Foods to offer / avoid to help constipated toddler

[just_lily]

I have a new child in my home daycare, a 17mo girl, who has some pretty serious issues with constipation. She only goes a few times a week and it is really solid and she has a hard time passing it. She screams as she poops and it is clear it is quite painful and traumatic for her. Poor kid.

Anyway, I want to try to help but I am at a bit of a loss because in my house we don't have this as an issue (if anything we have the.... *ahem* opposite problem). I feed her breakfast, lunch and two snacks five days a week, so a lot of her nutritional intake is provided by me.

I asked her mom if they had noticed any foods that seem to make it better or worse and all she said was that they were cutting down on cheese and that they were trying to give her strawberries (?) to help her go.

Any ideas on what I should try? Or avoid? I know things like cheese and bananas can bung you up so we will avoid those. I have a recipe for bran muffins that uses applesauce, and was thinking of replacing some of the applesauce for some prune puree. Do you think it would be worthwhile to try to offer her some prune juice?

Any BTDT advice on this would be great.

[jeanine123]

Lots of P fruits, prunes, plums, pears, peaches, nectarines (yeah, I know that one doesn't start with a P but as a good friend once told me, they're basically hairless peaches, at least when it comes to this). Nothing from the BRAT diet, which is bananas, rice, apples and toast. Plenty of liquids, water is best especially with meals and snacks.

[just_lily]

Apples, eh? So does that make apple juice bad as well? I very rarely serve juice in my home but twice this week she has been dropped off with a sippy of apple juice.

[KatWrangler]

No apple juice. Unless you see pulp in it. That will stop the child up.

[AbigailGrace]

Btw, apple juice and orange juice at that age gave ALL my kids the runs. *Just read again you said she was dropped off with apple juice. Hmmmmm... culprit?*

The '5 minute' oatmeal is good. Not instant, but the kind you have to cook. It helps my kids and me. (any fiber helps) I add a little brown sugar and milk to it. Bread stops us up as well as milk, cheese and other dairy. For us, what helps is enzymes after every meal and Smooth Move tea, not that it's something you can invest in for her, though. And LOTS of water. For some reason, I can't think of anything else... if I do, I'll check back.

[thefreckledmama]

I would definitely try giving her a little prune juice. Maybe even prunes for a snack,...my kiddos always loved them.