My 2 Year Old Daughter Is Constipated!!!

Hi, I had a similar problem with my son, when he was switching from formula to milk, it went on for at least 6 months of him screaming everytime he was trying to go, he would throw up because he was pushing so hard! It was so sad! So we tried dif. things, using suppositories etc. But you want to find the root of the problem. We finally wondered if it was the milk.. we started giving him soy milk instead of reg. vitamin D milk, and he was totally fine! it completely took care of it! Then about 6 months later, we switched him to reg. milk and he has been fine ever since! I dont know if you have already thought of that, but if not, I would reccomend the soy milk.
Good luck!

My 2 year old nephew has had constipation issues almost since he was born. He would cry and scream everytime he would go. My sister in-law took him to a pediatric chiropracter and he pooped without her knowing for the next week. She has taken him once a week for a month and a half and he is doing great! Good luck!

Megan...Try dark Karo syrup in her juice. About one teaspoon for 8 oz. It works wonders!! and very quickly!

Good Luck! and be close to a toilet! H.

Reading your question brought back a lot of bad memories, my now four girl went through the same thing. Her doctor recommended MINERAL OIL, I know what? It does not taste like anything, and it really worked. At the beginning we gave her 2 table spoons in the morning and two at night, you can also put it in her juice. then once she starts going you just do less. after a while she will only need it if she has a lot of dairy products. We tried Miralax and it gave her really bad stomach cramps even if we put it just in water. You can find it in the laxative section and it is really inexpensive. A little warning you might see like an orange oily substance when she goes potty its just the oil, nothing to worry about.

Good luck
Mother of three little monsters,

Oh that poor little baby!

I'd get her on a high quality probiotic RIGHT NOW!!!

I'm surprised your doctor didn't even mention it. Probiotics are becoming much more mainstream. Even hospitals are using them as a matter of course on patients with digestion and elimination problems, and anyone who is on antibiotics.

My guess is her body was depending on the good, balanced intestinal bacteria she was getting from your breast milk. Which is one of the most important reasons for extended nursing. But when you stopped, she had no other source to keep her system working.

I'd also have her checked for gluten intolerance and wheat and dairy allergies. All of those things can cause what you are describing. Again, I'm surprised your doctor didn't suggest this.

The good new is, even if you eventually find something else that is the cause of her constipation, the probiotics will only help her. There is nothing in probiotics that could hurt her.

Blessings,

M.

My 5 year old daughter had the same problem since day 1, she even had problems when she was nursing. I have always had a hard time getting her to eat all the fruits and veggies that the doctor recommended for extra fiber so she takes a "fiber source" tablet everyday with her vitamins. This has solved the problem and has worked for her for a couple years. When she was younger, 2 to 3 I only gave her a half of a tablet. This made her regular without having to deal with diarea or other side effects if she were to get too much fiber or take a laxative. For us it has been an ongoing problem so I did not want to use medication all the time, this has been a good alternative that has worked for us. I talked with my doctor first before giving her the fiber source tablet (because of the instructions on the back of the bottle) you may want to just double check with your doctor first to make sure it would be right for your little one. Hopefully this is helpful in the long run to prevent constipation over the long haul, I am not sure if it would get her from backed up to regular, a good home remedy that I used when things got really bad when she was small was molasses - I even have a great recipe for molasses cookies that helps to make it taste good. Let me know if you are interested and I can send it to you. (____@____.com) Good luck.

I can tell you that I had to use Miralax for my 2-year-old for a short while. It definitely was not habit-forming. I used a smaller dose than recommended, and we didn't have to use it for very long. Good luck!

I had the same problem with my now 4 1/2 yr. old daughter. I tried Mirilax reluctantly and the results were miraculous. She was on on it for 2yrs (from 18 mo. to 3 1/2 yrs) off and on until i just did it regularly. The constipation led to her not pooping on the potty until a month before pre-school. Now a year later we are off and pooping successfully.
Good luck and constipation is not that un- common for toddlers.
A.

your daughter may have a milk allergy. if she does you could try gaot milk for a while to see. they also make some very good teas that help that problem. I have tryed in the past. one is sena tea, this one is a strong tea for a two year old. But you just dillute it and add a little suger or honey to make it taste good. the other is called 'smooth move' they both work really good. and are not h*** o* the body and are not habit forming.

