My 16 month old has been constipated and wakes her up during the night. Does anyone have a tip?

Alison - posted on 03/09/2010

take your little one to the doctors my 2 year old daughter has lactulose solution procribed from the doctors she has to have it every nite b4 she goes to bed to help her go to the loo 10 minites after she has had it if she dont have it she wake up in so much pain screaming the doctor said this is all they can do for her. its so hard cos she hates vegtables the doctor as so told me to give her apples thats ment to help her go as well

Bethany - posted on 03/09/2010

When Charlotte (13 mths) was constipated to the point of crying, I followed my big sister's remedy and it worked like a charm.
A quarter of a teaspoon of brown sugar in 50ml warm water. She drank it all (of course) and her poos softened up the next day. I gave her one dose that night and one the next morning and she was fine after that.
I now make sure she eats her 2 serves of fruit a day and has plenty of fibre, with wholemeal everything and weetbix or porrage for bfast, and has plenty of water about the place to drink. ( She breastfeeds three times a day)

Stephanie - posted on 03/08/2010

Give her juice a water mixed in a bottle.
If she is still getting backed up then maybe her formula isn't agreeing with her. Talk to your doctor about switching formula's. I'm sure the prune juice would work as well.

Cristina - posted on 03/08/2010

Prunes, prune juice, My mother in law is Italian and she fixes that with pure olive oil, a teaspoon in the morning before foods, make sure you give her plenty of water and add more foods that are high in fiber, make sure you talk with her doc. she might need a diet change, it is awful when a baby is constipated. Apple and or grape juice usually makes some babies go either way, use less juice and more water.

Alyssa - posted on 03/08/2010

Go to the grocery store and buy karo syrup. Its light corn oil and mix a teaspoon with 4 ounces of water. Its all natural and works great softens it up at the same time too. Works everytime!!!

Shannon - posted on 03/08/2010

Diluted prune juice.

Felicia - posted on 03/08/2010

Try apple sauce and working her legs in a bicycle motion. Worked for me when mine were little.

Amber - posted on 03/08/2010

im with the outer moms and the juice apple wored for my daughter maby a bit to good lol but it did work and i also used gas drops and i would move her legs like she was marching sounds silly i know but it realy does help but i think every kid is difrent nd what works for our kids might not work for yours but i hope you find something that works for you and your baby good luck

Tabby - posted on 03/08/2010

Dilute her bottles.. she needs more water!!!. She is old enough for prune juice, apple juice would work too. if you are feeding her rice cereal right now, maybe give her half that till her body goes back to where it should be..

Connie - posted on 03/08/2010

If you baby is drinking water, you may want to try putting a teaspoon of suger into it. Seems to help move things along...

Regina - posted on 03/08/2010

My now 5 year old had a really really bad case of constipation at the same age, she was breast fed till 18 mo,then I switched her straight to cows milk,we went through pure horror for months, I did some research on constipation and thought maybe it was the milk, We put he on soy milk, and would you now it, within a week or so she was regular and no more constipation since....We also have a 8 yr old who is allergec to milk, and didnt find ou till about a yr and a half ago, the transition isnt so bad, try the vanilla soy, it tastes better, and it is actually better for your child....if ou look at some of the disadvantages of cows milk, you might not want to drink it yourself....but seriously, check to see if she has a lactating problem...

Melanie - posted on 03/08/2010

My twin girls have been constipated from day one. The doctors told me all the dietary stuff that everyone else here has said. What really works for us is high fibre foods. Yams/Sweet potatoes cleans them out everytime. Squash works well too. I have heard apricots are great too. We do need to use something called Peg powder in their milk each day right now. It is a stool softner that is non-habit forming. Some kids need to go on it for about a year to help out and then they are fine. Luckily I think we are ready to come off it.

Natalie - posted on 03/07/2010

kyro syrup worked for me. just hide about a tablespoon into roughly 4 oz of milk and it should help.. good luck!

Monika - posted on 03/07/2010

fiber,fiber,fiber!!!! My noe 2 1/2 year old daughter had the same thing when she was 2 and it was killing me make sure she gets apples,raisens, broccoli if she'll ear it(mine does) if she likes mac& cheese make sure is whole weat. That should help:)

Rebecca - posted on 03/07/2010

when my daughter gets all blocked up I give her extra water and add a bit of brown sugar in it. I don't know why but it seems to work best for her, but the best thing is to have plenty of water and sometimes if you massage their belly it can also help and also makes them feel better at the same time...

Mynique - posted on 03/07/2010

most of the other people are correct. apple juice or white grape is easier on the tummy but prune juice works wonders. 2 to 2 1/2 oz. of juice for 8 oz of fluid. then give it 24 hours n do it again if needed. the baby juices were not as concentrated so they never worked for my little one. i had to use regular juice. If i used the apple or white grape, i would mix it a little stronger...like 3 oz of juice and 5 oz of formula or milk...If i gave her the baby juice i gave it to her full strength and she did fine. Also if your little one is eating baby food still you can give him some apple/prune baby food mix..a 4 oz container does a good job...or if he's eating pretty good get some of those prune singles..sun sweet makes what they call "ones" single servings of prunes in individual packages and you can give him a prune to chew on...that too will get him working very well...good luck.

