4 Month Old Daughter Having a Rough Time

HI S.,

I was having problems with my now 6 month old son pooping also, first off did the Dr. consider changing her formula? The only formula that worked for us is Nestle Good Start Supreme. I started using Mylacon Drops for the gas, it's safe to use up to 12 times a day! It REALLY helps with the gas. I also started using about 1 tbsp of prune juice with 2oz water, and that helps him go alot better also. My son who is also very large, started eating cereal and veggies at 3 1/2 months. He has never felt better, he goes the the bathroom normal, smiles more and sleeps better than ever!!! Only you know when your child is ready for this. I say if you feel it will help TRY IT... Good luck to you!!

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Have you tried different types of formula? my sister's baby was/is a pretty gassy little girl with a hard time with the formula. They had a use a special kind, on the expensive side, and that seemed to help alot. She's 9 months now and doesn't have the stool problems or consitpation, just gassy. She loves her food and is a cute chuby little girl.
At 17 pounds it seems that she's getting more than enough to eat, so I would try to either get her onto solids (what worked for my sister) and try different kinds of formula since your girl will be using it until she's about a year and go onto cow's milk or soy milk, whatever.
Prune juice might work...I can't remember a reason not to give a baby prunes to help regulate them.

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My son was the same way, he was soo constipated when I gave him formula for the first time. I switched to soy milk and it wasn't bad anymore. How about giving her about 2 ounces of water each day? that would help also. The rice cereal will help her sleep through the night, when you give it to her before bedtime. Soon she will be able to take pureed food, and a little bit of prunes mixed with the cereal will help. I hope this helps. Good luck.

I am so sorry. I went through the same thing with my son who is now 2 1/2. You are right to be trying to fix it now. We couldn't and ended up on medication and needing to give my son home enema's. I really hope yours doesn't come to that.
Have you tried diluting her bottle? I know some people will yell and tell you it's unhealthy, but I'm not talking about a huge lack of formula. If you give her a 6oz bottle, only put in 2 scoops of formula. I know with all of my kids I couldn't get them to take plain water very often, and this really helped. Formula is thicker than breast milk so I have been told. I have 3 kids, all of whom got their bottles diluted, and they all turned out perfectly fine and had no weight gain/growth problems.
Also, what formula do you use? That may have something to do with it. It's not good to go switching formual around to much, but there are some made for gassy babies. They have a little bit of rice cereal protein in them to help settle the childs stomach. (according to my ped)
Some news that might make you feel better. My youngest started having the same problem and once he started solids with the fruit and veggies, he's absolutely fine. You may want to try a little stage one fruit. (I know she's young, but it might help, and if she's really hungry she may be an early starter for solids) Good luck and if you have any other questions, I unfortunately have been through this and can maybe help. Feel free to drop me a note.

Dear S.,

I was just looking on DrGreene.com for advice about when to give water to babies, and saw a really good article on your constipation in babies and such like that.

Do you know when to start boiling water and giving sips to babies? My gr grand daughter is two months and has a urinary infection called cystitis and I am wondering if she was taking enough liquids - would water help. She is breast feeding.

I just stumbled on DrGreene.com yesterday and it seems very good. C. N.

My son is 7 now, but he had a similar problem. I gave him the low iron formula and that helped him. And I've also heard of oatmeal cereal instead of rice for the same reasons.

IMO, if she's only having a BM every 3-4 days, she's constipated (and also it's hard, another sign of constipation). My son had poopy diapers every day, often more than one, at that age. He also was very gassy so we switched him to lactose-free formula (against dr's advice) and the gas lessened, almost disappeared actually & he even started sleeping through the night!

I have found that doctors don't always know everything - you know your child better than anyone, so trust your instincts!

If you're not ready to start her on "solids" yet, definitely try switching her formula to a different brand, or add a higher ratio of water than you are currently.