Just a little bit of info for you. My daughter had blood in her stool several months ago and the stool appeared black as you mentioned your daughter's was. When I took a sample to the dr he mentioned that blood turning the stool black was because of bleeding in the stomach or higher up in the digestive tract. The stomach acid makes the blood turn black. Blood coming from any lower in the digestive system would have appeared red in the stool. So the color of the blood in the stool can help indicate where problems may be occuring.

Megan, I have to tell you that I agree with your doctor on this one. My daughter had a horrible round of being constipated when she was about 3 and it was AWFUL. She screamed and cried for weeks with "owie poop". I kept thinking her doctor would DO something when my home treatments of juice/fiber didn't help.

The doc didn't do anything for many phone calls, but finally recommended milk of magnesia EVERYDAY for 6 months (she wanted the owies to be a very distant memory). My daughter had started holding in her poop and then would poop a giant, hard poop when she fell asleep. It is an evil loop--they hold in their poop cause it hurts, but then it makes it hurt worse.

I heard about miralax after we started the MOM, and I do not know why my dr didn't prescribe that for us initially. She did say that she would be happy to prescribe it if the MOM didn't work.

Anyway, I wish I had taken strong action to protect my little daughter from her weeks of screaming and pain. I have heard many good stories of kids on miralax. I would urge you to do something soon, as you don't want your daughter to be traumatized, trust me!

My son has had the same problem. I started giving him acidophilus. It's the same thing that is in yogurt and it is very good for the digestive system. You can get it in liquid or powder form at a health food store, I've even seen it at City Market but you have to ask the pharmasist for it. It's worked wonders for him!
HTH,
S.

When my kids had problems I gave them bananas. Try that or call your pediatrician for suggestions if it doesn't work.

I know this is late my computer has been down. Does she like fresh fruits, that should help, it always did mine when they were smaller. You know when they eat tooo much it goes the other way, so give her in moderation and that should do it.
Good luck. And I do hope you find a natural solution for this, because I know there is a nat way and I go with that every time.

Being constipated is really not good for you. Your daughters insides are probably completely full of poop because of the constipation. What I mean is that her bowels are probably full to the max and that means her insides are completely full of bacteria. This can cause all sorts of problems like chronic UTIs. My daughter has had chronic UTIs for about 5 years and finally a doctor told us that a major part of the problem was her constipation. I know that laxatives are not ideal and I can sympathize with wanting to take a more natural route, but think of Miralax as the lesser of two evils. When they finally figured out how severe my daughter's constipation was the doctor explained that she was too compacted to get rid of everything by high fiber foods alone. She needed to take Miralax for two weeks just to clean things out. Once she was cleaned out we could maintain things with a high fiber diet.

Foods and drinks that are often thought to help prevent constipation include:
many fresh fruits that you eat with the skin on, including apples, grapes, peaches, etc. (and then be sure to actually eat the skin and not peel the fruit)
many fresh fruits with high water content, such as watermelon and cantaloupe
raw vegetables
legumes (beans)
raisins
prunes and figs
foods made with whole grains (whole wheat bread, etc)
shredded wheat
popcorn (this is a choking hazard for younger kids though)
bran cereals and bran muffins
fiber wafers
vegetable soup
Constipation
also try flax oil

Megan, I have a son who is now 14. He suffered from severe constipation for seveal years. He had huge stools that hurt really bad coming out, so he didn't want to poop at all. It was a huge nightmare. I tried everything to help. I had to sneak it in what ever he ate or drank because if he suspected anything out of the ordinary, he wouldn't touch it. Miralax does work but be consistant.

dont have time to read the others so I hope I dont repeat much. Mine have used the miralax for a couple of months. Once the constipation was under control and we upped their fiber, they were able to go off of it fine. The best thing I have found for myself is magnesium. When I take a supplement everyday, I am regular. Maybe your dd just has a mineral deficiency and you could up the magnesium 100 mg. at a time. They have forms for kids at good earth or wild oats. Maybe try the miralax to get the blood and possibly other tears cleared up so your dd is comfortable. It really isn't habit forming and is so safe they made it over the counter last year. good luck.

I have a great niece that has been on miralax for a few years now and it is the only thing that helps her. it is fairly safe and i dont think you need to worry about it becoming habit forming. The doctor needs you to do this to make sure the blood is not in the stool only or if it is coming from another place.

My son had this same problem. He was severely constipated when I weaned him until about 2 1/2. He would run around crying until he passed an extremely painful bloody stool and we often had to use suppositories or enemas after 5 days of no bowel movement.

