Toddler constipation

[luz]

As the title states, my LO has horrible constipation!

For the past week or so, he hasn't been pooping much and when he does it just comes out in small little balls. I feel really horrible for him, any suggestions of what i can do to help him get over this??

I'm pretty sure it's related to his crappy diet. All he will eat is chicken nuggets, macaroni, and grilled cheese. We try to get him to eat some yogurt sometimes, but really. It's a struggle all the time.

 

[Rachel_C]

You could try adding some fibre into his diet where he won't notice it. Does he like fruit, something like dried apricots maybe? Or you could use ground flax seeds/linseeds - they are good for fibre and you can buy them in the supermarket. I just grind them up in the spice grinder, then you can add them to porridge, cereal, yoghurt etc. You can also use flax seed oil as a laxative while you work on diet, you can get that from places like Holland & Barrett. Also get as much water into him as possible. Some kids respond well to apple, pear or prune juice too but it doesn't affect some kids at all.

Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to give laxatives to an older baby or toddler who is suffering from constipation. At that age, they can start to fear pooing and that can lead to more serious problems like withholding, which is much harder to solve. My first priority would be to soften the poo, using laxatives if needed. Give natural stuff a try but if that doesn't work after a week, I'd go for OTC stuff like lactulose. Then once you've solved the immediate problem, you have bought yourself some time to work on diet and hydration. That can be slower and you don't want LO suffering all that time.

 

[seoj]

Would he drink prune juice? Or would he drink juice at all- apple juice can help (just don't dilute it)-- or maybe mix a bit of prune juice in with other juices. That is what my LO's doc recommended when she was badly constipated. Best of luck!

 

[luz]

Would he drink prune juice? Or would he drink juice at all- apple juice can help (just don't dilute it)-- or maybe mix a bit of prune juice in with other juices. That is what my LO's doc recommended when she was badly constipated. Best of luck!

thanks! He does love juice- i'll have to try the apple juice.

 

[hayz_baby]

We are on the laxatives as lo has taken the step further and is withholding poos ATM. It's horrible and I feel terrible.we have been to the doctors about it so many times but they won't even see him I posted about it not too long ago and there wasn't a huge response so am glad that this has been posted. We too have a fussy eater for a toddler. Any tips would b greatly appreciated! X

 

[Natsku]

Maria was badly constipated last week, I bought some syrup of figs (got it in asda) and it worked really well. I think it can be taken on a daily basis to help keep them regular.

 

[snb1978]

Doctor can prescribe some powder for constipation

 

[katy1310]

Maria was badly constipated last week, I bought some syrup of figs (got it in asda) and it worked really well. I think it can be taken on a daily basis to help keep them regular.

I was going to suggest this as well. Sophie's had a few spells of being badly constipated and I spoke to the pharmacist in Boots the first time it happened and that's what she recommended. It worked by later that night. She doesn't even mind the taste of it - I bought some chocolate buttons so that she had one in each hand ready to stuff in straight away but she actually quite liked it and doesn't need the chocolate buttons

 

[PitBullMommy]

Austin has always had constipation. Doctor put him on Miralax and that helped some, but since it's been 4 years and nothing works long-term he has to go see a GI on Monday. Pear juice worked well for Charlotte as a baby. The glycering suppositories work GREAT