CONSTIPATION,TODDLER,PAIN,HOLDING IT IN, BABY

We too are struggling with this. We have removed dairy and are working on soy. I will try the rice milk after this too. My tip is to buy fiber bears at Whole Foods. They are a gummy bear my daughter loves. She gets one in the am and one in the pm with meals and fluids. Lots of water is needed anytime you add fiber, so adding lots fiber without the fluids is likely exaberating your constipation problems. We choose this in lieu of flax seed oil (which I take for the same problem) as there have been adverse affects in some children. We still struggle weekly with this if we vary our schedule or diet. Stress adds alot to this problem, so I am a demon about keeping her on the same schedule. We are also meeting with an allergist and a nutritionist. You can meet with a nutritionist at your local supermarket for a reasonable fee ($100 per hour here) and if your doctor writes a script for it insurance will cover. Good luck!

I found a website that was very helpful. Its a support site for families with children who have this problem, They called it "Elimination Disorder"and there is a "What to do to help" list on it that I wish I had found long ago as it worked for me and my son. All the best to you all and I know how hard this can all be. Keep hanging in there people. its not forever, though sometimes it feels like it..lol

Both my boys had constipation and my nephew too the worst part was my nephew had a very bad habit of going under the table or cot hide in acorner and poop, most times we would come to know of it only after the whole house was stinking the reason all three boys did not have regular motions was because they were so busy playing that the felt that they were taken away from their play time and forced to sit on the pot.

These are the few things that worked fantastically even if it seemed a little crude and barbaric.

Give two spoons of castor oil to drink also apply castor oil in and around the anus to keep lubricated

You can also give gripe water

stop feeding bread or butter and cheese

feed rice or rotis with curry al ittle bit of spicy food wont kill them and spicy food is good for the stomach

Give plenty of ripe bananas

If they are not allergic to milk give plenty of hot milk to drink

Dont restrict them from running around and playing this helps digestion even if they havent pooped for two days. My second son still poops once in two or three days and has a hard motion he is 9 years now but eats twice as much as the older boy who is 11 years old. The older boys after a lot of trouble has fallen into the pattern of going to the toilet right after he comes back from school

I hope this should help you all :-D

Mom22Girls -- was wondering if you could give an update. My 2.5 year old has had 8 prolapses since June 1. They have ruled out Cystic Fibrosis and now want to do a colonoscopy. We don't really want to do that procedure, but might be to the point where we give in just in case there is something really wrong (cancer) or something. Did your daughter have a colonoscopy? Did you end up getting surgery? For us, she had 6 prolapses pre-Miralax and has 2 after being on the Miralax for a month (at full dose the whole time). Thanks for any additional info.

I highly recommend Miralax for those who are constipated. It is now sold over the counter and worked so well for my daughter! Our Pediatrician recommended it to us when our 5 month daughter was going 4-7 days without a bowel movement! I've used it ever since.

Good Luck!

Hi there...found this forum today and have been going through it hoping to find "the answer"...My son is 21 months old and is in an awful way about pooping. It all started when his new little sister came home from the hospital when he was 13 months old...he went through an adjustment phase where he didnt want to eat, did'nt drink a whole bunch and of course this resulted in constipation, which led to some painful poops, which led to holding it in for days which then led to more painful poops and then more holding it in...which has led us to this train wreck...
We are now 8 months into this and he is terrified, and I mean TERRIFIED, to go poop. He will try his hardest and put all his energy into not pooping...he will cry and scream, stomp, bend over backwards, hold his breath and just be dripping in sweat to ward off the wave of having to go and then when its gone he will go back to playing and whatnot until the next wave comes on. We try helping him...With each wave a little will come out as a little greasy mess, so we have to clean him up and all this has lead to an awful rash that is just flaring raw... This will go on for days and days and as each day passes the urge comes much more frequently and it will get to the point where he is spending the days in my arms in complete distress...its the most awful thing. When he finally has no choice but to go, its (tmi) 10 inches longer or more!
His poops are soft, so its not a constipation issue anymore and has'nt been for a while...Ive been to family doctors and pead's and they both have given me numbing creams to put inside his bum with a suposititory (which is scaring him even more...its a huge fight to get the stuff in, which in my mind would scare me out of using that part of body too!) This is in the hope that it will dull the sensenation of pooping and something will click in his head that its okay to go poop...Yeah right...this is not helping! Its just stressing the situation more and it just seems like its getitng more out of control...he's not eating well anymore as hes so full in his bowel, so its becoming a battle to make sure his poops stay soft (we sneak prune juice into everything, we've cut out the major offenders as best as we can in his diet as well) I know this is all in his head, but how do I talk sence into a 21 month old boy about this...I'm so fusterated, I don't know what to do anymore...Hes in so much pain from this and its just so unbearable to watch...I just don't know what to do, any suggestions would be appriecated...
Thanks for reading and sorry I rambled on... :'(

i had the same problem with my son when he was 2 1/2. The constipation was so bad that when he tried passing a big and hard stool it tore his tissue. It was a painful experience for my son and for me. What did help was Mineral oil. His doctor recommended. Mineral oil softens the stools. You put about a tsp of the oil in juice well it depends on the age.
Believe me it works. My son didn't even notice there was oil in his juice.
Now I'm having the same problem with my daughter and that's what I'm going to give her. Mommies and Dads I hope this helps you.

