I’m so sorry, but this is going to be about constipated babies. If you would really rather not talk about it—and who could blame you?—perhaps you could give me some advice on handheld vacuum cleaners instead. Or maybe you’d like to just click out of here completely and pretend this never happened. I’d understand. I mean, constipated babies or handheld vacuums? What kind of choice is THAT?
A certain baby whose first initial is H and whose second initial is Enry is the first of my babies to have trouble with constipation, as, unbelievably, I have discussed on another occasion. I’m not keen to discuss the particulars of how I know he’s constipated and not just straining the way babies often do, and so you are just going to have to take a look at my resume (babysitter, daycare infant-room teacher, mother of five) and believe that I know what I’m talking about and am not a newbie wringing my hands over an imagined problem. Um, like you’d insist on hearing the particulars anyway.
I have now brought the problem up TWO TIMES at the doctor’s office, once at his 9-month check-up and once at his 12-month check-up. And clearly I should be more firm and less of a chicken, but I keep thinking they are going to take into account (1) my experience and (2) the way I don’t bring things up if they’re not problems, and that then they will think, “Hm, we should deal with this.”
But no. They tell me to reduce bananas and cooked carrots, to increase prunes and white grape juice, to make sure he gets plenty of fluids, and to give him plenty of fiber. They say, “Does he seem to be uncomfortable?” and I say “He wakes up in the night screaming,” and they say, “Hm.” Then they say, “Well, try prune juice. Prune juice will clear him right up.” And this is where I should say, “I once gave him nothing all day except stewed prunes and prune juice and I noticed NO EFFECT, so I think it’s time to move from dietary changes to This is a Real Problem,” but instead I lose hope and flop gently to the floor, defeated.
NEXT TIME, I swear I’m going to press the issue, and in fact I’m thinking I’ll call and make him an appointment for what the nurse once referred to as “a constipation work-up.” But in the meantime, if you know things that work, please do share. Milk of Magnesia? Cod liver oil? Flax seed oil? (I’ve given him flax seed meal.) Creamed corn? Extra vitamin C? I tried him with glycerin suppositories (I can really see why people fear parenthood, can’t you?), but the nurse said not to use them too often or the baby starts to need them every time.
I’m looking for both kinds of assists: things that will help PREVENT the problem, and also things that will help clear the problem up once it has occurred. (And although I seemed to be scoffing at dietary changes two paragraphs ago, I do definitely want to hear those as well.) I promise not to be reckless and use ideas blindly, but we have a Nurse Line we can call, and I find it works a lot better if I’m saying “Can I give the baby ____?” (nurse says yes or no and tells me the dosage) than if I’m saying, “What can I give the baby?” (nurse says I’d have to ask the doctor).
Don’t worry, Henry. I will delete this post before anyone your age knows how to use Google.
[Follow-up: What worked for us was:
1. grapes
2. pineapple chunks
3. flax seed oil (I cut open a capsule each day and squeezed the oil into yogurt or whatever
4. but mostly the grapes and the pineapple chunks
5. oh, and oranges]
Poor Henry. I know just how you feel, bub.
I don’t have any baby-appropriate solutions as the only things that work for me are Correctol and prayer. Neither work all that well, either.
I don’t know if this makes a difference, but how much exercise does he get? Does he walk or crawl or pump his legs at all? Anything to get things moving?
And I’ve found that you need to really say I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THIS loudly at the pediatrician’s …because they don’t know your kid the way you do. And if you get steamrolled or bullied into being quiet (like you don’t know if it’s really a problem) then they aren’t going to know you’re Serious About It.
Also, making a specific appointment just to talk about it, while annoying and unnecessarily expensive, is probably the way to go. Sit down and discuss options.
Assvice OUT!
My nephew (who is now 4) has some serious constipation issues (due to the fact that his parents are not proactive about the problem). When he stayed with my parents for a couple of weeks last month, my mom gave him flax seed oil twice a day, and it made a big difference. She gave him about a tablespoon each time, so I would assume you’d use less for your guy. I’d give it a try. If he won’t take it straight, orange juice disguises it better than other stuff.
Moo- You’re right, I know you’re right. I wish they had a box I could check on the intake form, something like “I am meek with authority and also don’t like to be any trouble, so if I mention it AT ALL it’s a BIG PROBLEM.”
He does crawl and climb. He’s a laid-back guy, but likes to crawl.
