J.W. asks from Meridian, MS on January 15, 2008
Constipation - Meridian, MS
I am concerned about my 5 week old. He has gastric reflux which has been responsive to Axid and cereal bottles. I think the rice cereal bottles are constipating him. He takes 6 tsp to every 4 oz. Any suggestions? Thanks.
So What Happened?™
Thanks so much for the suggestions. I will begin to try them one by one in a spread out fashion to see what results we get.
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K. answers from Nashville on January 16, 2008
J.,
I have a 5 month old, we went through the same thing about the same age. My pediatrician told me to put a teaspoon of Karo syrup in the bottle (the dark syrup). It worked every time! It helped so much that I would only put the syrup in one bottle a day.
Good luck!
K.
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L.B. answers from Memphis on January 21, 2008
I had that problem with my first daughter who is now 3 1/2. I gave her gas drops just before she took a bottle and it really helped...no more screaming infant! Worked like magic. Also, try a warm, shallow bath after feeding...that way all spit up is in the tub and not on mommy or baby. They also make prune based baby food and juice...check with your doctor and see if a tea spoon could be added to the bottle once per day. My mother suggestd Kayro syrup, too...said it worked fine on me.
T.S. answers from Little Rock on January 18, 2008
Hi J.,
My son had Acid Reflux, at first we thought it was something to do with the formula he was on. After 2 months of complaining to the doctor he finally said that my son had acid reflux. They put him on zantac (I tried everything else first) before we put him on medication. It took about a week to really kick in but it did help. He was able to sleep better ect. I would not recommend getting the "Doctor Brown Bottles" they are expensive and for my son they did not work, don't waste your money on them. What worked for my son is the Zantac along w/sitting him upright in his bouncy chair (he slept in that) for the first 3 months of his life, because that gave him some relife from his heartburn. Also, make sure you are getting good burps from your baby. And we did do the rice cereal in the bottle as well. All of these steps helped make my son feel better, but basically you just have to wait it out. My son is now 6months old and he seems to have out grown the acid reflux. He is not on Zantac anymore. Hang in there, I was in the same boat you are in now, it does get better.
T.P. answers from Tuscaloosa on January 19, 2008
I would talk to the pediatrician and try to decrease the amount of cereal. That seems like a lot to me. Rice can be very constipating. I'm not sure what age you can start, but you can give a little prune or pear juice and that helps constipation.
K. answers from Nashville on January 16, 2008
J.,
I have a 5 month old, we went through the same thing about the same age. My pediatrician told me to put a teaspoon of Karo syrup in the bottle (the dark syrup). It worked every time! It helped so much that I would only put the syrup in one bottle a day.
Good luck!
K.
C.C. answers from Lafayette on January 16, 2008
I gave my bay prune juice and it helped every time!
K.D. answers from Baton Rouge on January 17, 2008
Hello, I am a pediatric nurse practitioner and my advice would be to add a little white grape juice to his bottle. You can find it any your baby department. This usually is our first reccomendation to help with constipation.
M.A. answers from Jackson on January 22, 2008
Try a little Karo with the cereal but check with your doctor first.
R.B. answers from Knoxville on January 21, 2008
i am sure the doctor told you to give him that much cereal but 6 tsp seems like an awful lot. I would back off the cereal maybe a tsp at a time and see if his stools soften up. If not i would ask the doctor. these little bitty fellas have such sensitive digestive systems its really hard to know whats up with them. There is a lot of iron in cereal and that could be the culprit. good luck
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