Constipation in Toddlers

Hi L.,

Both of my kids are in there teens now, but they had the same problem when they were babies. My darling MIL told me to use Karo corn syrup, like what you use to make pecan pies. I didn't believe her, I thought no way am I giving that to my little one. I think my daughter was 3 monthes. Anyway, I went to the pediatrician and he told me to use.....Karo syrup. It always worked for my kids, and now I tell my neice to use it on her daughter,and it has worked for her. Good luck I hope that you find something that works for you!

My pediatrician just put my 9 month old on the same Polyethylene powder. He has had constipation since he was a few weeks old even though I breastfed exclusively and drank plently of water. Now that he is eating a lot of solid food it has gotten worse so he has been taking the powder for two weeks now and I have seen a dramatic improvement. I am not comfortable giving him the stuff everyday either, but it is better than seeing him suffer each time he has a bowel movement.

Kudos to you for not bowing down to the "doctor God". A good pediatrician is invaluable in parenting, but a doc that solves every problem with drugs is not the kind you want.
My boys both had constipation problems b/c it's hereditary for them. I chose to make them a fruit drink in the blender every day. I takes about 3 minutes and loads them up with tons of nutrients and fiber - naturally (they can't get too much of any nutrient when it's natural.) I always bought lots of fruit and had lots on hand. I would also add flax oil for the nutrients to help their brain and nervous system as well. My boys responded very well to this. We always saw a difference when I let things slide. Now they are 8 and 11 and it is our habit to have these "smoothies" a couple times a week, at least. I don't know if they out grew their problem, or if it they had some healing from these nutrients throughout their toddler years, but we haven't dealt with the problem in quite some time.
Some examples of drinks would be:
a) berry juice (enough to liquify and blend)
assortment of berries
b) milk, rice milk, soy milk, or coconut juice
mango, strawberries
c) coconut juice
pineapple, mango
d) orange juice
other citrus or strawberries
e) If you have a juicer, a great favorite is fresh apple juice and carrot juice blend. While the juicer drink will provide less fiber that meal, it will make up 20 fold with the nutrients your kid will pack away. (store bought applejuice is not the same flavor, consistancy or value at all.)

There are a hundred wonderful combinations and you won't have to beg him to drink.

Note: Always keep lots of frozen fruits in the freezer. I usually added a banana to any of these b/c I understand it is the common fruit with the most nutrients babies need. We still often use this as a 3rd meal. Sometimes with popcorn (fiber) or toast/peanut butter.

All the best to you. Let me know how things go.

My oldest son had serious problems with constipation (he is now 8yrs old)and his milk. He drank Lactaid or Vitamite milk until he was about 4 yrs old. I gave him colais (child laxative) on real bad days, but I found that giving him atleast 8 oz of 100 percent purple grape juice a day really helped my son ... its worth a try and its a more pleasant taste for them. Do try half the amount for your son, a little went a long way. Good Luck

Here is some contact info on a Nurse Practitioner who operates a private practice in a cottage behind her home in the Zilker neighborhood. She was a midwife for 20 years and has a lot of pediatric experience. She works with herbs and homeopathics and also does well-child checkups.

Barbara Christman
###-###-####
____@____.com

My kids are older now, but when they were little I breast feed too. Taking them off of the breast and on to normal foods upset their stomachs and constipated them. I had a great Dr in Florida and he told me to give 1 tablespoon of Karo Syrup (Syrup used for baking pies but almost like pancake syrup).

You can give it to the baby by spoon or add it to their bottle or sippy cups. My kids loved it in Anise Tea. It works and us it as needed. Ny neice just did it with her 2 week old and he has cleaned himself out.

PS Rice cereals constipate. Good like and God Bless!

I always used prune juice for my son when he was an infant. I'd put it in his bottle and he'd drink it right up. That usually worked pretty well. I breast fed him until he was one, and he had issues on and off w/ constipation. Hope that helps!
L.

we had similar problems with our first son. We did the prune and grape juice. It worked well for him.
I am hesitant to putting kids on laxatives too. There is no reason to put artifical anything into their little bodies.

The prunes and grape juice worked for us. you could also try a little bit of sugar water, that can work too.

good luck!

Herbs are best and natural way to settle your LO's bowel movement. Toddlers magic tea is supposed to relieve them from constipation and other tummy aches.

I have always used Karo syrup and water.....I still use it today for my children.(12,7,6,& 3y/o)Usually in the morning or mid-morning is a good time and by afternoon it's done it's job. Only use about a teaspoon of Karo to 6oz. water. Kids like the taste, but remember this is not for an every day,just when she is really constipated.
Oh yea it is found in the cake section at the grocery.
Hope this helps!

Its funny I just put in here on mamasource that my 2 yr old holds her poo until its so hard that it hurts to go. She has been on Merilax since Sept 2006. It had worked up on till a few weeks ago. With the help from people writting me and the dr. increase her merilax (which have been told its not habit forming) and Milk of Mag for 1tsp. Now she is going everyday with soft poo and stopped holding it.. Look in the recent request under poopoo problems and see what i got for responces it has helped. thanks

Hi, this is such a frustrating issue, isn't it? This is what we do with success-
cut out dairy- soy milk isn't as binding as milk, you could give that, but water is best- and take him out for a "long" walk (like around the block) at least once during that day. We keep his sippy cup full of water all day and encourage him to drink. Then we use an over the counter glycerin suppository if that dosn't work. The glycerin suppositories always work, always, and within 10 or 15 minutes. But i would not give one to him every day, by any means, esp not a strong prescription one. That sounds extreme.
Our pediatric practice is very responsive and thoughtful, we've been happy- they're ABCD Pediatrics and they're off Stone Oak Pkwy and Huebner.
BTW, what's the URL for your sling business? We'd like to use a sling this time around, and could use some info on a cute one!
Thanks - ____@____.com

My experience w/ polyethylene glycol was not pleasant. It gave my son diarrhea. I cut the dose in half and in half again before abandoning it altogether. My son is a little older, but I got him to eat shredded wheat or Cracklin' Oat Bran for breakfast and he no longer needed the Miralax.