Standard disclaimer, this may not work for you, yadda yadda yadda.
*I had to get my son to drink a lot of water to help prevent constipation. As in, me offering it to him constantly. New, fun cups. Anything to get him to drink tons of fluids.
*My BIL and SIL use MiraLax with my neice. They mix it into the food and/or drink and she never notices. I believe it is available OTC although of course your doc can tell you the dosage, etc.
*My friend uses flax seed oil with her child. He is about 16 months and he actually bites the capsule of it open (she takes the capsules herself), swallows the oil, then spits out the capsule. She said at first he used to dribble the oil down his chin but now he swallows it all. I bet it would be easier to just start with oil in the first place and not deal with the capsule though.
Good luck! Let us know what works.
Awwww!! Poor Henry! I unfortunately don’t have any advice. When my baby was constipated I would give him some prunes and then pace while wringing my hands until something happened. That always seemed to work for us! Clearly, this is something you’ve already tried. Sometimes doctors can be really dense. I had to practically dance around naked while doing backflips (and change pediatricians) before anyone would acknowledge the fact that my 3 YEAR old child still got up 3-4 times nightly was a problem. Good Luck though! I hope things get better soon!
Different things work for different kids. Prunes didn’t work for my girls. What DID work is 100% whole wheat bread. I would toast it and put butter on it… and if they still wouldn’t eat it I’d sprinkle a teensy bit of sugar and cinnamon on it.
Might be worth a try… but again, different things work for different kids so this might not be your magic cure.
Good luck.
My oldest (5) struggles with constipation and has since birth. My other two have no such struggles, so I, too, know the difference between the occasional “traffic jam” and a chronic problem. We stay away from dairy (he drinks soy milk and only eats cheese pizza… his all time favorite food… about once every 2 weeks). And we use Miralax… about 1/4 of the adult dose every other day. It dissolves in his morning milk and our doctor was the one who had us start it. We stay on it for a few weeks until he is “regular”, then come off until the problem creeps up again. Good luck, I know it is not a fun time. Potty training was especially hard.
Sounds like encopresis!! My 5yo has this and has since he was abt, 9 mos old. Rather than actually being constipated he withholds poop. Dietary changes *don’t* work for encopresis! My other kids get *constipated* and will strain and work it out. My 5yo will not strain. He just doesn’t poop and it makes him sick.
Eventually the bowel gets so distended that it stops sending signals so the kid doesn’t know they *have* to poop. As they get older the result is poop accidents.
We use Miralax (also could use Maltsupex) daily. It makes it so he doesn’t have the choice to hold it in and gives the chance for the bowel to shrink back down and heal.
Do some research and DO talk to your ped. Encopresis is a life-long problem. My aunt deals with middle schoolers who still have the problem and have stool accidents at school :( I can’t imagine anything worse than accidentally soiling yourself as a middle schooler!! So it’s very good to be proactive and keep treating it until your child gets a handle on it themselves.
Wow, apparently you are not alone with this problem. My youngest still has problems. I started giving her that yogurt, for digestion. I know they say it’s not proven. But it sure worked for her. My other two suggestions he’s probably too young for, which are peanut butter or honey. Good luck!
ps I am the same way at the doctor’s office, there really should be a check box for that.
oh, poor henry :-( that’s such a plaintive face he’s making in that picture. raspberries to baby tummies should be able to fix EVERYTHING, darn it.
My boys both have gone through that. They are 14 m.o. twins. They are 22 lbs and 17 lbs (Small I know but they were 10 weeks early). I give them 1/2 teaspoon of Milk of Magnesia through a plastic dropper or syringe. It works within a few hours and its safe to use for a few weeks in a row to get them regular. Once they’re regular we quit giving it to them until it creeps up again. That’s the only suggestion I have. Lots of fluids also. White grape juice is the best because it absorbs the best but you can also try Gerber Splashers. They only have 40% juice so the baby will get more water and less of the natural sugar of juice. Good luck!!
Limiting dairy products has helped us, too. My daughter started with this around 6/9 months and still struggles with it now at 6 years old. She’s miserable when she has too much milk, ice cream, cheese, etc. Having a pro-activ yogurt every couple of days seems to help (dairy, I know — but why mess with what works?)
My former pediatrition used to tell me to give her oatmeal raisin cookies everytime I brought up her constipation. Ugh.
oohhh . . . poor little thing!!! I hope you find something that works soon!!!