try giving your baby MonaVie. Its worked wonders for my 20 month baby girl. look into the MonaVie original, which is for kids.. it had 19 different fruits.

My brother is 5 years old and has now had this problem since before April, its an increasing struggle trying to get him to sit on the toilet and get him into the bath also. We have tried a cocktail of lactuloses, creams, vitamins everything and NOTHING works. Its making my mum's life and my family life a misery because we don't know what we can do. He has a really good diet an eats pretty much everything but when it comes to going to the toilet for a number two he hides in a corner and soils himself in his nappy and refuses to get into the bath. We find that he refuses to get into the bath because the motions of the water relaxes his stomach. He gets into a increasingly massive rage with everyone when he needs the toilet, he won't even sit on the toilet because he holds it in. Before, he held it in that much and he had dihorrea and then he didnt poop for a week! Not only this, but when he goes to the poop his bum obviously gets sore because of the fact he is always in nappies but won't let anyone touch him and won't let anyone put cream on him. We believe that there has been more of a psychological behind it also because when he "hides and holds it in" we tend to find him talking to himself. He now goes to a child psychologist every wednesday until he gets himself better and conquers that fear. Please write back with a soloutin that can help us. Thanks.

my son is almost two years old and we are trying to potty train now. he will go number one just fine but when it comes to number two, he hides and dances to keep the bowel. his pediatrician gave him a stool softener but it is so nasty, he won't take it by itself or in juice or milk. every once in a while he will let bowel out but not much. i just want to help my baby be comfortable with bowel movements. i am goint to try thr flax seed oil that was mentionde in another post on this site and i hope it works. my baby deserves relief.

We are going through the same thing, infact of course I googled and got to this site hoping for answers! I read a lot of your suggestions and we are just starting this whole process. From what I have gathered, it takes several things to get the poops out. My daughter, bless her constipated little heart is in the same vicious cycles that you all speak of. Holding it in makes it hard, which makes it hurt, which is why she holds it, which is why its hard.....and continue! We are going to try revamping our whole diet as a family, no more WHITE stuff, bread, rice, anything with simple sugars, and are opting for whoel wheat. We are also cutting dairy down to one small glass of milk and one other dairy serving a day. My daughter is such a picky eater, I am going to do my best to find ANYTHING I can that she will eat that helps with this. It is making her miserable and I can't even think about potty training until we get over the fear of pooping! I will be back to check on this thread, you all have given some great suggestions.

I hope I can offer a little help to all of you with a young child suffering from constipation. My three year-old boy has had an awful time ever since he quit breast feeding. Our doctors continue to give the same advice you have all mentioned, but I find it especially difficult to swallow since my son struggles and is at times in great pain. I agree that it is indeed on of the most awful things to observe.

Here's what I'm doing that is working for us:

Prune juice & H20 together (half & half) about once a day
Flax seed oil in beverages...a couple "squirts" from the bottle a day
High fiber foods where possible - not easy with a finicky toddler, but I try
Suppositories if I see a problem coming...

Good luck! Hang in there!

I just want to say don't give them applesauce. That is something you give a kid who has the runs. My daughter is 21 months and she just recently is going through a bad time with constipation. She has had it a few times in the past but Karo in her milk helped. Now it doesn't really seem to. I think part of her problem is she had a couple of hard ones now she seems scared to go and clenches her little butt to not go. I'm trying so many things. I think I may try one of those powders that are tasteless in food.

This is a very common problem in mostly all babies and toddlers..so dont worry..
here is the solution which I have discovered through my own experience.
1)banana helps to smoothen stool.
2)okra (bhendi) vegetable is also good and works.
3)citrus fruit juices help.
4)vegetable soups like beetroot soup, palak soup, carrot soup, tomato soup helps.
5)Give your toddler 1 tea spoon honey everyday.
6) also give them 2 tea spoon of gulkand everyday.
7) encourage them to drink water
8)See to it that they drink at least 1 cup of milk everyday.
Toddlers are cranky, but try to test with these home remedies..