I finally started thinking it might be a food allergy. This was around the time several in my family were discovering they had celiac disease. When they ate wheat or anything with gluten, they got diarrhea. For me, it was the opposite problem, constipation. When I took my son off of wheat, it seemed to help, but the problem didn't go away completely.

I then became intolerant to milk and after a few weeks it hit me like a ton of bricks. My son had a milk allergy and the way his body reacted was constipation. I realized when I weaned him I was giving him milk formula, and had never really tried taking him off cheese or other dairy products. When I finally did, everything started moving properly.

His system is still a little slow, he only goes every other day instead of everyday, but it isn't painful or dry. If he ever has a problem I can usually trace it back to some wheat or dairy snack he had a couple days back. It's way more manageable, though, and I can still get away with having chicken nuggets every once in a while.

Interestingly, though, a few weeks ago we accidentally made something with dry milk powder in it. He was up all night vomiting, no fever or other symptoms. That really confirmed that milk is a big problem for him. If you google milk and constipation you might be able to find some useful information.

Hope that helps!

Hi Megan. My daughter has had constipation problems on and off since she was little. She will be 3 at the end of October. I have several things that work that I can recommend and discuss. Please feel free to call me at ###-###-#### if you want to discuss. I'd rather talk than write a huge e-mail because I don't have that much time to write since I also have a 3 month old. :)

Hope to hear from you!

P. Crandall

I hate to say this, but you only have 2 choices now that the Dr. has found blood in your daughters stool.
Choice number 1 : go on the Miralax for 2 weeks. it should help, it's a gentler laxative that ex-lax or otheers.
Choice number 2 : wait a while and then deal with the Dr. putting your daughter on a stronger prescription stool softener/laxative.
If there is blood in your baby's stool, then you need to do what the Dr. suggests, regardless of your reservations.
Also remember, your Dr. won't suggest something if it's not safe.
Laxatives are only unsafe if misuesd...i.e. if you take them every day, for every little gas bubble.

Megan,

First of all, your doctor has no right to "insist" on anything. This is your child, and you are her mother. You are the one who has to make decisions for her. If your doctor is condecending, demanding, or does not explain his recommendations, I would find a new doctor.

You are right that you need to address the underlying issues that are causing the constipation. That being said, a temporary laxative can be a part of a program to address it. One big problem with constipation in kids is that it is so painful for them to poop that they start associating poop with pain. They become afraid to poop, then they hold it in even when they really need to go. The longer they hold it in, the more "backed up" it gets in their intestines, which in turn makes their poop harder, makes it more painful to poop, and reinforces the fear. A laxative might help break the cycle. However, you are right that long-term use of laxative is not good for your body. In fact there is condition called lazy bowels that can result. Basically, your bowels get used to the laxative doing the work, and they loose the ability to push a poop out on their own.

Here is what I would do. First of all, find out what your doctor is concerned about seeing blood in her stool. What does this indicate to him/her? Second, figure out if it was old black blood or new bright blood. If it is old black blood, then it could be coming from the intestines/bowels. This might indicate a serious problem. If it is bright red blood, than it is likely that your daughter's anus has developed little splits in the skin, called fissures, while trying to push out a hard oversized poop, and she is just bleeding superficially from the skin. This is painful, but it is not really a medical problem - at least it doesn't indicate that something serious is going on - and it will heal easily once her poops are normal again. Then I would ask for the product insert from Miralax. Sit down at a time when you can focus, and read THE WHOLE THING! Some doctors prescribe medication in ways that they are not indicated for use. Miralax is a perfect example. It states that it is not to be used for an extended period of time (all laxatives do), but I have heard from parents whose children have been on it for YEARS. Next, I would try to address what could be causing the constipation. Her diet is the primary thing to look at. Is she eating a lot of "baby" targeted food? I'm assuming that she is not having formula or baby cereal, but many foods targeted to babies and toddlers are fortified with iron. Fake iron is a huge constipator, and many babies are getting iron overload because all sorts of things are being fortified. Look at everything she is eating, and try to figure out what her total iron intake is adding up to. Does she take a multivitamin with iron? You might try switching to an iron-free version. Is she willing to eat fruits and veggies? Fruit is easy to get toddlers to eat, and it is so helpful to get bowels moving. Try to get her to eat whole grains, too. Fiber is really important for proper bowel function. We try to buy the high-fiber bread; there is a particular brand that is marketed with lots of extra fiber. Can you sneak a powdered fiber supplement into her yogurt or other food? That is not a laxative, but it will help soften her stools. Finally, watch her consumption of cheese, banannas and meat. You are going to have to be careful that she gets some meat, especially if you yank the iron supplements from her diet, but balance it out with fruits and whole grains. Finally, make sure your daughter is getting plenty of water.