My second child was always constipated, and as she got older she would withhold her poop, which only added to the problem. I still find myself asking her when the last time she pooped was. Anyway, the only thing that worked for me was to get her cleared out with a suppository and then to include prune juice in her diet EVERY DAY without fail. I also made sure she drank a couple glasses of water daily. It made all the difference. Plenty of liquids is important when dealing with constipation ESPECIALLY if you increase the fiber. Good luck!
Oh, and I forgot about Miralax. It’s great, too, for the initial cleanout.
As some people above have already said, Miralax worked great for us. She didn’t notice it in her yogurt at all, unlike the flaxseed oil and milk of magnesia. Now she’s not afraid to poop anymore.
So I have the kids that poop every day if not a couple of times a day, but I here is what has worked for our non-pooping little friends:
Miralax (ask your pedi how much)
Prunes (raw prunes chopped up in a food processor)
Oatmeal (as in grown-up oatmeal, not the baby kind)
Flax Seed Oil Capsules (ask your pedi how much)
Yogurt, Corn, Raisins, other stuff that doesn’t digest well
A little vaseline up his heinie (just a bit) will help the hard stuff come out because it will hurt when it does. Poor baby!
And your pedi should do more than blow you off because there are some GI problems that cause constipation like Nicole said.
Oh, NO. Poor H.Enry. I wish I had advice. All I know is that hydration affects this and that drinking lots of water can help with the flow of things, but I assume you know that too and this seems like a more serious issue than that.
I hope you get it resolved soon!
P.S. Twitter is like Facebook status updates except that: a) the updates aren’t tied to your name so you have more freedom with phrasing; b) you only follow people you add specifically, so if you are like me and have lots of Facebook friends who are actually just random acquaintances you don’t care about, you don’t get stuck reading their updates too; and c) people update more frequently and can talk to each other, so it’s much more interactive.
apricots and pears work like prunes for us–maybe better than prunes for henry? Apricots especially.
That picture is KILLING me. Good lord, woman, your babies are cute.
Poor Henry! Ok…our ped always told us to cut out rice, bananas, applesauce, and limit dairy. Raisins and watermelon work well for us. We also have to use Miralax from time to time.
I wish I could come with you to the doc’s and be your representative. I’d happily stand up for you and your years of experience. :)
Oh poor YOU and also poor Henry.
Emmett has this problem. I eliminated (ha! not a funny play on words) applesauce also. I started making garbanzo beans & pinto beans mixture (pureed), and then mixed half that with half sweet potatoes (pureed). That seems to help.
Regardless, I would definitely call the doctor and go in with the intention to Make A Big Deal Of It. Then you’ll at least get their attention. Good luck!!
Awwwe, I hope Henry gets well soon. I really don’t know what to say or advise about constipation. So far, Adley doesn’t have too much of a problem. If he doesn’t poo, we wait for a day before he does so. We just know that he ate a banana (this is said to contribute in making the poo, errr harder to release).
And I am so with you on the part of erasing an entry about him before everyone, including him knows how to google. :)
I have this with J too. I gave him nothing but prunes and breast milk for 3 days and I’m sorry but that didn’t do anything! And I gave him oatmeal (home made from real people kind, not baby stuff in a box) and that didn’t help either. I’ve tried upping fluids, even went so far as giving him a bottle.. nothing. I’m trying to give him a sippy cup of water with his meals now. My favorite pediatrician suggested mineral oil but I am so not going to do that. Has anyone ever done that?
Go look up the old Catherine Newman Babycenter column about Birdy’s constipation. You know, the one that got, like, 300+ replies, including the one about the Italian Enema.
Pear juice, while expensive as heck, worked for us. Also, I don’t think one of those glycerin suppositories every now and then when he is seriously in pain is going to mess him up for life.
One suggestion that worked with our oldest was a dalop (glob?) of corn syrup in the juice. Of course, if you’re trying to avoid that, not so good, I think now, knowing more, I’d rather try flaxseed oil first. My second son loves organges and those get him going pretty good. Of course you guy isn’t old enough for those yet, isn’t he? Hmmm…I guess I was no help at all.
My ped swears by Karo syrup, and it seriously works. The new baby gax-x also seems to help a little for the comfort factor when they are stopped up.
I have absolutely no help for you on the constipation bit. Sorry. But wanted to comment [gratuitously so] just to say how cute little Henry is. Somber or smiling – he is adorable!!!
