My 23 Week Old Had a Painful Hard Poop, What Do I Do?

1-2 tablespoons of Karo Syrup in each formula bottle should do the trick! It worked wonders for my 10 mo. old and I even sometimes use this trick with my 5 & 6 yr. old girls (I give them a little more). Keep doing this until it is no longer a problem. My doc. recommended it.

By all means give him prune juice. The switch to formula can be constipating. Some formulas have a lot of iron. They sell baby prune juice that works great.

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Be well.

N.

A little apple juice works too. It's prbably easier to find organic apple juice than prune juice and your little guy will probably like it better.
Not too much, maybe an ounce or so. Just watch for any allergies since he probably hasn't had any real food yet, but apples are not a common allergen so he should be fine!

Usually babies don't need water as they get plenty from nursing, but since there has been a change in his food that is causing his bowels to be hard and painful, you might want to consider giving him just a little bit of water.

The formula is probably causing constipation. I would try giving him flax oil if you can - my pediatrician always recommended it for constipation when my 2 kids were babies - you can try mixing it into baby cereal and fruit. Also, "p" foods - prunes, pears, peaches, all help with constipation. And make sure he's getting enough fluid - maybe give him some water. I also think apple juice might loosen things up.

At 23 months your child doesn't need formula. In fact, you're better off increasing some solids, increasing WATER intake and using your breastmilk. When the body needs water it will reabsorb it from the intestines, causing constipation.

My son had this problem. I gave him prunes, but he didn't really like it. So I gave him Pear Juice, like the nectar juice by Kern's. Cleaned him out really quick. Hopefully this helps.
~~D.

mine did the same on Similac until a friend of mine with an older baby said that it does it to the babies and the only thing that worked for them was juice diluted with water and lots of water any time he has his mouth opened. i know all the "no water" theory, but hey, i'd rather he pooped than comply with some theory. long story short - water helped with stool and did not harm anywhere else.
Good Luck
V

I don't know your circumstances, but is there any way that you could go back to breastfeeding? Or perhaps pumping more often to increase your supply for him? Breast milk is really the best thing ever for them, so if it's a possibility for you, then by all means, go back to breast milk.
I know that switching to formula can cause this problem. I didn't go through it myself, as I didn't use any, so I don't have any other solution to offer. I know how tough it is to see your little one in pain though. All the best to you and your little one!

Hi J.,

My 13 month old son has had the exact same problem from age 7 months to about 12 months, off and on. My boyfriend (son's father) is an ER Nurse who takes care of babies all of the time, and between that and specific advice from our son's pediatrician on this exact issue, here is my advice I have learned works.

Switch the formula you are giving him to Enfamil Nutramigan which prevents colic and within 48 hours will soften his stools and make his poop alot easier to pass. It will look yellow and mushy but he will not have pain and will get his nutrients. Our son has had this since birth since I was unable to breastfeed right from the hospital and we still give it to him in addition to food.

All of the pitted fruits work on solving the painful bowel movements. Puree steamed prunes and give it to him everyday, probably twice a day in addition to whatever other food you feed him. Pureed cooked peaches also work very well. Plums and apricots also work but they are more sour once cooked so stick with prunes and peaches. After about 4 days, your son should be pooping a lot better.

In the meantime it helps if you give him a glycerin suppository when he wakes up after he has had breakfast, and then let him crawl around and get some exercise. Within 30 minutes he will be pooping out the hard poop. He will cry and be in pain until all of the hard poop is out. Just hold his knees bent up toward his chest and lay him on his back on his changing table so the poop comes out faster. My boyfriend had to manually pull the impacted poop out (remember, he's an ER nurse), and it was horrible to watch our son be in so much pain. If our son for some reason does not poop within 48 hours, we give him a glycerin suppository in his behind (or half of one) and all of the backed up poop comes out on its own within 30 minutes.

