Daughter screaming in pain when she poops...

Chelseasmommy - posted on 04/23/2012

Omg! My 15 month old daughter is having the same problem! I have no idea what to do either. I feel so bad for her, it breaks my heart watching her suffer through it. She eats fruit, veggies and lots of water everyday but she still has these giant rock hard poops that look like they came from a great dane, sorry for the image. All her dr said was fiber and water. I wish you and your daughter the best of luck and hope things get better for her! If you find a solution please share!

Veronica - posted on 03/08/2009

Sounds like your baby is constipated.  Since you've tried fruits and veggies I would try water and prune juice next.

Sarah - posted on 03/04/2009

I failed to mention that if your baby is 6mon. or younger, check with your doctor first about all the stuff I've tried. sorry. Everything I've tried, I did when he was 12 months old.

Denise - posted on 03/04/2009

my little cousin taylor has the same problem ever since she was a baby she would screem bluddy murder when she pooped and it was like a rock no matter how many doctors she seen there was nothing to help i know its hard but it will get better as she getts older

Blake - posted on 03/04/2009

i have to respond to the laxative suggestion! Don't give a child under 6 a laxative...it is a stimulant and causes severe scramping which would be worse than the pain from pooping. the prune juice is a much better alternative and push that water! Good luck and hang in there!

Cassie - posted on 03/04/2009

The same thinghappened to my daughter when she was that age. I had to help the poo come out sometimes but rubbing vaseline in the area. The Dr. told me she wasnt drinking enough water. She still has 2 fishers on her bottom from straining too much..shes 20 months now. H

opefully they will go away. Try the vaseline though.

Angel - posted on 03/03/2009

oh and also i have had him on soy and lactaid milk too cause i tried the regular and it was not good and since i changed him it has worked well

Angel - posted on 03/03/2009

my son was the same way when he was little and the doc had me give him a ounce or 2 of prune juice a day or every couple days and that helped him alot..also eating lots of fruits and veggies.....and on my own i decided to cut his dairy intake too he eats cheese and that but i only give him so much every day and that helped too.....they have the infants prune juice or u can use regular too they had told me either works....i remember it was so hard for me too when he was in so much pain.......hopefully that will help u a little

Sarah - posted on 03/03/2009

Your child sounds exactly like my 15 month old. He wasnt constipated, just hard stool. I totally know what you are going through with the screaming, Spencer would literally clinch onto me while I held him when he pooped. He would have problems pooping as an infant, but when he was around 12 months is when he starting doing this. Heres the things I have tried, so it may be a bit of a long response.

First of all, I do not ever give him laxatives. If he has 'old' stool built up in his colon, this will not get rid of it. If Spencer went two days without going, and was straining, and screaming b/c of the hard stool, after a few times of this I would give him a glycerin supposatory (sp). I have also used a child's fleet enema, and only used a small portion of it on him. This will completely flush out his colon and old and new stool.

Also, my son will stand and clench his butt cheeks together, and flex his legs, does your child do this? I would either hold him or lay him down and spread his legs, like a frog position, knees to chest, in a rocking motion, this tends to make the stool come out easier. I have also tried putting a teaspoon of metamucil in his juice bottle, and also not dilluting it very much with water every day, for a fiber supplement. Another thing you might try is using miralax. It is a stool softener. A friend of mine is a RN at Children's Hospital and she told me to do this, but to only start out giving a tsp. once a day in their bottle. Theres no cramping. You can also try liquid colace, it is a stool softener as well, and used for babies. I wouldn't use the enema unless you think she is backed up. A friend of mine who is a health nut, gives her 15 month old a tsp. of aloe vera gel. It supposedly cleanses your whole system, and she swears by it. You can buy it at a health food store, b/c it has to be the kind you can take orally. LOTS of water is another thing. I keep Spencer a bottle or sippe at all times during the day, to make sure he is constantly drinking. Now that that they arent drinking bottles of formula like they did as babies, I don't think they drink as much water as they used to. I have tried prune juice as well. My doc said anything that starts with a "p" is good for making sure they go to the bathroom. Acidopholus is also good, you can buy it in caplets and put in their bottle. I give Spencer this every day, and my 5 year old. I have also tried giving him soy milk instead of cow's milk, and he vomitted it up during the night, so I don't think it agreed with him. So, I googled it one day, and found something that does work for us. Now, he does occasionally have a hard poop, but he is back to normal with a formed stool, and goes sometimes twice a day. I took him off cow's milk, and starting giving him Good Start Supreme 2 for toddlers and older babies. It is wonderful, it has whey protein and it easier for their digestive systems. I only give it to him for his nap bottle and his night bottle. I also like it b/c it has all the vitamins that he needs, it is the same as giving him a multivitamin. So you might want to try that. It is milk based, but like I said it is easier on their digestive tracts. Oh, and btw, you also might be giving your child too much milk, have you tried cutting back on the amount of dairy products? She might not be lactose intolerant, but some people have trouble when they have too much milk. Hope this helps, and that you figure it out. It's one of those hit and miss things. You just have to keep trying things. I wouldnt take

