6 Mo Old Not Going #2

My son had a similar problem at that age. His dr. sugested 6 oz. of Kern's nectar diluted with 6 oz. of water every day - seemed to do the trick, and he liked it too! Good luck!

Give him fruits that start with P (peaches, prunes, pears). I have never used apple juice for constipation. I have always used prune juice or pear juice and it works great.

Stop all rice cereal, if you're using that, and feed prunes and peaches, and give him water to drink. My 7-month-old daughter had this problem a week ago, and stopped everything except peaches and prunes (prunes with apples, she wouldn't eat it plain), and it worked well.

Try mixing in prunes, sweet potatos, squash into his food.

Some nurses have told me that sometimes taking a rectal temperature causes babies to poop.

My daughter was labeled "failure to thrive" by her pediatrician at one point due to having weak bowel movement muscles. I was worse when she was constipated. She wouldn't go #2 for up to 5 days sometimes (very toxic for the body).

We were then refered to a GI Specialist and Dietician. We were told to cut out oatmeal, applesauce and bananas.

The GI specialist said that after long bouts of constipation, some residual hardens and remains on the passageways. So, we were prescribed Magnesium Citrate (gently cleans the hardened poop from the entire passageway) and a gentle laxative.

After the laxative regimin was over, I used pureed prunes and made sure she had lots of liquids (water, applejuice).

We had the same problem (and still have to be careful) with our daughter. At first we had to resort to pediatric size suppositories to get her to clear out her bowels. She was too backed up to have juice solve her problem. The suppositories were very effective. Then we added prune juice to her daily intake. I was told that pear was a good second choice, and then apple. But those were if the baby wouldn't take to prune juice. I felt that if my baby hadn't been tainted by the sweet juices yet, she might like prune ;) And she did. So we put about 1-2 ounces mixed with water in her sippy cup, nad got her to drink that throughout the day. Some days I mixed the prune juice in her cereal. We stopped rice and switched to oatmeal and barley. My daughter LOVES solids, so this didn't slow her down, we just had to watch what we gave her, and her fluid intake. Try prune juice. It was very effective for us to maintain her regularity. I was told a baby should not go more than 2-3 days without a BM, maybe longer if that was what was a regular pattern for the baby. Good luck. Try to keep the food choices as healthy as possible. Like so many have said, we are training our children how to eat for the rest of their lives.
I love the website www.wholesomebabyfood.com for food recipes.

My son is also 6 months old and when I started him on solid foods I used breastmilk to puree all of his food with. He has not had a hard time going #2 and actually my pediatrician thought it was a good idea. I have also heard that pears make people go #2. If none of those help, I have used glycerin suppositories on my son when he was first born and they work really well. You can also try rectal stimulation by sticking the thermometer probe in his bottom. Hope these help. Good Luck.
Jenn

A tsp of brown sugar dissolved in a bottle water works great.
M.

I heard that apples can have the opposite affect and make constipation worse. My daughter used to only go every 3 days and now that she is 1 1/2 it is once a day. We found that 2 oz prune juice and 2 oz water helped, or giving pureed prunes. we now give her 1/2 tsp of benefiber in her morning milk and that helps to keep things soft. Our ped. said that it is important to keep the stools soft - in my Daught. case, he thought that the intestines were being stretched and by keeping the stools soft for at least a 3 month period would allow them to return back to normal.

Hi Heather,
We had this same problem with my son and we have lots of suggestions. First, we tried prunes and as long as we gave this to him every morning and keep him away from bananas we were fine. Then I added ground flax seed to his oatmeal and that keep him from having to eat the prunes everyday. Then we switched to Organic Pastures Raw milk and that totally took care of it! Now he can eat as many bananas as he wants with out any issues. Also, Baby CALM by Peter Gillham will work great as well. It is just magnesium, which 90% of the population is deficient in. Here is the website that sells it at the best price. http://www.vitacost.com/Peter-Gillham-Natural-Baby-Calm

Mineral oil. It is 100% natural - can't hurt him at all no matter how much he has. It is completely tasteless and it will work. It won't take much, I would put just a little in his bottle and then fill the rest with breatmilk/formula and feed him. the mineral oil will go through his system to his bowel and will soften up whatever is in there and it will coat it and help it to slide right out. I use mineral oil with all of my grandchildren at the first sign of constipation.

My doctor said it's not how often they go that worries her, it's how solid the poop is. Some people don't go every day. What she recommended to us was to add more water to the diet and prune juice (4oz juice/4oz water for a 1 year old) and prunes every day. When she started solid foods I was also told not to give her rice cereal, but oatmeal.
For us, it's really a balance to make sure we are not giving her more then one food a day that will back her up, and that we are giving her something to loosen her up at every meal.
Best of luck!

