Two year old constipation

[Springtimeflowers]

Our DD has recently turned two, and since we began wearing her she has had times of constipation on and off. At the moment, this is the forth day of her not going, which is a particularly long time for her (dd's usual movements are a poo every two out of three days on average). I think the main problem is that she barely drinks anything - sometimes as little as 3-4 ounces in a whole day. For the longest time we tried just sticking with water, but earlier this year tried different juices and sugar-free high juices, and we ended up finding a sugar-free high juice she'll drink a little better. We have tried so many different cups, as well as a glass, but nothing really seems to help. The only things DD will drink anything from are a straw cup, and sometimes a little water from a glass before she tips it out everywhere!

DD eats between 5-7 portions of fruit and vegetables a day (although doesn't really like salad) and I try to give her lots of oats and make sure she gets plenty of excercise. She really likes cheese which I think it may be best to cut out, and also a little cake once or twice a week (we often bake together or go out somewhere nice) which I'll cut out too. Her favourite vegetable is brocolli, although she'll also eat peas, carrots and green beans. She will eat most fruits, and we all eat a lot of fruit at home. I will also perhaps try figs or prunes.

We have recently re-started potty training after a little set back which may not be helping, however we've often had these issues long before we started training so I'm not sure that's the issue.

I am please hoping for some advice? I would really rather avoid giving her medicine if at all possible, but understand I may have to. It's horrible seeing her get upset when she is constipated, and I really want to help her. Thank you in advance.

I apologise - that should say 'weaning' not 'wearing'.

I also forgot to mention I cook most meals from scratch and avoid too much processed food.

I know you don't like the idea of medication but it may be the answer. There are huge numbers of children who are son movicol / laxido for at least a year. Some children just struggle with slow digestive transit and the danger of ignoring it is the bowel stretches and becomes slack and the problem gets worse.m

My dd goes through periods of constipation, I now know the signs and give her half a sachet so movicol. Things get back on an even keel quickly. During this hot snap we have had to give her 4 half sachets as she isn't drinking enough.

My friends dd had it daily for a year and slowly reduced the dose.

Thank you for your reply. Thankfully she went in the end today, but it is still an issue that seems to have been coming up at least once a month (sometimes two or three times). Perhaps some medicine would be best.

Stewed fruit is good because it retains more water in the gut. Try stewed apples, plums. Mix a couple of tinned prunes in it. You can add stewed fruit to porridge too.

Stewed fruit is a good idea I hadn't thought of, thanks. We often have fresh fruit with porridge for breakfast, so I'll definitely give stewed fruit a try instead. After having DD I dealt with some IBS issues and constipation myself for over a year, and remember that figs in porridge helped.