Sorry if this is TMI...
My 16 mo. old son has always had harder poop. I have talked to his Doctor about this, especially when he was younger...she always suggested fruits and veggies that begin with P...prunes, peas, pears, etc.
The last several months he has been pretty good; however we are now on day 3 with little poop. Today, yesterday and the day before there has only been a small amount (rounded ball). (Once a day.)
He acts fine! I just feel bad. We tried prunes this morning...he ate very little of that. I think it was the taste...he is eating things he likes just fine.
Before I call his Doctor...I thought I would turn to you Moms! Does anyone know of an over the conuter medicine I can give him? OR do you know of a magic food that I could try?
Thanks!
I forgot to mention my son will NOT drink juice! Only milk and water...to be honest, I don't want to push the juice if he doesn't like unless I absolutely have to.
Update...he did poop today!! It was the most he has gone in a few days...still hard, but we are pushing the "Ps"...I went shopping last night and bought plums, peaches, pears, peas, prunes...along with raisins! He actually ate the prunes! :)
Thanks again for all of the suggestions!
My daughter had what we called "pellet poop" until she was about 3. It just ended up being the norm for her. She ate tons of fruits and veggies... it didn't matter. Around age 3 she started going more and it was less ball like. If he is not uncomfortable it might just be normal for him?
I'd also add berries to the list of foods. We use Mirilax - very gentle stool softner. This was recommended by our Dr. for constipation and works GREAT! Just put the powder in his water/drink and it's tasteless. Also mak sure he's drinking enough fluids - cheese and dairy can be really constipating to some too.
You can try plums instead of prunes. You will get the same effect but he might like the taste better. Also, I would make sure his fiber intake is up there. If you use white bread products, switch to whole wheat, and eat avocados, any kind of beans, and oatmeal. Stay away from applesauce (not apples) and bananas. Juice can also help, but at such a young age I would still cut it with half water and only give 4ounces a day, if you are comfortable with juice at all.
My daughter had "poop balls" when she was about 13 months old -- really hard poops that got stuck in her and were very painful (sorry if that is TMI). After trying all sorts of things, we found the magic solution was to put a teaspoon of corn syrup in her milk several times a day. (You may have to do more or less depending on the kid). I didn't like giving her extra sugar but it worked so well and she stopped being in pain. After a few months, we were able to decrease the corn syrup gradually and ultimately stop it altogether. Now she is almost three and does not have a sweet tooth (except for ice cream :) so it doesn't seem to have done her any lasting harm.
I just had an idea to make ice pops with a prune juice blended with grape or apple, and watered down.
Have you tried prune JUICE yet? Perhaps diluted?
My son too! And he eats plenty of fruits and veggies, it's from his asthma meds. We tried benefiber and Fibercom but they didn't work. Miralax is our savior. It works with your body to take moisture from your intestines to soften the stool so you can be regular. A word of caution though, the generic did not work as well for us, we had to use the full dosage. For us it's worth it to get the name brand and we just use 1/4 of a cap, he's only 7 though, you might want to use half a cap. Hope this helps!
Did you try a small amount of Miralax with his drinks? Start with smallest amount and adjust each day if necessary.
you can try "fiber gummies".....we get them at costco and we give our 4 yr old 2 per day and it doesn't cause gas pain...they work great!
i think the minimum age to take these is 2.
good luck!
Pear juice. I cut it with water... but still works for us! Plus it sounds like you and others are on the right track with "pitted" fruit - peaches, plums, avocados... etc.
