Most kids experience the discomfort of constipation at one time or another. Just type the words “constipation” and “toddler” into your favorite search engine, and you’ll see hundreds of results from message board moms throughout the country. So, it would seem that the topic has been sufficiently covered.
For our daughter, however, constipation is a more serious matter, and it will likely be one she will have to deal with for the rest of her life. In addition to being born with a detached esophagus, Lily was also diagnosed with an imperforated anus; instead of a normal anal opening, she had what is known as a fistula connecting her colon to her vagina.
Neither the nurses nor the pediatrician who examined her noticed that this was where the meconium was being discharged from, and they almost sent us home before the problem was detected (luckily, the breastfeeding coach asked them to re-examine Lily). My wife swears that I remarked how it looked like Lily didn’t have a bottom, but I was so exhausted I don’t remember saying that.
The surgery to repair the problem and the subsequent physical therapy assured that she functions just like every other little girl. However, as parents, we have to be very mindful of Lily’s diet.
The first thing we had to cross off the menu was rice cereal. This is a notorious “constipator”; next came bananas and most recently, we have begun limiting her cheese intake. We also have to be cognizant of any medications we give her. Often times, constipation won’t be an explicitly stated side effect. However, other verbal cues such as warnings stating not to give the medicine to children who have lost a lot of fluids due to vomiting or diarrhea or have recently taken a diuretic are usually present.
One of the secrets to avoiding constipation is making sure your child is properly hydrated. This is especially true for children who enjoy a high fiber diet. In order to work effectively, fiber absorbs water; so if there isn’t enough water present in the system, too much fiber can actually worsen the problem.
Every pediatrician will tell you that prune juice works best for relieving constipation, but few will readily admit that most kids hate how it tastes. We’ve been lucky, because there are days when Lily will actually drink her prune juice straight from the cup. However, when we do have to disguise it, we’ve found that mixing it with yogurt or in a smoothie usually does the trick.
If that doesn’t work, we mix it with oatmeal in place of water or milk. Lily really likes prune juice and brown sugar oatmeal! If you add butter to it, not even the finickiest of eaters will suspect a thing.
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