Little One Is Constipated Im Lost

Updated on December 29, 2008
M.O. asks from South Bend, IN
22 answers

my little one has not had a Bowel movement for three days doctor changed his formula over to gentlease today, he is so fussie and his last feeding he was spitting up. we have been giving him a combo of apple juice and water like dr. said to a couple weeks ago cuz he wasn't going regular. we give it to him once a day. he has plenty of wet diapers dr, told us to call on friday if nothing changed i can't see making my little one go that long like this. what else can i do i hate seeing him like this.

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So What Happened?

well about two hours after i asked my question my little one finally went alot and it wasn't hard at all it was soft. he definitely feels better. he slept well and is a happy boy. thank you to everyone who made suggestions. i will definitely keep them in mind if it continues. Merry Christmas!!

Featured Answers

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H.S.

answers from Cleveland on

I put a little bit of corn syrup in my little guys bottle when he had problems. hope you found something that works!

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L.M.

answers from Cleveland on

My little guy had the same problem, the formula that worked best for him was Nestle Goodstart. It is easier to digest and doesn't have Casein in it (a milk protein that is hard to breakdown)

Good Luck and Congrats!

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D.F.

answers from Cleveland on

My daughter was also always constipated. You can try to stimulate him to go by putting some vaseline at the end of a thermometer and gently insert it. Also, while on his back, you can move his legs in a bycicle motion. I guess newborns are prone to constipation because they are not as active. I ended up having to give my daughter karo syrup in her bottle, but only do this if your son's doctor agrees to it. All doctor's are different. I wish you luck!!

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V.B.

answers from Canton on

My sympathy to your little one. This is a painful time. His little belly will bet hard as a rock, and you absolutely want to fix this before he has future long lasting problems.

I had the same trouble with my youngest. Do not do the baby enema or anything like that, it is a bad idea. Those things will cause your child to go, but will also enlarge the area allowing more of a build up which causes it to become to large to pass easily.

It is HUGE IMPORTANT to get a your child set up on daily BM. Not trying to be too graphic or disgusting, but when we do not go every day, the first part will become larger (than is comfortable to pass) and harder (which also makes it difficult to pass and causes possible ripping, hemorrhoids, straining).

Grab prune juice, not apple juice. Apple juice can be h*** o* some of their bellies because it makes a lot of gas, not necessarily BM. Prune juice will really help, and buy the baby food jars of prunes and give them a little every day. (He's a bit young for jar food, so you can totally wait and introduce that as a food to him when he is months older; however, I would do this one before a lot of other foods, especially if this becomes an ongoing problem.

Eating the prune stuff is not awful like we would imagine. I had my girl drinking it (watered down) every day and a bit out of the jar for months until we had set up a routine for getting daily bowel. I SLOWLY weaned her off them by giving less daily, then skipping one day out of 10 or something really slow like that. I still sometimes worry about her, and she will be 9 in January! Not to say I need to worry, but being a mum, you do those things.

She had decided it hurt when she was only months old and learned to cross her legs in such a way to "hold it in". She had determined she wanted NO PART OF IT. Unfortunateley, she doesn't have much choice in that matter. Her stubbornness was a force though. It was a total relearning for her, and I listened to one doctor and did the things I shouldn't which gave her the larger area for accumulation, which caused more problems.

You can also give him mineral oil, but if you put it in a bottle, you will see it float to the back end of the bottle. You almost have to give it in a syringe and squirt it in. This is not a horrible taste, but not pleasant by any means.

Best of luck to you.

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S.D.

answers from Indianapolis on

He's too young for juice or water. Breastfeed him, he'll poop quickly:) As long as it's not hard, it's not constipation. I don't nkow how long formula feds can go without pooping. Breastfeds can go a week or longer without pooping!

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R.B.

answers from Toledo on

I'm very surprised your doctor recommended apple juice for a newborn! Maybe your baby is sensitive to formula ingredients. Breastfeeding is far superior, and formula is really not healthy for babies. You should be able to stimulate your lactation with the help of a lactation consultant. Breast milk is so much easier for a baby to digest. If for some reason you just can't breastfeed, then you may want to try different formulas, such as lactose free. I would consult another doctor as far as the apple juice goes. I have never heard of giving juice to a newborn, and it could harm him. Call the Elizabeth Blackwell Center for advice on both the nursing and constipation. ###-###-####. Babies do get constipated, and it is worrisome, but it is normal for them to only poop every few days. They are not like adults who should have daily bowel movements. Good luck!

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R.H.

answers from Cleveland on

Karo light corn syrup works well when you mix a little bit of it in a warm water bottle. My grandson had and has that problem sometimes and it works wonders.

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A.W.

answers from Toledo on

It is OK for a baby not to have a bowel movement everyday. When I talked to my Dr in Sept about my, then newborn, son he told me it was ok to use the infant suppositories but to break them in half. It worked INSTANTLY! I only had to do it a few times and he is now a pooping machine = )

GOOD LUCK & HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

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A.W.

answers from Indianapolis on

Give your little one some apple juice or a mix of apple and prune juice.That helped my little out.