My mom is a nurse and has always told me to use prunes or WARM apple juice for my son. I swear the warm apple juice works like a charm….like within minutes. I found this website that explains why the juice works to relieve constipation even though generally apples ‘slow things down’. Let us know what helps!
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/constip.htm
BOTH of my kids have this problem. With the baby (6 months) I have to use the “gentle” formula with the partially digested proteins. With my almost-6-year-old, Miralax works well (it is over the counter now, and with him we had to adjust the dosage until we found what works for him – not much is necessary for it to work in his case). I have also found that yogurt really gets him moving too.
This might be slightly ass-vice-ish, since I’ve never had a child with this problem, but I’ll throw it out there anyway.
Henry’s problem sounds like what my sister dealt with as a teenager. She finally found out that she was both lactose-intolerant and gluten-intolerant. Fun, right? After a complete diet overhaul, she finally got things straightened out, but has to be very strict about her diet.
Maybe you could take Henry to an allergist to be tested? Poor guy. Either way, I hope it clears up soon.
Poor Henry. My 19 month old son can sympathize with him.
We cut out bananas and applesauce and added 1 tbsp dark Karo syrup (it needs to be the dark kind) to each bottle/cup o’ liquid that he got. I also added a tbsp of wheat germ to anything I could. This combo got him moving in a day or so.
Blueberries were our go-to food for moving things along.
I’ve got no advice, seeing as my daughter is a several-times-a-day pooper.
I just wanted to say that I heart Henry’s little face.
Our babe poops several times a day most days, but when he gets stopped up… OMG!
He had an impacted BM which “impacted” all of us because it had to be removed manually. Oh the things a person does for their kids.
Dietary changes were a little too effective because then we had the opposite problem. Our doctor told us, “Next time, don’t change the diet. Continue to feed him a varied nutritionally sound diet and use glycerin suppositories as needed.” But I see how you could over do it with the suppositories too.
Hmmmm. tough call.
We have a dirt devil.
One of those stylish ultra-modern cone ones.
It pretty much rocks.
I didn’t read all the comments, so I may be repeating,but this is what worked for me:
Prunes
Corn syrup, watered down, the nurse actually recommended this I think it was 1T to 1/4c water
My grandmother swore by red jello. Has to be red, I don’t know why. Don’t make it, just mix the powder and water and let him drink it.
Hope this helps!
Babies with CP are always at risk for constipation (after reading the coments I see that so is the rest of the general population). We use apple juice to keep things flowing and avoid rice at all costs. Rice is the devil! I’ve been known to use the glycerin suppositories, but they are supposed to be addictive. There’s something called a Fleet enema that is supposedly less so.
I think Miralax is popular for kids. I’d also investigate benefiber although i don’t know if you can give it to children. The skin of a baked potato is also pretty amazing, but you’d have to mill it. I’ve also heard a product called fruit-eze, which is a jelly of prunes, grapes,and raisins. You can order it on the internet and it’s supposed to be a miracle worker. I’m thinking about asking my MIL if she’s interested in trying to make some ourself.
I’m sort of amazed at my breadth of knowledge on this topic since most of the time i feel like I’m completely clueless at this whole mom thing.
Oh, Swistle! This brought back so many very unpleasant memories of willing and praying our little Em to poop! I feel so badly for you and little Henry right now.
Em was much younger – 5 months when it began with her little bum, and she was exclusively breastfed…so boo to those who say that breastfed babies shouldn’t have these problems.
Unfortunately (and we tried everything!!) this continued after the intro of baby food, and even had a bit of problems into the potty training years. The only thing that worked was the Glyco-lax (I think it must be the Mira-max, prescribed version). A little scoop into juice/milk/water and it got things moving along.
Good luck! We are pulling for you little Henry!
And might I add that I am so in love with him. That photo is just too much. Does he like older women…if so, I have just the cutie for him! (My 2-year old…not me, of course!)
The only thing that worked for my little chronically constipated pain-in-the-ass was Maltsupex. It literally changed our lives in about 30 minutes. He’s 15 now and claims he still has a super-sized colon from all the mayhem he went through from age 2 to 5, but we got those toilets that flush golf balls and bags of dogfood, so it’s good. ~Laura
I didn’t look through the comments yet to see if anyone’s mentioned it yet, but how about a baby pro-biotic.
You know, healthy bacteria for the gut. It works really well for my nephew. (And for me too, *hem* should the need ever arise.)
