Do You Have a Tip for Constipation in a Baby?

my son went through this at 6 months and they switched his formula to nestle good start supreme and it worked after about a week. With my daughter, I just gave her gerber prune juice, 6oz a day and it took about a week also but it worked. Good luck!

Does he like prunes at all? My son had the same problem and I would give him a teaspoon of prunes with each meal and it helped correct the problem. Hope it helps!

We gave my daughter organic prunes (gerber brand) - every day w/breakfast feeding about 1/3 of the package. She loved it and it helped her be regular immediately.

Hi N.:

Since your son is the same age as my daughter I will recommend this and it has worked to prevent constipation and my daughter rarely ever does.

I make certain that once a day she gets 1/2 of an avocado with olive oil.

All jarred baby food that have veggies or poultry gets a dollop of olive oil.

All foods I prepare (steamed spinach, broccoli, zucchini, smashed tofu, black or white cannelli beans,etc) gets mixed with olive oil.

If I think she is constipated and the foods with the olive oil have not worked (though rare),then she gets a teaspoon of prune puree (which i also try to give her every morning or mix in with her food) in the morning and in the evening i give her a teaspoon of olive oil.

I have had no problems yet. She is breastfed and also intakes about 1 sippy cup full of water or chammomile or peppermint tea per day.

Hope this was helpful.

L.

Just juice is not going to soften up the poop.
Try Prune juice. Just a couple ounces, in his formula bottle.
Or, WHOLE apple juice... the kind that is "murky" looking.

Or, will he perhaps "drink" liquids if perhaps you freeze the juice first... then with a fork, slush it up... to make it slushy. Then, feed it to him with a spoon.
YOu can do this with water too... and then add a little juice to it...
Don't "freeze" the liquids until hard frozen... just until it is semi-frozen, but still can be broken up and mashed into a slush consistency.

Or, give him some Pedialyte. These come in "ice-pop" forms too, to freeze. But at 10 months old, I'm not sure he can eat ice-pops by himself.

Or, make homemade "broth" soups for him, and let him drink this.

The "ideal" poop consistency, Per our Pediatric Gastroenterologist, when my daughter was constipated, is that the poop should look like and have the consistency of cooked oatmeal.

Also, if he can't gum food yet & has no teeth... then don't give him foods that he can't chew. Which he seemingly can't, since he is choking. He's not ready yet for that. Perhaps, this is also why he has constipation... he is not ready for whole foods yet... still puree it, and cook things until it is very soft. No hard chunked foods either, or raw. He will choke with these.
Good luck,
Susan

Please check his diet. Perhaps a 2nd opinion is needed with a more holistic doctor. What's in the formula? I found out that various ailments can be attributed to dairy products--my daughter was severely constipated when she was little; my son would get croup, and it was all because there was dairy in their diet. There's lots of information out there regarding the affects of dairy AND wheat. Read Adelle Davis' work for starters. Good luck!

Stewed prunes pureed...mix a couple tablespoons into baby cereal (however you choose to mix your cereal). We do this for breakfast every day, and my daughter has never been constipated since I instituted "prune breakfasts". :) For some moms, I've heard that pureed peaches work too, but I haven't noticed that as much. Good luck!

hi N.,
my baby girl had the same problem. i started feeding her gerbers babyfood prunes (she loved it! i tasted it and it is quite sweet. she had about 1 Tablespoon a day.) and other gerbers babyfood veggies. (mostly squash and peas). also, i gave her lots of water. if your boy is picky about taste just super dilute some formula in so that is has a hint of flavor. this worked for me and gradually i was able to get her to drink straight water. make sure it is a bit warm tho...my girl hated cold water! :-) hope this works as good for you as it did for me!

N.,

I'm not sure why no one has yet recommended a fiber such as Metamucil...

Also, my daughter had issues like this for a year and it got horrible! After MANY dr appointments, I insisted on seeing a gastro specialist who FINALLY diagnosed her "bent anus". She just needed lots of fiber and doses daily of sunshine (early morning is best, especially in this heat!) She just turned 14 last week and hasn't had problems sinse we got the proper diagnosis and treatment.

Good Luck!
H.

We used Organic Baby food Prunes.
Also, a total accidental find (at Legoland of all places) was Probiotic Kefir for kids. She loved it and would suck one a day down. You can find it at Sprouts, Ralphs and Henry's, probably Jimbo's and Whole Foods too. You can do a product search and read about it on their website.

http://www.lifeway.net/product/probugs_desc.php

It may take a few tries to get them to like it. I got lucky and she thought it was the best. But our friends kids we give it to usually take a while.

