Trouble Having A BM

Good Afternoon Ladies,
I need your suggestions, old fashioned remedies, etc!!
I am at the end of ideas as to what to give my 18 month old son to make him have a BM. I have tried the apple juice, water, prune juice mixture warmed up every other day since Monday of last week. I have increased his vegetable intake and decreased his meat intake & he had a huge abnormal sized BM. I have given him the laxative Castor Oil and nothing happened. I have given him Glycerin suppositories (the Pediatrician told me to give them to him) twice within the last three weeks and another huge abnormal BM. I am wondering if he is actually holding them in because he knows they will be huge and hurt? He does not appear to be uncomfortable or in any pain. I am very worried and thinking about taking him to the ER.

Any suggestions?

 

Some things we used when we had problems (per advice from my pedi):

--pear juice
--white grape juice
--pears or peaches
--bran muffins

And cut out rice, bananas, apples, anything like that.

I think you are going to have to be more aggressive -- if he is having that much trouble, giving juice every other day will not help enough, especially to get him more regular. I would do a few ounces of prune/apple/pear/grape juice with EVERY meal until he's had a few days' worth of normal BMs and then cut back to 1x/day for at least another week.

 

I would ask your pediatrician about Miralax. It used to have to be prescription, but you can buy it OTC now. My girls have horrible constipation issues & I've found putting a small amount (about 1/4 to 1/2 of a regular dose) in their drink at night has helped. I can also tell when I've stopped.

We tried this after we had done everything else... Switching to 100% whole wheat, upping their fiber intake, prune juice, etc. Claire was so constipated that she couldn't stand up. I took her to the dr. & they did an x-ray & she was backed WAY up. We had been doing suppositories, but they weren't working, because her bowels were empty - she was backed up beyond her colon.

My girls were well over a year older than your son, so I'm not sure if any of my advice is helpful.

 

QUOTE(BettiePage @ Sep 19 2007, 12:28 PM) [snapback]414915[/snapback]
And cut out rice, bananas, apples, anything like that.


I agree with BettiePage that you are going to have to work this problem from both ends (pun intended). Definately up the ante on the frequency to every meal, and avoid like the plague all the constipating foods (bananas are constipation death for us).

For my boys, I got them the pureed baby prunes and fed it to them STRAIGHT. Now that they are older, I'll bet they would love to munch on real prunes/dried apricots (Watch out for insta-crap)! When we were little the ped also recommended a T of LIGHT Karo syrup in a 4 oz. bottle to help grease the tracks, so to speak.

 

My Ped recommended Little Tummies laxitive drops or Flax Seed Oil.

Hope he feels better soon!!

 

I've been wondering the same thing. We've been having the same problems with Evy and I'm not sure what to do because she has a very balanced diet... lots of fruits and veggies and fiber. We try to limit protein so it's not too much and still it will be days and she'll push and push with nothing and then a HUGE BM that I know just hurts her. If we could just find a way to soften it. I'll try some of these suggestions!

 

I agree with the pureed prunes and the miralax suggestions (there are other great tips from PP also).

Constipation is a CONSTANT battle for Anthony (and I mean constant, since birth) and the two things that help us keep him pooping are tummy massages in a VERY Warm bath--not hot, but very very warm, filled up to his navel and then rub his belly with soapy fingers.

The second is stretching. No matter when the last poop was, stretching will almost always get him to poop!

 

Our pediatrician recommends Pineapple and pineapple juice. He says they have the same strong effect as prunes, but are easier to get down little ones (they taste MUCH better!!) We have this problem with my 2nd DD, and we have to usually cut out all her cheese (her biggest "stopper") and no bananas, apples, etc.
Hope he's feeling better soon!!
Nicole

 

Someone on another board mentioned that blueberry applesauce works really well for her son. She didn't use the babyfood one - she used the one they have for adults.

 

QUOTE(LouCee @ Sep 20 2007, 03:43 PM) [snapback]415956[/snapback]
Someone on another board mentioned that blueberry applesauce works really well for her son. She didn't use the babyfood one - she used the one they have for adults.



My little girl has been constipated since birth . When we switched over to whole milk a few weeks ago it got worse. I actually tried her on the Fletchers child liquid laxative. It tastes like Root beer and they both loved it. Well by the end of the first day she had 3 bm's and no crying. I couldn't belive how stopped up she must have been and how miserable she felt. They already eat a jar of prunes every morning with breakfast but nothing seemed to help. Good luck the Fletchers seemed to work for us.

Sheila

 

QUOTE(sheilaTNtwins @ Sep 20 2007, 04:39 PM) [snapback]416061[/snapback]
My little girl has been constipated since birth . When we switched over to whole milk a few weeks ago it got worse. ...
Sheila



The other thing you might look into is reducing or eliminating dairy (milk and cheese) for a bit to see if that loosens things up a bit (just noting that this poster indicated that things got worse when they switched to whole milk). The son of a friend of mine was constantly constipated once he started drinking cows milk. He was on laxitives all of the time. She eliminated dairy and the constipation went away completely - it took until he was almost 3 before she made the dairy connection. He drink a bit of milk and has a bit of cheese, and has not been constipated since. You might try that as well.