Best of luck,
S.

Flaxx seed or meel -it can be sprinkled onto/into any food from ice cream,PB&J sandwiches, yogurt,cereal, salad.
You can buy Flaxx seed in bulk at Wild Oats pretty cheap like $2 a lb last time I bought a scoop it cost $.69 and lasted a while. A tablespoon is serving so a little goes a long ways.
You can buy Flaxx Seed Meel at King Soopers/Safeway in with the speciality flour/baking mixes for about $4.

The best (and hardest) solution is to change your diet since that is the root of the issue. At home, my husband and I eat vegan, no meat or dairy. But when I leave or we eat out, my husband eats whatever. He says he definitely notices a difference when he eats dairy. Dairy plugs up the system.

My son was chronically constipated when he was tiny and was on miralax for almost 4 months I think. He did just fine once his body normalized and had no problems with the miralax whatsoever. So, if your daughter really needs it to be comfortable, it really is a very safe one.

I have been using miralax for my daughter (who is now almost 4) for about 2 years now, and it is the best thing ever made. Now, we don't have to use it too often, but my daughter would start to hold her bowel movements if they started to be too uncomfortable, and made the situation worse, and wouldn't poop for 10 days. The miralax makes it so easy for her to begin a perfect routine, with no side effects what so ever, and absolutely not addictive. I would suggest it to anyone who needed it!!!

Miralax actually isn't a normal laxative, and I wouldn't call it medication - more just a stool softener that works really well! It is a powder that you mix into your drink (works best in juice) and it Doesn't get absorbed by the body/blood stream. My niece is two and also gets constipated...she uses miralax now and it is helping a TON!!! I wouldn't be worried about using it AT ALL. Especially were she is having blood in the stool - I would think it would be worse not to try it. Could other problems occur by putting off what will work?

Sorry to be blunt, but it sounds like using Miralax should be the least of your worries right now w/how your daughter is feeling. Good luck w/whatever you decide to do.

Blood in her stool is not something to fool with! Just give her the meds and hope it isn't something more serious.
C. B

Ok this is going to sound so silly but prune juice really is not goingto help too mcuh as you see. Next silly question what is she eating or not eating? Also how much water is she taking in? BTW Miralax is fine for short term use. I know diet is more of the problem in little ones than not. I know this sounds really easy but try her on 2x the amount of water and see what goes on. Miralax take a while to work too.

peace

Try to look for a second opinion. I have had those kind of problems since I was a little kid and it is no fun! I take metamucil every day now and it has helped me. It might be a good idea to see what food might be causing her constipation. Cereal and raisins have helped my little one with that problem. Maybe the reason why the Dr. Wants that medicine is so that she can release all the poop that is causing her problems so that her body has a better opportunity to poop as it should be. Maybe you want to investigate if there is something to make her stool softer. Maybe she needs to drink more fluids or more vegetables on her diet. I hope you find the answer.

You could try 1 teaspoon of castor oil and 1 teaspoon of honey. They have both been used for centuries for all kind of ailments and both are good for your body. You can also try castor oil packs on her abdomen.
I have used them on my kids when they complain of tummy trouble with great results.
3 layers of flannel large enough to cover her abdomen
1 piece of plastic wrap to cover the flannel
1 hot pad
castor oil
saturate the flannel with castor oil (not soaking or dripping)
apply to her belly, cover with plastic wrap and then apply heating pad on low. With my kids I have left it on for about 30 mins.
I also think there is an emotional aspect to every illness. I had the same problem when I was her age that has plagued me for much of my life. I worried a lot when I was a kid and took on a lot of the stress of my parents and family. Perhaps your little one is very sensitive to all the emotion and worries around her, helping her understand that about herself and reminding her it's not her responsibility to fix or change every thing might help. Helping her relax and feel safe would have been helpful to me and I've seen it help my kids. Good luck and love to your little one.