Otherwise, ask your doc if it's okay to try babyfood peas or all natural applesauce...both help with constipation; which is what it sounds like to me! :)

My son was/is a gassy little guy and the "little tummies" gas drops seem to help with the problem when it's really bad...there are, I believe, some gas tablets from the highly recommended "Hylands" brand...their teething tablets work great, too, btw. :)

My daughter was very gassy so we switched her formula from regular Enfamil Lipil to Enfamil Gentle-ease in the purple can. It helped a lot. The other thing I have done is watered down her formula bottles. I would put 3 scoops of powder with 7-71/2 oz of water (instead of 6 oz of water).
Good Luck
D.

Ouch! Poor baby!!! My son has the same problem off and on - he's 2, so it's easier for me to deal with - I put wheat germ into the waffle dough and BANG! Problem solved! ;-)

I had one formula-fed child, and she did get this same deal. We used AJ (3:1 ratio water:AJ, up to a 50/50 split), and if that didn't work we'd put about, oh, not-quite-a-teaspoon of oatmeal baby cereal in her bottle - not enough to make it "gummy" or even remotely "cereal-like", but trust me, there's FIBER in them thar bottles! THAT always did the trick - but we had no food allergy concerns or any of that. If you have reason for concern on that front, skip the oatmeal.

Also, when she starts to cry and strain, you can "bicycle" her legs for her - it can help move things along more quickly, so she doesn't have to work so hard. Also, holding her close and rubbing her lower back can help stimulate her. And also comfort her as she gets through it, which is IMHO just as important. Sometimes, baby, life does indeed suck - but mommy & daddy are here for you. :(

We even had the pediatrician give us glycerin suppositories for her; and also for her brother, although he was older when The Issue became nasty. Suppositories aren't fun, but boy-howdy, do they WORK!

My daughter started to get constipated at 5 months when she started solid food. I would put some of the gerber stae 1 prunes in her bottle with a slightly larger nipple whole. Stay away from rice, bananas, applesause, and bread. They all constipate. Start qith all the P's prunes, pears, and peaches. After a few month I even got a powder from her Dr. to put in her formula. Also the company that has all the meds for babies and toddlers called Little...whatever, has little laxitive, I think target has it. It's a choc. flavored drops you put in the mouth. Also try to water down her formulas a little if she's not underweight.

Have you tried changing her formula to a soy based Good Start? Is her formula powdered and if so is it being correctly mixed; 1 scoop dry formula to 2 onces of water. I would also try wiping her bottom with a wipe like a mama cat licks her kittens to get them to go potty. I would try this very gently and see if it helps to maove things daily. I hope someone has good advice for you.
L.
www.lindaslittlelaboratory.com

Actually, pediatricians recommend Karo Syrup quite commonly for constipation in infants, as little else is considered safe to give them at this age. (Some more options open up for toddlers.) The reason is that sugar has a mildly laxative effect in very small children. And for this reason even fruit juices, such as diluted white grape juice, can help.

With all this said, I must add that giving a child Karo Syrup every day IS odd, and I would be extremely surprised if your pediatrician expressly recommended that... You might clarify this with him/her.

What I would suggest instead is supplementing your infants formula intake with water. And you can even give just a little fruit juice as well. Just a couple ounce a day, diluted with a couple ounces of water.

You mentioned your baby is on formulate and I should mention that constipation is more common with formula fed infants. Sometimes pediatricians will advise switching to a low iron formula temporarily. Less iron generally means less constipation.

And by all means start introducing solid food. A little veggies adds moisture and fiber. Ask your pediatrician also about giving your son some of the prunes in the baby food jars. Just a little!

Above all, you don't want to get your child needing laxatives all the time. This includes Karo Syrup, prunes, and fruit juices. So be sure you try giving water, as I said above. After all, this is the time of year when babies need extra water, just like everyone else! For a good daily fruit, try mashed bananas! And save the prunes for when things get really desperate.

For some great information about introducing solid foods (when and what):

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T032000.asp

Finally, caring for babies often forces us to give up our "absolutes" -- like "no sugar" and etc. -- as we weigh other considerations. Naturally we don't want to give juice on demand, water and milk are far better choices in general. But infant and toddler constipation can be SERIOUS BUSINESS.

Infants and toddlers can develop a serious form of constipation that stretches the bowels, enlarges the size of the stool itself (poop), and causes "stool withoholding" to become chronic. Leading to excruciatingly painful bowel movements when they do finally happen. Not too mention, holding all the toxins that the body is trying release in the feces to become reabsorbed.