That really sucks! My second son was constipated for 10 days when he was a baby and the doctor said not to do anything until it lasted for two weeks. I was like no way and tried everything that I could think of. Eventually it came down to ****TMI**** him laying on the floor with his legs open and me pulling it out with a gloved hand. I would wait until he would try and the rest is history.
My youngest now is 19 months and he has the same problem. I have had to do this three times with him, the latest being just a few hours ago. I find that when he does get backed up (which isnt that often) there isnt much I can do to help him out. I try to make sure that he constantly has a drink close by and luckily he is a drinker.
Good luck and sorry about getting so graphic…
Awww. poor kid.
my doc claimed that anything that starts with “p” – pears, peas, prunes- contributes to the poopage. But that was many years ago so I’m probably pretty useless… and no help on the handheld vacuums either…
when my youngest was about 5-7 months, the pooping was a big issue as she never did it. the doc told that it was because her system was more mature now, and she didn’t have to go all the time. sometimes she would go days and when she did go her stool was very hard and i could tell it hurt her. we just gave her more water. every other feeding, i gave her 4 oz of water and now she is a pooping machine.
hope everything “comes out” ok. =)
and yes, be FIRM with that doc! and if he or she is not taking you seriously, ask to see the NP.
I have written extensively about this on my blog because Quinn has been constipated from 6 months to now. I do think it is something that should be taken seriously. You probably know the diet: fiber, lots of water, prunes, etc…
We also use Miralax every single day. Or did for a long time. He (knock on wood) seems to be getting better, so we’re easing up on it.
My pediatrician told me (when Q was about 2 or 2 1/2) that he needed to poop every two days or he should get a suppository.
You can click on the “poop” category in my sidebar if you want nauseating detail about what we’ve done.
Hi Swistle. I totally second the commenter who suggested blueberries. We cut the frozen ones in half when Danny was smaller and he loved how they felt on his gums (added bonus). They have TONS of water in them which is good and, I don’t know, something about blueberries made him suddenly evacuate everything in him. Thank you in advance for deleting this post and comments before either of our boys can figure out how to use the computer. Could be next week no? ;-) -Monica
i give my little one some high fiber cereal to snack on (kashi makes a delicious good heart cereal that tastes a little like cheerios)… i also did white grape juice… and if he’s not moving around a ton, lay him on his back and move his legs like he’s riding a bike (they think it’s a great game and seems to “get things moving”!)
that’s all i’ve got for ya :)
good luck!
I don’t know if I’m repeating but I have some tips: apple juice and Miralax. I have a friend with twin daughters who have this problem and her doc suggested Miralax. I have another friend with a baby boy with similar problems and her doctor suggested apple juice.
That picture of Henry is sooo very cute and makes me want to kiss his cheek.
Poor H. Enry! My daughter dealt with this too, all I have is dietary advice because I was a paranoid android about stuff like Little Tummies Laxative that my doc recommended. hope this doesn’t repeat everything everyone else wrote…
I cut out just about all dairy except for yogurt. Lots of yogurt, pounds of yogurt. Tons of fresh fruit of all kinds except bananas. Blueberries worked especially well around here. Pear juice and pears worked much better than prunes. Corn on the cob, raisins. If you have trader joe’s near you they have a dried fruit bar called “fiberfull” that my daughter really liked and that worked well. And I’m sure you already know this but fluids fluids fluids. All the fiber in the world won’t have an effect unless they are hydrated enough. I gave her cups of water constantly. In the summer, I kept her outside running around for hours every day so that she would be thirsty enough for all the water she needed.
I would bicycle her legs around too when she was lying on her back.
Good luck!
Just a comment, not on constipation, but rather on speaking up or not at the pediatrician’s office. I was taking a class today at work on Communication and the teacher was talking about how tone of voice and delivery style actually means a lot more than the content (words) of what you are saying. I’m not sure if the following story is true or an urban legend. The teacher claimed that there was a plane being flown by Japanese pilots around a New York airport that crashed because the pilots didn’t understand how to use their tone of voice urgently the way American pilots do to tell air traffic that they were close to running out of fuel. So supposedly they said the correct words but without the correct cultural emphasis and lost the plane because air traffic didn’t take them seriously. I’m just sayin’. I do understand the temptation to be a good no-trouble parent at the ped though.