Megan,
My daughter had the same problem. They took an x-ray and found bowls us to her ribs. It was really bad. She ended up in the hospital. I will spare you the details of everything that happened. We had to use some kind of oil mixed with chocolate syrup. It worked great until we could get into a specialist. I can't remember the name of the medication the dr put my daughter on but it worked. I had her on it for 2 months and she has never had a problem again. Your daughters body might just need a jump start. She just might need some extra help to get her system working right. If you don't feel comfortable with what this doctor is telling you, you need to get another opionion.
Good luck with everything I hope it turns out well.

i would trust your doctor. talk to her about your worries and about side effects.

Hi Megan. Oh my gosh, your situation sounds so familiar to mine! My daughter also became constipated frequently after I stopped nursing at one year old. We also tried a ton of natural rememdies, but nothing would work for very long. it got to the point where she would scream in pain every time she had to poop. We switched pediatricians around then, and after a year or so the new dr. suggested Miralax. I am one who, like you, did not like the idea of medicating my kids, but I was willing to try for a couple of weeks. The results were immediate, but without side effects. All that Miralax does is help water stay in the stools. it turns out that my daughter has a very slow digestive system, and she can still get backed up very easily. We limit her dairy intake, and only rarely let her eat bananas or chocolate, plus we make sure she eats a lot of fresh produce. She is still on a daily dose of Miralax of 1 tsp. a day, which isn't much. Until we figure out another option, this is the path we will take. Hope this helps...please let me know if you have any questions! Good luck!

K.

Our pediatrician also recommended Miralax for my daughter. I haven't gotten to the store yet to pick some up, but it might at least be comforting for you to know that another pediatrician recommended that, too.

I don't know of any long-term side affects, but I do know you want to clear this up asap. My younger brother had problems like this at that age and ended up with a huge bowel blockage at the age of 5. (The size of a grown man's fist.) It took them forever to take care of that, and he continued to have muscle control problems for years because of it.

If it was my child, I would risk any temporary side effects to avoid a larger, long-term problem.

Both of my kids get very constipated and have taken Miralax. It works great. It is not a laxative, but a stool softener. We do the undiluted prune juice too, but if it doesn't work within a day, they get Miralax and that seems to do the job quickly. My friend's daughter was on the verge of having bowel obstruction, b/c she was so constipated and has been on Miralax for awhile and it hasn't been an issue. Give it a try and keep up with the pure prune juice too. They both help.

I had the same problem with my daughter, and feel the same way about Miralax. We fixed the problem by adding 2tsp of milk of magnesia to her sippy cup of milk once daily. You can pick it up at any drugstore or grocer. Although it is sold with the medicines, you are not putting a drug into your kid's body. All it does is draw water into the bowel, causing stools to pass more easily. The other plus is that you can't build up a resistance to it and continually need more to do the job (unlike prune juice). Other than that, I would just try to adjust her diet - load her up with fruit and fiber, and minimize dairy and banana. Good luck!

My daughter has been constipated her whole life! It runs in the family, on her Dad's side. She does take Miralax and it has been a life saver! Do some research on Miralax before you dismiss it. If you would rather go another route I would take your daughter to see Dr. Dave. He is a homeopathic Dr. and will give you suggestions on what to give her that is more natural. His website is www.daveshealth.com and he has two stores one in sugarhouse area and the other in West Jordan.
Good Luck! I know it is horrible to see your daughter suffer through this so do what ever you can to ease her pain.

Megan,
Black blood in poop is serious! You really should follow your Dr's instructions here. When my baby was 4mos old I put her on formula and she became really constipated and our Dr suggested Miralax in her bottles and it really helped and it wasn't at all habbit forming. Now 2mos later she doesn't need the miralax at all. I do think it may have made her gassy but that also might have been the formula. You have alot of responses here, good luck.

C.

what a lot of responses! I read thru about 1/2 the advice and didn't notice yogurt mentioned. Since a healthy digestive system needs "good bugs", I would try kefir (a cultured milk drink) or yogurt (plain is best W/ fresh or frozen fruit).

I had that problem as a teen and our doctor recommended buying bran flakes and adding them to cereal. Of course I hated it, but I was a teen and teens hate everything. She probably will not even notice. It helped me a great deal and it was all natural. You may have to go to a specialty store or like a "whole foods" type of store.

I would change her diet at this time -- cut everything out except fruit, veges, grains (brown rice, oatmeal), and water. Make sure you buy good bread with no High Fructose Corn Syrup (honey is a good option). Grandma Sycamore makes a decent and cheaper wheat bread.

There is also stuff called Senekot that I would try before Miralax if changing her diet doesn't work. It's liquid chocolate and you take it until poop is normal and then slowly ween off of it.