Dear Heather,
I had the same problem with my daughter when I started her on regular foods. You can try warming the apple juice and prune juice. It can really make a difference. Also, give your baby just plain water in a bottle or sippy every day.
I hated to do it, but at first I had to use some glycerine suppositories with my baby to get her cleared out and then the other things mentioned above worked great. Their little tummies just have to get used to the difference in diet and textures and warm liquids can really help.
Best of luck!

All of these foods are great to help w/ pooping but if your baby isn't getting enough liquids, things are going to back up. Try a little bit of water or increase your baby's milk intake. Also, it's not uncommon for our little ones to go as long as 5 or more days w/o a bowel movement, especially when introducing solids. My guy went 4 days w/o any poop several times during this intro to solids period and I was told by our pediatrician not to worry. You may also want to back off on the number of different foods you introduce. Let him get used to a few things before adding more. And a lot of the introductory foods are constipating, like rice cereal and bananas. Hope this helps!

take care,
J.

I would eliminate any rice cereal (if you are feeding him that). Also, if you make him oatmeal mixed with breastmilk...instead, mix the oatmeal with prune juice and a little breastmilk. It makes purple colored oatmeal, but it seemed to do the trick for my daughter. I would also continue giving fruits like plums, peaches and pears (with a P).

My daughter is 8 months old now. She had problem with #2 after I stopped nursing her at 7th month. We tried prune juice(about 1oz). And it works well. Also green beans and vegi meal helps. She had 6 teeth now. So I am giving her food in small chuck now. Good luck.

Hi my son had the same problem. First look at what you feeding him. Each baby will react differently. Also his body is changing with the intake of solids. What I did for my son since I am anti fruit juice and sugars is this, I bought 100% pure prune juice no additives or sugars and not from concentrate, put 2 oz in a bottle and added 2-4 oz of water. I also did the Karo, but make sure itis the dark Karo, less sugar more natural. I'd put 1-2 tablespoons to 6-8 oz water. I'd do this once a day and pretty soon, it became every other day and now not at all. I found that whole wheat tortilla's was the problem for us.

Prune baby food. I found it by gerber when I started my little one on solids and when he started having difficulty with some constipation I started giving him just a little until he stoped having trouble with the constipation. That should help alot. Just make sure you start with only a little at a time because you do not want to overdo it on the prunes.

My daughter is 3-month old. Her constipation went away after we started feeding her water (about 30 cc each time/ 120 cc a day max as instructed by her pediatrician).

Diluted grape and apple juice & raisins make them "go" - bananas & cheese & rice to plug them up. He is awfully young for much solid foods, I would stick to mainly fruits but not bananas. Introduce other things SLOWLY with the fruit, this will help you know what works best to keep his bowels operating smoothly.
One of my kids (24 now) often had constipation issues. It is better to address through diet than meds. Kids do have issues with constipation, she still struggles with it (my mom too). And don't forget the WATER, no matter what docs or WIC says, babies need water too. In my experience, if you dont start with water when they are babies, they don't care much for it EVER. If all else fails, provide a few french fries (greasy). Sometimes it helps baby pass hard stool if you massage lower back and tummy. Don't take constipation lightly. Your son may always have some trouble with it, so you will be teaching him the foods to help (and avoid) as he gets older. Good luck!

My dd had the same problem a few months ago and it takes more than adding in some "loosening" foods, you must stop the foods that are causing the problem, too. What worked for us was to nurse more often (breastmilk has a gentle laxative effect), stop the offending foods and add in some peaches and ripe apricots (raw, fork-mashed, not jarred). The foods that constipated her are now on the "sometimes" list so that she doesn't get them every day anymore.

I don't think I'd use apple juice, it is just empty calories and there are healthier alternatives like real fruit. (no apples though, they are very constipating due to their pectin content).

I would give him a spoon of prunes with every meal. The make prunes for babies. IBoth mu kids had harder stools once food was introduced. So i was sure to spoon in 1-2 spoons of prunes into their oatmeal, yogurt, anything I could. It does not change the flavor much so should go undetected. I did this at every meal.

I also offered a sippy cup with water for more liquids. Have you tried watermelon yet, it has loads of water in it-stear clear of dry starchy foods.

Best of pooping!

I've had the same issue with my 6 month old. I cut out bananas and applesauce per my pediatrician. I also added prunes. The prunes have worked GREAT. In fact, sometimes too great.

