3 Yr Old Boy with Frequent Constipation

My littlest girl (5)has also always been constipated. The ped recommended Miralax too, 1tsp with juice (just 1/4 cup) and a teaspoon of plain mineral oil, every day. It has no flavor, just filmy in the mouth. When we remember to do the oil regularly, she goes back to normal. she also has a little lactose intolerance, which makes her constipated and gassy. She eats a Lactaid tablet when she has dairy, that helps too. But its the oil that has helped. The ped also said, when it goes on long enough, the lower colon gets a little stretched and stores it longer and to keep my daughter "soft" for awhile to let it go back to normal.
You can find the oil in any drug store, its clear and says "Mineral Oil" used for lubricating the digestive tract.
Good Luck

I had similar issues with my older son. We too were given a prescription for something - unfortunately, I don't remember the name, but it was a powder that we mixed with milk or juice.
The problem started when he would not go poop in the toilet though he was potty trained. He would wait until night time when he had a diaper on to poop.
Then, he had a terrible BM that caused him a lot of pain and #2 was a big challenge thereafter. The doctor recommended the medicine and also a stool for my son to place his feet on while he was on the toilet. I think the key was telling him that the medicine would help with his BM. We called it poo-poo medicine. When he needed to use the bathroom, he would actually ask for the poo-poo medicine. This was obviously psychological -- the medicine does not work instantly. So, we did that for a while and he grew out of his fear and now poops on his own with no problems. I will saythough that this was probably a two year process. (sorry!)

M.,
When my 7yr old was in pre-school(3yrs. old)he had a condition where he would hold his stool for long periods of time especially if were weren't home.(I can't remember what it's called) He would get severely constipated. Our pediatrician gave him laxatives to take and suppositories. The suppositories were very painful for him. He still has this condition, but does well now.
What I suggest is ground flax seed. New Seasons sells Spectrum brand and it works well. You can mix it into cooked oatmeal or blend it in smoothies and protein shakes. (Don't cook it, put it in food after it's been cooked.)(My son doesn't know it's in there.)It works well for constipation.
Good luck.
A.

Hey M.,

Thanks for posting this! I'm having a similar issue with my 2 year old - she started using the potty on a consistent basis about four weeks ago and all of a sudden, she started complaining about her poop.

She's not constipated - her stools are soft - and she has no sign of a diaper rash, but she can cry and cry before hand and she'll hold it in for 3 days at a time (something she never did before).

I tried one of the suggestions below - I gave her one tablespoon of flax seed oil - and it worked like a charm this morning! I think another poster (this string or another) said her pediatrician told her to make the stools so soft during toilet training that they simply CAN'T hold them in. That was also great advice.

Good luck to all of us!

When he goes, is the poop hard and dry, or normal consistency?

If its hard, then things like prunes, ground flax seed, slippery elm, more water etc and eliminating allergenic foods may help.
Personally I believe that although raw veg may have more fibre than cooked, it is much harder to digest. Little ones have inherently weaker, immature digestive systems. (Digestive system matures at 7 yrs old) and cooked food gives the digestive system a head start.

If its not hard, then maybe he has a problem of just letting it go. I remember reading that some little ones don't like pooping cos they see it as loosing something that's part of them and it disappears dowm this strange flushing thing. Maybe you could get some books from the library to explain that the food you eat gets divided into 2 parts - the good stuff to make you grow which stays inside, and the rubbish that we send away, just like we put out the garbage. I remember getting a kids book from the library that talked a bit about this but it was beyond my then 20 mth old. I don't remember the title.

Remember that they do not think like we do. May be he thinks his poop his great and wants to hang on to it!

PS If you want to go and see a Naturopathic Dr for alternatives to miralex, dietry advice, food testing etc, I can recommend one - Dr Roman Krupa at Urban Wellness
urbanwellnesspdx.com. One of his specialties is pediatrics and he is great with homeopathic remedies which work well for kids, partly because they are so easy to give

HI there. I can't tell you how similiar of issues we have had! My son was on Miralax for almost 2 years. We have been in and out of the hospital due to severe constipation which led to throwing up and dehydration. The medical community could NOT figure it out and said it was behavioural etc. It was NOT. He now have a healthy 4 1/2 year old who poops just fine. He is gluten adn dairy intolerant. I figured this out by taking him off the food myself and keepin a food journal of his intake and poop! I encourage you to do this and then find a good natropath that can test him for food allergies. What ever food he loves the MOST is likely the culprit. My son loved milk, cheese adn bread. You usually crave what you are intolerant too. Good luck. Let me know if I can help any other way!
J.

