Constipation?

Sarahgracesc · October 2009

DD's had terrible issues w/constipation since she was a newborn. We've tried every natural remedy, and nothing worked well or for long. Finally after she was to the point of screaming, pushing as hard as she could with nothing coming out except blood from tearing her poor little bum, and then finally after days of this pushing out rock hard pellets, her ped finally took me "seriously." I put it in quotes because she still just seems to think I'm a paranoid first time mother. Anyway, she finally recommended something other than water and prunes/prune juice (which dd gets tons of every day): pedialax. The stool softener. The problem? It doesn't work all that well. I mean, it kind of does, but we go through a bottle a week, and she's getting double the dose that a 3 year old should get. So, I just kind of feel like that's a LOT to be giving her, and that there has to be something more effective out there. I've heard people talk a bit about Miralax...is this effective? More efficient than pedialax? Is there a prescription stool softener/laxative that I should be asking my ped about? DD hasn't pooped in a while (well, she pooped a couple of small rock hard nuggets in the tub yesterday, but it wasn't nearly enough, and it was hard and it was difficult for her to get out), and I've been giving her the actual pedialax laxatives the past few days. I just don't want her to hate pooping and for it to become an issue when she gets a little older. I had some issues with constipation when I was little, and refused to poop b/c it hurt, and my poor parents wound up having to force enemas on me and put mineral oil in everything I ate (it took me years to not be skeptical about everything I was eating). I don't want DD to go through that. Any help/advice/etc. is greatly appreciated.

MissMoochie · October 2009

DS had constipation problems when he was younger too. His pediatrician told me to try putting a tablespoon of Karo syrup (the dark kind) in his milk for a few days. It worked really well for DS and it wouldn't hurt to try.
What is she eating? Is she getting enough fiber? Fruits and veggies? Anything with tomatoes or broccoli did it for DS also.

mabst196 · October 2009

Have you tried modifying her diet? I'm sure you've heard all of this before. Not sure if she is still on purees, but load as much peaches, pears, plums as you can get into her and avoid banannas, bread. I have issues with constipation and what works for me is a high fiber diet, regular exercise and I take citrucel every day (doesn't help you too much since I'm an adult and kids don't take citrucel). If your pedi isn't listening to you, find a new one. I've not given DD miralax. She is normally ok if she gets prunes/ prune juice when she has issues. When she was really young, I gave her karo syrup which worked well. I am with you 100% on trying to get it resolved before she assocaites it with pain and refuses to go. Good luck!

chatty6176 · October 2009

I hear you! DS has pooping problems. Our pedi recommended miralax. We have been giving it to DS for months now...like 4 or 5 months. It really works. We started at half a cap full per pedi's suggestion and it was working too well. So now we are doing a quarter cap full every morning cup of milk and he's doing great. If we forget to give it to him he !

Sarahgracesc · October 2009

Thanks all! Lucy skipped over baby food b/c when we tried them she liked it so much that she refused bottles. My ped (who is VERY old school and in her late 70's) told me to just go with it and switch her over to milk. I didn't feel comfortable doing that (DD was only 6 months old!), so we just kind of stuck to formula, and then around 7 1/2 months started with some finger food. DD now eats pretty much whatever we eat. She doesn't have any teeth yet, and so some veggies and fruits are a little hard for her. But we definitely stay far away from rice, bananas, apples, and she gets very little dairy (her formula is Gentlease, which is 1/4 of the milk of regular formulas). The only reason I'm sticking with this ped is because she is the only one in the area willing to do DD's delayed vac schedule. It's incredibly important to me. I do like our ped in many ways, but she definitely thinks most things are unimportant and absolutely tells me that I'm just an overly concerned first time mother about most things. Frustrating. DD has an appt on Thursday, so I plan on brining up Miralax. I really don't like how much pedialax DD has to take in order for it to be effective.

Thanks so much for your input!

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