2-yr-old with constipation and frequent small stools

[Gwen525]

My 2-year-old daughter in diapers has been having terrible constipation for about three months. It didn't respond to the usual dietary approaches or mineral oil, so our pediatrician asked us to try 1/2 capful of Miralax (laxative) to help her stop holding it in. That helped loosen things, but what resulted was about 8 small wet stools per day (exhausting to change) with no large stools ever coming. So the doctor said increase Miralax to 1 capful, but that just caused about 15 small stools per day. So now we reduced the Miralax and added Benefiber, but still, it's all small stools 5-6 times a day, and never one big stool. She pushes so hard, and hardly anything comes out. On top of this, she has been on a low-grade antibiotic for kidney reflux for over 1 year, so I don't know if that is doing something to the digestive process. Has anyone experienced something similar? If so, what resolved it? Does this sound just like usual stubborn 2-year-old constipation, or do you think it sounds like a bigger problem?

[anethercutt]

2 of my children went through constipation all the way to being hospitalized for being impacted. This came with severe pain.  They were also put on over the counter fiber meds.  No one ever told me that Apple juice is a big constitpator.  That was all my kids wanted to drink and I thought fruit juice was good for them.

Check what your child is eating and drinking against foods that constipate.  I never knew that the apple juice was the cause.  I just found out 3 years ago and my children are 13-19 years old.

[Jlisa]

We battled this for years and years. Sounds like toddler diarrhea.( BTW, toddler diarrhea is a misnomer since many children have it through primary school and even adults can get it.) Because the Miralax softens the stool you rarely see one large formed stool. Still, I would go back to the pediatrician and get it checked out. One other thing that helped our son was increasing his fluid intake especially with electrolytes. Since he likes Gatorade and Propel it was an easy fix. Also, limiting cheese. We live in Wisconsin and the state has more constipated kids then anywhere else we have lived which I summarize is due to the high cheese intake. My pediatrician agreed with me, too.

[amcawlfield]

I have a 2 year old boy that has the exact same issue that your daughter does with constipation. He has been on Miralax for about a year and we are still having 5-8 small soft stools per day. We were advised to increase the Miralax as well by our doctor but that isn't really changing things. Did you ever find anything that helped the situation. Thanks.