Nakoma - posted on 03/07/2010

Water, water, water or depending on how bad and often all natural apple juice with no sugar added. My son drinks about 4 6oz cups of water a day if not more....they don't need so many bottles of milk anymore, they eat so often they should be drinking more too. We only do bottles at a.m. when just up a 4 oz, and then breakfast with water, a 8 oz of milk at nap, and one more at 8p.m. when he goes to bed... he does really well with his stools.... GOOD LUCK!

Bethanie - posted on 03/07/2010

I agree with trying prune juice (watered down) and uping the fluid intake. Water will get things moving. I would also evaulate her diet. Limit her milk intake, bananas, apples and too much cheese are all constipation culprits but also not getting enough fiber will do it, too. Start feeding her more whole grains and start her on a liquid multi-vitamin like Enfamil Poly Vi Sol w/iron. Also, mixing in some wheat germ with some of her foods, like a tbsp a day, will help as well. It's high in protein, fiber and 23 minerals. Yogurt will also help to regulate the healthy bacteria in her digestive tract.

Chantelle - posted on 03/07/2010

try giving her some prune juice. like mix it with something that she really likes to drink and it will ease her stomach

Samantha - posted on 03/07/2010

Give your child lots of fluids and pedilyte.It helped my son.

Titi Jen - posted on 03/06/2010

gas drops have you tried them or you can ask your pharmacy whats the drs say what you feeding her certains things can cause that hun

Tara - posted on 03/06/2010

My daughter was constipated and we tried all the juices and it would work at first, but she would just end up backed up again. We switched her formula, she was only a few months old, several times and she still had problems. I finally found a laxative for babies, from little tummys, that I give to her a few days a week, and it seems to do it's job. I hope you find something that works!

Kristin - posted on 03/06/2010

First, have you spoken to her doctor? Usually, fruit juice, fruit, prunes, Chia seeds mixed in cereal, molasses work. Basically anything that ups the fiber and water content in her tract is good. But, you should definitely talk to her doctor or get a call in to the nurse. Lay off binding type foods, like rice, bananas, and cheese. Warm baths can relax them enough that things start moving too. Good luck and I hope she feels better soon.

Charlotte - posted on 03/06/2010

try giving her pure orange juice with a bit of boiled water mixed in a cup x

Beth - posted on 03/06/2010

Post a try using infant Senokot. You can mix in their formula or in their cereal or baby food. It;s a liquid that is brown in color as best as I can remember. My son had to have that when he was really young.

Margaret - posted on 03/06/2010

Hi, Katherine
I know what your going through. My son gets constipated when he drinks whole milk. If you take a tablespoon of light karo syrup and mix it with a 8.oz drink. And the reason I mention light karo syrup is it is more gentle on their stomaches. It really works as soon as my son drinks his 8.oz drink he goes right away .

Christina - posted on 03/05/2010

Oh my goodness I dealt with this for a LONG time. When my daughter turned 18 months, she was constipated until about 3 1/2 when she finally started going poop in the toilet. She saw a specialist and she said nothing was wrong, some kids are like that. The doctor told us to use miralax everyday, and it worked but the problem was she would have massive blow outs all day long. There were a couple days that I would forget to do it and the next day she was constipated again, Poor baby would go in a corner and scream her little head off while standing on her tippy toes.....hopefully your situation isn't as bad because that was the worst experience ever, good luck!

Jeanette - posted on 03/05/2010

prunes!! Thats what i give mine. The baby food puree prunes and that seems to help

Katherine - posted on 03/05/2010

Thanks Sonia, I will try your advice. It has been extremely difficult for me.

Sonia - posted on 03/05/2010

my son had a really bad experience with this as well, we tried juice and caro syrup as well and it would work at times, but then come bak, i even had to get some suppositories.. it eventually faded away and hes been fine since.. it could b somethn shes eating or drinking! one thing we did try and it did work good was putting about a spoon of miralax in his bottle! hope ur baby gets better!!!

Katherine - posted on 03/05/2010

Thanks ladies, I have tried all the juices, it works for a while but she still gets backed up. I haven't tried Caro Syrup, I will give that a try!

Desirae - posted on 03/05/2010

Gerber pear juice... even if you have to water it down so the babe can tolerate it... worked for my daughter at that age.

Colleen - posted on 03/05/2010

apple juice or grape juice

Heidi - posted on 03/05/2010

When my son had it, the nurse suggested giving him a little prune juice every day. I mixed it in with his milk. It sounds gross, but he loved it.

Kayliecia - posted on 03/05/2010

have you tried dark caro syrup? worked for me.