Ok.. last Sunday’s nite was one of my challenging nite being a mom. Sophie was having a mild constipation (I hope so..) and it’s pretty sad to see her so much in pain. Normally she would take about 5-10 mins to get it done and she would ‘appear’ (cz normally she would be escaped or hide herself from us) to telling me that she’s now ready to get the diaper changed. But, not that nite.. I supposed after I’m done with kitchen cleaned up about ½ an hour, she would call me, but she hasn’t yet done and she was sweating like mad.
Hubby called me and told what he concerned about, and I was wondering what I have I given to make her suffer like that. It was surely nothing ‘hard’ solid food, so my worry is for the laxative a.k.a her milk supply. I’ve noticed that since we have changed the Pediasure Complete to Gain® Plus Advance Eye-QTM (still with Abbott products), she can’t bear with an over-the-counter laxative. Compared to Pediasure complete, she never had this constipation suffer.
So for that incident happened, after Hubby and I sick worried about her, we tried to make her calm and relax, which the hardest thing to do. She’s experienced the painful bowel movements and tried to get ‘rid’ of the stools I believed. After few attempts on making her calm and squat for a while, she did successfully get ‘rid of it’.
Since of that incident, my ultimate goal is to help my child to have soft, comfortable stools again. One of it, I’m definitely to cut down her laxative supply. It’s actually better use rarely and increases the fiber intake. Sophie is a picky-eater and to serve her with fiber may seem impossible. Hmmm… so I might stick with giving her banana instead of other fiber foods. By the way, from the web and books, you can try other alternatives if you are facing this problem, such as :
1. Make sure your child is drinking enough fluids -- juice, milk and water. If your child is dehydrated, her stool will become harder, leading to constipation. It is particularly important for your child to stay hydrated in hot weather. Since it's difficult to make specific recommendations as to how much fluid is enough, try following the pediatricians' rule of thumb: If your child is urinating at least every three hours while awake, then she's probably getting plenty of fluids.
2. Encourage your child to sit on the toilet after meals. Children who have experienced painful bowel movements are often reluctant to sit on the toilet. But the longer a child avoids going to the bathroom, the harder the stool will become. You can help break this cycle by having the child sit on the toilet for 5 or 10 minutes after meals, when intestinal reflexes make passing bowel movements easier. - - So I think this is the hint for me to get her ready for toilet training which I failed a few times.. u’huh!
3. Consider eliminating milk from your child's diet. On occasion, a child can become constipated due to a cow's milk allergy or sensitivity. However, because cow's milk is an excellent source of protein and calcium, which are both essential for growth, you should not eliminate it from the diet without first consulting your doctor. If you have tried the above strategies without success and feel that milk may be the culprit, contact your pediatrician.
- Do consult your doctor if constipation develops suddenly or is associated with pain or fever.
- Don't worry if there is a small amount of blood on the surface of the stool or the toilet tissue. This probably indicates an anal fissure, a painful but non-serious condition. Larger amounts of blood, blood mixed with the stool, or blackening of the stool, however, may indicate a more serious condition.
- Do contact your doctor if constipation develops in early infancy -- this might indicate a more serious condition, such as intestinal blockage, and should be evaluated quickly.
So good luck!!
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