Best of luck to you!

My daughter has had trouble since she started eating solid food and is now also 18 months. I give my daughter diluted prune juice. When she was eating rice cereal, we were also mixing in Gerber prunes twice a day with crushed Fiber One cereal mixed in once a day. She is a little bit better now that she no longer eats rice cerealy but we still have to give her pruce juice. If you haven't tried this yet, it might be worth a shot. I agree with you about not getting them dependent on laxatives.

Add a little bit of prune juice to his diet. Natural, healthy and will get the little guy "moving" without putting a ton of potentially addictive drugs in his system.

I have 2 year old twin girls. One of them has a bad constipation problem. I regulate her bowel movement with Activa yogurt.
Actually she hated the prune juice and the prune fruit that comes in the 1st food package. One my friend mentioned about the Activa yogurt. And this yogurt is very good. I alternate between prune and strawberry.
I buy this at HEB. I am not sure if you find it in Sams/Walmart
They have prune, strawberry and blueberry flavor.
http://www.activia.com/products.asp

Have you visited People's Pharmacy? They're very good at prescribing natural remedies for all kinds of problems.

apple juice,water, or prune juice.

When my new born was switched to Imfamil LIPIL with iron, from prosobe (soy formula) he got very constipated. He was only going every couple of days. With him being so young I was worried that the strain of tying to go would hurt him. So when I talked to his Doctor, she told me to use a liquid laxitive in his bottles. I was to give him 1 teaspoon in his bottle twice a day for a month(to start out said the doctor, he could need them untill he can be off the iron formula). I was worried about giving him medicine so offten, I was also worried abou him becoming dependent on the medicine. So what i did was, I only gave him the medicine when i knew he hadn't gone in awhile. And if it became a problem, and he hadn't gone for awhile after the medicine, I would give him a glicerine suppository. Which will give you immediate results. After a few months of getting his system use to the changes his body kind of worked it out it's self. The Doctor said they can become dependent on the suppositorys too. But, I really didn't have to use them too often. I tried to only use them when he really had to go and it was becomng painful for him. And usually he could go really well for a few days afterwards. But something you may consider or might want to tak to you doctor about is lactose-intollerance. i hope this is helpful for you. Have a Merry Christmas

I had the same problem with my daughter when I stopped breastfeeding. I used the laxative our doc gave us the first time, but after that I tryed regulating with her diet. She is younger than your child, but we solved our constipation problem with prunes. Every morning I feed my daughter her ceral in the morning with half of the stage 2 babyfood "prunes & apples". Sometimes, if it seems like she is still having problems, I will give her Gerber Prune juice w/ Apples. I guess since your child is older you could use regular prune juice (maybe water it down a little to cut the sugar) or just dried prunes for snack time. Hope everything works out ok.

my son is 9 and has had prob with constipation since he left diapers. it is a daily problem we have with him. the dr put him on a med called lactulose. it is basically sugar. he was on it much longer than a month though. he had no problem with it. he tried many others including natural but they only had a quick fix. this one had a fairly quick and a long term fix. good luck.

L.,

Over the Thanksgiving week, we visited my in-laws in Pittsburgh, Pa. My sister-in-law has a 20 mo old son. He also had constipation issues. Her pediatrician told her to give him a bottle of milk mixed with prune juice at night before bed. He has been drinking this since he was about 18 mos old. He has no problems now. I'm not sure how much prune juice they put in it, I can find out though if you like or you maybe able to look something up on the internet.

Good luck,
Jo

Forget the meds! Try Formula #3 from herbdoc.com all natural organic herbal product. Non habit forming and will go the very next day. #3 is for children and I use #1 for adults for me. It is the best! Order the information booklet on constipation. this really works!

Hey there L.! I'm sorry to hear about your toddler's constipation. I'm wondering if maybe toddler massage would work for you. I have an exclusively breastfed 9 week old that I give infant massage to each day. For some reason she doesn't have regular bowel movements so I gently massage her tummy while I'm nursing to give her the extra help she needs. If anything it relieves the gas and usually gets the gears going for a good poop (not always immediately). I was taught by an infant massage instructor named Julie here in Austin. I had tummy troubles with my first infant as well and she showed me how to massage (sun and moon style) his tummy to get his system going. It has really helped me and I've been able to take it with me for my other two children. I hope this helps!

WHEM MY DAUGHTER GOT CONSTIPATED I STARTED GIVING HER 100% APPLE JUICE AND 100% GRAPE JUICE MIXED TOGETHER. CRANBERRY JUICE WORKS GOOD TOO. I ALSO STARTED RUBBING HER STOMACH THREE TIMES A DAY. AFTER ABOUT 3 DAYS SHE WAS BETTER. YOU COULD ALSO TRY TO FEED HER MORE FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, LIKE CELERY. ALSO TAKE HER FOR A LOT OF WALKS OR OTHER PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES IT HELPS GET EVERYTHING GOING GOOD. I HOPE YOU BABY GETS BETTER.

i don't know what all you have tried, but Gerber prune baby food worked for my son, as well as Gerber pear juice (only this brand worked for him and only this flavor) I tried EVERYTHING short of medications and those worked best. I preferred the pear juice becuase he loved it and was easier on the stomach than the prune baby food. P.S. He is 2 and STILL has to drink at least 8 ounces of the pear juice a day to stay regular.