone else ever seen this condition? Any help would be greatly appreciated, the drs are useless!!
Upset Granny!!!
For the past few days I have added the prune juice, Hodgson's Mill hot oat bran cereal, she loves that, fruit and as many veggies I can get in her. The problem is that once she leaves my care, she gets the usual "fast food"!-nuggets, fries, goldfish, junk, etc.! She seems to choke a lot on just plain water but loves to sip out of my straw, I always have water handy in a big mug! Forgot about the Karo, it's worked for years and years, and Benefiber! Never thought of that and I have some on hand! She's had only one dirty that I've changed and it was mixed, part pellet part thick 'tooth pasty', so lets hope we're going in the right direction. Thank you for all the responses, you all have helped me tremendously!!!
Pear Juice (not apple), prune juice, water, a tsp of Benefiber in drink, probiotics and what others have mentioned - fruits and fiber - Lots of them.
At that age I used to dilute the juice 50/50 with water
I would really urge you to get a new pediatrician!! The one she has now isn't taking this problem seriously- despite repeated visits for the same problem.
Until then, here's a little information:
http://www.babyzone.com/baby_toddler_preschooler_health/a...
I hope she feels better soon !! :)
Holy cow... goat pellets? I'm not a doctor but it sounds like she's constipated and might possibly have some intestinal issues. She needs another opinion. Also, some miralax to help soften up those stools! I'm very surprised that the doctor didn't recommend that also. Also apple juice is known more for causing constipation rather than helping it. My brother-in-law's LO has had intestinal issues since she was born and was on a daily regiment of miralax among other things...miralax being the safest.
Put some white Karo Syrup in her bottle we did that for my son ( he would bleed sometimes) and it cleared right up.. Its a tablespoon per a 8oz bottle
You have great responses already and I also read your follow-up. When my youngest was battling with constipation, we also attempted to correct it with diet (high fiber, prune/pear juice, etc.) but when that did not work we used Miralax. It took a little while to figure out the right dose but we did it once a day. With my daughter it seemed to be just a phase and we then were able to stop the Miralax. I have it on hand if we ever need it again!
This is VERY COMMON. And it can get very bad. We have a friend who has had to give her son enemas and all kinds of things due to terrible constipation issues.
Give her tons of fruit and fiber. Especially fruit like: papaya, grapes, prunes, apricots, plums. And whole wheat crackers and cereal. Also beans, hummus, peas, broccoli. And I mean alot. Find the things of these that she likes the best and really give her these things with every meal.
Avoid bananas and cheese, peanut butter and yogurt and other binding type of foods.
Get her drinking water - if she doesn't like it plain, you could mix it with a little fruit juice.
And more exercise.
Those are my suggestions. Poor little girl! Hope this helps. :-)
My son just had his 18 month check up a few weeks ago, and one of the things that we brought up to his new pediatrician was his new poop habits. Where he used to be VERY regular (as a breastfed baby), he had recently taken to only pooping maybe 2 times per week; and when he did, they were big and hard, and not "toothpaste consistency" that his old doctor said they should be. I was really in denial that it had anything to do with his diet, because he is a very good eater, and always eats green veggies (green beans, peas, broccoli, cabbage, collard greens, etc.), PLENTY of fruit, and PLENTY of water. He's constantly drinking water. As a matter of fact, he ONLY drinks water and milk. We don't give him juice. She said that sometimes, some people just require EXTRA. After a discussion, we left the pediatrician's office w/ a plan to change him from whole, Vitamin D milk to 2% milk, and to REALLY step up his fiber intake. She said to get everything possible that said whole grains, extra fiber, etc. So, where sometimes for a morning snack I would give him the Gerber cereal bars, I've started to give him a half of a Fiber One bar; I changed his regular Goldfish snacks to Whole Grain Goldfish; I found the Cheerios which mentioned extra fiber on the front of the box; etc. I've found myself looking at the fiber content of everything that I purchase for him now. Even the Chef Boyardee spaghetti-o's and ravioli, and such, have Whole Grain versions. All of this has worked WONDERS. Just give it a try.
I have seen poop of all different shapes, sizes and consistencies come out of my daughter...
It sounds to me like she is getting a little bit constipated. At 17 months she should be allowed to drink water, so try to always have a sippy cup or regular cup of water out and ready all of the time for her. If she has to ask and wait for water, chances are she wont think about it often enough... and won't drink enough.
Other than that, amp up her fruits and fiber! My daughter really loves prunes and she gets one as a "treat" every day. It helps keep things running smoothly with her, which is important now that we are potty training.
If she is in pain... that is not a good thing! Try to help her with diet and water for a little longer and if doesn't start helping, take her to the doctor... or take her to a different doctor. There is something that is triggering this constipation and it need to be helped! Plus if it hurts for her to go poop, she may start to "hold it in" to avoid the pain of going... which can make it even worse!
Good Luck!
-M.
Updated
I have seen poop of all different shapes, sizes and consistencies come out of my daughter...
It sounds to me like she is getting a little bit constipated. At 17 months she should be allowed to drink water, so try to always have a sippy cup or regular cup of water out and ready all of the time for her. If she has to ask and wait for water, chances are she wont think about it often enough... and won't drink enough.
Other than that, amp up her fruits and fiber! My daughter really loves prunes and she gets one as a "treat" every day. It helps keep things running smoothly with her, which is important now that we are potty training.
If she is in pain... that is not a good thing! Try to help her with diet and water for a little longer and if doesn't start helping, take her to the doctor... or take her to a different doctor. There is something that is triggering this constipation and it need to be helped! Plus if it hurts for her to go poop, she may start to "hold it in" to avoid the pain of going... which can make it even worse!
Good Luck!
-M.
I agree with the other posts - if you have added lots of food that helps with digestion and things are not improving, you either need to take her back to the doctor or get a second opinion.
give her some benefiber mixed into her cereal or food. Give her lots of fruits. This is classic constipation... if she has real troubles give her some milk of magnesia to get things going again. Then change her diet to things higher in fiber, lots of water, veggies, etc. You may want to give her a high fiber cereal, too. What is her diet like??
My 2 1/2 yr old son has had issues with constipation off and on since he was born. Apple juice used to work for us but it's not quite as good as it used to. Be sure she is drinking plenty of water too, that was a problem for usat one point as well. Our pedi told us to give him milk of magnesia everyday, which seems to help. We don't give it to him everyday now, just when we see he needs it but it never fails! Good luck!
