Hard Stools - Attleboro,MA

try removing dairy from her diet, and consider gluten as well. these are two very common culprits for childhood constipation.

good job with the probiotics - that will help her in many ways, regardless!!

warmly,
K.
www.katjaswift.com

do some research on fiber foods...I've heard that they can make this problem worse for kids. It is hard to believe because it is the solution for adults.

Hi M.,
Lots and lots of fluids may help, especially water!! Fish oils are also really good. Nordic Naturals sells a fish oil with probiotic in it, my son takes them every day. It's called Pro EFA. Not only will fish oils keep her regular they are great for brain function as well!
E.:-)

We have been having the same thing with our 2 year old son. On top of giving him as many liquids as possible -clear ones like apple, pear, grape juice or water - our doctor suggested Miralax. It is tasteless (I tried it) and it dissolves in any temperature liquid. Give half of the adult recommended dosage for about 7 days, once a day. Talk to your doc and if you don't have one right now, ask your local pharmacist. It really works.

Try to increase the fiber in her diet.
- fruit juices
- graham crackers
- whole wheat bread
- fiber gummies (we tried them, didn't notice a big difference)
- Fiber one brand cereal or snacks
- a yogurt with active cultures

M.

I also nursed my daughter until age two, and in the months since (she is now 2.5), we have found we need to up certain foods, and that makes all the difference--the main foods we have added are dried apricots and sweet potato. These really help, and we adjust her intake of these foods based on what else she is eating. For example, if she has banana one day, we make sure she eats a few dried apricots, too. Or if her stool is loose, we don't give her any sweet potato or apricot that day. For us this has really helped.
Good luck!

Hi M.
My 4 year daughter has been experiencing the same difficulties for over a year now. We tried to Miralax with no change at all. She is a very healthy eater...her favorite foods are fruits and veggies. We just had her tested for celiac disease since it runs in our family and she complains often of a stomach ache. We are hoping that the results are negative, but then that puts us back to not knowing the cause. Just somethingto keep in mind if you have a hard time finding a cause. Good luck!

My daughter went through a time like that, too. Our pediatrician said more water and fiber. She doesn't drink much and didn't like juice (only milk) so we had to find a way to make water more appealing. She picked out a new "water only" straw cup and liked it better with ice. Another suggestion was applesauce. Lastly, we had to lighten up on binding foods like oatmeal and banana. Some minor shifts in diet did help most of the time. She even got to the point where she knew...."my poopy hurt...can I have some applesauce?" Too cute!

The breast milk definitely had an impact on keeping her stools loose, and adding solid foods can change the consistency. More hydration will help. But before you go through the agony of eliminating all kinds of foods from her diet, why not try a great kids' nutritional supplement that will help to nullify whatever sensitivity she may have? A lot of times people think their kids have "food allergies" but they really are just missing a nutrient or trace element (or several) so they are unable to digest foods. I have many friends who have solved this - some with kids a lot younger than yours, and one whose kid was diagnosed with 60 (yes, sixty) "food allergies" who is now able to eat anything. It's completely safe - preemies get it through their feeding tubes and it's used world wide, including 45,000 children who get it for free every day because of their malnutrition. I'd be happy to help you.

M.,
We had similar issues - my daughter is almost 4 years old. But when she was 2 until almost 3 and a half we had terrible constipation issues. When I tracked it back, I realized that it began when I stopped nursing.

She has been to Children's Hospital in Boston because of how bad it was (sobbing, intense pain, bleeding) I suspected a milk allergy, but she was tested and it came back negative. I do feel that dairy is a problem for her but not an allergy. She was put on miralax daily to help. It helped so much. The doc at Children's explained that miralax does not go into the blood stream but instead sits in the bowel to keep water in the bowel and therefore helps the poop not get dry - which is what makes it hard to pass.

