14 month old constipation issues

Hi all,

Our 14 month old seems to be getting really constipated. I don't know
if that's the right word in this case. He does have a BM daily but it
seems painful, takes 2-3 tries (often) and then when it does finally go
through, he cries (sometimes screams). So it seems like it's really
painful. It's aweful to watch it, especially since we can't do much
other than hold him or his hand.

Tried the following:

- Avoided BART.
- Lots of prune juice in milk (1oz of prune, 7 oz of milk)
- Prune (baby food) in his cereal in the morning
- Veggies (broccoli, peas, carrots), fruit (pears, dried figs, orange),
high fibre pasta, high fibre bread, waffles, lean beef, refried beans
(tried twice only)
- Avoided Cheese
- Make him drink more water (not sure if it's enough - 3-4 cups/ day)

The only concern is that he drinks a fair bit of milk, about 30oz/day.
It's all whole milk as well. We tried adding water, so sometimes the
milk is 60% water and 40% milk.

Sorry about the graphic detail here but, the other thing is often his
BMs contain this hard chunk and a lot of mushy stuff. So it's almost
like the prunes etc are working but they're not really.

We will be talking to his doctor about it in a couple of days but was
wondering if anyone has any suggestions.

Thanks,

Kevin

Is he nursing? Increasing his breastmilk intake by more nursing
can often help with constipation.

Larry

writes:
: Hi all,

: Our 14 month old seems to be getting really constipated. I don't know
: if that's the right word in this case. He does have a BM daily but it
: seems painful, takes 2-3 tries (often) and then when it does finally go
: through, he cries (sometimes screams). So it seems like it's really
: painful. It's aweful to watch it, especially since we can't do much
: other than hold him or his hand.

: Tried the following:

: - Avoided BART.
: - Lots of prune juice in milk (1oz of prune, 7 oz of milk)
: - Prune (baby food) in his cereal in the morning
: - Veggies (broccoli, peas, carrots), fruit (pears, dried figs, orange),
: high fibre pasta, high fibre bread, waffles, lean beef, refried beans
: (tried twice only)
: - Avoided Cheese
: - Make him drink more water (not sure if it's enough - 3-4 cups/ day)

: The only concern is that he drinks a fair bit of milk, about 30oz/day.
: It's all whole milk as well. We tried adding water, so sometimes the
: milk is 60% water and 40% milk.

: Sorry about the graphic detail here but, the other thing is often his
: BMs contain this hard chunk and a lot of mushy stuff. So it's almost
: like the prunes etc are working but they're not really.

: We will be talking to his doctor about it in a couple of days but was
: wondering if anyone has any suggestions.

: Thanks,

: Kevin

Taylor has been fairly constipated since early on. She always strains when
having a bowel movement. For a long time Taylor didn't eat much in the way
of solids, but drank a LOT of milk. Now we've been on 2% since she's been
on milk, but milk still has a lot of solids in it, and it's constipating. I
don't know that the extra fat in whole milk would affect the solids issue.
Perhaps try getting him to drink one or two bottles of apple juice cut with
water (50/50 or 25% water, 75% juice) instead of those same two bottles of
milk. I'd also try to see if he'll eat raisins or other dried fruits and
applesauce. Both of which are good for keeping things moving. Finally, at
times Taylor has had a poop that has a hard front end, followed by softer
mushier stuff. I think the hard poop acts like a plug, but once that comes
out, the softer stuff follows. It would sound to me like you are on the
right track, and just need to up the poop-softening foods, while cutting
back a bit on the milk.

Good luck.
--

Jamie
Earth Angels:
Taylor Marlys, 1/3/03 -- Who's got the Christmas spirit, singing all day
long, "You put one foot in front of the other, and soon you'll be walking
out the doooo-oooo-ooor!
Addison Grace, 9/30/04 -- My Little Ham, who smiles so big her eyes
disappear and she says, "Cheese" on command. Although it sounds more like
"eeeeeesssshhh"!

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wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi all,

Our 14 month old seems to be getting really constipated. I don't know
if that's the right word in this case. He does have a BM daily but it
seems painful, takes 2-3 tries (often) and then when it does finally go
through, he cries (sometimes screams). So it seems like it's really
painful. It's aweful to watch it, especially since we can't do much
other than hold him or his hand.

Tried the following:

- Avoided BART.
- Lots of prune juice in milk (1oz of prune, 7 oz of milk)
- Prune (baby food) in his cereal in the morning
- Veggies (broccoli, peas, carrots), fruit (pears, dried figs, orange),
high fibre pasta, high fibre bread, waffles, lean beef, refried beans
(tried twice only)
- Avoided Cheese
- Make him drink more water (not sure if it's enough - 3-4 cups/ day)

The only concern is that he drinks a fair bit of milk, about 30oz/day.
It's all whole milk as well. We tried adding water, so sometimes the
milk is 60% water and 40% milk.

Sorry about the graphic detail here but, the other thing is often his
BMs contain this hard chunk and a lot of mushy stuff. So it's almost
like the prunes etc are working but they're not really.

We will be talking to his doctor about it in a couple of days but was
wondering if anyone has any suggestions.

Thanks,

Kevin

wrote:
Hi all,

Our 14 month old seems to be getting really constipated.

When 11 month old DD is constipated I give her grapes (cut up of
course) after each meal. It's her "dessert". She loves them and it
does the trick. They also work for me, but that may be TMI.

Mandy

writes:
: Larry,

: We were thinking that it might have been the problem. His BM intake
: has been reduced considerably. he only nurses at night *if* he pushes
: the issue. Or sometimes when he wakes up at night and is upset
: (probably gas/tummy ache). My wife is in the process of weaning him.

: I did suggest that to her but also I think her supply has been
: decreasing slowly as she's feeding him less. He's down to nursing for
: 10 mins a day or less.

: One of the main reasons she did the weaning was b/c #2 is in the oven
: and she wanted a break before s/he comes along in August.

: Kevin

I decided to think about this for a while before answering. Well,
I've had lunch and been to the dentist, so I am ready to try...

Since you haven't weaned yet, I would suggest ramping back up on the
nursing, at least until the constipation thing becomes a little less
severe. When she hits 5 or 6 months her supply will drop considerably,
and there will be an ample chance to wean at that time if she wants to.
Alternatively, she could consider tandeming.

Good luck,
Larry

I found banana constipated my boys at this age. I'd get as much water into
him as possible if I were you.

Good luck

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi all,

Our 14 month old seems to be getting really constipated. I don't know
if that's the right word in this case. He does have a BM daily but it
seems painful, takes 2-3 tries (often) and then when it does finally go
through, he cries (sometimes screams). So it seems like it's really
painful. It's aweful to watch it, especially since we can't do much
other than hold him or his hand.

Tried the following:

- Avoided BART.
- Lots of prune juice in milk (1oz of prune, 7 oz of milk)
- Prune (baby food) in his cereal in the morning
- Veggies (broccoli, peas, carrots), fruit (pears, dried figs, orange),
high fibre pasta, high fibre bread, waffles, lean beef, refried beans
(tried twice only)
- Avoided Cheese
- Make him drink more water (not sure if it's enough - 3-4 cups/ day)

The only concern is that he drinks a fair bit of milk, about 30oz/day.
It's all whole milk as well. We tried adding water, so sometimes the
milk is 60% water and 40% milk.

Sorry about the graphic detail here but, the other thing is often his
BMs contain this hard chunk and a lot of mushy stuff. So it's almost
like the prunes etc are working but they're not really.

We will be talking to his doctor about it in a couple of days but was
wondering if anyone has any suggestions.

Thanks,

Kevin