Holy crap, all the comments! I wish that you had posted this when MY little one started with this problem… she’s on a med that constipates her. Our ped suggested Karo syrup, light or dark. She’s 3 months and gets 4 tsp a day in her formula, works for us so far.
I had the exact same problem with my daughter’s doctor. I tried to explain to her that this is a chronic problem. She suggested I give her Miralax. That’s all good and well for occasional constipation, but I don’t want my daughter having to live on laxatives. It is still a constant struggle to keep her going. I haven’t tried this yet, but someone suggested I take her to see a chiropractor. I don’t know what the logic is, but maybe you could do some research on it. My sister is taking her son to the chiropractor for the same thing. If it works, I’ll let you know. If you are desperate, castor oil REALLY works.
We are further Miralax supporters. Less dairy also helps, but my doc said dairy + miralax was better than no dairy. My son is almost 3.5 now and mostly clear of constipation (but poop-potty-training has been a nightmare)
What a small Internet. Just today I wrote a post referencing constipation and baby pooping, AND I have twins born in 2005 (who are thankfully not constipated at the moment).
What has worked for my almost 2 year old is an over the counter remedy called Senna. That’s not actually the brand name, but it’s the active ingredient. I think there were about 5 Senna choices at the pharmacy.
Our doctor had originally recommended Miralax (also OTC) for my little one who is constipated due to the steroids she’s on, but it didn’t do the trick. Probably because I couldn’t get her to drink enough liquids to get a decent dose of the stuff. We gave it to her over the course of a few days but it didn’t help.
The doc then recommended switching to Senna, (which is a vegetable? or herb?) and she was pooping religiously in less than 24 hours. No blowouts, just good soft poops.
Wow, who knew I could talk so much about baby poop in one day.
I just took my 2-year-old to the dr. for her chronic constipation. The pediatrition took me seriously after I told her about the “rabbit-poop-like” bowel movements and the toddler crying “owwie poopoos!!” She recommended 6 oz. of white grape juice every day, which supposedly works like prune juice. Secondly, she told me to try 2 tbs. mineral oil daily (mixed with hershey’s syrup for less ick factor). It will lube up the *ahem* owwie poopoos and help it slide out comfortably. Maybe somthing to ask about… Good luck!
Okay I had to stop reading all the comments, not enough time. Michael has some pooping issues and has since we brought him home. Just yesterday I realized it had been a full week since his last movement (he he he) so I called the doctor. They told me to use half a glycerin enema and then give him diluted prune juice, two ounces, twice a day until he is more regular. Then cut back to once a day and then discontinue if he’s on track. Maybe the key (w/regard) to prunes is doing it very regularly?
I’ll be interested to see what you discover. For us, Michael’s poop itself has never been hard so I’m confused about what’s happening. A friend of my suggested I cut out dairy to help him, but I that’s problematic for us since he is still using some of my frozen breast milk and I can’t go back and retroactively take out the dairy. And I am NOT throwing away that stuff I spent so long pumping – sheesh!
Sorry about the tangent. Good luck with Henry and his tush.
I’m with the parents who avoided dairy and pushed fluids — not that you haven’t tried those, probably. The fruit that worked for us was not prunes but dried apricots (I’d simmer them in water for 10-20 minutes to soften them first and also give Little Miss the “juice” that resulted). It helped.
I’d also say that if the ped doesn’t respect you and talks you down when you know you have a problem… would you ever consider switching peds? I’d just worry that if they blow this off, will they blow off other things that are serious that I may not know enough about to push hard enough and cause issues in the future… but I’m also paranoid sometimes!
Dried berries have worked for us – blueberries, cranberries, cherries, etc.
I haven’t tried this, (but I also have not had any desperate moments) but my friend swears by what she calls a “baby dr. pepper.” She mixes 1/3 prune juice to 2/3 7-up. She says it works like a charm.
Not to suggest or to scare – just a story! Another friend with a toddler with chronic constipation had to have surgery on his anus. Apparently is was not formed correctly and was “too small.” ????? Not a fun situation.
Good luck. Let us know what/if anything works.
Dried berries have worked for us – blueberries, cranberries, cherries, etc.
I haven’t tried this, (but I also have not had any desperate moments) but my friend swears by what she calls a “baby dr. pepper.” She mixes 1/3 prune juice to 2/3 7-up. She says it works like a charm.