Good luck.

 

THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR RAPID RESPONSES AND GREAT SUGGESTIONS!!!!
I went to the pharmacy last night and the Pharmacist told me to try Baby Lax, liquid enema. He pooped 10 minutes after I gave it to him. His tummy was huge before he pooped last night(it's still kinda big today too)! I feel like crying. I feel bad thinking..is there anything else I can do or have I missed something? We have an appt with the Pedi tomorrow, maybe she will refer us to a specialist because he has been having trouble pooping since birth. If she doesn't refer us, I'm switching Pedi's because she should be all over this since it it recurring. Something is definitely wrong with his lil system. My chunky monkey.
Thanks!!!!!!!!!

 

I hope you got a referral to someone who can help you! My 6 y.o. just went to see a Pediatric GI doctor (for severe reflux) and I was a little bit suprised when they put him on a 'Pooping Program' (my name, not theirs!) They said that they wanted to make sure we were keeping his system flushed out so we could get a true feeling for what was happening with the reflux. (Since it's all one big 'tube', I suppose it makes sense...) He is taking Miralax 2x daily and then once a month we do a 'clean-out' with extra Miralax doses along with Ex-lax. I think your little guy could benefit from a visit to a specialist!

Also, when my boys have been a little bit stopped up (we don't have chronic constipation issues, but it happens from time to time), I always give either oatmeal or raisin bran for breakfast. Somehow, a nice, big, warm bowl of oatmeal almost always does the trick! So does warm apple juice or cider. The warmth seems to really help! My boys also love whole prunes (which we call 'GIANT raisins') which helps! Pears are also very high in fiber, but they don't seem to get my boys systems going!

Good luck!

 

my pedi suggested dark karo syrup when the boys were babies and it worked great. I would just call and ask for the correct amount to give.

 

We had to give our son miralax after he had surgery this summer and the pain meds stopped him up! We have used it once more since then when he was having a really hard time!
Other than that we have used prune juice, suppositories, etc....
Good Luck!

 

We've been having the same trouble - occasional bouts of constipation. I read on Web MD just two nights ago that you should run a very warm bath and add 2 oz. of baking soda. Then let the little ones soak. We tried it and - gross as it was - Breanna pooped three big turds (is that how you spell it - I don't think I've ever written that word before) in the tub. That was a first for us - but I was so glad it worked for her. Our little Lillian, who seems to have more troubles with this, didn't seem to be affected. So I gave her a half of a child suppository. Half an hour later, we had results.

Our girls eat three big prunes every day and drink lots of juice and limited cheese and bananas, but we still run into the slow times. Good luck finding the right fit for your little pumpkin.

 

We used to have the same problem. Our ped. told us to use all the "P" fruits to relieve constipation. Plums, pears, peaches, prunes. Cooked carrots, whole apples, bananas and rice will make matters worse. Barley cereal is a better alternative. Good luck

 

I just wanted to add that my daughter has chronic constipation issues, I think they are caused by her "holding it in" b/c it's painful. We have been on Miralax now for about 3 months and it's PHENOMENAL. And now that it's available over the counter I love it even more. We had to do the Babylax glycerin suppositories before we started the Miralax and it was awful. Don't get me wrong, it worked like a charm within minutes and gave her INSTANT relief, thank God, but she hates it with a PASSION (and rightfully so!) My pedi did warn though not to use it too often b/c it's important for them to be able to go on their own.

Good luck!

 

My Daugher has had constipation issues from day one also, i have tried every combination of juices, more grains, etc. the one thing i have found to give her easier bms is giving her a handfull of grapes about 3 times a day.

I know her problems usually are because she stiffens up and holds her bum closed because she is scared it will hurt, but the grapes have really softend it up for her!

Hope you find the combo that works!

Nina

 

We've dealt with this since the girls were a few months old! What has worked best for us is a daily breakfast of oatmeal mixed with pureed prunes and dark karo syrup. For the most part, this keeps them regular. We were also given a perscription for a baby laxative to use as needed but have only had to use if 3 times total between both girls in the last 2 months.

 

Just wanted to add that LIFE cereal seems to have a great effect on my system. It's something that you could give your son to munch on and might help a bit.

With the more serious cases... this will not be the answer, of course... but you could add it to his diet.

Good luck and I feel for all of you with children that have constipation issues.

 

the baby prunes in a jar, my girls still eat them for dessert, it works every time

amanda

 

Don't you hate being the poop monitor? Nobody likes to discuss it with you, but thankfully you have some mommies who are dealing with your very issue. ardon:

I give DD 1/2 cup of old fashioned oats with 1 tsp of raw wheat germ EVERY DAY at breakfast. This has worked wonders for us. She poops every single day and it doesn't look like rabbit pellets. I like this alternative to using a medicine or trying to remember the last time she pooped, what it looked like, what intervention needed to be done, etc.

Good luck.