Hi N.
My son was very constipated as a baby. Our old Ped said it was normal but I did not agree. He would go 8 days with out pooping at times. I learned how to massage his tummy from an acupuncturist and it worked great. I also gave him organic prunes babyfood. That really helped do the trick. Now he's 2 1/2 and if he has any issues with constipation I give him raisins. Works like a charm. I'd try the jarred prunes if your baby won't drink juice, personally I think the food helps better anyway. Good luck.
A.

Get some shredded wheat or any other high fiber cereal, mash it fine and mix with formula and feed it to him. It could be the formula as well; you might want to try switching brands. Good luck!

What kind of Karo Syrup are you using? Dark or White? The White is better. I would try putting more in his formula.Also give him apple sauce. I was told by a physicials Assistant that the pectin in Apples will help if you are constipated & also help if you have diarea. I you could get him to drink apple juice put the karo syrup in it. If you are feeding him the baby cerels Rice is the best the others tend to care babies to be more constipated.Also try giving him for fruit will also loosen things up.

I give my baby 5oz of WARM apple juice if she is having problems. If that doesn't work try prunes gerber makes them in size one your baby will love them they are really sweet! Also try prune juice. when ever I move her to the next stage of food we have problems so I just give her prunes at breakfast every other day works like a charm.

My daughter is on a lot of medications due to being a preemie and they make her very constipated - her pediatriation had me use Miralax in her juice - started out with just 1/2 a capful and then 3/4 a capful a day - works like a charm and she goes regularily - now she is 4, so I don't know what the dose would be on a 10 month old, but it's very gentle - I use it too and it doesn't make you cramp or anything.... you could try maybe a tablespoon and see if that works and then gradually go up? Ask your pediatriation about it and if he or she doeasn't take you seriously or offer any better solutions find a different doctor - your child could end up with hemmoroids or a hernia from pushing so hard, and they may need to have you see a gastrointologist - Dr. Katz is the best in OC. Hope this helps. J.

Hi! Anytime i notice my daughter starting to get hard stool, for some reason it works when i give her YO Baby yogurt, it softens her stool. Worth a try! You can get it at your local supermarket. Everybody is different, i hope you find something that works!

If he is "going" every day, he's not constipated. Is he struggling, straining, etc. at all? If not, this just may be "normal" for him. In the meantime, are you giving him baby food veggies and fruits? They all contain fiber and should be helping with all of that. If you're not, then you probably should, even if you just make your own. Give him 100% whole wheat pasta, bread bits that are at least 3 grams of fiber, sips of juice through a straw or a spoon. What about juice popsicles? You can make home made whole wheat (important for fiber and overall nutrition) muffins with diced apples and prunes, and feed him small bits of that as well. You can find recipes online or email me and I will send you one. With a little creativity, you should be able to incorporate the fiber he needs to help in this situation. If he's choking, the pieces are probably still too big for him---he's just learning to eat, so keep those pieces tiny til he has this mastered. Good luck!

Hi there-
Try asking about a natural magnesium powder for kids called Natural Calm. It softens stools and is mixed with water. Also, you can try Miralax. We had chronic constipation, too, and Miralax worked well for us. The other option is Mineral oil in the formula bottle. Slightly safer than miralax (which is more of an osmotic laxative). Anyway, we've tried everything. I think in the end we had a sensitivity to milk, so you may want to reconsider your formula choice as well. Karo Syrup? Never heard of that one. Isn't that corn syrup? Sweetener? I'd do mineral oil before i did that longterm, but that's just me. Good luck!
Mother of two (4 and 6 years) and licensed acupuncturist.

Hi N.,

When my daughter was a little baby (she just turned one) we had a similar problem. My pediatrician recommended prune juice (mixed with water since she was so young). That did the trick. Baby food prunes alone or mixed with rice cereal also work as do pears and pear juice. Even now, if I think she is having a problem I just feed her more prunes and pears and layoff the applesauce and cheese (known to cause constipation). If you haven't already, take a look at the types of food you are feeding your son and what is known about them. You might have to play around a bit until you find the right combination of foods for him to make him regular and make his stools softer. Good luck!

suppositories..they have them for children..more fruit..like plum or apricot but be careful too much can give a tummy ache..needs more exercise perhaps.