For More Reading:

Stool Withholding and Constipation in Children

http://askwaltstollmd.com/body_cons.html

How Do We Treat Chronic Constipation?

http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/pediatrics/...
 

hi,,, I feel you,,,my beb was the same
I suggest alot of water,,and apple juice. mix apple juice with water, also chammomile is heaven!! that mixed with apple juice. A life saver that changed our lives for ever is orange juice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is sooo unbelivable. try to mix this og ounce and about 2 ounces of water this is magic. great luck

Hi S. - Give her the Gerber smashed prunes in a container. My daughter had a lot of constipation and gas. I had to give her Nutrimegen because of her milk issues. Anyway, warm mint tea works wonders too, just add a tiny bit of sugar and it soothes their tummy like a miracle. Good luck!

that happened with my 9 month old. i was told it was too much iron. maybe try a formula that is low in iron?

I breastfed, and supplemented with formula after about 4 months. I think if you try another brand, perhaps the problem will go away. My little one seemed to prefer Good Start from Nestle. Have you tried the gas drops? There are several different brands, but they helped mine with the gas! Especially at night. And if your little one seems hungry all the time, I'd start the cereal! I did at 4 months.

What type of formula is she on? My son was the exact way and I swithched him over to lactose free and problem resolved. I work with Pediatricians and the recommend good start to babies that have a hard time digesting their formula the proteins are already broken down so the babies dont have a hard time making poopy.

If her stools are hard as a rock - then she is constipated. That is a major sign of constipation. I would talk to your Dr. ASAP. If you start her on rice cereal that is going to make it worse. Rice is extremely constipating. You might want to see if you can start her on barley or even oatmeal cereal instead. Those have more fiber in them. I started my 4 month old on rice, but only like a teaspoon. Once I knew she was ok with that I started her on barley. My kids have both had problems with getting constipated from rice. I now mix a little of the barley cereal in with the rice and that works great. It has more fiber and it helps her poop regularly. Before you do anything though - I would check with your Dr. I was advised to try prunes with my son, but that was very rough on his tummy. I later tried peaches or apricots and they work just as well to regulate bowel movements and aren't as harsh on the tummy. I would try something natural instead of a supository if possible. Hope that help.

L.

first of all change doctors...it's absurd that your doc told you to give your baby dark karo syrup. Your baby IS too young for prune juice, apple juice, etc. AAP suggests recommends to hold off until at least 6months, your baby's little digestive tract is too immature to introduce those items. Rice ceral if you feel the need to "fill her up" is okay, then slowly introduce other foods. You may want to switch to a soy formula as your daughter may have an allergy to milk. Cow's milk can be very rough on the intestines on a small child and soy is a gentler alternative to sensitive bellies. Good luck!

Hi S.,
When my little one was having trouble with the formula supplement, I watered it down some and that helped. My doctor advised me she could not recommend I continue to do it, but I figured since she only had fromula as a supplement she would be fine...and she was.

It's ok to give her prune juice mixed with her cereal or mix a spoonful of baby food prunes. This will work pretty well. Goodluck!

Hi, Our daughter was the same way. It was the sadest thing. She would bare down and scream like she was in so much pain. Her pediatrician to my surprise said that a few onces of full strength prune juice was ok to do. It did the trick for the most part. It did seem to get better as got got older. You probably already know this but keep her exercising with doing the "bicycle legs" this helps with gas. I hope this helps.

My daughter was breastfed and had the same problem - warm water wouldn't work - she had to have prune juice - I would squirt a dropper full in her mouth - one she started on the rice cereal around 8 months I would put a teaspoon of the baby food prunes in 2 tablespoons of cereal... my recommendation is that the prunes are way healthier than anything else - at least they are natural....

My daughter had to eat a prune a day until she was 2 1/2 - just had and immature digestive system - she is 7 now and never has problems anymore...

Four months is the age to start cereal. If she's doing fine with cereal then introduce fruit and then veggies and meat. Did you try switching formulas?