My daughter is 11 months and and has a very, very difficult time with bowel movements. She will try to go many times during the course of the day with no result. If anything comes out, it's usually very hard and quite small., and her entire body tenses up, her legs shoot out stiff as boards and she cries.
If we 'help' with a thermometer or suppository, that sometimes gets things going. What's odd, and the reason for my question, is that when she is helped along, what comes out isn't hard at all. Usually soft. So, I'm trying to figure out if it's really constipation or if she's just having trouble pushing. I've mentioned it to her doctor at least 3 times and he's pretty dismissive. He says it's not constipation and that some kids poop more often than others. I'd normally say "ok" but my little miss is so uncomfortable. But, I also don't want to get into the habit of helping her out for fear that will make things worse.
I do want to add that she has a pretty well-balanced diet (veggies, frutis,, etc) so it's not an issue that she's not getting a particular type of food.
Any suggestions?
My DD had some problems on and off with some hard bowel movements. I would give her some Gerber apple/prune juice once a day and I would also buy regular prunes and cut up a couple for her. We typically don't have an issue any more and if I notice that DD had pooped in a day or so I always give her a couple of prunes and all is well by the end of the day. Good luck!
have you tried reflexology for her i am qualified in this area and it really helps also gets out of the habbit of helping her physically so she can do it by herself... good luck
L. England
get her some fish oil of flax oil something with her omega 3s and id suspect a possible intolerance to dairy as well
I saw another comment about if it is super liquidy that she is probably constipated, which is true, that happens with my daughter from time to time. If that is the case there is always prune juice, or at 11 months it would probably be easier if you got some of the Gerber First Foods Prunes. I actually use that for both my kids (2 1/2 years and 7 months) when they have some troubles. It helps my daughter a LOT when she is backed up.
I would try to increase her fiber intake. DIfferent kids need different amounts. I know that sounds weird, but my two boys are almost complete opposites in how much fiber their bodies require. I keep a couple of jars of Stage 1 prunes in the house. If I think my son's diet hasn't included enough fiber, I give him one with a meal. I've learned the hard way that I have to do that with him. My other son has never had a problem, and he often gets less fiber in his diet than his brother. Kids really are different.
My son pooped like a champ.
(He would be SO happy if he knew I said that).
However, my daughter had trouble for a little while and the pediatrician told me to use suppositories. I only used half of one at a time and I didn't need to use them for long.
Your little one might be afraid of it hurting when she goes so she doesn't relax enough.
My pediatrician told me that once a little one gets blocked up, nothing you put in them by mouth will really help. It will just build up and up which causes more discomfort in the abdomen. He said you have to clear things from the other end sometimes.
The suppositories worked for my daughter and I only had to use them a few times to get her on a comfortable routine.
Make sure your sweetie is getting enough fluids.
See if you can get her to eat prunes or have a little warm prune juice apple juice.
I agree you don't want her body to rely on suppositories, but my daughter did great with them and it was just a short period of time she had trouble with.
Best wishes.
How about "baby calm". It has magnesium citrate in it which helps get the bowels moving.
If the problem persists then it could be a hormonal issue. Constipation can be caused by high cortisol.
apple juice!!!! i give my daughter atleast a half of sippy cup of apple juice a day just to keep her regulated :) and if that doesnt help, the doctor can give you something that will help....im not sure what its called..oh and my granny would use a sliver of soap..like put it...yeah... but i never had to do that THANK GOODNESS!
It sounds like you already got alot of nutrition advice. I have seen patients similar to this in the office often. Finding a pediatric chiropractor that can perform a gentle quick adjustment can help her body work better. Message me or go to www.icpa4kids.org.
I know it sounds odd, but do you have a jumperoo? It always helps my little guy go. (I guess gravity and leg movement.) Also, don't do apples or apple juice, it can be constipating. (bananas too) Try Pear juice. Also, when it comes out soft, it is SUPER liquidy? b/c that could mean the liquid is going around the solid poop that is stuck. You could also try a little benefiber. But do NOT do miralax...look it up. It's very chemically similar to antifreeze!
Karo syrup usually helps, put about a tablespoon in her milk or formula. My son gets constipated and we asked our pharmacy what to use. They had some packets behind the counter that you sprinkle in their juice. I would say if it is making them uncomfortable or have a tummy ache then it is probably constipation.
tablespoon of dark karo syrup in milk always helped my son and he got pretty severe constipation we he was little I had to help him out several times it was hard to watch.
My DD had the same issue for a while... So I started giving her either prunes&applesauce, pears, or anything that is more of a 'go' food (plain or mixed with oatmeal) for breakfast every morning. She is pretty regular now... usually one good BM a day around the same time. :)
small doses of either Karo syrup or Apple Juice would be helpful because the higher level of sugars pull a little more fluid into the digestive tract and make the bowel movement a little more loose. Just make sure you are giving extra fluid to compensate for this so you don't end up making her dehydrated. I wouldn't, unless needing to take a rectal temp. put anything other than a suppository in the rectum, as if she is truly constipated and tissue is taught you may accidentally cause a rectal tear. Add a little more fruit to the diet for a slower, gentler way, baby prunes work wonders, but watch out for bananas, even though higher in sugar, they do seem to slow things down.
Also when she seems uncomfortable, you can help her intestines out by laying her on her back and bicycling her legs, helps move things around and make it easier especially before she is walking much.
if your baby doesn't poop in three to four days that's constipation.. Do not make it a habit to help her with suppository or thermometer otherwise she would rely with these 'tools'... fluids can help her a lot water or fruit juices.... i think she is just having trouble pushing...
activities can also help...
My son from a young age (less than 6 months) would wake 4-6 times a night screaming in pain with his body stiff as well. We finally made some connection between it and gassy-type foods and realized that he had trouble passing gas. We changed his diet to eliminate gassy foods and things got somewhat better. We finally took him to a pediatric GI to find the real source of the problem, and it turned out that he was EXTREMELY constipated. They did an x-ray to confirm this. I would never had guessed it because he would have what seemed as regular bowel movements. The consistency wasn't suspicious either-- it wasn't necessaryily too firm. It would be soft. The doctor suspects that at some point he had a painful bowel movement and started to hold his bowel movements causing the constipation. He has been on Miralax now for a year and a half, and his problem is totally gone. (We are slowly weaning him off of it.) He can now have gassy foods without a problem, and his bowel movements are fine. The lesson I learned is you can't always tell if a child is constipated -- I would never had suspected it because he didn't have the symptoms I would associate with constipation. You can get Miralax over the counter if you want.
my lil one was the same way for months and we did fleet about once a week and white grape juice. Once he pooped from the fleet and took the grape juice he was good to go i still give him 3 oz of juice a day to keep him regular. It took about 2 months of this but now all we do is grape juice and he goes 1-2 times a day.
My baby had the same tummy issues and was badly constipated. I used babies magic tea and it worked. Now he is no more gas and constipation.