Hi N.,

How about some applesauce or some stewed prunes. I would suggest unsweetened applesauce (organic is great). The prunes you can even make yourself by putting some prunes in a pot with some distilled water and let simmer until prunes are "falling apart", then let cool a bit and blend until pureed and no lumps remain.

Hope that helps!

K.

Hi N.

I am sorry you and you little one are going through this.... it can be very painful for them, my daughter went through the same thing and it became quite a serious problem so it is important you sort it out now.

Firstly hard stools are usually a sign of lack of fluids. The formula should not really be considered hydration. It is so packed with nutrients that it is really considered food albeit liquid. It is imperative that you get your son to drink water. What temperature is the water that you give him? Many mothers (myself included) make the mistake of trying to give their babies cold water. But really pretty much everything they are used to; breast milk, formula much of their food is warm. Try warming the water this can make a huge difference, and persevere! If he doesn't take much in one go try every half an hour... it is VITAL that you get your son in to the habit of drinking water now.... it is a lifetime necessity!

A little bit of juice mixed in to the water is fine if that helps but bizarrely avoid apple juice and apple sauce and apples! I found with both of my children that apples actually can be quite constipating and I later found that in Ayuvedic medicine you would never give a baby apples because the are so constipating (especially without the peel).

The advice about oil and prune juice is all good... but water is the most important. If it gets really bad you can always try glycerin suppositories used extensively in Europe they help soften the stool to ease getting it out without disturbing the entire intestinal track like some oral medicines. You should be able to get them over the counter in any pharmacy.

Please, please make a huge effort to get your little bundle to increase his water intake. My daughter wouldn't drink water and the pain of the hard stools became so great she ended up holding her stools in to avoid the pain! It became a big problem and she ended up on laxatives for some time which you really want to avoid. With my son I learned the warm water trick and persevered.... it made all the difference. Sadly doing the best for your child often means taking a route your child isn't immediately going to thank you for!

I wish you the very best of luck!

N.

Add a half (or more) of prune puree (Gerber's Prunes works) to cereal. Do not use rice cereal. My son had the same problem and he would not take juice either. At first I gave him apple juice using a small soon, but later found that the prunes in cereal worked better.

chiropractic adjustment (including the cool food tips you got, I especially like the avocado tip) with a chiro experienced with young children.

icap ? is a national organization

Hi N.~
I'm not much of an expert on babies, anymore, as my youngest is nearing 25!

However, from what you tell us, it looks to me like the constipation problem is also a dehydration problem, which could be serious if it gets hot where you live! If your little guy isn't much for bottles, none of mine were, it seems that he is old enough for a sippy cup or a straw. Most little ones love to drink what mom is drinking, the way mom is drinking. My daughter was drinking from a cup, back then there weren't sippy cups (lol!), by the age of 5 months! Offer your sweet little guy a drink of water from your glass, offer him juice from a sippy cup, you'll want them soon anyway, try a straw in a box of juice, just get him drinking. At his age, he isn't getting enough liquid from just nursing, and with summer coming, that could be more of a problem for you than constipation! Juices are great. Once you get him drinking, it probably won't be a problem any more, but if it is, give him very diluted prune juice, just a little should do the trick. My grandson needs that, even still at age 5!

Best of luck, but this is a stage he seems to need to move into, probably before you are ready for him to grow up.

A.

We've used flax seed oil with great success. (Can purchase just about anywhere that sells vitamins; we got ours at Henry's or Whole Foods...) Just mixed it in with whatever liquid my daughter is drinking. Also, cut up grapes have worked with my daughter, too. Good luck!

Both of my babies got constipated from formula (very hard stools). The doctor advised us to put extra water in the bottle and it solved the problem for both of them. We would put an extra ounce of water in each bottle (mine typically took 6 oz so I put 7 oz of water with only 6 oz worth of formula). The constipation started very early on so we did this for almost the entire first year for both babies and never had any problems after that.

Hope you find the right solution for your baby!

I would stop giving him food all together, make him hungrier for the bottle and less solids to make his poop hard.

Try 1 tsp of flaxseed oil daily. You can mix it in anything, including his formula. Prunes and or prune juice in addition are also effective. Our 9 month old son has had constipation issues after we started him on solids. We avoid feeding him bananas, carrots and rice cereal which all can be culprits of constipation.

Good Luck!