Seeking Mothers with Babies Who Are Chronically Constipated.

I give my daughter a prune everyday. I call them 'candy-fruit' and she just loves them. I agree with the response below to try the sunsweet prune juice. Hope one of the suggestions work for you!

Hey L.,

Not sure if you are adding anything to the bottles like rice cereal. But in case you are, rice cereal will increase constipation. So it is best to add Oatmeal or Barley to bottles if you are trying to help your baby feel full.
I know alot about constipation of an infant from my oldest having had severe acid reflux. There were times she was so consitipated she would not eat or that she would vomit shortly after eating. For her eating would decrease until a bowel movement. The advice about which cereal to add was from our pediatric gastroenterologist. He also had us give her Milk of Magnesia to help with constipation. The dose was 1 teaspoon equivalent to 5cc/ml? I think it was once a day. I would certainly consult your MD though as my daughter was around 6months old when she was on this and I am in no way a doctor. I can tell you that it helped her but I am not sure if MoM is safe for long term use, etc. We had used Karo before that but for many reasons that is not something to keep on longterm either. I hope this helps.
Best Wishes,
MB

All of these opinions are great but I have a different approach to use in addition. I went through this with my special needs son. My ped suggested the meds, but our physical therapist suggested massage. Put warm lotion on your hand and rub baby's tummy in a clockwise position for 5 minutes(pushing firmly, but not too hard). After rubbing the tummy, push her legs up (as if she's in stirrups) for a couple of minutes. 9 times out of 10 there will be an instant BM. If it doesn't work right away, try every half hour or so. It always worked on my son, then he usually fell asleep because he finally relaxed. Hope this works for your grandbaby.

Good luck!!
A.

I am not sure about the various formulas available but can you find one with a lower iron content. The iron in formula and vitamins is not readily used by the body and the excess can cause constipation. I usually have problems with prenatal vitamins for this reason.

We had the same problem with my youngest son since he was born. We tried every home remedy there is and nothing worked. The pediatrician finally recommended Myralax(purple and white bottle) which was a prescription but it now readily available over the counter. We just put a teaspoon in the formula everyday for a week and then cut back to every other day. We tried to get to just once a week(doctor thought it might be possible) but he just got plugged up again. You'll have to find the right schedule for your granddaughter. It is not addictive and is used in hospitals. We gradually were able to take him off as he got older and his diet was more varied. We still occassionaly use it and he is now 5. He still only has a bm every 2 days and sometimes 3 days. And when he does we call it mansized. I read somewhere that the intestines get backed up and can stretch and they don't shrink back to normal size so that may explain the big ones. It's very hard to watch your little one struggle so hard. Hang in there.

When I changed my daughter from the breast to formula I had the same problem. I mixed 1 teaspoon of Karo and 2 tablespoons of prune juice into her bottles and used an ounce of extra water. Took care of the problem immediately. You may need to adjust the amount on the prune juice as you don't want her to get diarrahia, but this was what my daughters pediatrician recommended.
Best of luck
G.

We didn't have this problem with my daughter, and my nephew only had to take Karo syrup for a short time. But, I'd suggest seeing if your daughter will drink the Gerber apple prune juice. Might have to water it down for her. I've actually drank this myself & it worked for me! Tastes a whole lot better than regular prune juice!

My sister and her daughter both have issues with constipation since birth. They have to limit dairy and drink more water than the average person. My sister is grown now and coffee does the trick for her. But for her daughter she removes dairy from the diet until a BM occurs. With a 10 month old, she may be old enough to get off of the formula. I had a friend with this issue and it was severe enough that the dr. recommended weening from formula at 7 months and then she had a very strict diet. Almond milk is very nutritious, although it's more popular in the natural lifestyle types. Dr.s probably wouldn't recommend it. My sister also used rice or soy milk (not formula) until a BM occured with her kids. I would also suggest making your own baby food to preserve some of the fiber. She is probably old enough to handle some lightly boiled broccoli and carrots. I also agree with everyone who mentioned prune juice. And I would add that my kids LOVED the sunsweet prunes. They are about the consistency of raisins and you can cut them up into finger food size. This may be why my kids never had issues. They ate 1-3 servings of prunes, raisins or apricots daily.

I have used the malt suprax in my son's bottles & it worked great!! We had tried everything, & the Dr. suggested that. It's the best!! Yes it's costly, but it's well worth it!

Our baby boy was exactly like that and we used the dark Karo syrup. It worked great for us and we used it until he was older and could eat fruits and veges that helped his system work more properly. In this economy, I think we all have to think about the economics of everything and I would continue to use the syrup unless he has some medical condition that is making the change necessary. Your not talking about a life time of doing this, probably just a few more months until she is eating differently. Our son was in the 90 percentile in his age/weight category until he was about 2 and then dropped to a more average 50% group. He's now a teen - very slim and has always been healthy. I vote if what she's doing is working, keep it up!