She was on miralax for about a year. We gave her the tiniest dose - about 1/8th of a teaspoon. I know other children require a bigger dose. But that was what worked. Eventually she "grew out of it" as the doctor promised she would. She occasionally struggles now and then, and if necessary we give her a dose of miralax, but I honestly don't remember the last time I had to do that.

Good luck! I hope you find something that works for you. It is so hard to see them struggle that way.

Sounds like a definite food sensitivity. She us having a hard time assimilating something in her diet. The common culprits are wheat(gluten), dairy, soy, corn and sugar. Examine her diet and try eliminating those foods, one by one, for at least a couple of weeks. Stick with the probiotics as well, these help to regulate your gut. laxatives will only cause further damage to the already sensitive digestive system. You can try diluted prune or pear juice to help. It's good to recognize a food sensitivity early, before it become a more serious problem. Start with eliminating foods, it may take some time to see results. I'm a health coach with food sensitivites myself, let me know if I can help further. Good luck!

Juicy Juice or apple juice usually helps

Definitely get Miralax ! It used to require a prescription - it was called Glycolax years ago - and at the time my daughter's pedigastro doctor said it is so safe and has such a long history it is the one and only drug he will just renew the prescription for without having to see the patient. Now you can buy it over the counter as Miralax. You'll have to experiment with what is the right dose for your child. You may find just one regular spoonful every day will keep her regular. Or maybe you'll need two. Good luck.

My daughter has had a problem with this as well (also 3). If I didn't intervene, she could easily go 7-10 days and passing stool was agony. We had been doing the suppositories with great and quick results but it was very traumatic to both of us. I started her on Mirilax (half capful) and it works beautifully. She now goes every 1-2 days without pain. It is tasteless and dissolves quickly. We just had her 3 year old well visit and I was told to keep her on it daily. According to the pedi, it will NOT shut down normal bowel activity. It is more important to keep her going without pain and regularly to avoid the pain/holding cycle. Good luck!

I have had the same problem with both of my children; my 4 year old son being the worst. He was put on Miralax, which made a big mess (he would have accidents), and it didn't cause regular, normal BM's. We recently tried Fleet Fiber gummies, which Walgreens has. It works great!!! Even my daughter doesn't strain anymore. It tastes great and I feel better I am giving them a natural fiber supplement, not an adult dose of laxative medicine. It is a little pricey though. It is worth a try right? Good Luck!!

Try to watch what she is eating. certain foods although healthy can cause her to be more bound up. Like bananas....big time no if she has hard stools. Make she is getting plenty of fiber to help her too. You could try those fiber one bars. They are like a granola bar, taste pretty good and that will help keep her stools softer.

When my son was four, we went through the same thing....was going fine, then all of a sudden.....he hard a hard time going and it would be really hard. I think because they have a few hard ones, they tend to start holding in their bowel movements because they are scared its gonna hurt again. Not realizing , that they are making it worse by holding it till they just need to go. His preschool teacher had told me about her daughter and long story short, she advised me to start him on apple juice. Two cups a day for the first two days, and see if that "loosened" it up. If not, go up to three cups for a couple days. Then once its not an issue and can start going on his own, to bring it back down to 1 cup a day. If he started having a day or two where he was having a hard time again, I'd bring it back up to two. Hope I'm making sense. It didn't take him long to start getting back into a regular routine of going.
I wish you lots of luck. Hopefully it'll be something your child can get over quickly.

Have you tried making adjustments to her diet? Add some foods are natural stool softeners, like vegetables high in fiber, or cranberry juice (make sure you get the real juice and not the cocktail stuff). Also some stuff will make you backed up, so do a little research and avoid those foods. If you can avoid giving her medication I'm sure you'd prefer that :-) Good luck!

I agree with posts - increase her fiber but also increase her fluid intake. You can also increase her fruit/fruit juice intake. Even as toddler, my kids like the pureed prunes in the baby aisle. One little jar usually did the trick for them.

Cheeses are constipating for some so maybe reduce her intake if she has been eating a lot of it.