Best wishes, D.

my daughter had the same problem too....my ped. is wonderful and always has us try natural remedies before prescribing meds...We used light karo syrup in her bottles and as she got bigger, whenever she got constipated we would give her 2 or 3 teaspoons of mineral oil (which has no flavor) and it helped right away. hopes this helps

Hi Megan, my name is C. and it sounds like you have described mine and my one year old daughter to a T. I myself have issues with the same this chronic constipation, so I was not surprised when my daughter started to experience the same thing. I too am not a big fan of OTC or Prescribed medications especially for children. What we have done that seems to have helped is simply upped our fruit intake. My daughter loves blueberries fresh frozen or dried. They are not only good for you but yes a natural laxative. We eat them a few times a day. We also do applesauce and yogurt too other good sources of fiber to help with easing the regularity of things. If you would like to talk further feel free to email me direct. ____@____.com
Thanks,
Court

Miralax worked wonders for my younger brother, and he was on it when it was a perscription. He had a condition called mega colon. (basically youre always constipated) anywho, he was on it for quite a while until he was getting better the older he got. We still keep some of the over the counter stuff for "special occasions". Anyway, I wouldn't feel threatened to use it on my own son who is almost two if that's what the doctor was suggesting. it's not really a medication either, they are just tiny tiny plastic "wrecking balls" so to speak to help keep things loose enough to pass. it's not chemicals. no worries, I say go for it.

I have a neighbor who is now 7 and has been taking Miralax for a couple years now. His mom and dad wished they would have gone to it much, much earlier. He takes such a small dose that he is just "normal" now. He was miserable before and now can be a normal kid. They have also made sure he has a healthy diet, gets plenty of sleep and is otherwise healthy.

I would suggest giving it a try and if it truly helps your daughter - it would be worth it, right?

HI Megan,
We have been there with toddlers/preschool who had trouble pooping. It's no fun for them or us. A few years ago, my husband, who is a school psychologist, attended a summer class on nutrition and behavior in children. One pearl of information that he learned, among others, is about a natural product called acidopholis. It is good bacteria that helps in digestion and elimination. It's found in yogurt, too. Ever since that class, we have given our kids (6,5 and 3) an acidopholis every day. You can get capsules or chewables at any health food store ("Sunflower, Wild Oats, etc). We actually started our older kids on 1 each meal 2 years ago until they were regular. Now they are each down to one at breakfast and we haven't had problems with constipation in a long, long time! You might want to go with your dr.'s recommendation for miralax for a week or two, just to get things moving, then switch to acidopholis. Good luck and God bless. C. M.

Just wanted to echo what Mari said: Breastmilk has lots of probiotics in it. Probiotics are the the main ingredients for a healthy digestive tract. Once you stopped giving her probiotics via breastmilk her system didn't know what to do...use the miralax to get her systems going again. But also introduce a probiotic supplement either via some drops (you can get at Whole Foods) or a complete spectrum in Danactive yogurt.

GL!! Hopefully she feels better soon!

My daughter, who is now 5 1/2 was always constipated when she was younger. It started when she quit nursing when she was almost 3. I took her to her Dr. and she put her on Miralax. I was really hestitant at first because, like you, I wanted something natural. The Miralax was not habit forming and very easy on my daughter. It kept her regular and I still keep it on hand, as she still gets constipated every now and then. Her Dr. said that she will eventually grow out of her constipation as her little system gets bigger and starts to mature. My mom, who is a midwife and a real health/natural freak, agrees with the choice I made with the miralax. Good luck with your daughter.

My oldest was always constipated. He still had trouble. I have tried mineral oil and prune juice and fiber supplements. Finally, I got a stool softner. He doesn't go more often it just makes it easier. He's almost thirteen. He's now starting to take an interest himself. He hates the trouble he has. His problem is that he doesn't drink enough water or exercise enough. Also, his medication, daily, makes him that way. It may not be natural but I'm desparate enough to try anything. I can't make him exercise and I can't make him drink more water. I can offer it but to make him drink, doesn't work. Good luck!!!

My daughter, who is now 26 months, has been constipated since about 12 months old - and when talking to our pediatrician, she recommended that we give her a daily dose of Milk of Magnesia (cherry flavored) - 3/4 tsp. You can give up to 1-1 1/2 tsps per day total. We found that she became more regular again with this practice within a few days, and was not having strained and painful poops anymore. We kept it up for quite a while until we decided to go to a dosage of 3/4 tsp every other day. Then, as things went well, we'd just skip all together until she seemed to be a bit constipated again, and we'd give her another dose, and within 24 hours, she would go.