Spencer to the doc b/c I didn't want them to put him on a laxative. I have a good friend whose son was, and he became dependant on it, and had constant diarrhea. This also was a huge problem b/c they had to eventually wene him off of them, and potty training was a nightmare b/c of it.

Steve Vinessa - posted on 03/02/2009

a friends son had that, and as he got older would cry before he ever even tried to go poop because he knew it would hurt. They ended up getting a wheat grinder, and the only flour they use is freshly ground wheat, and he now longer has that problem. The other thing they did is give him a probiotic. (good bacteria, also known as acidopholus)  maybe try yogurt, if you give her cheese or milk, try going without that a little more just to see if it helps.

Sumi - posted on 03/02/2009

My twins have a similar problem (they're 7 months old). They'll poop but scream while doing so and it's very hard stool. We tried apple juice and it worked but then they were too full to take a bottle. My pediatrician prescribed Lactulose and it has made a huge difference. It softens the stool so that they aren't straining any more.

Christina - posted on 03/02/2009

great ill deffintly have to try some of this, last night was the worse, she was screaming and crying and holding on to me so tight i wanted to cry for her. thanks so much to everyone! anything else that would help please let me know. thanks again =)

Martha - posted on 03/02/2009

My daughter is 11 months old. She has had this problem off and on since birth. Finally I had it when one day I watched her crying and purple faced 'try to poop' for over 20 minutes. We went to the GP and were given a stool softener. It help but only for a little while. We then went to her pediatrician and he said the crying wasn't her trying to ppop it was her trying not to poop. We have to now retrain her thought process because at one point it did hurt so now she assoicates the feeling have having to go with pain and holds poop back. So we are flushing her system with laxatives to make it super easy for her to poop. It has been a long process but I think we are finally on the right track.

Tammy - posted on 03/02/2009

yes make sure she's drinking lot's of water and lot's of fibre. bran buds are great mixed with yogurt, my daughter also loves strawberry miniwheats,

Cassie - posted on 03/02/2009

enough water. sorry cut out before

Cassie - posted on 03/02/2009

I have seen this happen as well. try to give her 1 teaspoon of milk and magnesium. that should help if not try pedialyte. she might be getting enough water.

Christina - posted on 03/01/2009

thanks alot!

Christy - posted on 03/01/2009

Well, I do know that the high fiber foods will help soften her poops. Try to feed her lots of green beans, and to stay away from binding foods like rice cereal. Maybe the prune juice will also help soften the stool... but I know my doctor said not to do the corn syrup thing. but I would def. ask your doctor if the prune juice is safe for this problem.

Christina - posted on 03/01/2009

well my daughter "poops" everyday, so shes nto constipated , but its just very hard, i was told when my daughter was younger as well when she was constipated to use corn syrup and prune juice, but im no so sure thats something i can do on a daily basis.

Christy - posted on 03/01/2009

My daughter is only 9 months, so she's just getting into the three meals a day thing. But when we were travelling during Christmas, she was constipated, and up all night crying, and trying to push, but in tears. The advice nurse said to put prune juice or appricot nectar (Kerns) in her bottle. about one ounce juice in a four ounce bottle. and lots of high fiber foods: green beans, peaches... about an hour after a tub of green beans, and prune juice in her bottle, she was feeling MUCH better. :) three diaper later. :) hope this helps :)