Formula and Pooping

My oldest daughter had the same problem. Her Dr, told me to add a little extra water to her formula, it worked wonders. You may have to experiment a little to get the right amount but it could help.

My son is now 7 months old and his constipation started around the same time (9 weeks) as soon as I stopped breastfeeding at 8 weeks. 1st formula we started him on was regular Similac Advance (blue can) so we switched to Nutramigen but they said that would make him more constipated so we switched to Good Start which has helped him alot with his gas, it is pre-digested and when you shake up the bottle it doesn't bubble up near as much as the other formulas. We are still on Good Start now. Some friends of mine said their babies did well with soy so you may want to try that. I tried that later on but the doctor said unless a baby is real young like yours, they won't switch to the soy because it has a very different taste. My baby wouldn't drink it so we stuck with the Good Start. My son has reflux as well and he has been on Zantac since before he was 3 months old and he needs it. If he misses a dose, I can tell a big difference in him, he gets very fussy, I think the acid hurts him and he has problems burping without the Zantac. At 6 months we went to a gastroenterologist because of the constipation. He was constantly consipated and one time went 3 1/2 weeks without any poop and the pediatrician had no more answers but to see a gastro dr. and the ER doctors when I took him acted like it was no big deal and he would go eventually. I was so mad, they did not see the pain he was in all the time. He'd turn purple trying to push the poop out and cry. He couldn't even pass gas because his poop was so big it was blocking the hole. I tried everything, I mean EVERYTHING that was suggested. Prune juice, Karo syrup, chamomile tea, laxatives, suppositories, warm bath, enemas, no bananas and no rice cereal, probiotic powder in every bottle, we tried it all and none of it worked for my baby. We went to Texas Children's and saw a gastroenterologist and they said give him Miralax (over the counter at the drugstore, purple & white bottle - tasteless white powder). It is fine to use with the Zantac and its really harmless and your baby can be on it for a long period of time, some kids are on it for years and there are no side effects. Preston was 6 months at the time of the visit and they said for the first 3 days, put 2 teaspoons in 1 bottle (don't put 1 tsp here and there) and he will poop, then after that just 1 tsp in the bottle. They told me to increase if I needed but I never needed to. The Miralax worked great so its been a month and a half and we're still taking it daily to keep the poops coming. If we miss a day, he gets constipated again so I'm keeping him on it. Since your baby is younger, I would say give him less than what they told me. Maybe you could start out with just 1/2 a tsp and work your way up if you have to. If you don't believe this and your problem persists, take your baby to a gastroenterologist. I'm in a big city and it took me weeks to get an appt. but it was so worth it because my son is so much happier now. I paid $274 (after my insurance discount) to see the gastro doctor, it is pricey because they are specialists and when they told me to try something I could get at Walgreens I felt pretty dumb but then it worked and I didn't care. Miralax was my baby's miracle. Hope you try it and it works for your baby.

This may be a weird question but was your baby born early? Mine was 4 weeks early and I've read so much about this and alot of babies with these problems were born early and I don't think its a coincidence. I think that their little tummies are one of the last things to finish developing. Many other moms I've spoken to with early babies have had some of my same issues.

I would not give a 9 week old prune juice, water or anything else without talking to your pedi. When babies are born their little bodies aren't really done - and introducing different fluids may only complicate the issue. Formula shouldn't make your sons stool hard - again - talk to your pedi. It may be time to try a more gentle formula, perhaps a soy formula, or s/he may have other ideas.

Something that is safe, and was a lifesaver for us was Mylicon drops for gas. A lot of newborn baby fussiness is good old fashioned gas. Just a the recommended dose in the side of the baby's cheek and within 30 minutes all was well.

Please, call your pedi to discuss these concerns and hopefully you can get your little guy comfy.

C.,
Try Good Start Protect Plus w/ Immuni Protect (it's a blue and green can). It has probiotics (like yogurt) to help regularity. My son has been on this for about 2.5 months and has no problems going to the bathroom. Also, try bycicling his legs (moving them as if he was peddling a bike), that will also help. I would also suggest the Gerber apple/prune juice (used that for my daughter). Finally, talk to your peditrician. When my daughter was an infant with the same problems, she suggested we get Benefiber and put a teaspoon in her bottle (I cannot remember what age that was and what the dosage was).

Also, it is probably his age and he will get better. Best of luck!!

I use similac sensitive (orange can) for my youngest, but a friend of mines baby was horrible... he used the alimentum (sp?) The purple can! I also tried prune juice but my baby refused to drink it (she hates sweets...) My mother in law also used to hold my youngest with her belly on her legs and just tap her butt and rub her back... she usually went then. Call your pedi, bc mine had a fit when I changed her formula, but I didnt care it made my baby feel better! He/she could probably give you a better idea depending on your baby to! Good luck!

Which formula is he on? You could try a sensitive formula for fussiness and gas. To help with the constipation give him a little cooled boiled water to drink before every feed , throughout the day he will take around 3 or 4oz and this will help to keep his stools softer. Many people will tell you not to give a baby a drink of water but personally I think this is better than adding Kayro syrup to the milk or using a sepository , the body needs water and as long as you boil it first and leave it to cool it kills all the bacteria so it is perfectly safe.

We went thru this with our second daughter and we ended up using the Enfamil LactoFree formula in powder form...Purple Can.

HTH..
and i did try the prune juice with failed results but the applejuice worked so you might want to try that..

My daughter had the same problem. We just gave her either prune or pear juice routinely. She pooped about every 4th day, and it wasn't hard. Pear works better then prune. We did about 1 oz. per day. We used the similac soy formula.

Have you tried Similac in the orange can? My daughter is on that and her poop is very watery. I switched her to Good Start for a bit and her poop changed considerably-it was like thick soft serve ice cream.

My mom always says that it's the iron that constipates them, but according to my Dr that's an old wives tale and that all formulass now have iron.

I have a friend who's son is on soy formula for vomiting and reflux.

it's probably from the iron in the formula. switch to a non-iron fortified formula, and he should be fine.
D.

Does the formula have added iron? So many docs recommend iron formula and it is not necessary for infants. They have plenty of iron until at least 6-9 months just from you. You could also try giving baby some water.

He might be allergic to it. You could try the suggestions below, stick with one for at least 1-2 weeks to see a change. How much prune juice did you use? My ped recommended 2-3 oz a day at the most. I've always used the graduates apple/prune juice and put like 1 oz in each bottle a couple of times a day. My daughter had the same problem when transitioning to regular milk at 1 yr. It was awful one time she needed to poop but it was to big to come out. To make it easier that time I put aquaphor on her and put her in a warm bath. That was the only time she was that constipated and that was the only time she went #2 in the bath tub.

I transitioned her much slower after that and she now drinks milk just fine w/no # 2 probs. Thats what makes me think the formula he is on is not a good mix for him. There are gentle ease types that help with the reflux that you might want to try too. What does his ped say? She might be able to recommend the best type of formula to switch to since there are so many out there. Good luck to you and the little guy.

Dear C.

My daughter had the exact problem. Though she was breastfeed. Her stool was hard but once she broke it then it was soft.Try the prune juice as that is what you can do at that age. Once the veg and cereal are introduced things get better. She took Zantac for 6 months. She is happy child now. While giving him bath massage in the tummy often that helps.
Hope this helps you.
C.