J.D.

answers from Columbus on

I agree with the mom who said give her prune juice mixed with water. My oldest son has always had constipation issues, and prune juice is the only natural thing we have found that helps him out. I would personally NOT give her suppositories just because she could develop a dependance, and you don't really want to do that at any age!

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D.G.

answers from Columbus on

Go to your local pharmacy and get baby suppositories, they work great and should help your baby tremedously.Being constipated is very uncomfortable for any one but think about how tiny your little one is he must be even more uncomfortable than any one could imagine. It may take a few times to get the bowels to move but it is important that they do move. I would also change to diluted prune juice, apple juice can actually constipate some kids.If this doesn't work he may need a warm enema, best done by a professional.

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C.B.

answers from Lafayette on

you can try 1 teaspoon of prune juice in the morning & again at night if there aren't any results. you can also buy "infant glycerin sticks", they're very cheap. break them in half an insert one into his hiney & that's it, it can take anywhere from from 5min-2hours to get a result, but try to use that as a last resort. good luck.

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J.C.

answers from Cleveland on

Congratulations, M.! What an exciting Christmas for you and your family! I would make sure you are moving his little legs. Lay him on your lap and move his legs like he's riding a bike. I would also maybe try a little less water in his juice to see if that helps. Try white grape juice... that's easy on their bellies. I wish you the best of luck with him, and a fabulous Christmas!

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R.F.

answers from Evansville on

M.,
Try putting in 1 Teaspoon of Karo Syrup in each bottle for the lil one until the baby begins going again, that is the best laxitive for babies. If the babie has not gone potty for 3 to 4 days PLEASE seek medical help or the baby could be seriously hurt by this.

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P.R.

answers from Indianapolis on

Grape juice, grapes are a naturally way to cleanse the system, much more effective than apples. Prune juice is also one of the most effective products on the market.

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P.D.

answers from Cleveland on

this also happened to my daughter. I gave her camomile tea and doctor changed her formula to soy milk and then to soy milk mixed with water half and half. That worked. I started feeding her at 5 months applesauce and that seemed to help. Then at eight months I started her on whole mile. Up to this day she drinks camomile tea and it helps. I know what you are going through.

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D.T.

answers from Muncie on

Dark Karo syrup worked for my daughter, I would just put about a table spoon into what she was drinking. You can also try bicycle leg exercises and/or a light lower stomach massage to see if you can't make things move along.

Good luck!

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G.B.

answers from Cincinnati on

Hi M.,
I have been babysitting my 12 month nephew who has suffered from the same thing since he's been eating cereal. It has been so hard for him that even now when he's having a bowel movement, he gets this look on his face expecting it to be painful.
We have done a number of things to help soften his stool, including the remedies already submitted.

Here's the list:
1. The doctor changed his formula to a soy base and kept Mylicon handy.
2. We gave him a bottle of dark karo syrup, prune juice and water in the morning and once in the evening.
3. On occasion, suppositories were necessary.
4. When he started cereal...we used oatmeal only. Rice is binding.
5. When solid foods were introduced, we made sure to include prunes in his oatmeal. We also mixed prunes with his other fruit foods.
6. We avoided squash, sweet potatoes, etc any veggie or fruit that hardened the stool. We instead chose the green based foods, like green beans.

Now that he's over a year old...we make sure to always give him foods that help keep the stool soft and avoid foods that have the opposite affect.

Hope this helps. Merry Christmas!

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D.K.

answers from Indianapolis on

NATURALLY HEALTHY BABIES & CHILDREN by Romm and

ENCYCLOPEDIA of HEALTH & NATURAL HEALING FOR CHILDREN by Weber

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H.D.

answers from Cleveland on

Hi M.,
This happened to my 2nd child too. We switched fomula & it didn't work. The dr. told us to switch to Similac Soy, that seemed to do the trick. I guess she was lactose intolerant (sp?) for a while. We had to be careful when we introduced milk to her ~ we did it VERY slowly. She'll b 2 on Valentine's Day & is fine with dairy products.
Good luck!
H.

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C.S.

answers from Canton on

a tsp of dark karo syrup in 4 oz of water in bottle. When my 23 yr old was a baby his doctor told me to take s small slither of Ivory bar soap and stick it in his rectum. Small being about 1/2 inch. Then give him baby cereal with flax oilseed in it.

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J.C.

answers from Cleveland on

M.,

Go put him in a nice warm tub with baking soda. Since (I assume) you are using a baby tub, which doesn't require much water, you only need to use a couple tablespoons of the baking soda. Stir it into the water before putting your son in. I've never done it with such a young baby, so don't know if it will work, but it does work great on one year olds and older!

Also, if it doesn't work, please know that sometimes they DO go that long, (til Friday) without pooping, and they are perfectly fine. If you trust your doctor, you should do as he tells you.

Don't give the baby anything else without checking with your doctor first. (No offense intended to those who suggested prune juice, but this baby is only three weeks old.)

And, most importantly, if you are not comfortable waiting until the day after Christmas, trust your instinct. Call your doctor NOW and tell him your concerns. That is what you he is there for and what you pay him for. And if he's not patient and understanding with you over this, and he can't make you feel at ease, fire his butt and find a new doctor next week.

Good luck! Let me know how it comes out. (NO pun intended!)
J.

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