Going to the Bathroom

My daughter has chronic constipation. The pedi has ruled out diet. She just has a mental block on pooping (would hold it for a week at a time...not good!) She will be 3 in October.

We start her day with 4oz of Plum Smart juice with a teaspoon of laxative, Miralax, which is now over the counter. Her situation is different, but Miralax is a safe and effective laxative. When we first started using it, it took 4 days to "kick in" and we were giving her a tablespoon for the first month. But now she has (almost) daily bowel movements (sometimes every 2-3 days) bt they are easy for her to pass with just one teaspoon daily.

We tried mineral oil, we tried modifying her diet, we've tried suppositories. So far, this is the only thing that has worked for us.

My daughter can have the same issue! Honestly, what keeps her regular: raisins, dried cranberries and prunes; they are like treats to her and she'll eat them like candy and without fail, she'll go #2 the next morning.
Also, lots of water and limit the sugary juices. The sugar can back them up too.
Good luck!!

L.,
It may be diet related...Make sure he drinks tons of water throughout the day. Also, might want to keep a journal of what he is eating to see if it is occuring with certain foods. He may have an allergy to something, or perhaps you may just need to diversify what he is eating better.

Another good idea is chiropractic. There are certain nerves on the spine that when your back is out of alignment these nerves are pinched and the stomach or other areas are affected as the communication is interrupted.

Also last but not least is if you eliminate the other two possibilities you can always add some flax oil to some of his meals. It really helps with regularity and also offers benefitial Omega Fatty Acids!!!

Mona Vie juice, the one without Glucosamine.

Good luck!

T.
Founder
www.theparentpack.org

T.

Buy "Miralax" over the counter. That is what the pediatric gastroenterologist prescribed my son. He's been on it for over a yr and he's almost 3, so it is safe. Just give your son about 1/4 of a capful in his juice or water. When we started out my son was in so much pain it was daily, but he has gotten better at going #2 on his own so now he only gets it once week. I would start at that and give it about a week to see how he does. If he's still having trouble go to twice a week, Mon/Thur. It does wonders. I know some people will tell you karo syrup. That never worked for my son. Maybe a little when he was under 1 and still one the bottle, but the older he got the less it worked. Some people will chastize me for saying to give your kid a med, but I have learned that when the alternative is enima's, tearing and bleeding, a little medicine is better.

I would definately try something natural first. I wouldn't go with a laxative unless a natural alternative doesn't work. I always give my son extra apple juice. I'll give him about 4 to 6 oz straight and it seems to work. You could also try prune juice or peaches always work for my son too. You could try things high in fiber like triscuits or shredded wheat that will help. I would try those and if that doesn't work I would contact your pediatrician and ask what they advise.

L.

I have had the same problem with 2 of my kids. Turns out they were lactose intollerant. Try soy milk. Even adding extra fruit (not fruit snacks) Good luck. I feel your worry.

Dear L.,

Good for you, I wish that I had done that when I was your age. Never mind that it is hard, it will smooth out sooner or later - anon, as they say. As you gain experiences, then you will gain ease of 'execution'.

Of course, you know about the extra water - one thing that always worked for me when I was taking care of little ones - give them a dried prune without the pit - now, don't say yuck - they are pretty good, and if you are a little kid and your Mom gives you some 'candy fruit', you will eat it. No kidding. But don't give him more than 2 or 3, maybe 2. Remember his body is pretty small. It will work, and very easily.

C. N.

Hi, I personally would talk to his peditrician for this situation...also try having him drink more water..
God bless us all.

Hi ,

My daughter had terrible constipation, so bad that she was ripping her little anus apart and bleeding at every poop - I even had to take her to the ER, have her sedated so that the poop she could not pass could be removed. It was so scarey - when it comes to real constipation, all those home remedies really will not help. And the fact that someone would even MENTION taking your child to a chiropractor is so ridiculous that it's almost funny. Common sense ladies: your spine and your bowel movements are in no way connected by any stretch of the imagination!
We used Phillips milk of magnesia - a teaspoon a day with her milk in the morning - and that seemed to soften her bowels so that she could pass them herself comfortably. Miralax is just as good, and does the same thing as the phillips. We continued with our regimen of daily phillips for about 4 or 5 months, tapered off its use, and now she has very regular, normal, soft poops al on her own.

hey there
i had the same thing happen with my almost three yr old. i researched constipating foods on the internet and found out that applesauce, cheese, milk, bananas are all constipating. i feed him fruit every meal now and whole wheat bread for his sandwiches now and guess what? he is better. try it. good luck, C.

