Every Mom's nightmare is constipation in a toddler.Since my little girl is a bit better now so i thought to address this important topic and share my experience with those who are facing this difficult phase.It is worrying for every mother but more for me or mothers like me because my baby used to be a very good eater till she was 1 and a half years old approx and very regular with her bowel movements but bad days started and she got constipated with the loss of appetite.
Initially, it was quite difficult for me to understand that she was a good eater and suddenly she does not want to eat anything. I like any mother(especially desis) started with home remedies like olive and castor oil , prune juice, pear juice, carom seeds etc etc. and beside all these, i omitted bananas, rice , pasta , biscuits, potatoes, dairy from her diet, tried to increase her water intake but you cant force a child to drink water more than a sip or two. Her constipation started getting really bad and she would cry really really hard because of pain.I was feeling very helpless because i tried everything at my hand.SO finally, we decided to take her to the doctor, He gave us lactulose which normally people say works but it only gave her stomach pain. Doctor said it is common to have a little bit of stomach pain so continue giving her which we did but sadly it did not work at all.
Took her once to emergency because she got a little bit of blood while trying to relieve herself , doctor said it is common, give her lots of water, pear juice, apple juice, beans etc etc. NOTHING WORKED.
After a few weeks, we took her to the doctor again, he gave her another syrup(forgot the name)apparently it was strong and quite bitter in taste so had to dilute it with milk or juice. Once again, another failure awaited us.We did not know where we were going wrong but by the time, we knew what posture would help her relieve with a little ease.We would make her sit on our lap, pull her legs up towards stomach otherwise she would cross her legs due to pain and make it more difficult for herself to relieve.
I forgot to mention doctor also did her blood test to find out if there is something wrong internally but Thanks God everything was fine. Since all the laxatives failed, we decided to stop using syrups and let her stomach rest. Mean while, met some friends they recommended dried figs and fig syrup. It did not work again and this was my final try to do anything for her constipation.I know she was in pain but we tried everything possible so we decided not to give her anything and started including back food which we removed because of constipation.
My sister, friend and neighbor were a few people who told me that it was a phase and their kids had as well when they were around two and it shall pass with time. There were some people who tried to tell me that there was something i was doing wrong with her which is causing her constipation(like feeding her wrong food or what) .If there are such people around you then please ignore them, they only cause you worry and don't try every remedy suggested by random people.As for current status, F is doing fine mashaAllah without any medicine or remedy after a lot of months. She still feels pain but i think it is more of a fear associated with the previous experience, apart from that she is a lot better Alhamdulillah.
Tips
Don't try every remedy suggested.
Try to include fruits and fibre in your child's diet.
Don't stop offering food to your child even when it feels like he/she has lost her appetite.
Avoid Junk food , sweets/chocolates etc.
If nothing works for your toddler then please do not panic, take her or him to doctor and if he does not find anything wrong with the child then accept it. Many babies/toddlers suffer from constipation and this phase does pass esp if your child has suddenly started facing this problem.
When your child tries to relieve herself and crosses legs because of pain then pull legs up towards stomach and help her or him pass stool.
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