Not to suggest or to scare – just a story! Another friend with a toddler with chronic constipation had to have surgery on his anus. Apparently is was not formed correctly and was “too small.” ????? Not a fun situation.
Good luck. Let us know what/if anything works.
Dried berries have worked for us – blueberries, cranberries, cherries, etc.
I haven’t tried this, (but I also have not had any desperate moments) but my friend swears by what she calls a “baby dr. pepper.” She mixes 1/3 prune juice to 2/3 7-up. She says it works like a charm.
Not to suggest or to scare – just a story! Another friend with a toddler with chronic constipation had to have surgery on his anus. Apparently is was not formed correctly and was “too small.” ????? Not a fun situation.
Good luck. Let us know what/if anything works.
Sorry about poor Henry. There are some helpful hints in here, which I hope will be helpful. Once one method stops working, try another for a change: it works sometimes. I think the next time you see his doc, take these details in writing: complete diet schedule, poop pattern and type, no. of days he has gone by without pooping, whether he seems to have colic or extra gas on those days specially, daily activity, any reduction in appetite when constipated… Having a written note to hand to the doc and perhaps asking him to put it in the case file may make him take the complaint more seriously.
Use the Karo syrup. Worked like a charm for my baby. And the nurse on my nurse line recommended it…without having to get the doctor’s approval. I can’t remember the dosage though but we did mix it in with the bottle. And it seems like it was the dark Karo not the light that we were instructed to use.
And in case that doesn’t work…my 4 year old ate one of my FiberOne bars a couple of days ago and wow -I’ve never seen a poop so big out of someone so little. Her, not me.
Maybe the problem will go away completely when Henry gets older and is able to run around. My son started pooping better after he started to walk/jog/run. (I know this doesn’t help AT ALL, but it’s something to think about, maybe?).
Try mineral oil in his drinks and food. It worked with my kids.
The suppositories worked for us, our doc told us that he should not become dependant upon them. Basically, if using the supp. does not fix the problem then you need to readdress the issue with the doc. Our doctor said that if you find yourself needing to use them every time to get him to poop then he should be looked at more carefully and a new solution found. Also, kids can go up to 3 days without pooping and still be considered “regular”. Thankfully, this is something that most kids grow out of. Good luck!!
We don’t have a problem normally with constipation but when I give my son fresh pressed, unfiltered apple juice that I get from a local farmer everything he eats races straight from mouth to diaper for at least 12 hours.
Needless to say, we don’t give it to him much, but it might help your problem. =)
Oh poor little bug! Theo was constipated once for a week and we gave him juice and that worked (boy howdy did it work!) but you’ve tried that. That’s old news to you. Next!
Well, I have nothing to offer except sympathies and the hope that everything comes out okay in the end. (HA! HA HA!) Seriously though. I hope he feels better and soon.
Zoe had the same issues with pooping… and I had the same issue with the doctors office. Every time I brought up the issue they would run down the list of diet suggestions. Every time they would tell me something like “and if she hasn’t gone in such-n-such a time please call back and we’ll give you some more ideas”.
I ended up finding these drops from Little Remedies.
http://www.littleremedies.com/laxative-drops.htm
They worked like magic. It said it would work in 6-12 hours and like clock work Zoe was pooping at the 6 hour mark.
Ugh – so sorry. Our daughter dealt with it off and on until she potty trained at 3. We tried cutting out dairy, but that made things worse because she wasn’t replacing the lost fluids with water. We ended up going with the Activia products (she was 3 at the time and scared to poop, thus wouldn’t potty train – not sure if you’re desperate enough to venture into the artificial sweeteners yet). The one that seemed to do the trick was like a Crystal Light water bottle pour-in. She LOVED the taste, and guzzled it like a frat boy. I don’t know if it was the probiotics (or prebiotics or whatever), or just the increased fluids, but no problems since. Good luck!!
My babe had lots of problems with this particular issue between 6-12 months and she was a slow gainer so we did the whole thing with blood tests for everthing and stool samples (ick) and it turns out there is nothing wrong except that her body can’t handle dairy and I was feeding her yogurt and cheese and milk etc. As long as she doesn’t have those she is fine, if she does then she starts to get blocked up. The things that helped as well as cutting out dairy were/are blueberries, mangoes, hemp seeds and hemp milk, flax seeds, and avacado. I kind of think that milk intolerance is more common than people think in babies and it might be a fairly simple place to start. Also…hemp milk has more calcium than milk so it is a good substitute without any icky stuff. Good luck!