My daughter used to stand there trying to poop in her diaper and crying at the same time - you knew it was hurting her. I felt that using the Milk of Magnesia would be a help to all that pain. My pediatrician told me that her daughter has taken M of M for the first three years of her life due to persistent constipation. If she'd give it to her own daughter, I felt good to give it to mine.

With regard to the Miralax - my older two stepdaughters (9 and 8) took Miralax when it was prescription only, now you can buy it over the counter. It worked well for them as well. I never used it with my 2 year old - never had to look for an alternative - the Milk of Magnesia did the trick for us.

Lots of water, watch the dairy intake, and high fiber. Good luck.

By the way, I chuckled a little bit that your daughter is having trouble with her own plumbing! Get it? You and your hubby own a plumbing company - I found some silly humor in that coincidence. :)

Increase her fiber intake and make sure she drinks PLENTY of water. The prune juice is fine but should not be the only thing being used. Whole fruits and veggies contain large amts of fiber which help push the stool along and plenty of water keeps the stool soft. Doing the fiber without the water would make things worse, so it's imperative that she drink LOTS. If she already has a high-fiber diet, try just increasing her water intake. Really, start with a glass every 2 hours and see if that helps. If not, increase to every hour. She'll pee like a racehorse but it should help soften the stool enough for her to have a bm. good luck.

I have 2 little girls (1 and 3), and they both have had constipation issues their whole life. We switched their diets around which has helped considerably...no wheat or dairy for the most part. We use rice milk and cheese, and brown rice pasta, snacks, etc. We also use probiotics every night in their rice milk. Good luck...it works.

Try prune juice as well and switch her to goats or soy milk. My 3 year old has always had constipation problems. It has also caused her issued with going poop on the toilet, because she says it hurts.
I also have something called Gycolax, or something to tha nature, that we put in her milk. It has helped too. I would suggest that you go about it naturally, however if it does not work go with the Miralax, otherwise she can have much more serious problems down the line.

I have had the same problem with my youngest daughter as well. She is the best fruit and vegetable eater and was still constipated. She later became ill and complained about it hurting when she went pee. Turns out her bladder was not emptying completely due to the constipation. No, she did not have a bladder infection, she had a very serious kidney infection that required IV antibiotics. Miralax has been a lifesaver. She only has to take it once a week now. It didn't matter what we fed her and how much liquid she consumed, the constipation was a constant problem. I have had two doctors and a pediatric nurse of over thirty years (a trusted relative)tell me that there is no rhyme or reason for some kids to experience constipation on a consistent basis, they just do. Most eventually out grow it. I hope so. Good luck and I hope you find a natural way to help treat your two year old. Surely there has to be someone out there who found a way to deal with the constipation.

I know this may sound really weird, but how much water does your daughter drink? My son who is now 20 used to have problems with being constipated. We have a book that said to give them an 8 oz glass of water ever 20 minutes until they pooped. It really worked. Give it a try. Water is really the best remedy for a lot of things!

Hi Megan,
I am went through something similar when my son was about 15 months. I put him on Miralax and it worked wonderfully. When his bowels returned to normal we weaned him off and he does just fine now.(I am a dietitian and was concerned as you are but this was the only thing that really worked well because due to the constipation, he wouldn't eat/drink like he should exacerbating the problem...)
Now I try to give him a lot of fresh fruit, diluted apple juice, and watch the amt of milk he drinks because too much milk constipates him. When/if he starts to get constipated I switch over to straight apple juice (not diluted) and try to push fruit. But if this doesn't help right away I have restarted the Miralax as needed in order to avoid major problems. He usually only needs it for a few days, at most, and then can go right off of it without issue...
Just a word of caution - I have a friend whos daugther had major problems w/constipation. She did not want to use the Miralax and it turned out they had to bring her to Children's Hospital because the problem got worse and worse. Her daughter had issues with "holding" bowel movements because she was so scared to go and was diagnosed w/a stretched out rectum and had to be placed on a strict regimen of laxatives and Miralax. Through her experience and advice I was urged to be proactive w/the Miralax and am thrilled that I followed that advice. It is horrible to see them suffer w/constipation...
Best of luck to you and your daugther!

