Need Help with Constipation

My daughter has experienced constipation as well. She had it so bad that it actually became difficult to urinate. We had to give her a children's enema. Not a good time, but it worked. Our doctor also suggested two tablespoons of mineral oil in about 4-5 ounces of orange juice in the morning to help. Just recently, Miralax became available over the counter. This is supposed to be totally safe. I gave her a couple doses of it when she got really bad. You can buy Miralax at Walmart and Target. I really try to include more fiber in her diet. She likes broccoli. It's about the only vegetable she will eat so we eat broccoli about two or three times a week. Also apples are a good source of fiber. Constipation can be painful so I hope you find something that works for him. Good luck!!

Have you tried to find the source of his constipation? Too much cheese or milk? Maybe a lactose issue? If it only happens when he's had certain food it could be an allergy of sorts.

My daughter had GERD as an infant and is lactose intolerant, so I'm no stranger to constipation. I have become quite a little pro at dealing with issues concerning diet, allergies, constipation. My mom is also a nutritionist who helps me understand the effects of diet on our bodies.

My 18 mnth daughter went through a terrible ordeal with GERD and gas in the first few months after the birth, but I learned to do research and I relied on home remedies and diet instead of a bunch of medicines.

I will say that it is a bit unusual for an older baby, who is getting the right amount of fiber to suffer from such a bad case of constipation. You may want to look at milk allergies, try switching to lactose-free milk. The baby may be lactose intolernt. If that doesn't work, the baby may be allergic to milk in general. When he/she drinks milk, does the baby become fussy and gassy. Are there other symtoms like runny nose/sneezing and coughing after dairy consumption? If the home remedies don't start working soon, it may be time to look to your pediatician for more answers or see a specialist.

But first try these safe remedies...Try apple juice instead of prune juice and make sure the baby gets at least 4 to 6 oz. of juice per day (Any more than that is not good for the teeth). I love Juicy Juice brand, it's 100% juice and it comes in all kinds of yummy flavors that will keep bowels moving. Also bare in mind that too much high fiber foods can cause constipation. Lay off brocolli, cabbage and beans for a while and stick to the juice,fruit, and other types of veggies. Also adding a little extra fat in babies diet will help with the constipation. Add butter and margarine to oatmeal or eggs for breakfast. A little mayo on a sandwich etc. You may be a health food person (Or you may not), but if you are, the baby needs that extra fat for a few days to get those bowels moving.

And regarding fiber...some foods that contain fiber are harsher than others and causes gas which leads to constipation. The more gassy foods are the brocolli, cabbage, lettuce,. The less gassy are oatmeal,spinach, collard greens, apples(fried with a little butter helps.

Limit milk consumption to the necessary 12 to 16 oz a day for a baby that age. (the extra dairy can come from more gentle sources like yougurt) And also, if a lactose free milk is needed, that will be fine. Lactose free milk has all the nutrients and taste as regular milk except without the stuff that irritates the tummy. AND LAST BUT NOT LEASE, TRY BABY GAS DROPS, THEY WORK WONDERS.Gas drops are gentle and safe, my OB let me have them when I was pregnant, thats how gentle they are. They help to release all that gas and in turn will help baby poop regular bowel movents. They can be bought in all drug store in the baby isle. The most poular brands are Mylicon and little tummies. But Mylicon are the most expensive at $7 for a small bottle. I buy the walmart brand, I think it's called Equate. It works just the same with the same ingredients. Gas drops are safe to use after each feeding or with every cup of milk. You can mix them with the milk, but it is more effetive to give to the baby straight. Also try the massage method that the other mom mentioned, that also works wonders with the gas drops. Do these methods consistently and baby will be fine. If all else fails, see a gastrologist. Good luck and enjoy the upcoming holiday season. If you have any other questions about the matter, I am here to help.

S.

Hi K.,
You might try doing a massage to his tummy in an upside-down U shape (in infant massage they call it the I - Love - U massage because the I goes up the right side - then make an L - going up right side and across the tummy just below the rib cage - then a U going up the right - across the tummy and down the left side - it follows the passage of substance in the direction it should move through the colon (ascending, transverse and descending) If you feel a more hard spot somewhere along that route you can stay in that area and do small circular massage on that area to help soften it up - it's good to do with a warm lotion to let your hands glide better. You can also try putting warm compress on his tummy before you do this to loosen things up. Hope that helps some... I'm a Physical Therapist and have had a lot of luck doing this on the children I treat (and teaching this to the parents) Usually I have them do it every evening as part of the bed time routine and the kids really enjoy it and it has taken care of constpation in almost all of them ! You might want to take an infant masage class if you want a more direct teaching! Best of luck.
T. D.

When my son was that age, he had severe constipation. We even tried Senekot, to no avail. What did the trick was to remove all sources of bleached flour from his diet. I have seen it mentioned other places as well, but his pediatrician said to try it. Within 6 weeks he was pretty normal. He now has IBS, but it is controllable. So maybe this is a prelude to that. Worth a try, unbleached flour is readily available, and most of the breads now use it because it is more "healthy".

My 15 month old also experiences constipation and a few months ago was in the peds office with blood in the stool due to a tear from the constipation. The cause was determined to be all of the dairy that he eats is constipating. We tried pear juice but that just caused blow outs. a few tablespoons of karo syrup in the milk sometimes helps, but what I found works the best is mixing 1-2 of his cups of milk with Silk high fiber soy milk each day (1/2 milk and 1/2 silk milk). I don't know why this works, but it does.