I have a boy about to turn 4 next month. I have found the most helpful thing for us is to keep him regular with a combination of things. Each day we give him drinkable yogurt - we prefer the YoBaby drinkables but will use others when he is being picky. Our pediatrician loves those. We also give him juices (normally diluted with a bit of water) which we give him his daily vitamins in - we found he loves the taste and on most days, after a dose he has a movement within about 20-30 minutes. We love the ChildLife Multi-Vitamin and Minerals (it is Mango orange flavor I think). Between the yogurt and juice with vitamin once a day, he eats a fairly balanced diet - the pediatrician was pleased with how well rounded his diet is and what he was willing to eat, so we weren't worried on that end. This is just what works for us. When he complains about it being a bit hard, or even painful, we usually notice we haven't made sure he had botht hings the day before or have been too on the go. Just my two cents. I think boys have a little more difficulty woth this, although I know the girls have the issue as well. Potty training makes it even more pronounced. Hang in there, Mom!!!

http://www.yobabyyogurt.com/OurYogurts/OrganicDrinkableWh...
http://www.childlife.net/Products.htm
Both available at New Seasons Markets....

If he's had pain while deficating then he may be holding back to avoid more pain. He may also be holding back because he doesn't want to take the time to go to the bathroom. To help with both of these causes, take him to the toilet regularly. Watch to see when he does have a bowel movement and time your trips accordingly. Then stay with him. Distract him with a book or toys.

If he's getting plenty of fiber I'd focus on making sure he gets plenty of water. My grandchildren had a sippy cup of water available all of the time. We would remind them to drink if the cup was still full.

Have you tried giving him prunes or prune juice? I don't know anyone who likes the juice. He can eat dried prunes as they are. Or you can cook them. My grandchildren like them both ways. My granddaughter loves plums and I see that they're back in the stores.

In what form is he getting fruits and vegetables? They have more fiber if skins are left on and they're eaten raw.

Have you looked up the fiber amount and totaled how much fiber he gets. I don't know what the optimal amount is. Perhaps your doctor can tell you. I began reading labels and discovered that many cold cereals and crackers do not have enough fiber in them to count.

How much milk does he drink? How much cheese? Dairy products can be constipating.

If your son just started being constipated this won't apply. My grandson was constipated until around age 3. Then he wasn't. I think that his system may have not be fully working earlier and he needed the extra fiber. More fiber than the average preschooler.

Constipation is no fun for everyone involved. I hope that you will be able to find a way to prevent it.

You might try using a small potty chair. After reading one of the posts I remembered that some toddlers feel that the poop is a part of them and when it lands in the big toilet they fear that they too can be flushed down the drain.

You just described my 2.5 yr. old daughter to a T! She has been grappling with what our pediatrician calls, "Toddler Constipation" for about 18 months. She poops about once every three or four days and she talks about it for hours before hand and it frequently takes all day, crying and needing to be held. Her poops aren't that hard but I think she is afraid of pooping so she holds it until she can't anymore. then she has a big one and two or three smaller ones in the hours after.

We have tried all kinds of things. She has been on and off Miralax for 1.5 years--I was very reluctant to put her on it. I tried altering and restricting her diet to no avail. Finally she went 8 days with no poop and I gave in. My pediatrician says that we need to take her off Miralax every once in a while to see if she has outgrown it. I thought we had--we went off for 6 weeks and she pooped every day. But now she hasn't pooped in 3 days again. I give her min. 10 grams of fiber a day. LOTS of fluids and raw fruits and veggies. A teaspoon of honey every day. No bananas and no cheese.

We haven't even started potty training because everything I read says don't try or stop if your child is constipated.

I feel your pain! I like the ideas of talking about Miralax and telling her that it will help. We call it poo poo juice. I also am on the verge of seeking a naturopath to test for allergies though my husband is a physician and he frowns on NDs (give me a break).

Please let me know if you figure something out.

I am a stay at home mom w/a 2.5 yr-old and one due in July.

We had this problem with my daughter when she was about 2 years old. We finally figured out that she was sensitive to oranges and strawberries, and she wasn't actually constipated to start with. What was actually happening was that the berries and oranges were making her bottom sore, so she was holding it in, which then created a constipation problem. We did use miralax, for quite a long time actually, until we had everything moving along OK and had her bottom all cleared up. Now I just have to be careful about how much I let her have strawberries or oranges. Anyway, it might be worth seeing if there are any foods that he might be sensitive to. Good luck!