Help! Re: Poop

here4u

a lil backstory: Ever since Sophie was admitted to the hospital the day after Thanksgiving with Whooping Cough she only poops 1x a week!  She used to be 2x a day up until she got sick.  I keep telling the Pedi. she only goes 1x a week and they said nothing at first, then a couple weeks ago they said give her 15ccs prune juice w/ 15ccs water.  Fine, I've been doing that everyday for the past 2 weeks and still she only goes every 4-5 days. You can tell when she's getting ready to "go" b/c she will be miserable & uncomfortable the day before she goes and nothing helps.  I was in tears when the P.T. showed up yesterday b/c I feel so bad that she's in so much pain.  She finally went this morning, after 6 days and she's back to her old self.  I just want her to be like that all the time    Should I ask the Pedi. to refer us to a GI dr.?

here4u

Oh, and they did start her on oatmeal instead of rice since rice is a binder. The problem is she doesn't finish the whole bowl, plus cereal only has 1g of Fiber, so I don't see how that helps.  She didn't like the oatmeal so we moved to barley, which she likes, but again she doesn't finish the whole bowl yet.

dmblack

Have you tried feeding her prunes or pears.  They are natural laxatives and may help.  You could also try pear juice -- this seemed to work better for my DD when she was about that age.  I'm guessing you have started her on solids. 

My DD is 2 1/2 and has challenges in this department (she goes every 3 days).  We just started her on benefiber for children.  I've also been really pushing the fruits/veggies and high fiber foods.  This seems to have helped. 

Did anything else change in her diet since she got sick.  It seems a little odd that she would go from 2x a day to 1x per week.  I really don't think its a GI problem....I really think that she needs more fiber in her diet to help. 

njkaren

Brandon goes 3-4 days without pooping and is very uncomfortable by that point so I understand what you are going through. None of the doctors, including the GI specialist, seem concerned. They say as long as it is soft is is ok. They also had us start on oatmeal since rice is binding. He doesn't finish it yey either. Has she started on fruits? How does she do with the fruit?

here4u

Yes, it is soft when she goes.  We haven't started her on fruit yet, b/c I haven't had her try the Rice cereal.  The Pedi. said we can't move on to fruit until she's tried all the single grain cereals.  But I'm afraid since the Rice is a binder, I don't want it to cause more issues.  Thanks for the Pear juice tip!  Is is the same amount that you would give for prunes?  1/2 oz juice to 1/2 oz water?

ijack

E used to have the same problem and then her doc started her on a little bit of miralax every day and it's AWESOME!!! It just helps move more water to the colon so that things are softer and move along better and it's really saved us. They can use it long term and it doesn't have an ill effects. It's sold over the counter, but you should ask your doc just in case

TheShellSeeker

Have you tried any kind of probiotics?  I don't know what the treatment for WC is but if it involves antibiotics at all, that could be affecting the digestive tract.  Probiotics might help.  My pedi recommended Biogaia drops.  It's pricey but maybe worth a shot?  It certainly wouldn't hurt.  https://www.childrensprobiotics.com/drops.aspx

 

 

dmblack

Yes, the pear juice/water combo is the same.  Go 1/2 and 1/2 like you do with the prune juice.

My DD was a 26 weeker -- so I was very cautious when I started her on solids.  As for the cereals....we had our DD on rice cereal for 1 week before we started fruits and veggies.  Our pedi never told us that.  She only ate the rice and oatmeal -- never even tried the barley.  The cereals are nothing more than a practice to get use to the spoon and solids.  Really the rule of thumb with solids is to give it 3-4 days before starting another fruit/veggie.  You just need to watch for reaction to the food -- if they have an allergy to the food.  The only fruit to stay away from is bananas because they can be binding in some kids.  Pears, prunes and applesauce would be a great place to start.  Pears worked the best for my DD.  She had no issues with any foods.  By time my DD was 8 months old we had her on table food. I really think that if you can start the fruits this might help her pooping problem.  But for sure give the pear juice a shot I know it help my DD a ton with the pooping issues.