Baby Constipation

I don't know how old she is, but after my son had started eating solids he got pretty constipated. The doctor suggested mixing a little bit of prune juice with his cereal, or with his milk. But I would say ask your doctor if she isn't on any solids yet.

Have you heard of the BRAT diet? It stands for Bananas, Rice, Apples, Toast. This is what you give kids/babies when they have diareah because these foods are firming. So stay away from them right now. Switch to infant oatmeal cereal instead of rice cereal. And use veggies for now instead of fruits. Try things like carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, etc... (I have always thought it was a good idea to start with veggies before fruit anyway, because they might not like the veggies if they are used to everything being sweet)
In the meantime, until the food change starts to work, you can also buy little baby supositories. It is just a little thing of glycerine that you can put in their bum and it kinda melts and makes the poop slippery and easier for them to get out.

Check with your doctor, but a little dark karo syrup in a warm bottle will work FAST.

If she's in that much pain, glycerin suppositories...hands down. Otherwise, increase clear fluids (juice, water) and try prunes.

I hope your poor baby is feeling all better by now! My friends dr. recommended that she give her little one some pear juice to help (she was probably about the same age as yours at the time). Good luck!

I had the same problem w/my first! The doc said to get some KY & a q-tip & rub along the inside ridge of his little bum hole. It was not the most pleasant thing for either of us, but it helped get those hard poops out w/o tearing him. Nobody told me that rice would constipate him & I was doing all rice, no oatmeal. Try alternating rice & oat cereals, some fruits & some diluted apple juice (my doc said 50% juice, only 2 oz at at time of water/juice mix)

Try putting a tablespoon of caro syrup in her bottle. It'll take a few feedings and then hopefully she'll be able to be relieved. Good luck!

My doctor also recommended the Caro syrup remedy for my daughter when she went through the same thing. It worked great!

when my daughter had constipation the pediatrition put her on some pear juice every day
take her to the doc they put her on pear juice when she was only a couple of months old

Just wanted to add a ditto to the person who suggested you eliminate dairy from your daughter's diet (as well as rice and bananas--they stop up my daughter badly too). It could be an underlying cause of the constipation (or maybe not too, but worth considering). Good luck!

I haven't read all of the responses, so excuse me if I repeat! My son is over 3 now and has ALWAYS had problems with constipation. The only time he didn't was when he was breastfeeding and then later when he was teething. The things I found (and the doctor reccomended) that worked was a little bit of white grape juice (I used the gerber baby kind with less sugar), pureed prunes, or a little bit of warm water in a bottle. Depending on the level of constipation I would try them in that order and usually got results. The other thing that was ENORMOUSLY helpful was Gripe Water. You can get it at any health food store. I works kind of like milicon, but it's gentler and more natural. I would add that to the warm bottle of water and it seemed to help ease the gas pains that went along with the constipation. Hope this helps and that it wasn't too much of a repeat. Good Luck!

Chiropractic - she needs a light adjustment!

Hydrate her with some distilled water or water that has been boiled for 10 minutes and cooled off.

C. McCollett, CBE, CLD
www.westsidebirthconnection.com

When I started my baby on rice cereal, it constipated him like crazy. Stop giving him rice and switch him completely to oatmeal. You may be able to go back to the rice in a few months.

S.,
I have a question for you first before I give you advice. How old is your daughter? Is she on regular Juice?
When that happens with my daughter I give her a glass of apple juice. Within half hour to an hour, she gets cleaned out!
S.

I feel for you and your little one, I went thru this with my older two and now my baby, do to they were put on cereal at 2 weeks of age. But dark karo syrup works really good. I do 1 table spoon to every 4 oz. You can also go to www.webmd.com and look up constipation. I read on there you can add 1oz of purn juice to your childs bottle, but if I remember right you are to put the juice in, then make the bottle as you would. Like if you make 4 oz bottles, put the juice in, then 3 ozs of water and so on. I havent tried that yet, but been thinking about doing it, my little man goes now, very little, but he goes. I wish you all the luck.

The doctor told me to try a teaspoon of karo syrup in my sons bottle when he was constipated. Work great! Of if she is old enough for apple prune juice, that works even better for my son! Good luck!

The "never fail" answer? Prune juice! You don't say how old your baby is but my 9 mo old was constipated a few days ago. I gave him 3 ounces in a bottle, waited 3 hours, then gave him 3 more ounces. He was all cleaned out by mid afternoon. Just be sure that if you go out you bring an extra outfit and plenty of diapers and wipes. It's not that it causes diarrhea, just lots of poop.

