Constipated 2 Year Old

My daughter drank Gerber apple/prune juice. We called it "special brown apple juice". She's 10 now and still drinks it when necessary. Her doctor also had us use mineral oil - a tablespoon to a cup of juice. Keep it cold and mix it really well as she drinks it or you'll just end up with the oil on the bottom when she's done. The mineral oil will lubricate the track and it will "slip" out.

Hope this helps - been there with my daughter over the years.

K.

Think fruit... fruit juices--- whole fruit- and dried fruit with water or juice on the side all work. My kids expecially like dried cherries and prunes... Avoid dairy and cheese in particular - it is famous for causing constipation. A warm bath helps, too.
Take care.

My daughter needed prune juice daily to keep her going - formula was constipating chronically. But once I got a hold of pear juice it was much more affective. I had a hard time locating it at first as it was not in the fruit juice isle of the grocery store but rather near the baby food.

Best wishes!

I go through this every now and then if my little one eats to much junk/sugar. After his last surgery it happened from the pain killers. The doctors office said white grape juice is what their doctors use now instead of prune juice. Seems to work like a charm for him. As other said try to keep the water flowing. Good luck!

Lots and lots of apple juice worked for our daughter.

We've been having the same problem with my 6 year old. We have started using the Fiber One bars also, we get them from Costco. My son also drinks a glass of Plum Smart every day. You need to make sure she's getting enough fiber, Fiber one also has yogurt that we've used also. Like others have mentioned stay away from bananas, and cheese. And of course lots of water. When things get really bad we use Fletcher's for Kids it is by the laxatives at the drugstore it is an all natural kids laxative and it taste like root beer.

My 4 year old has the same problem! she has been the same way since she was born. Her pediatrician told me to pick up some Mirilax which works, but it takes a few days. I have found a fiber bar that works the same day and it works well. They are called FIBER ONE bars. You can pick them up at a Wal Mart and I have also found them at a Family Dollar. My daughter LOVES them, we call them her "candy bar". They have different flavors to choose from, my daughter chooses the chocolate and oats. She hated me mixing the Mirilax into her drinks but she has no problems with these "candy bars"! Problem solved, she simply eats one a day to stay regular and they do not cause diarihia just produce a healthy bowl movement! I hope you try them, We live by Fiber One bars!! Good Luck!

C.,

The same thing happened to my son. I believed it was the transition from diapers to going on the toilet. For some reason there is a fear of sitting on the toilet. That may something you want to talk to her about and reassure her about using the toilet. Her diet could be affecting this as well. Does she drink water? How about raw veggies and fruit? Getting the roughage in and water is very important to get her bowels moving. My son was so bad that he ended up at the doctors and they had to physically remove stool from him. Very painful for him. The doctor recommended giving him Mineral Oil (yuck!). You can't hide that in anything and it flushes out the good things too. So I changed his diet (like the suggestions I mentioned to you), changed his chewable vitamin to one that didn't have snythetics, and put him on a probiotic to get good bacteria in his colon. After having all that stool remain in his colon, the bad bacteria really mutliplied. He needed the good bacteria in his colon to offset the bad affects of all the bad bacteria.

If you want information on the products I use for him, email me.

M.

Hi C.,

I feel for you because my 2yr old has been having this problem ever since she was a newborn baby. It got so bad a couple of weeks ago that she was afraid to have a BM and she would cross her legs and hold it in. You do not want your daughter to get to this point because then you will be dealing with psychological issues and potty training will be a nightmare. I have been told to give my daughter lots of fiber. Good sources are Fiber one bars, pear juice, apple juice, lots of water, greens and things like that. You for sure want to stay away from milk, cheese and bananas. My ped. advised me to give her a 1/4 capfull of Miralax EVERYDAY even if she is going on a regular basis. If her BM's were too loose to tapper off a bit until I found what amount would keep her regular. This has been the only thing that has worked for us. I am happy to say that she has not been constipated in a few weeks now. Good luck to you. This can be so frustrating.

Upon the advice of the pediatrician, my daughter was told to give our grandson Mandarin oranges. Worked like a charm!

There's always good ol prune juice. Surprisingly kids like it...

Good luck!

This works like a charm for our kids:

Mix a little unsweetened prune juice in with their normal juice every single morning. They will get used to it and not even notice it... In a severe situation...3 days of constipation+...my Dr. recommended the Fleet tongue strips...one little strip on the tongue and they are good to go in 10 hours!!! Check w/ your doctor on this first.

Also, avoid cheese, bread, bananas, corn. Good luck!

She needs lots of water, fruit and vegtables. (good luck with that) Don't let her go to long without a bm it can get really painful. I would say three days is to long.

My Pediatrician recommended using Plum juice, and it worked really well for my son. You can buy it with extra fiber and also light so there isn't as much sugar. I usually buy the extra fiber and its more like a stool softener than a laxative and works within hours. I've even used it to settle my stomach before and it makes me feel fantastic. Good luck!

Lots of fluids and fiber ought to do the trick. Hang in there!

S.

My pediatrician had me use a suppository - looks like clear wax point and you hold it right up there. It is kind of gross, but that helps as well as a luke warm bath with some baking soda in it - this helps their muscles relax and it may come out in the tub, but it works. Also we actually had to put vasoline down there and use q tips for anything that was stuck coming out. She now drinks 1 1/2oz prune juice every morning after breakfast and has been ok. Stay away from bananas rice applesauce and toast - these are used for if they have diahriah and need to firm up.... Sorry so graphic, but I hope it helps.

Dear C. H.,

We are raising our two oldest granddaughters for several years now. I remember using very, very ripe banannas to eat and apple juice to drink when this problem occurred. It always seemed to work for my little ones.

