Mamas & Papas-
Terrible twos, a refusal of all fruit and veg save bananas, and toilet training have put our little one, who already leaned that way, into a constipation cycle. Just had a conversation with the nurse, and she explained, that if we don't get the better of this, she's going to recommend we come in for a constp. consult with the ped. The concern is that if the constip continues, there might be a psychological effect and fear of pain will bring about withholding further compounding the constip.
He currently has BMs every other day or so. Sometimes they are small pellets, othertimes, quite large. They are never soft and always a big effort. We've been directed to up the benefiber, reduce the milk and try for more fruit/ veg and more water.
If it doesn't work in 3 weeks time, then the consult will be scheduled. now for the questions- 1. any tips on how to help up the fiber? 2. any tips on making his BMs easier? 3. anyone been down the constip consult road?
Thanks for your help.
F. B.
Say good-bye to dairy for a while....fried foods and meat, too.
Try: water, prune juice/food, apples, grapes...
My daughter loves the baby food prunes. She's 4 now and if she ever gets backed up we still give it to her.
White Grape juice helped her as well. Even if we super diluted it.
My husband is a chiropractor and sometimes an adjustment would help her with the straining. :)
I urge you to accept the consultation. No shame in that and you'll get the ideas you're asking about here and then some more. Consider that there may be other causes for the constipation not related to diet.
My grandson was constantly constipated at that age. I don't remember having the opportunity for a consultation with a specific specialist but if his mother had been offered one she would've gladly taken it.
And Miralax helped him, too. Sounds like you're doing many good things, already. You don't mention how much liquid he consumes. Lots of water is necessary especially when consuming large amounts of fiber. Without the water to soften the stool the fiber becomes a mass in the intestines.
We have had major constipation issues with my 2 year old daughter. We give her miralax daily. I was hesitant about it but our ped urged us to and said there are no negative side affects. Miralax is different than fiber-sometimes too much fiber is a bad thing. I also bought individually wrapped prunes and told her they are "special treats" and give them to her once or twice a day. We replaced one of her cups of milk with juice. The combination of these things has helped. Good luck!
Miralax is always when the doctors suggest but a much better solution is children's probiotics. They help her overall health and help her poop get softer and easier to pass. Be conservative at first because it can make your tummy hurt if you take too much. It's not dangerous, just start her out on 1/4 the dose and see how it works.
How much water does he drink?
Here are 10 sources of fiber. Will he eat any of the things on this list?
My favorite constipation go-to's:
Grapes, grapes, and more grapes. Even frozen grapes are great now with the warmer weather.
Raisins/prunes (yuck for some picky eaters)
Spinach leaves/ salad leaves dipped in Ranch dressing (kids love to dip) Carrots and celery if your comfortable with those foods.
Pumpkin Brownies: the combination of chocolate and pumpkin really get the stools to move. Google recipes.
Popcorn
Fresh cut Apples with the skin.
Oranges / Melons
Yogurts
I don't have any success with more water in toddler in constipation. But I have seen plenty of great BMs with the above foods. And these need to be part of his daily diet for a long, long time. Well, as long as he is eating.
Pellet poop is a sure sign that he is not drinking enough (dehydrated body = dehydrated poop) or there is not enough fibre, so the stool is sitting too long in the large colon and the body reabsorbs the fluid.
At that age, my ped recommended miralax. It worked well to get things moving along. I'm not sure if you can use it with the benefiber though. You might try it instead of the fiber - miralax helps to soften things up so it's easier to go. At that age, our ped recommended 1/4 of the adult dose.
Anytime we have ever gone to the doc for constipation be it with me or the kids they always tell me to use Mirilax. Benifiber can constipate more if there is not enough water to bulk it up.
