Trouble Pooing!!

[vikki a]

Hi, Just wanted to know if some could help me!! I have a 16mht old who has trouble pooing. He eats lots of vegies and fruit and drinks lots of water, and i give him prune jucie daily!! But he still has trouble, in the end i put coloxyl drops in his juice, about every third day. Then i have wait untill he starts trying to push, i have to take his nappy off and help him buy pushing his little legs up to his stomach. When he finally poo's it huge and really quite soild!!
I dont really want to use drugs to help him but he gets so uncomfortable and grumpy.. So if some one has some ideas im open to them....

[mumsthewords]

hi ya, what sort of food does he have? by the way, this is quite common for toddlers, constipation might be caused by not enough fiber in his diet, not drinking enough fluid, stress, a slow digestive tract, or a mild structural change.

i feel sorry for your lil one, perhaps you might like to ask advice from the professional? hopefully this is not something serious, such as intestinal obstructions WHICH is very rare remember i don't want to scare you or anything...

i agree i also wouldnt want to give any chemical/drugs to my family either!

[pinkandblue]

My 2 year old daughter has been constipated on and off for the last 1 1/2 years.

The best thing I have found to work is a glass of apple pear juice daily. I know its probably not good for her teeth or whatever but when your daughter is constipated that much and you have to help pull out the poo because it is stuck, you will do anything.

The other thing is Parachoc. This helps softens the poo and slide out more easily. I let her have it in a milkshake and she doesnt even notice.

The last thing, which is only when we are extremely desperate, is microlax. It is an enema which goes up her bum and this makes her poo in 5-15 minutes.

[razzle]

I know exactly what you mean Vikki - most of the time I have to wait until I hear the gaspy, pushing groan and then rush Eloise to the change table to push her legs up to help.

I found that a bit of brown sugar in some water works quite well. I took Eloise to the doctor when she was about 6 months old for constipation (coloxyl wasn't working) and he recommended parachoc which does work for her most of the time. When I get desparate (or she does) I use an infant suppository which makes it gooey enough to poop out.

Pureed pears works well too. Cut up some pears, microwave until soft and then blend.

[jessica]

Since a severe constipation episode which ended in hospital! We have prune juice every morning with breakfast! Has worked a treat and haven't had a problem since! We use Heinz Apple and Prune Juice.... :D

[vikki a]

Hi all, thanks for your advice! I will have to try the parachoc that a few of you mentioned. He all ready has prune jucie(sunraysia) dayily. I dont give him heaps of milk and cheese, which i know can make you constipated. And he eats lots of vegies and fruit so you would think he gets enough fiber!! So wish me luck!!

[JJsMamma]

What about a good pro-biotic? I wouldnt use any synthetic so personally Id can anything you can get from the chemist. Its probaby related to diet and could even be allergy related! In which case you may be treating the symptom rather than the cause. You could try taking him to a naturopath but before that you could try an In-Liven. Email me if you want some info on it ana@wizbang.com.au
We all use it including bubs and are really happy with it. Apart from giving me and DH more energy it has really helped our JJ who suffers from sensitivities and disgestion problems which is the reason we gave it a try. This isnt a sales pitch at all but we were so impressed that I joined the co. so that we could buy it direct. Definitely worth a try! Thanks Amanda

[Milly]

Our daughter is a fairly regular girl but she has had a great variety of poos from hard pellets to explosions. One thing I found when she has had a pellety style poo (the type that borders on constipation) was to give her a good serve of Baked Beans. Additionally sultanas too always get anything else out as well. We get some pretty impressive nappies when she has either Baked beans and/or Sultanas.

So, this is a goer for us. :D

Also, if he is drinking anything like Toddler Milk, I would avoid it whilst he is contipated. Basically because some of these supplement milks are quite high in iron (or fortified). So, if he is still on the breast, stick to that, but if he is on any supplement milk drinks like the Toddler Milks, then avoid these if you can. All, toddler milk is basically milk powder with a vitamin/mineral supplement anyway, so just go plain old cow's milk if he his weaned and this may reduce any other problem too.