seeking advice from Moms... my 4 month old who is still on formula is all of sudden constipated just these last few days she's had really hard poo normally she has a seedy somewhat runny diaper. The only change is that she's been eating 6 oz instead of 4 and sleeping longer at night.
Should I put a little more water in the formula? What about an oz of apple juice? All shes had is formula no rice cereal no juice so I'm not sure what's safe.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and Happy Holidays.
Both of my babies were formula fed and we had the same problem. We started adding an extra ounce of water to each bottle and that solved the problem. I can't remember if my second baby was ever actually constipated, we may have just added the extra ounce of water to avoid the problem. As long as they were getting that extra ounce of water with each bottle, they didn't have any constipation. Hope this helps!
Hi L.,
My one year old had been suffering from constipation and I started giving her Artic Cod Liver Oil in peach flavor. I put it in juice or water. If she's having a real hard time I would put the oil in apple juice, but not too much because it can cause the opposite.
Good luck,
S. G.
Sitting a baby in warm water can also help.
Also, try massaging her tummy gently, in circular motions... this can help. We did this with our daughter.
But for her intake... she seems to be doing fine. She is drinking more and it's probably because she is having a growth spurt and needs more. So that's good, and she's sleeping well too. Lucky for you!
Just ask your Pediatrician to make sure. Don't give her anything until you ask Doctor first.
Take care,
Susan
Hello L.
My first question is, do you give her water as well? Getting her to drink water is definitely a good idea. If she doesn't seem to like it warm it up a little. This worked really well with mine. Remember they are used to drinking warm milk so suddenly having something cold or cool can put them off right away. Also take it from one who had a little girl with SEVERE constipation Apples are extremely constipating! I know this sounds bizarre but I promise you I tested it out over and over again. I was told by an ayuvedic doctor that in india they never give apples to babies for this reason and sure enough with my son (who never suffered) the minute I gave him applesauce he became constipated too. Steamed pears are much more effective.
Best of luck!
Put a call into your Pediatrician, and ask the nurse. At this age, a warm bath helps but if it doesn't it's best to ask the doc.
water is safe and is needed if baby is on formula.you've been lucky so far.
V
We used these 'tricks' with our daughter . . .
1. warm bath
2. belly massages or laying on belly or bicycle legs
3. taking her temperature rectally
4. suppository - only on doctor's recommendation
DD grew out of constipation around 6-months.
My daughter had a lot of constipation as a baby and we had an Indian pediatrician who recommended something called Gripe Water. It's all natural and its easy to find - except the ones that are at Walgreen's are the "true" thing. Best to look for an Indian grocery store (they're around!) You just give a few drops to the baby and it really works. Also, a warm bath really does help relax the bowels, and while the baby is in the bath, massage the tummy. Last, my pediatrician made sure I also gave my daughter water, not just formula. She loved drinking plain water and I could tell she was thirsty for it.
Hi, my pediatrician recommended 2 tablespoons prune juice in with the formula (do check with your Dr's). I wasn't brave enough so gave my little one 1 tablespoon!
When she got older, we started giving her organic prunes with her cereal (about a generous tablespoon) almost every day.
Best to you!!
awe poor baby. what is a good way to help your baby is to use lil tummies (infant laxitive) just put the needed amount into her bottle (morning and night). if that doesnt work after a day then i would say to use a pediatric suppository. what you will need to do with that because shes a baby is cut it into fourths you will only use one quarter. then obvioulsy insert it into your rectum and you will need to hold it there so your baby doesnt push it out (like 5 mins). then after that just wait. when you see her bear down to go help her and gently push her knees to her chest. also you can use a little prune juice 1oz should be ok for her. good luck.
Hi L.,
I had the same problem with my daughter around that age. We even went to the doctor and advised that we try exercising her legs (while on her back, bring knees up and bend about 10 reps)and massaging the area to try to relieve the pressure. We also served her a few ozs. of very diluted warm prune juice. Check with your pediatrician for more advice. I know it could be very frustrating to hear your baby cry in pain, but hang in there.
She may be lactose intolerant. Talk to your doctor about switching to a soy formula.
My little grandaughter had the same problem...call to pediatrician...give four to six oz. of warm water 1 to 2 times daily to drink...seemed to do the trick for her...hope it helps...
Merry Christmas....
P.
Call your Doctor before they take off for the holidays. In the meantime, give her a warm bath and see if that helps some. The gripe water idea is a good one as well - it's great for a variety of tummy ailments.
I think you might want to check with your pediatrician 1st of all. Often when kids have this problem, a small tear called a fistula on/in the rectum is the culprit. It hurts to pass the stool so baby holds it in and therefore becomes constipated. What I was told to do, and it worked very well, was to purchase these baby suppositories. The response from baby was very fast,matter of minutes not hours,and you probably should use a small dab of vasoline or lubricant prior to inserting the suppository. It is like a small tube with a bulb attached containing mineral oil, which is squeezed into baby's rectum. Get a diaper on her fast! Good luck and enjoy your baby for her first Christmas..be sure to take lots of pictures! Also be sure to give baby some bottles of just plain water during the day/evening. That does seem to help as well. Apple juice, you might want to dilute it with water, too.
My advice... don't worry. :) Babies, like us, have days where they are constipated and days that they aren't... just like us! I was really nervous with my first one too. Call the doctor to make sure there isn't anything you need to worry about but I imagine that in the next day or so it'll pass.
I also have a 4 month old who is on formula and he'll have a day of no poop and then another day of what I like to call, 'super poop'. He is also drinking about 6 oz 5x a day and sleeps mostly through the night.
I hope this helps!
This may sound a little gross but trust me it helps "move things along". Take a rectal temp. You have to be careful, especially if you have never done it before. If you have a rectal thermometer, insert the bulb only. The "invasion" will cause her body to try and push it out, hence, pooping. I learned this little trick from my former mother in law (whom I still adore!) and she's a nurse :) Good luck!
~V
I agree to check with your pediatrician first, but when we had the same problem the pharmacist told us to add a eye dropper full of prune juice to my son's formula. I think I only added half of that. I may have done it for two bottles about a day apart, but we just added a very small amount of prune juice and it seemed to work.
I cant help much, but I can tell u that my daughter is breastfed and is always constipated, (this started around 7/8months of age) I have learned to saty away from cheese, applesauce and bananas (apple juice is ok though). The constipation might just be from ur babies body changing, your doctor probably wont want to do anything serious like medication till they know if it's chronic constipation. I hope I helped! And good luck finding out the problem, hope ur poor baby feels better! :)
We had the same problem with our dd. We started with one ounce of prune juice in each bottle, but it was a bit much. We kept having blow outs! LOL Well we adjusted and fine tuned and came up with one ounce of prune juice in the morning and one ounce of apple in each after that. It works well for us. Ask your ped if it is okay, but I am sure it is better than the alternative. Good luck, I know how frustrating it can be when the cant poo!
use suppositories for children..it's safe and fine..my doc told me to use them on my son when he was an infant...really helped..don't go overboard w/ them..but use them. also when u start her on food..don't do rice..use oatmeal.
It may be the increase in formula, especially if it is iron fortified, iron causes constipation. I think that at 4 months your little one is still too young for juices, but you can check with the pediatrician. They may suggest a bottle of diluted water and juice. I would not add extra water to the bottle of fomula, because you will be watering down the nutritional value as well. If the pediatrician doesn't recommend juice, then they may recommend a suppository. They work quickly, they worked for my daughter. Good luck and enjoy you little one.
Happy Holidays to you too!