Try apple juice, straight. Even if she is not on solid foods, and/or still breastfeeding or having formula. The sugar in the apple juice draws water into the bowels, and will help them move. This is what our son's pediatrician recommended when he was only 3 months old and exclusively breastfed. It worked like a charm, and he didn't become dependent upon apple juice as he might have on a baby suppository.

Cut any dairy out of her diet, and possibly put her back on liquids. Milk is hard to digest, if you see little white pieces in her diaper that look like cottage cheese, that is milk protein, and even if you don't see it, it sounds like she could use a break from anything difficult. Bananas are forming, so I would skip those until the problem goes away. A lady I know consulted a doctor who actually quit being a doctor to become a nutritionist, and he put her baby on a formula of goat's milk with carrot and celery juice. It saved his life, or at least made him a lot healthier. If you want me to find out his name/number for you let me know and I can ask her.

Prune juice really does work, at least it should in her case where the poop is still passing through.

Well I would check with your doctor first but what I was told to do is a little bit of DARK Karo syrup in water. My daughter loved it and it helped her a ton. But you have to watch even with something as simple as this on dosage so give your doctor a call first!

Definitely try the diluted juice first. Then try the tip of a rectal thermometer in her anus. If that still doesn't do the trick, you might want to consult a doctor but I had to use 1/2 of a baby suppository a couple of times with mine. Only use it as a last resort though because you don't want them to become dependent on it. It's amazing though to see the "relief" in their eyes! :)

Prunes and apples. The massage too! Also, you should cut out things like bananas that make the problem worse. Also try adding multigrain cereal to her diet (it has more fiber). For us Prunes would make her go from nuggets to squirts in a matter of an hour......good luck!

S.- It's horrible to watch your baby be in pain and frustration. Try this....baby massage! If you rub your baby's digestive track in the "I love you" form it will help move things alone.
The "I love you" form is:
start at the top just under her ribs..move across and make a "I" then move down the left side to make the "L"
Finally make a large "U"
Do this a few times and it show move stuff around- remember don't do it too firmly!
You can also try DARK Kyro Syrup -just a teaspoon in a bottle will very quickly move stuff out!

Good Luck! H.

When my oldest started solids, she had to pass golf-ball shaped poops. It was awful! I added about a teaspoon of flaxseed oil to each "meal" and that did the trick. She was older, about 10 months, so you may want to check into adding flaxseed for someone as young as yours.
Good luck, and happy pooping.

Isn't it great how motherhood brings us all to the point of openly discussing poop? It is the great equalizer! Yeah, POOP!

I have used Colic Ease from vitamin cottage and sometimes a splash of prune juice in the bottle helps. Simulac sensitive has really helped as well.

My boys' are now about 6 mths old, from about 1 mth old they had bm & spit up issues. You can give her an extra bottle of water in a day, or you can add prune juice to her bottle from a very young age... I would recommend trying 2ml to 4oz bottle to start. You can always adjust it up if you need to. For more immediate help, I would do the baby massage and/or bicycle, if that doesn't get things moving, then take her temp rectally, and very gently move the thermometer from left to right. It should stimulate her enough to move the harder poop out and allow the prune juice get things back to normal. Good Luck!

I am not sure of your daughters age so I will give a few tips.

If she is too young for solids or juices, I recommend taking a pointed thermometer and sticking it in her poo hole quickly. I know it does not sound fun, but it helps to loosen the bowels. Also lay her on her back and move her legs up to her chest and in a bike riding movement.

If she is old enough for solids or juices, give her some apple juice, apple sauce or prunes. They are natural laxatives that can help promote softer bowel movements. Good luck!

Have a GREAT day!

S.

You should read the "Scoop on Poop">
http://www.babybites.info/2009/04/27/constipation-kids/

You can do corn syrup, but run that by your doctor first. Prunes or anything with a "p" (pear, peach, etc.) have done the trick for us. You don't mention how old she is, but if she's on solids, or is prone to reflux, she may just not be drinking enough, so you might check that out. Congratulations!

Get some baby suppositories. They are made of glycerin which is harmless. Also, try some diluted prune juice, or water with dark Karo in it.
Good luck!

Our little guy had the same problem at about the same age. We tried the juice and about everything else before giving him a baby enema. We got it at Walmart/Walgreens. It came with directions and wasn't as bad as I imagined. It allowed everything to come out easily (we left him on one of those blue/white lined pads we brought home from the hospital and he pooped within 5 minutes). He didn't have any problems after that and we didn't need to give him anything other than breast milk and formula. Good luck, it's not fun for anyone!