My 16 month old has daily bowel movements, however, they are always black balls which I know is because she is constipated. I can't seem to get her to drink much water at all and she consumes 3 8oz bottles of Organic Vanilla Soymilk per day. Should she be drinking more milk? My pediatrician said really for her age and weight (which she is very small at only 17 pounds) she only needs about 12 oz of milk per day. Is this true? It doesn't seem like enough. I still push for 24 oz. Is there something I can feed her that will help with the bowel movements looking more normal? She loves to eat so if there is something I can feed her that would be best. I have also put 2 tbls of flaxseed into her oatmeal cereal in the morning just to keep her moving but they still seem to come out in black balls. Anyone have any suggestions??
Add 2 tbsp of prune juice to apple juice, 100% cranberry juice or whatever other juice she loves. You can also add water to any juice you give her, it cuts down on sugar and increases her water intake. Then try giving her raisins and sweet ones individually wrapped prunes. My 17 month on son loves them. I started using these remedies when his bowel movement became too hard or nonexistent.
Good luck,
Mel
My daughter is the same and she eats yogurt almost every day & I keep dried prunes around for snacking. They are pretty good after all. Hope this helps you.
less milk, maybe not soy but rice or regular, more apple juice or applesauce because she seems to not have enough water to bulk up her stools
dr's not saying less fluid, just less milk fluid
also pureed prunes (soft like applesauce) and perhaps add this or applesauce to oatmeal to get more liquid "bulk"
good luck:)
Pear juice or white grape always did the trick for my son. Why the soy milk?
Soy is extremely constipating. Any particular reason she is on soy? Although breast milk is best cow's milk is the most preferable second, soy only being a substitute if you can't use milk (and most people who are allergic to milk are also allergic to soy). Otherwise fiber in her diet, lots of water (you can try diluting juice with water).
my pediatrician said 16-24 oz of milk a day total (including milk, yogurt, cheese, etc.) for my 18 month old son. one thing to keep in mind is that too much milk constipates. plus, too many bananas constipate as well. whenever our son is constipated we give him pureed prunes and he goes within a day.
I agree to push yogurt and fiber. What about fruit and veggies, will she eat those? I would also try and figure out a way to push more water...what about popsicles or jello? That would be a way to get more water in. I think her milk intake is probably fine. Keep goig with the flaxseed and oatmeal...you can also add flax to muffins and breads too.
You could try adding just a little juice to her water once a day. I just put a third juice to two thirds water. It adds a little flavor to the water. Try to push the fruit. Pumpkin helps too. Make some pumpkin muffins. Try one or two prunes as well. I hope this helps.
Fruit, water, and yogurt. I have never had a constipation problem with my daughter, but she wanted to eat apples when she was 4 months old because she sees us eating apples almost every day. I grate apples in her cereal, but now at 2 she can easily chew soft ones (golden delicious). I ripen pears until they can be almost pureed (4-5 days after they are purchased from the store) and they are so sweet that my daughter literally cries if I don't give her another one. Yogurt has natural bacteria that aid digestion, you can even try plain yogurt not the sweet one, you may be surprised. If she nees to be on soy, there are many soy yogurts out there, too. Where I live we have a good selection of tropical fruit - papaya and mango are her favorite. There is a lot of soft fresh fruit that kids would eat because it is very sweet. I think we tend to underestimate what they would like based on what we like, for example I really don't like papaya, although I know it is good for you, including for digestion.
My daughter is grown now or at least thinks she is but she had constipation problems everyday of her life until she was about 5 or 6. I would have to make sure that she drank prune juice or ate prunes everyday and when the prunes stopped working her Dr would make us do enimas. Constipation is toxic and very serious. It can make her sick if she doesn't get cleaned out. My daughter use to do the same thing, only pop little hard black balls and they hurt. You might want to speak to your Dr about what he thinks about giving her an enima. My daugter had to have them until she was in kindergarden. She is 18 now and has not had any problems since. But please talk to your Dr.
Hey A.! does she like popsicles or jello? Watermelon and grapes? I am having the same prob with Abby. They need more fluid. More fruits and veggies. does she drink juice at all? Dilute it water...i know u know that! And i am sure u know keep her away from banana's and limit foods that don't have lots of water.
