Hi everyone, I am in desperate need of some serious advice.

My daughter is 20 months old and has been super constipated since she was about 9 months old because she holds in her stool as long as she can until its unbearable and has to push it out. She cries and strains and is in so much pain. I have tried to fix the problem with her diet but she is a super picky eater and pretty much refuses everything I give her that would help alleviate her problems. I am still breastfeeding and nurse her on demand quite frequently and that doesn't help. Before she started on solid foods she had no problems at all with having a bm and did so a couple times a day. At about 9 months old when she starting to eat a lot more solid foods is when all this started.

I'm not on a raw food diet, but I am an almost vegan (I do eat some dairy on rare occasions but my daughter gets none at all) so I know its not a dairy issue causing this in her. I've gone tried gluten free and soy free diets and that doesn't seem to make a difference either. She will not eat vegetables (unless they are totally hidden or pureed in other foods) but loves melon and pureed fruit so I give her tons of that. She also loves bread, pasta and crackers and eats a good amount of that too. We only eat whole wheat breads and pastas and try to stay away from processed and refined foods.

I really don't know where to turn and what to do. I've been seeing a Naturopath, Osteopath and Pediatrician and so far nothing is working.

As a last resort I have started giving her Mineral Oil for the last 3 months now with a soluble fibre supplement, and although it has softened her stool considerably, she is still able to hold it in and is only going once or twice a week and is still screaming and straining. Before this her stool was rock hard and she was bleeding every time she had a BM and her bum was super red and raw. It was just awful so at least I'm not dealing with that anymore, but I hate giving her the Mineral Oil and I feel totally out of options. I'm hoping that you guys can point me in the right direction.

Thanks so much!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/2008 01:22AM by veggie_mom.

I feel for you.
Will this help?

[www.keepkidshealthy.com]

Best Wishes, Ula

How about essential fatty acids, specifically Omega 3's?

I hear that mineral oil is a bad thing.

Mineral Oil is a petroleum based product, so I probably wouldn't ingest it. I would try 1 to 2 tsp. of Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. This should keep the stool soft. You could mix it with a smoothie or put it on bread to get her to eat it. As for the straining, you could try some angstron sized Magnesium; the liquid kind. Probably about 1 tbls. would do the trick to loosen the bowels. It is SO toxic to have feces stay in the body longer than it should. Hope this helps.

Are you nursing her? If so, she might be sensitive to something in your diet. Banana smoothies are awesome. You can even add greens to it and it still tastes sweet. When food is cooked, the water is removed. Add more water and it will hopefully help things flow. So will apple juice. Remove the fiber from the apple and swish!