Chronic Constipation 14mo

[cityspring]

Hi,

Looking for help and suggestions! My 14 month old has been dealing with digestion issues all along. Colic, reflux, constipation. Before solids he had a lot of discomfort, and never had hard bm's until lately- but always was a struggle to go. Now the bm's are hard and very large for such little guy. It's gotten so he can only go when taking a bath. He's always been on a veg/fruit/ whole grain diet- I've tried all the zucchini, prunes, plums, pears, peaches, flax oil, etc, then metamucil- and now we don't need more bulk. I've tried juices- prune, apple, grape, more water, etc, abdominal massage and nothing works.
So now the doctor has recommended he take Miralax and I will start this because we are desperate but I'm concerned about putting my little guy on a laxative long term. Anyone have any other suggestions or similar experiences?
Thank you!

[allnaturalmom]

I've been through a similar situation w/one of my dc. Our hcp recommended a good probiotic and put her on a magnesium supplement. It worked wonders. It was a powder that I added to some juice each morning. We used orange juice since the powder had a slightly tart taste. We took constipating foods out of her diet. He also put her on cod liver oil (for something else, but I think it helped w/the constipation issues, too).

gl
hth
I know how frustrating it can be!

[cityspring]

Thank yiu

Thanks for your post! Do you remember which probiotic and brand of magnesium? Were they specifically for kids? Thank you!

[LZP]

Our DD had digestive issues from about 2 weeks on- she had tons of gas, and a hard time getting poops out which, IMO just shouldn't be for an EBF baby that young...

We did two things to help with her problems: We started on Flora Baby - Probiotic powder- in the refrigerator section at health food store- when she was about 5-6 weeks (I think) and I cut cow dairy out of my diet immediately. She is a new little girl!

If he's getting any cow dairy, I'd look at that. A milk allergy can show itself through constipation, gas, etc.

Our ped, (also an IBCLC) also recommended half strength chamomile tea, about 1 oz in the evenings. that seemed to help her a bit too, though we dont rely on that regularly.

[mamafish9]

Lots of food intolerances can cause constipation, not just dairy. I would definitely try pulling at least the top 4 intolerance foods from her diet (and yours if you still nurse) - dairy, soy, corn, gluten. Come on over to the allergy forum and we can help you with that .

For my son, he was also sensitive to salicylates - a natural food chemical highest in fruit. So prunes and stuff made things worse. Also, in a food reacting babe, the gut is inflamed, and fiber can make that worse. So the "traditional" advice for constipation, if it doesn't address things in short order, IMO can often be counterproductive.

Remove reacting foods (his long history of GI issues suggests he's reacting to something), add magnesium, and consider probiotics. If that doesn't work, come grab me in the allergy forum, and I'll share plan B, C, D (we had a hellacious constipation issue). btw, under no circumstances would I use miralax...

[cityspring]

Thank you

Thank you everyone for your replies! I've done the elimination diet for over a year (still nursing) and my son has very little wheat, corn, dairy, etc. I feel like I've spent the past six months revolving his whole diet around what foods might make him go

Thanks!

[mamafish9]

Any food can cause constipation, so it may be that foods you haven't eliminated (for you or him) are the culprit. Salicylates (a food chemical that is high in fruits, almonds, tomatoes, etc) were the problem for my son.

[cityspring]

Hi again

Mamafish-

Please give me your plans B,C, and D. I too don't want to use the Miralax but I need a fast natural stool softener at this point.
Thanks!

[mamafish9]

Magnesium citrate, as much as you can get in your son (I do 250mg/day split into 3 doses for DS' maintenance dose, and have doubled that to get him moving again if he gets constipated). If that doesn't work in 2 days, we used enemas as well (the regular store ones, 1/4 of the bottle). Follow the enema with lots of mag to keep things moving.

That should deal with the short term issue - but you need to work out the cause - constipation is NOT normal, whatever the doctors say. I'd still guess he's sensitive to something he or you is eating.

What have you eliminated from both your diets so far?

[HappyTomato]

Good quality fats help my kids. My 2 yr old loves to eat butter (specifically Kerrygold which is one of the best brands). A good Cod liver oil like Blue Ice is also helpful.

[cityspring]

Hi

Thank you for your replies. There are many forms of magnesium citrate out there- whew! Some with calcium some without. Anyone have a brand to recommend? We have been on a no dairy, no wheat, nothing on the constipating, nothing fun list for so long. I'm wondering if I should have him allergy tested. His skin is a mess too, little bumps all over his arms and legs.
Right now I want to get him going comfortably on a regular basis without Miralax. Started the probiotic today. Thanks for your help!

[mamafish9]

No, definitely not one with calcium - just as plain a mag citrate as you can find.

[cityspring]

Hi

Thanks to everyone for their help! We started magnesium citrate today but no luck yet. It's been since Monday!
On a side note, my mother talked to a PA friend that has two boys. She said I should stop bfing him! That the milk may be making him constipated and that he's nursing too much. Has anyone heard of this? Of course I'm a little defensive about this, especially right now. He does nurse a lot- even more when he's not feeling well. Sigh!

[mamafish9]

Originally Posted by cityspring

Thanks to everyone for their help! We started magnesium citrate today but no luck yet. It's been since Monday!
On a side note, my mother talked to a PA friend that has two boys. She said I should stop bfing him! That the milk may be making him constipated and that he's nursing too much. Has anyone heard of this? Of course I'm a little defensive about this, especially right now. He does nurse a lot- even more when he's not feeling well. Sigh!

The only way your milk would constipate him is if you are eating a food he reacts to. The solution is to find and remove those foods, not to stop nursing. Sigh. Hang in there mama, you can get to the bottom of this...

How much mag citrate did you give him, and how long ago?

[cityspring]

Hi

Hi, thanks for your posts. Altogether he had about 250mg today. Tonight he woke up screaming and he went a little. He was in a lot of pain, poor little guy! Hopefully tomorrow will be better!

[mamafish9]

My son needs 250mg just to keep him pooping regularly, more than that if he's constipated. I'd repeat at least that dose today. We use enemas when our son got really blocked like that - it softens the poop in there and makes it less painful for it to come out.

[naviline]

Hi there, thanks for this thread and all your info, mamafish. I have a similar issue - my BFing 14-month-old DS has had chronic constipation for a couple of months now, and it's been 9 days since his last BM - needless to say, we are very frustrated We broke down and did try to dose him with Miralax (a major challenge as he doesn't drink from a bottle, refuses a sippy cup, and won't let you feed him with a spoon - we have a very high-spirited little guy!) Unfortunately, that didn't work either - it's been 2 days. We are very worried about our little guy. I will start the elimination diet on my side (I still eat raw dairy and cheese - he's only been on breastmilk, prunes, pears, avocado and some pastured eggs). We're going to the chiro tomorrow to see if perhaps there is an adjustment issue as well. It's next to impossible to get any supplements down him due to the aforementioned refusal of anything that's not a breast or something he can pick up with his fingers and feed himself, so I am at my wit's end on how we will get him to take probiotics, magnesium or anything else. And oh how I do NOT want to give him an enema...

[mamafish9]

Enemas are awful for some kids, but not so bad for others. Much easier for us than giving our son laxatives (which didn't work and just gave him awful gut pain).

For us, the cause of constipation was salicylates, so you might look to that - most fruits are very high, dried fruits are crazy high (so prunes are the absolute worst).

"high spirited" often equals mag deficiency, and constipation as well. I hear you on supps being difficult - see how he reacts to Epsom salts baths. Take lots of mag yourself (it only passes at a certain level in breastmilk, but if you are deficient, supping will help).