L. C.

Prune juice, apple juice, pear juice.... all work well. I would try these before taking her to the doctor.

Stay away from bananas.

Increase her water as well. Once things get moving, I would try to encourage her to eat some organic yogurt with active cultures in it. It helps keep things moving.

Hope things start moving!

When my son starts this; we start up more water and less milk. We cut out the dairy as the dairy products are binding. I also massage his tummy, but you have to know what you are doing or you can back the system up more (not a good thing obviously!). I also rub his feet and then within 15mins, he does have a BM and it starts with more of the 'rabbit pellets' (as we refer to them here) and then becomes softer.

You can safely and naturally help your child without resorting to meds. Some homeopathics can assist, but you have to know you what you are doing or have a very good book to reference. (I am Very Natural after having many nasty side effects when I had to deal with Migraines and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Now I use natural and alternative medicine and it helps ALOT more than traditional ever did, so I know! And it helps my son.)

Good Luck! :)

If she will eat them, you can give her babyfood prunes...you could try mixing it with applesauce. Or, when i was pregnant, i heard kiwi's are a natural laxative. Apple juice helps to soften stools for my daughter.

My 20 month tends to have the same problem from time to time and I give her prune juice or rasians which always seem to work.

You need to be sure she is getting lots of liquids: water, juice (apple, pear, white grape) NO MILK. Raisins and pears help keep things moving too. Stay away from bananas, they are constipating. Take her for a walk, that will help too. Be careful of any drugs from the doctor or even over the counter drugs.

We were told to push the fresh fruit, and ours got so bad that he told us to use Miralax once a day along with a suppository every day for a week to get her cleaned out.

blueberries! My son loved blueberries and I had to be careful because if he ate too many, he would blow out his diaper. It really got things moving!

first of all...you may want to give your child more vegetables and stay away from carbs. she needs more fiber in her diet. I have tried alot of things C.. If she has not used the bathroom in two days you may want to hurry up and get those toxins out. I would recommend an enema. Fleet has an enema for babies/toddlers. It works in 2 minutes. Only do it once...you do not want to keep giving a child enemas. I have also tried prune juice. That works as well. It is not as quick as the enema...but it works. You just have to make sure she drinks enough of it and not too much.
I have not had any problems recently. Every once in a while my son may get constipated again. I would then use Benefiber. It is clear and tasteless. That always works. They never know they are drinking it either. Definitely keep her drinking plenty of WATER! If she like raisins...that will keep her regulated.
I hope some of these options help you.
Good luck!

Raisins and prune juice work well for us :)

My Ped always recommends pear juice but apple or white grape do the trick as well. I've also put my kids in a tub of really warm water. Not sure how this works but it does. I just have the water up to their belly button and let them play until they just let loose. Need to be prepared to clean.

I try to give juice or include some type of fruit through out the day each day to keep from getting constipated. Also, milk and cheese are causes. My Ped also gave us Miralax to use in juice (NOT milk) and that worked after a couple of days. But check with your own Ped before giving something like that.

Good luck!!

I have a few for ya. When I was preggo my Dr. told me to eat peaches with the skin on and that worked well. My mom swears by dark Karo syrup and water. It tastes like sugar water and that worked well for my son who hates peaches. Also, apple cider seems to work for my kids too. and since it is the season it makes it really easy to get! hope this helps!

We went through a terrible bout of constipation with my 2 year old because she was withholding. I learned to stay away from bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast and increase fiber with fruits and veggies and fruit juices. A couple times I had to give her a fleet suppository, but I would only use this sort of thing (suppositories, enemas, tongue strips, etc) as last resort as their little bodies can develop a dependence on them). Getting it out naturally and quickly is the best bet. Letting it linger in there too long will not only keep the toxins in her body, but will also increase the chance that she develops diverticulitis and it becomes impacted - making it seriously hard to get out.

When my son went to a ped gastroenterologist at UofM.. the first thing he asked me was how much fast food do you feed him?...
So, I'm going to pass that your way.... He said that he sees alot of constipation cases that can be helped by ditching the fast food.
Second, fiber and water... my son has encopresis and we were able to help that greatly by cutting out alot of junk he didn't need like white flour, junk food and incorperating veggies and healthy snacks.

J.

You didn't say what her diet is like. whole grains, vegetables, fruit is what she needs. If she gets sugar, white bread, hamburgers most of the time she will be constipated. drinks should be water. lots of it.

Greens always do the trick at my house or prun juice. And you could always massage her lower back and under her belly button.

Good Luck!

Prune Juice works everytime for my kids, just be careful not to give too much or you will have the opposite problem! If she won't drink it, mix it in some food or you can dilute it with a little water.

I had to use glycerine supp for my dtr. when she was potty trained as she wanted to hold it in. I put a litle lotion to help it slind in her rectum. We did that for 2 years or so. Every other day and now she goes without them. She was told at daycare that her butt stunk and refused to have a bm there...Ahh the joys of having someone else be with your child all day...

your nurse will probably tell you to get glycerin suppositories. they are sold at any pharmacy. get the ones that say 2-5 years and read directions. they work wonders. if you are a little iffy about those prunes or juice really do work!

Prunes or prune juice, pears or juice are good. Avoid apples in any form, as well as bananas. Also give her lots of green veggies, the other colors are constipating. Make sure she drinks lots of water. You can also add benefiber to her water or milk, my pediatrician had me do that for my son. good luck.

Bananas actually constipate so remove those from the diet (if they are in it of course.) Prunes are wonderful! If needed Beechnut has a pureed version.

C.,

Try giving her a little prune juice, or a few cut up dried prunes, to eat.

Also, too much dairy can cause constipation in children. If she eats a lot of cheese, yogurt and milk, it can sometimes contribute to this.