Constipated Toddler - confused about apple juice advice

amr1218 · November 2013

DD poops about every 4-5 days. Her stools are very large and hard. Her ped. recommended using Miralax - which we've done (but admittedly are not consistent). DD does drink diluted apple juice daily. I've read that it can be used as a stool softener or natural laxative. Her ped. recommended small does of it when she was an infant to relieve constipation. A friend told us today that the advice from their ped. when their DD was constipated was to quit giving apple juice until her system regulated.

The reason for my post to help me decipher if apple juice contributes to constipation or relieves it. I thought we were helping DD's system by allowing her to drink juice and now worry that it may be adding to her digestive problems.

CopperT0p · November 2013

Too much sugar can constipate, so a kid that is drinking several cups a day might be adding to their troubles. My pedi says a cup of watered down apple, pear or prune juice is ok when they are constipated.

When DS was having constipation issues, our pedi told us to give him lactulose. It worked for him but might not be for all kids. It was a gentle way to get him to go. It brought him back to a once a day schedule, at which point we reduced the dosage and he managed to maintain his schedule without it. It's been about 6 months since he had it and he's very regular (1-2/day).

CheezeFace · November 2013

DS used to have this problem until about 18mos. It's really awful to see them struggle

Here's a weird thing about apples - apple sauce, cooked apples, etc…constipate. Apple juice, fresh apples relieve constipation.

This is not pedi recommended, this is just what works for us so take it for what it's worth…

I give DS a sippy cup of straight juice. Then two or three 1:3 ratio (juice to water) zippy cups throughout the day. Also avoid foods that will "compact" during this time.

If this evens out, I purposely tighten things up with cheese, rice, bananas, etc…but still offer the water/juice mixture. This will last a couple of days until things are normal.

The biggest factor for us to avoid constipation at this age is his diet. Roughage, roughage, roughage!!

Oh! and if things are really bad, I will start with pear juice. It seems to be more potent for us.

Good luck!

ThatWasAHoot · November 2013

My pedi says to use fruits that start with P for constipation. Pears, peaches, pineapple, etc. My sister used pear juice when her baby was an infant and she had problems pooping.

RoastyToasty · November 2013

We usually use pear juice for DD and cut out cheese until she regulates a bit.

magentawarped · November 2013

I'll give DD some watered down apple juice and it seems to help with the occasional constipation bout. I really think you need to be more consistent with the Miralax though if this is a constant issue and that's what your pedi recommends. Apple juice may or may not help. Not giving the medication definitely isn't helping.

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