20 month old - need help was Re: Hello

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Hello-- I'm going to put my comments within some of your text with

*** marks...

I'm changing the subject line to possibly attract more people than

just the Hello part. :-)

>

> We took her

> to a GI specialist at 8 months and they ruled out all physical

issues

> and said babies can go up to a month without going!! What??

**** Yes, I second that--What?? That would be horrible to go a month

without having a bowel movement. It's shocking to think that there

is actually a GI doc that believes this is " OK " ... wow...

>

> Our doctor recommended 1 tsp of milk of magnesia a day and we did

> that but she would wait longer to go while taking that.

****** You mentioned below that you tried 2 tsp's... I would say, go

ahead and try the milk of magnesia again--yes, some people on this

board are using it, and try the 2 tsps for a few days, while also

giving her some type of fiber, such as Fiber Choice chewables. Some

fibers to me, seem very drying, and Fiber Choice chewables do not

seem to make the stool dry...so give her a half a wafer to start with

and work up to a full wafer per day, and stay with the 2 tsps of Milk

of Magnesia until you get a sense of how regular is she being. If it

is turning to diarrhea again, then back down to 1 tsp and maintain

the Fiber and then see what happens. There is a delicate balance

between enough of something to make the stool soft, but sometimes

when it gets TOO soft, then it seems like the kids will go longer in

between because it's so soft that it's not stimulating much

peristaltic action in the gut to get it moving through...so that's

why giving some bulking fiber along with something that will keep it

soft, is usually going to help. Each child is different though...

Now, the

> Miralax prescription. I REALLY don't want her to have it. I took

it

> for a week in pregnancy and was allergic to it and had to stop.

***** Yes, some people ARE allergic to PEG.

Is there an

> amount that is too much to give? I don't want to make her sick or

> have other problems from too much MOM.

****** well, not generally a problem with too much MOM. Magnesium in

high doses can cause a problem BUT the kind of magnesium in milk of

magnesia, is not one that is absorbed well by the body, and you can

play with the dose to see what will work for her.

We did have to give her 2

> tablespoons for two days in a row to get her to go recently, but

then she got diarrhea.

***** you could always try a table spoon for two days in a row, and

then back it down... yes, diarrhea in little ones isn't good if it

goes on for days but getting her to the point of diarrhea, and then

backing down, isn't necessarily a bad thing... it at least shows you

that you've reached that point of making the stool flush through and

then you can back down and increase the fiber, to see if you can find

the happy medium of a formed log shaped stool that is easy to pass,

even if it isn't coming every day--you're wanting to see that log

shape, easy to pass stool...

>

> In some posts and in the file section I read about aloe vera juice

(I

> think that's what it is called) and have seen that in the store.

Is

> that a stool softener? What does it do?

***** aloe vera juice is supposed to have healing properties and

helps heal the lining of the gut that has been irritated by rough

stool and too much mucous being formed to protect itself. It's

supposed to help the stool come through in a more log-shaped normal

appearance. 's aloe vera is one brand that tastes like water.

I don't care personally for a lot of the aloe veras only because of

the taste of them--can't get my dd to take it, but george's aloe vera

was one that she would take, because it tasted like water and was

easily hidden that way.

>

> Also, I have seen some probiotic supplements and digestive enzymes

in

> the vitamin aisle. They say adults only, but I am thinking that in

> the right dose they are ok, as the docs say the laxatives are

right?

***** Oh yes, absolutely probiotics are OK for kids. Particularly

the lactobacillus acidophilus ones. You may even be able to get her

to start eating Activia brand yogurt or any of the other ones that

advertise the high ratio of live cultures.

> How do you determine what is the right dose? My daughter does not

> like yogurt, so the activa challenge was out for us.

**** Oh bummer. I typed before I read down here. Well, you can

still get probiotics of lactobacillus acidophilus and other ones, and

then open the capsule and sprinkle the probiotic onto her bread, in

her cereal, and you can 'shake it' into drinks to mix it in well.

>

> And magnesium supplements, I have seen those too. Which ones work

> best? Any long term side effects? Any ideas on dosage?

**** Some people like kirkman labs magnesium citrate--adds a tart

taste to juice. Some people like natural calm brand.

> Maybe as a remedy in a bind, but that's all. Right now my daugther

> just got over a stomach bug and that caused diarrhea for her until

> Friday. But, she is on day 3 now without going.

**** Yes, after diarrhea, you can expect at least a few days with

nothing coming through.

I have been giving

> her 4 ounces of prune juice a day (she doesn't like it much unless

it

> is mixed with other juice & water) and 2 tsp of children's

benefiber

> a day.

**** There is a juice box sold online called Juice Plus Fibre, and it

IS pricey, but look into it because you may even live near a place

that sells it. I had purchased some and had it mailed to me and a

half-box a day of the grape flavor, would produce noticeably softer

stools in my daughter. Great stuff! It was made with Acacia fiber,

and it just seemed to make things nice and soft. The only other

source of Acacia fiber I have found is 's Tummy Fibers. But,

the tummy fibers, you needed to use several spoonfuls of it in order

to get it equal to what was in the juice box, and so the juice box

really packed in a lot of fiber per box. I'd give her half per day

and refrigerate the other half so I could get the most bang for my

buck and not waste juice.

W