Try Miralax - it was prescribed to my son but you can get it over the counter now. You just mix it into juice or sprinkle it on food and it works like a charm!

I put Metamucil in my 2 year old's juice (small amount) and it worked like a charm. Of course, this is for mild, not chronic, constipation.

Hi L.,

What worked for both mysef and my daughter was lots of fruit. We get the dehydrated apricots and they're a good snack and they help with that problem. Lots of water too.
Good luck!

V.

my oldest was like that when she was that age..so we use to let her eat prunes as much as she wanted everyday and we also cut way back on her dairy product comsumptions..especially milk, if she had too much milk in one day she would get really stopped up. we found that the prunes were safe and affective and they are also good for you. even her doctor at the time recommended that she eat about 3-4 prunes to start and that wasn't enough then increase the dose as needed but there was no harm in eating allot. hope this helps

My 15 months old also have the same problem from time to time. In fact it was more often when he was having formula, but it has been much better since we gave him solid food including a lot of vegetable and fruit. Also, he didn't like to drink water or liquid other than milk or formul until recently. We found hime a zipping cup that he likes and since then, he has been drinking water regularly. This helps a lot in terms of solving his problem.

One trick we learned is that if we notice he is having trouble with #2, we will give him prunes (either the fruit or juice will help).

Hope this helps.

I also have a son that struggles with constipation. It is very genetic and generally can be controlled with diet. immediate helpers include prune juice and honey (both are mild natural laxatives.) Making sure he eats lots of fiber is the best solution (pears, peas, prune juice/sauce, flax seed, whole grain breads, oatmeal) Also cutting back on the cheese/milk products, and over processed stuff like chips and other things loaded with sugar makes a significant difference. Hope this helps.

My yongest had that problem a few times. I gave him raisons, grapes, or grape juice and that seemed to help him. I know it is not the best thing for kids but I drink coffee every morning and when he was really having a hard time a would make him a cup of coffee. Lots of milk, sweetner, and a little bit of coffee and by that afternoon he was good.

I had my first son at 19 and then my second son at 20 then I stopped. That age worked for me. I am now going on 26. I am sad to say that I am not with the boys dad any more but he is still around for them. Wishing you good luck

Hi L.,

I had the same problem with my daughter (she is 15 now). When she was small I have her plum juice regularly and that seem to work. When that did not work I gave her prune juice always did the job. I always keep a bottle of prune juice on my fridge for her.

Lily

Try KARO syrup, its in the baking aisle. Its actually kinda sweet.

Hello L.,

If you bake, oatmeal-raisin cookies, bran muffins, and dried peach or apricot pies are great laxatives and taste good also. Fruit juices such as apple, grape, prune and peach nectar are good. Oatmeal as a cereal. Green vegetables such as broccoli, and greens (spinach, kale, mustard, turnip) to name a few.

There are also children's laxatives but only take sparingly and to clean out their system. The fruits and vegetables incorporated into his diet should keep him regular. Use you imagination. Oatmeal cookies are still a treat for my family and they are grown. Bran muffins for breakfast with a fruit spread are a treat also. They have instant oatmeal cereal with brown sugar and raisins. My kids always liked that but the idea of just eating oatmeal was not very popular.

Hope that helped some. Good luck. R. T.

70/30 Apple/Prune juice daily.

Fruit skins are good to get things flowing to prevent constipation. However, when they are constipated and in pain needing immediate relief a natural remedy is sugar water. One of the previous postings recommended Karo syrup. That is good added to water. You can look up the exact measurements by doing a search online.

Hello: "To all the Mothers with the same problem"

Very important Note to all the mothers who's children have problems with constipation Please Please do not use laxatives on small children I had 2 premie babies and I was told by my Dr. not too, if used too often their will be problems later, Big ones, it's best to serve your children more fruits and vegtables, they need fiber, if you use fruit don't peel the citrus fruit, also do not give your children Banana's it is worse and if this don't work then talk to you doctor and they can give you "enulose" it will not harm your children, also for the mothers that are having babies remember babies are what we eat do if you don't eat fruits and vegies their is our problem.