Need Help with Food Ideas

You've gotten a lot of great advice. One food that really gets my son to poop is cantaloupe (the orange kind). His baby-sitter said it did the same for her kids, so maybe it will work for you.

My 6 year old has always had constipation problems. Our quick fix is a can of mandarin oranges. She loves them and it usually kicks in within hours.

Push fruit, juice, and cereal.

Prune juice can work wonders. I've used it with both of my sons. I either add a little to their milk or juice. I also use dry cereals with high fiber content... they both love raisin bran.

In the book Proper Food Combining Works by Lee DuBelle, she not only talks about the causes of constipation, but she talks about which foods go through our digestive system fastest. Fruits are great when eaten in the morning because they don't digest in the stomach. Rather, they shoot right past the stomach and into the small intestine where they're digested. So, that's a great thing to eat for breakfast. They're not so great, however, when eaten after starches or proteins because those digestive enzymes (amylase and protease, I believe) will not allow fruit to digest, hence allowing fruit to ferment. Ever eat an apple after dinner and get gas and bloating? That's why. Fruits and veggies would have way more fiber than anything in a package (ie. breads or crackers), so definitely eat lots of those! :) Think about how much more satisfying it is to eat an apple (3 grams of fiber; 80 calories) than to drink an 8-ounce glass of apple juice (no fiber; 110 calories).
(That last sentence was pulled directly off the internet. Not sure if an apple has 3 or 5 grams of fiber, but you get the idea.)

My son loved the flavored prunes and also chopped up dried apricots, raisins etc. Dried fruit is like concentrated fiber. But you also need to really look at the amount of water she is drinking. If she is eating a lot of fiber but not drinking enough water that can be a problem. Also stay away from cheese for awhile as it can contribute to constipation.

My daugher also had this problem around 16 months. We switched to the whole grain versions of the foods that she would eat as she is also a very pickey eater. We would buy the whole grain waffles, pancakes and goldfish crackers (there is a whole grain version of these) at the grocery store. We also bought the cereals that were high in fiber and crackers that had a high fiber content (All-Bran has is a new cracker that has 5g of fiber per serving). Our doctor also suggested pear juice instead of prune juice for constipation and that works well for her. After we made these small changes to her diet she hasn't had a problem with constipation for almost 3 months and she didn't even notice that she was eating different foods!

my tip is too look at the foods you are giving and always look at the fiber content on the package. something you may think is a healhty choice has little or no fiber!! look for crackers, breads etc with high fiber content. continue to push fruits and veges (try cooking them in different ways, add melted cheese or spray with butter. See if she will eat black beans or sneak other types of beans into spagehtti, smash onto a tortilla with melted cheese etc. They are super high in fiber. Also, my kids love muffins, cookies etc. if you bake them at home you can get them to eat carrot, zuchinni, pumpkin bread etc! Alot of water helps too. Ditch juices etc and have them drink as much water as they can. Also, exercising and running around is also good for constipation. look on line for high fiber recipes...

My daughter also had constipation problems & sleep problems. We started giving her a liquid Calcium/Magnesium supplement each night before bed and now she sleeps and poops like a dream. I even mentioned it to my neighbor for her 1 year old and she says it's a Godsend.
I got in the natural foods section at Coborns. It's expensive but it lasts a few months.

Peyton is 41 lbs and I give her 1 1/2 tsp. right before bed. It's called Tropical Oasis Cal/Mag and it's a nice orange flavor and Peyton loves it. All brands have different amounts in them though so bring your bottle over to the Pharmacist and ask them and they'll tell you how much to give your daughter. Here's a link to what it looks like:
http://www.tropicaloasis.com/site/page/pg420-de164-pr938....
Otherwise, the other suggestion would be lots of pears. Get fresh ones and chop them up or even the canned ones and puree them like appleasauce. Give some with each meal and that should help too.
Good luck and have a wonderful day,
J.