You’ve gotten lots of good advice for dietary stuff, so I’ll just post to make sure you know about the liquid glycerin suppositories. I started out with the waxy bullets and was so relieved to find the liquid ones. They’re little plastic bubbles with a sort of nozzle and much easier to squirt in than the waxy ones.
My son doesn’t have a chronic problem, but he did have an episode of encoprenesis following a traumatic experience with painful diarrhea. We got him cleared out with a couple of rounds of glycerin, then started metamucil and fruit juice for a few weeks so that holding it in wasn’t an option.
And you need to call your pediatrician’s office and say, firmly, “I am calling to schedule a constipation work-up.” Just act like you’ve already discussed it and decided on it with the doctor and I bet they’ll set it up. Once you’re there for that reason alone and not for a well-baby visit, they’re more likely to take you seriously.
My 9-month-old daughter sounds exactly like Kelsey’s son. She has had chronic constipation issues from the start, though they have been much worse in the last 3-4 months since she started eating baby food. She typically has a movement every 5 days but sometimes goes as many as 7 days and she is rather unhappy about it. We have been to the pediatrician 4 times and have gotten the same advice– suppositories, dietary changes (one entire week on only prunes and breast milk with no dirty diaper until we used a suppository on day 6) and now she is on Miralax. It is hard to give her the full dosage recommended by the pediatrician because she isn’t a big water/juice drinker, so we are still struggling. The Miralax even in a lesser dose seems to be helping her feel a bit better but hasn’t changed the frequency yet. We are trying to find more creative ways to get her to take the full dose. I will be curious to hear how you proceed and if it works.
Didn’t take the time to read through all the comments yet (but will, as my 3 year old has same problem and am always looking for advice), but with mine, the dr. prescribed Miralax at about 8 months old b/c she was literally screaming from pain and would only go once-twice a week. When she did, it almost always got stuck and we would have to dig it out. That’s no way to live. Now, however, she is 3 and still has to take a daily dose. When I expressed concern to her dr. about being on it so long, she said I really need to keep her on it until she’s potty trained b/c it would be much more difficult to train a constantly constipated toddler. It does work for her, but I’m looking forward to the day we can start weaning her from it.
Too many comments to read through, but I have (and a few friends with similar problems) had success for my babies by giving them a supplement called Acidopholus. It is a “rhino” brand, and works to introduce a natural bacteria that they are missing into the intestines, blah blah. Works wonders and is safe.
One other thought – are you using any vitamins at all? Well-meaning, we bought these CHILDREN’S vitamins, and assumed the dose for CHILDREN would be like 1 child = 1 vitamin. After a week, my husband thought to check, and the dosage for kids under 6 was HALF a vitamin. The extra iron gave us some constipation issues!
Suzannah- Hee! I would have assumed that same thing! No, he’s not on vitamins, although at his 12m check the doctor recommended he start on them because Henry tested low for iron. I’m reluctant, though, to ADD IRON here!
brandon had this problem for ever. when i talked to his doctor, he said some babies just need to work that stuff out, and also that some babies hold it in because they fear it will hurt coming out (this fear usually begins after a hard poop that DID hurt, and they associate it with all pooping), anyway they suggested for repairing the problem was putting extra vasaline on his thermometer and basically wiggling it around in there kinda slowly. I would literally get 8-10 inches of poop to come out at once from this, it was crazy. This went on for a period of about 6 months before he figured out how to do it himself, now, HE LOVES TO POOP!
oh, and if i noticed he hadn’t pooped in a while they recommended sugar water…i think it was 1 part sugar two parts warm water.
i also noticed dosing him with mylecon helped with the gas making him less weary about stuff down there
i’ve also used the little tummys laxitive a few times in dire emergency…i did a half dose
Well, obviously you’ve received LOADS of suggestions. My two year old daughter frequently experiences constipation, she has done since she started solid foods at approximately 8-9 months (scared me to DEATH the first time she didn’t go for several days)…
What always works for my kiddo, and I really do mean always, is fresh apples or 100% apple juice (you can dilute it w/ water if you don’t like giving your baby straight juice).
Something about apples gets her going before the end of the day, and not in a uber runny opposite problem kind of way either. When all else fails, I run for the apple juice.
Good luck!
Cheryl ~
@jasperblu
If you’re still having this problem, I have a Yahoo Group which might be of interest – suppository_moms