Better to keep your baby's bowel movements regular than to let him get too backed up and not poop for days, because when that happens it is going to be much more painful for him the longer he goes without pooping. As I said, the Nutramigen helps a lot and that in conjunction with cooked, pureed pitted fruits (peaches and prunes) will do the trick after about 4 days.

Good luck.

I would try giving him prunes. Just watch him, but chances are he is fine. If you notice blood in his poo or a fever, you need to take him in.

yes buy some prunes or prune juice. or you can try little tummies. if niether of those work then you can get a pediatric suppositories (cut it in quarters for him and only use 1/4 at a time). i wouldnt wait. my daughter did this when she went on formula after breast feeding and we went through many formulas (simalac and infamil) to find one that she would be ok with. we struck gold with good start. good start i think has an organic formula so if he stays constipated on the simalac i would switch formula brands all together.
when my daughter was like this at just a month old we had to use a pediatric suppository on her. so i layed her on the floor and inserted the suppository (you have to old it in there or they will push it out for like 10 mins) then when she would start to try to poop i would gently push her knees to her chest to help her. we had to do this about four times until she got on good start and she was great on it. good luck i hope this helps!

Oh poor baby, you can put a table spoon (to 8oz formula) of Karo syrup the clear one, that will help quick, of course prune or apple juice works as well. I give my daughter prunes every day, I mix it in here cereal or oat meal. Good luck to the big guy!

Hi J.,

I have had to give my daughter prune juice on a daily basis. I dilute it 1/2 and 1/2 with water. You may want to try this. Also, there are prunes in the baby food section. I mix them with her oatmeal cereal. This seems to help because it keeps her going.

Good luck!

I had the same problem with both my kids...firstly, Similac Oraganic causes constipation in lots of babies. Not sure why, but something in it does. I would switch to Similac Early Shield as it softens the stools. Also, pears or prunes work well although he is a bit young for solids? Prune juice will work also. And I used glycerin suppositories with my both my kids when I needed to. Remember it takes the body about 2 weeks to adjust to a new formula.

I would use a glycerol suppository next time he seems to be pushing with no result. Glycerol is just soap. It irritates the anus and produces peristalses and a bowel movement. Its not a stimulant laxative that causes cramping. Does he cry after? Is there any blood? If so He may have an anal fissure which you can get from passing hard stools and is very painful.

oh at first i thought it said 23 month old but i see it's 23 week old..that's why i think some are saying he's too old for formula..they're reading it wrong..yes it's b/c u switched formula..when u switch u have to introduce a new formula slowly..also traveling always messes me up w/ bowel movement ..yes get the glycerin suppositories for children and try that..i used to use them on my son and they really helped..be careful w/ prune juice..it can cause cramping..our doc told me not to use that.
also massage his lower back that helps. good luck

I have a 27 week old. He had this issue where the poop was VERY soild and painful. It was suggested to feed him things that start with "P". We did Plums, Pears, Peas, Peaches...all seemed to have the right effect.

I saw a lot of people suggested prunes and pears, not the best thing for a baby, especially under 6 months old. My pediatrician suggested infant glycerin suppositories when my son didn't go for a long time (which we later found out was his normal pooping pattern), and we did have constipation issues when we switched formula a bit when he was very young.

Since you said he stopped nursing, if you want him to start up again, you should see a lactation consultant. I stopped breastfeeding when my son was 3 weeks old, but was so upset about it, I decided to relactate a month later. The formula didn't work well with his body (constipation, spitting up, etc), and I'm so glad I was able to start breastfeeding again. If stopping wasn't something you had planned, I'm sure you can get back into it. One week is nothing, you should have no problems getting your milk supply back up.

Try putting some Karo Syrup in with the formula. Just a little. It will coat the stomach down the intestines to make it easier to poop. My daughter lived by it when my grandson was constipated. Make sure its the clear one and you can find it in the cooking aisle of the grocery store.

