My 9 month old seems to be constipated. She hasn't had a full poop in two days and just made a little one right now but it's minimal and hard. Any suggestions
She needs more water and fiber. I use oxygenated water and it really cleans out the pipes. She needs to eliminate everyday to avoid toxin build up in her system.
If you want more info let me know.
N. Marie
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More water and remove all dairy and replace with soy. Dairy can be very binding to people with systems that are sensitive to dairy. We didn't figure this out until too late (she was 5 or 6) and my daughter's colon is permanently enlarged to 3 times it's normal size due to the constipation issues we had before we switched her to soy.
does she drink milk? Did you breastfeed? She could have dairy issues. MY daughter had them and I had to give her soy products. That is something I would talk to your doctor about.
Or maybe is she is eating too many bananas? Try some prunes, they are sweet and kids usually love them and it will losen her up.
When we had similar issues with our little ones, the pedi said to give them either Gerber pear or prune juice. They also told us that a child can have one ounce of the juice per month of their age each day... So, your little girl could have 9 ounces/day until the problem clears up. You probably won't need that much, but you'd also want to spread it out throughout the day.
On our pediatrician's advice, I gave my daughters white grape juice when they were constipated. I just gave them about 2 oz mixed with 1-2 oz water, and did it 2 or 3 times during the day until they didn't need it anymore. Pear juice is also supposed to be very good, and both are a little gentler on baby's tummy than prune juice, though you could use that too.
If your daughter is eating cereal, especially rice cereal you might want to cut that out for a bit or at least switch to oatmeal. The rice cereal can give some kids problems with constipation.
increase the fiber. apple juice, prune juice, graham crackers, etc.
When my toddler was constipated, the pediatrician said to stay away from "binding" foods like rice, bananas, and applesauce. They also said to make sure she's getting enough to drink, and said prune juice or apricot nectar might help get things moving. The apricot nectar didn't help though, and my daughter wouldn't drink the prune juice (can't say I blame her!). What helped the most for us was just offering water and/or milk more often than usual, while also limiting the binding foods.
pediatrician told me to feed my son the Ps - peaches, pears, prunes. They have pectin in them, which help things move along. Worked for us!
(btw he said that apples were constipating. we stopped apple sauce and made pear/apple/strawberry puree or bought Gerber pear/blueberry blend). We did not do juice, but just the fruit itself.
Get her some baby prune juice. And give her fruit three times a day. Not the dessert type fruit in a jar, but pure apricots, pears, applesauce, plumbs, etc.. The prune juice should do the trick and the regular fruit with each meal should keep her going. Babies should go several times a day and if the doctor tells you it's perfectly normal, take it with a grain of salt. Yes, it's normal to become constipated, but not healthy. The body, at any age, should go after every meal, but most don't go quite that often. But they should, and babies definitely usually do. What are you feeding her? And is she nursed or bottle fed? If she is eating any table food, it might be too soon for her little system. She should still be getting nursed or bottles of some formula (like Good Start, which is made from whey, and much better than soy) at least three times per day after any food. And at bedtime. A lot of times doctors are too anxious to grow them up too fast and get them off the bottles or nursing. I never did that. My pediatrician told me my children didn't need bottles and that milk on their teeth while they were sleeping would cause cavities. I was also told they didn't need vitamins. I took them for checkups, but did what I thought was best. They all had vitamins and bottles when they went to bed until they handed them over and said they didn't want them. I nursed for a year, but continued with bottles after that. They all had milk sugar on their teeth, but I didn't give them candy or sugar in their diet. Guess what! Not one of the four had cavities and were all quite healthy. Their second teeth came in with no cavities also, and they didn't get it from my husband or me. Didn't mean to get carried away on another subject, but diet really does have everything to do with constipation. So watch what you're feeding your baby and concentrate on not giving too many foods too soon. Fruits and cereals like oatmeal are usually good and problem free. If you still need more help temporarily, you can ask a pharmacist for some baby suppositories that will get her going again. They work really well.
R., I am sorry that your little one is having this problem as it is h*** o* thier little bodies. My grandson is fully breastfed and at 8 weeks is so constipated that the pedi doctor said prune juice --- but I am going to make sure my daughter gets the information you have recieved.
A need for more magnesium is the issue. It may be caused by a food or just metabolism. Baby Calm by Dr. Peter Gillham is the best on the market. You can buy it at a health food store, whole foods or online. You'll see her stool soften within hours.
I give my baby magnesium every day and that keeps him just fine with no need of laxatives, etc.
Take care,
C.
Here's what has consitpated both of my kids as babies:
Potato, Sweet Potato & Yams, Iron fortified baby cereals, Rice, vitamins with iron.
SO, instead of baby cereal I make a batch of Cream of Wheat and mix some of it with her vitamin D drops (breastfed) and applesauce or blueberry applesauce. I save the leftover cream of wheat in the fridge and use it throughout the week.
I give my baby normal applesauce not the baby kind - at 9 months she can handle the texture and seems to prefer it. You'll save a bunch of $$ too!
For serious constipation I give her a sippy with apple juice or a jar of prunes and nurse her more often.
I give my baby normal Cheerios instead of the fancy baby ceral puffs - they're made of rice which seems to be the biggest cause of constipation for her. Again - you'll save a bunch of $$ and the Cheerios have fiber!
Put your baby in a jumper or exersaucer - usually gets them to poop within 15 minutes.
If the poops are tiny round balls then Baby is constipated - if it looks like PlayDoh then Baby is normal.