I just went through this with my 8 month old son. I tried everything you did and nothing worked or it worked for two day. I even put flax oil in his food and that was majic for a day. What I did was give him water. I nurse him so a bottle isnt easy for him so I used a propel twist top bottle and put some water in it and it was perfect because he thought it was mine so he always wanted it. You can use whatever you like but this worked for me. Also it was all because he was teething. He was getting four teeth on the top and now they are out a bit and he is fine but I still give him water and prunes when he will eat them. For me when my children teethed they had blow outs but not my son so this was new for me. I wish you luck and I am sure this will pass for your son, I've heard this story before and have experienced it so I know it will. good luck.

Hi Heather-!

Give your son probiotics - (open a capsule and mix a little of it in with his food. Decrease the amount of solids you are giving him - his body doesn't sound ready for it yet -
probiotics can help his body digest the solids you are giving him more easily

A couple of thoughts: He might have an intolerance to one or more foods you've tried - you could do an elimination diet to see what it is and also - if you have recently stopped nursing him and started giving him formula, constipation can be a result. If you are nursing him, nurse him more often -

I couldn't start solids for any of my four kids until they were at least 8 or 9 months old. Not even cereal -
The Drs. say you can start solids when they are 6 months old, but that is a VERY general guideline and may have nothing to do with your child as an individual - I find kids who do OK on solids at 4 months and kids who can't tolerate them until a year old - trust your instincts and the signs your son is giving you -

Good luck!

My daughter used to have issues like this as well, at the beginning of introducing solids. We would just put a tsp of sugar in 4 oz of warm water. Shake to dissolve, and then give it to him to drink. It worked like a charm every time.
A.

1/2 tsp of karo syrup mixed in with the rormual or breast milk should help

Try a spoonful of Karo syrup. My doctor's office suggested that as a "first resort" and it worked. Good Luck

My son at 1 had this problem...have you tried applesauce, and strawberries? Both are high in fiber also there is the over the counter gas relief called Mylecon...I am not sure if that is exactly how you spell it but that helps also and is very natural. Good luck!

Hi Heather,

Try pear juice- it usually helps get things going. Also infant massage and baths help too. Massage the tummy in a circular motion and do bicycles with your babies legs. Any kind of motion to get that area stimulated is good. Good luck.

Molly

Heather... Karo's syrup!! One teaspoon in baby's bottle/cup and that kid will poop so much you'll wonder how one little body can hold so much! Worked great with both of my kids when they're stopped up.
Good luck,
R.

Hi Heather,

My son also has a problem with constipation. His pediatrician informed me to avoid bananas and apples. Also, to try giving him water.

Apricot nectar......works like a charm. If your son takes a bottle, about 2 oz. or mix it with rice cereal.

Good Luck.

My son had this same problem when he was the same age as your son. We switched from rice cereal to oatmeal, and his nurse practitioner said to eat fruits & veggies that start with "P" - peaches, plums, prunes (always worked for us!), etc. It always worked, and the problem worked itself out in a month or so. Hang in there!

Heather ~
Just give him plenty of water. I know doctors say that juice or milk is enough; but give him water. It should take care of the problem.

Have you tried boiling and puree-ing prunes? That might work. My son went through a spell where he would go #2 every 5 days! My pediatrician looked him over and said that it was alright. What really worked well for us was grinding up flax seeds in a dedicated coffee grinder and adding that to his yogurt, but I don't think that your little one is ready for those foods yet :) At least it's a good tip (very healthy too with all of the Omega-3's) for later if the problem persists. Good Luck!

Pears worked wonders for my kids.

I would highly recommend taking your little one to a pediatric chiropractor. At about 6 months my son was having the same issues, my neighbor, who is a pediatric chiro adjusted him, which consisted of her using her thumbs gently on his back. He thought she was playing with him. Anyway its very common that their aligment is off with all their weird contortions, and very important that while they are growing their aligment is adjusted properly. So turns out his lower back was a little off, and he pooped almost instantly.
So she checks him weekly and he loves her! She is located in Santa Cruz,her office is called Elements of Life ###-###-####.
D. (mother of Dante 1 yrs old)
feel free to email me with any questions.

My 8 mo old daughter often has the same issue, and the pediatrician has suggested giving 2-4 oz of prune juice/day.

Hi Heather,

I'm not sure if the advise nurse offered this but you should try rubbing/massaging his tummy in a circular motion clockwise. This works for me whenever my son seemed to be backed up.

S.

I am 37 yr. old w/ 4 kids, ranging from 17 to 9yr old. My mother always told me to put a little Karo syrup in the bottle, that is how they did it in my grandma's day when they made the formula from scratch. She had me put a little in each bottle actually, keeps them normal. Just a suggestion, worked for me. Good luck.....