Problems with the Poop

[elizabethsdad]

Sheryl and I have been concerned lately about Elizabeth have severe bouts of constipation. She will go for two to three days without having a BM and we have to give her suppositories. Her poop is hard and looks like rocks.

We have tried prunes and this seems to make the problem worse. We have tried eliminating certain foods and this doesn't work. We have increased fluid.

We are trying hard not to give her suppositories but when her little belly is hard as a rock and she is crying that is the only thing that helps.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

[cheyanne12]

Have you tried apple juice or any other juices? I know that our son did better after adding more juices to his diet.

[Emilysmom]

Pear or apricot nectar. MUCH better than any kind of juice. It is sold in cans that look like Coke cans in the juice aisles. It really works!!

We went through what you are referring to many years ago, until we learned about apricot nectar..........what a relief it was!

Susan

[CC]

"Her poop is hard and looks like rocks."

When Chris was little there was a time he had that problem and our Doc gave us a prescription stool softener and worked like a charm.

Just a thought but have you brought this up with your Ped?

CC ~

[Renee']

I don't know how old Elizabeth is but Lauren had the same problem when she was a baby. She is now 8 and has NO poop problem..lol
We had poopy parties with her back then. We had to use suppositories to help her go. Nothing in her diet really seemed to help until she started to eat baby food. The doctor did give her a script for coconut oil. We added a little to her bottle. When we did use the suppositories we usually just barely placed it and then held her legs back for her. It has a little to do with the muscle tone too. I would definately talk to the doctor about it.

Good luck!

[Chris too]

Have you had her thyroid checked lately? Slowed down metabolism can cause constipation.

Chris too

[Ericsmomma]

please check with your pediatrician...constipation in our little people can sometimes be more than the normal "irregularity". Hopefully you just need a stool softner and things will get better. But play it safe and call your doc.

[Chester]

Just an FYI, Miralax in now over the counter. No prescription needed.

How is her diet in general? Does she eat a variety of foods?

Dawn

[wrblack]

Elizabeth is what, 7 mos. now, closing in on 8? Charlie never had that much trouble in that area. But, when he did, at that age Karo worked very well. We'd put a teaspoon in a 8 oz. bottle of EBM.
Later, after we had started on baby foods, we'd just mix Gerber prunes and apples instead of peaches or whatever in his cereal. That usually got things moving. He's 8 years old now but still gets Gerber fruit mixed in his oatmeal each morning. And we'll use one of the darker colored ones, something with prunes, cherries, berries in it, sometimes.
You might want to read Dr. Len, if you haven't already,
www.ds-health.com/constip.htm
HTH,
Bob

[Evans Dad]

We are going through the same thing with Evan right now as we are trying to potty train him, we have just started him on Miralax which is now available over the counter, we give him 1 table spoon per day and mix it with his drink - we have seen an improvement in less than a week. May want to ask the pediatrician because of age, but I think it is safe for all ages.

[lorraine]

I hope you find something that works for Elizabeth soon,
We went through this with William a few months ago and he was really miserable,
We found a cure for him by accident when we went away on holiday , he had previously been eating mostly home made food but because it was easier he had jars or tinned baby food for a week. He had a really good 'clear out' (sorry too much info !!!) and he has been fine ever since.
I just make sure that every few meals he has a jar of fruit pudding or something and it seems to do the trick.

Good luck
Lorraine

[elizabethsmom]

Yes, Elizabeth is almost 8 months old. Her diet consists primarily of Breast Milk, but also gets some baby food. As Joby said, we have tried prunes, which seemed to make it worse, we have also tried other fruit (doesn't seem to help, but doesn't seem to make it worse either). We use Karo in warm water, suppositories, increased fluid, decrease food, etc. NOTHING seems to work. :-( We discussed this with her pedi, those were ALL his suggestions also. (He also suggested a small amount of formula vs Breast milk as it takes longer to digest.... yeah! that went over well... I got it right back :-) think to yourself a nasty BrBrBr sound with vibrating lips and spurting milk :-), so.. no formula. Tuesday I took her to a pediatrician at University of Michigan who specializes in children with DS and he gave me a RX for a stool softener. So far, only belly cramping-no BM. Sorry this is so long, but I'm frustrated. We are worse off now than before (at least before she was constipated but without such serious cramping all of the time). Anybody else??
Thanks for listening
Sheryl

[mollysmomma]

7 months old is wayyyyyyyyyy to young for miralax. maybe a 1/2 tsp of mineral oil mixed in with cereal? the kerns nectar is good....and massage. massage is good for babies....

[Ericsmomma]

Sheryl,
Have they done any screenings for Hirschsprung's Disease? My Eric was ALWAYS constipated...and we tried everything under the sun...nothing would work. I use to (now this is gross) basically "dig" the stool out of his poor little bottom. I would also use glycerin suppositories which softened the stool alittle. He wasn't diagnosed until he was about 1yr of age, because his pediatrician always blamed his "low muscle tone" as the cause of constipation. Which could be correct for most kids, but Eric's was more complicated. I finally made an appointment with a gastro doc on my own....and things progressed from there.
I hope its just plain old constipation for your Elizabeth, and things get better once you find out what will help her. Good Luck!

p.s. I remember Eric's surgeon telling me that if there is a question about whether its regular constipation, or something more involved, its better to do a glycerin sypository or baby fleets because its will evacuate the stool below the problem. If you give a oral laxatives and there is a problem, it will only cause more pressure and stomach cramping because the child can't pass the stool on his own. Now remember, this advise is for children who have a physical problem with their bowels.

[Chris too]

Have you tried massaging in a question mark: using some sort of lubricant, start on the left side and rub pretty firmly in a big question mark ending at the pubic bone. Do it over and over in the same pattern. There has to be some reason, though, 'specially since she gets breast milk - very digestable. I'd keep pestering the ped until you find out what's really going on, and meanwhile, use the suppositories that you know work. Do try the massage, though.

Chris too