Wondering how to help you or your child with constipation? This is how we overcame the intense urgency of it all, and how we've stayed in the clear since then too.
My mom has always been constipated, and I've always been constipated. My now 4-year-old battled scary constipation which began soon after 1 year old.
Did you know that when born vaginally you are exposed to all the wonderful flora from mom which is actually really beneficial to baby's health? Well.... I think we got the good and the bad with that. Bad being whatever it is that gives us intestines of steel!
I won't get into the consequences of using Miralax here but I will summarize by saying it strips the gut of beneficial gut microbiota. I don't need any more help ruining my gut. Your gut is like your brain and when it's not healthy it can set off a lot of negative consequences that are sneaky. I as well as tons of people I've been in online support group are strongly against PEG ingredients because we know there are alternatives. So we choose the alternatives.
SO what can you give yourself or your child for constipation?
Magnesium oxide was our game changer because it finally was a tool for me to keep her out of a traumatic and potentially violating emergency room experience.
Having a 2.5-year-old that hasn't pooped in 3 weeks was excruciating for me (how about her!). I was trying everything (including reluctantly Miralax per my pediatrician at the time saying "It must be safe if it's on the shelf" :/ ). I was throwing hundreds of dollars in supplements at my toddler only for it to not work or for her to insist on not consuming them. Along with constipation is a strong correlation to being super picky with what they will consume, which isn't anything proactively helpful! The more constipated they get, the more they truly feel miserable and truly do not want to eat (helpful things). Mentally/emotionally they are shot too. We were both miserable.
At first, I was super scared about how much to dose. I was super conservative and worried about everything when it didn't come off a shelf at the store (that's all I knew til then). My saving grace was:
What I found for my 3-year-old to stop this pattern of only pooping every 2-3 weeks was she needed 2-3 of the tiny scooper up to 2x a day. You can start small and follow the instructions yourself, this is what I found worked for us. Her colon had to have been so enlarged, that she needed a reprieve and for many days. Within 2 days all the poop came out. Then I stayed in maintenance mode and gave her 1 of the little scoopers a day. The unflavored is tasteless, and it's a very fine powder. I had already tried tons of gummies that were magnesium citrate or oxide and they just didn't cut the mustard. The Calm powder didn't help much either and it was a pain because I had to put it in a little bit of boiling water first to take the 'burn' away. With Mag Go Kids I didn't need to do that.
Note: sometimes her bum would get a little burn/red looking. However, my gut tells me it's not the oxide. It's the fact that she's had poop festering in her intestines for weeks that could be causing that unpleasantry. Either way, our gold remedy to that diaper rash was Mother Love Organic Herbal Diaper Rash Cream.
So I didn't go at this alone. I had help in two ways:
I was consulting with a gut health guru named Elissa Arnheim of Healthy Gut Happy Child. She has a health coaching business and she is a talented medical professional and an incredibly caring person and mom. Not only did we get through this major hurdle but she also helped me remove dairy and gluten, and slowly but surely experiment with adding certain supplements only as needed. Seeing my daughter bloom emotionally and her sudden eager interest in eating dinner was so sweet. Her gut was healing.
I finally found out about my favorite superfoods from my friend Michelle at Bella Root and Well Being Connection. So after I was able to keep the scariest part of constipation at bay (no more WEEKS of no poop), I began giving my now 3-year-old the super nourishing chocolate shake called Epi-Genius Family. This is packed with Protein, Fruit, Veggies, and Gut Health whole food sourced ingredients. She drank it in a little cup each morning. She ate it in homemade popsicles. There is a proprietary Biome Medic Gut Health blend in there. I also take this every day in my shakes too. I feel good about consuming this, I mean really good. If you'd like to order you are welcome to create an account using my partner link first. Once you create an account use the Search bar for Epi-Genius or add this product link to your cart.
Lastly, we love castor oil packs overnight. That's another article! But key to our healing and detox journey too and something we include in our rotation when we think we need it.
So now fast forward to our daily routine: We no longer need any magnesium supplements! We make sure we eat well and include superfoods like Epi Genius Family and the Apple Berry Power Shake. If you need an immunity boost to fend off the insane amount of germs at preschool, I encourage you to check out the Kids Immune Shield too. For more information on my daily and super easy mom superfoods regimen, visit my super foods blog post.
The links in this article are affiliate links to products we love and use. We receive a small commission back which helps us nourish our family. Thank you!
Note: the information contained on this website is not a substitute for medical advice from a professional who is aware of the facts and circumstances of your individual situation. I encourage you to talk to your doctor and if your gut tells you they are not in line with your holistic and parenting preferences then find a professional who is a great fit for you.
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