You can give tsp of prune juice via a dropper or syringe directly into his mouth, or add tsp of flax seed oil into his formula.

Prune juice!! I deal with this often with my son. I have a few different tricks. First I cut back on the dairy and add in some juice. Prune juice is great one to sub in. When my son is trying to push and I can tell he is in pain I will lay him down, undo his diaper, and bend his little legs to his belly. This helps him to push. It is terrible to see them in pain like that. Sometimes it helps if you can use a rectal thermometer or your finger to stimulate his system. I have to stay on top of it with my son because if he has a bad bout of constipation he will stop eating because he associates the pain with food. Good luck.

Hi J., One of my daycare moms have her baby, baby prune juice, at 6 months, it seemed to work really well for her, also whst you can do, is coat the anal areal with a qtip and vaseline you don't have to insert the qtip to far just enough to coat with vaseline and if he does have a hard poop this will help it slide out easier. With formula, I'm going to assume you are usuing the powder, make sure sweetie that you are measuring just right, because to much powed can cause constipation and to little can cause the runs. this always worried me when i was a young mom, so I used the liquid ready to feed formula simalac as well, I did use the powder during the summer id we were going out of town or something, but for me the ready to feed just gave me more peace. Hope this helps. J. L.

Maybe parroting what others said - haven't had time to check all the other responses.
1. Glycerin suppositories BEFORE he goes without for a long time.
2. Flaxseed oil (in the vitamin supplement aisle) 1-3 capsules until you get him regulated. Recommended by Dr. Sears online. Ancillary benefit: good source of Omega 3's which help with brain development. Worked like a charm with my youngest and his pretty darn bright now too! ;-)
3. If you're giving any rice cereal, may want to switch to a different cereal. Rice cereal constipated both my boys. Baby oatmeal worked better.
4. You can try white grape juice (a little goes a long way - less than half an ounc ususally was enough for my guys.)
5. Take him in to see a ped in the ER or a doc in a box (urgent care clinic) where you are if in your heart you think he's really having trouble and you just can't get your arms around it. I know it's expensive but at some point your just can't do it all by yourself! :-)
Hope this helps,
J.

See if your doctor can call in a prescription to a local pharmacy for suppositories. We gave them to my son at 2 weeks old and they worked. Good luck.

If he's already constipated and trying to poop, you can try glycerin suppositories. Just cut them up to be a little smaller. I did that with my son and it usually helped. Has he started eating solids yet at all? If so, other than the juice as already suggested you can also feed him a little prunes or pears once a day to help him stay a little more regular.

I would try the prune juice. You could dilute it with water if you want, but that seems to do the trick for my daughter. If it continues to be a problem you could try the Pedialax Fiber Gummies. My daughter, who just turned 2, takes 3 every other day or so and has no more constipation problems.

Hello J.,

give him baby pears. they have as much fiber as the prune and less gas and I think they taste better anyways. It could be the milk.... milk does constipate. I had to switch my daughter to soy milk because cow milk constipated her big time! Good luck! ~C.~

Hi there
It could be the formula. Try adding a little prune juice to a bottle, that usually does the trick
GOod luck

I know this is a late response for such an urgent post, but I wanted to share from my experience. My guess is that the change in his diet caused the constipation. I have heard it is very common for babies to get constipated from a change (hey, I'm approaching 40 and I still get constipated from a change in my diet!). Formula made both of my babies constipated so the doctor recommended that we add a little bit of extra water to each bottle. That did the trick. Never had trouble with constipation after that. For a 4-5 oz bottle I would always put an extra 1/2 oz of water. For a 6-8 oz bottle, I would put an extra 1 ounce of water. I have heard some say that it is dangerous to do that, but it was recommended by our doctor and it worked perfectly for both of my babies.

Hope this helps!

mixing pear juice in the baby oatmeal-not rice cereal helps if he is eating off of a spoon. my children didn't like prunes but they did like apricots.
good luck!