I have the same problem with my 11 year old son. He started have constipation problems at 6 months. The doctor told us then, that he had too much calcium in his body, so he had to drink rice milk. Nasty stuff. Over the years he has had problems off and on and he won't go for 3 days or more, then it's hard and hurts and he tears and bleeds. He is a little mentally disabled so it's still like having a 2 year old some times. I took him off milk completely to see if that helped. It didn't make any difference. He eats lots of fruits and veggies and grains and everything that should help with normal pooping. It doesn't. The last doctor we saw, put him on Miralax. He takes it every other night in a glass of water or juice and it seem to work just fine. My best friend is a nurse and told me that it is not harmful to the body. It is not really a laxative, it just makes it easier to go. It's works more like a stool softener. I still have no idea what is causing the problem, so we made an appt with a pediatric GI doctor. My friend said for him it probably has to do with the medicine he takes for ADD ADHD Autism, etc. I am not as worried about giving him the Miralax now that I have talked to her about it. We started out giving it to him every day, but after he got into the regular habit of going to the bathroom every day, we cut it to every other day. If we miss more than 2 he has problems. Hope that helps you feel better about using it.

Have had this same problem. Cheese for someone with these issues is a NO! Also for fiber I take Fiber Coice. They taste like fruit and kids like them. Do at least two a day and maybe more. LOTS OF WATER!

Hi Megan,
I am a Clinical Herbalist in Denver, and I have passed along your case to my teachers and mentors. I am sure they will have sound information to share with you and your Daughter.
I will relpy as soon as I hear back from any of them. Hopefully within the next 24 hours. Long term (6-12months) of herbal-tonics in teas will most likely be beneficial. But short term I will wait to hear from the experts, and I will let you know what I find out. Please respond to this message so it is easy for me to pass on more info to you.
Thanks,
L. Golub Clinical Herbalist, Holistic Pathways ###-###-####

I used to give my son Karo syrup. It is natural and sort of sweet so I had no problem getting my son to drink it. Put about a tablespoon in a 4-6 oz of water. It works wonders.

My kids eat dried plumbs (prunes) like raisins. I limit them to 3 per day. "Can I have 1-2-3?"

Pineapple juice and apple juice also help. I give my bunny pineapple when she's constipated.

You can talk to your pharmacist as well, but Miralax works by pulling water into the bowel, which softens the stools and helps them to pass more easily. Most other laxatives are chemically dependent, so that is why your doctor said not to worry about it. We've had issues with constipation with both of my children (now ages 5 and 7) despite their fiber rich diet. We've used Miralax off and on at times and it works wonders. I have felt horrible at times when they really get constipated. Once the doctor said it would take 6-12 months of daily Miralax use to get his bowels to shrink back to normal size, he'd been holding it so long that he was really stretched out. (He was 6 so I wasn't keeping track of his stools quite as much as when I was involved in his potty use). I'd talk more to your doctor about it if you're worried about the Miralax, but don't make major dietary changes (like cutting out milk) unless you talk to him or a dietician about it. I think it's fine to go milk-free as long as you supplement their diet with needed vitamins and nutrients. The last thing you want is to cut out important nutrients like Calcium or Vitamin D and have another problem on your hands like Ricketts (which is becoming more common now due to the use of sunscreen and decreased use of milk products). Good luck!

Two ideas for adding more fiber (regardless of your Miralax decision).

Benefiber (sold near fiber supplements in the grocery store) is nearly tasteless and can be stirred into her yogurt or juice. Seriously, you can almost drink it in water without noticing.

Also, try these cookies, apparently a Weight Watchers recipe:

Melt 1/4 c. peanut butter and 1/4 c milk chocolate chips in a saucepan until melted. Stir in 1c Fiber One cereal. Drop 8 cookies onto wax paper and cool. A yummy treat w/ extra fiber.

My friend had a 2-year-old daughter who had the same problem (and was potty training to boot) and these two tips helped. Good luck.

Megan,

Your poor little sweetheart! It's difficult to watch your child going through pain.

If you're interested in natural safe things I have the BEST product for you. http://www.shaklee.net/reginagarcia/product/HerbLax
It's THE BEST thing I know.

Other things to help would be apple sauce, lots of fruit like cherries, plums, give her WHOLE WHEAT--not enriched cracked wheat--bread, lots of water, and rub her belly at least twice a day in a clock-wise motion (because that's the direction our intestinal track moves) with long strokes and also making small circles as you go around the colon...make sure she's active and moving.