Seeking advice for baby's constipation -- First foods and fruits

My daughter struggled with the same thing. I would avoid bananas, apples, cheese and white starches. Prunes, dark berries and other dark fruits seem to help. I also got "miralax" from her pediatrician and that seems to help when I notice her straining.

Put about a teaspoon of Karo Syrup in her bottle. This will help loosen things up! Give it to her in a bottle that is at least room temp, warm works best though.

J., I too had to watch my now 14 month old suffer from constipation when we introduced solids. Other than the obvious prunes and prune juice (which did not work for her) and avoiding too much rice cereal and bananas no other food advice. However, the thing I found to be great and still use today is Flax seed oil with Lignan. It is a refridgerated oil found in health food stores. Just put about a teaspoon full in her cereal once a day and it works great. It is loaded with omega's and fiber and very good for her but also greases up their insides. I had to resort to medications at one point but found this to be the best at avoiding the problem. It does get much better once their bodies adjust to the solids.
Best wishes

My pediatrician said to give them juice that starts with a "P". Pear or prune juice worked well with my son. You can water it down if it is too strong, but it seemed to keep him regular.

I am the mother of three little ones under the age of 4 and we have gone through this at least a few times with each. My ped said no bananas and LOTS of water. Cut back on dairy, but not breastmilk or formula. If it is powdered formula, make sure it is mixed right(not too much powder for the water). As they get older, there is a medication you can mix in with gatorade, but not sure about this age. Of course prune juice is good too, even if she does not drink juice regularly-go ahead and give her lots. If it is still hurting her, call the pediatrician and I think you can even give her a small dose of a certain brand of suppository. It works immediately, but they really don't like getting it!!!! Good luck-

Be sure your child is getting lots of fruit and liquids. That's the main thing. Plums and bananas are going to tighten her bowels and constipate her. Sometimes applesauce will do the same thing...depending on your child. Stay away from these fruits for a few days...until she is having regular bowel movements. Then just alternate them with other fruits. Don't be afraid to give them to her once she's back to normal.

Give her at least a half of a jar of prunes to clear out her system. If that doesn't work by the next day...give her more. You may have to use them on a regular basis....but fruit (especially pears)for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack should keep her regular. Using the small 2 ounce jars each time will be enough.

Another thing that's been done for years is to give the baby 4 ounces of water with 2 tablespoons of clear Karo syrup mixed in it will sometimes work, too. It will at least help clear her out. Be sure to warm it good. Only give it to her when necessary. The water is what does the trick...the karo is to make it taste good to her so she'll drink plenty.

See if this works for you and let me know if not.

I've been a child care provider for over 20 years, have raised my own two children and have 4 grandchildren.

Give her some apple juice in her diet. No more than 4 oz a day so that she won't fill up on juice and not get her entire calorie intake for the day. Apple juice helps to loosen the stool up a bit.

I had the same problem with my son. Some of the things that I do is rub his lower back to help ease the muscles and keep his knees bent so that he can't clench his butt muscles. Bananas contribute to constipation along with cheese and too much milk. Our pediatrician prescribed a mild laxative to help him go when the constipation got really bad. Try giving her a little bit of juice, apple or grape are great. Good luck.

My dtr struggled with this some, too. My dr. told me to put a spoonful of Karo syrup in her juice or milk, and this seemed to help. Also, veggies and fruit should help...I'm guessing she's getting these with her baby food.

My daughter started getting constipated when she started rice cereal, I had to switch her to oatmeal. Also, if you dilute 1/2 water and 1/2 apple juice(3 or 4 oz) that will help her. Someone also told me to give her 7 up but flat no bubbles and that will help them go. I didn't have to try that however because the apple juice helped. I also tried prunes with apple baby food (jar)and that helped. Since then I give her juice diluted every other day, if she is really bad you might have to do everyday until it gets better.

I had the same problem. My daughter was not getting enough liquids. I had to increase her liquids. I also had to use baby suppositories to get her started. After that I have to make sure she gets a lot of liquids in addition to her food intake.

House remedies to try first:
Dark Karo syrup (1-2tsp) in food/bottle.
Melted butter (1-2tsp)in bottle/food.
Maltsupex - very expensive, and you can only find it at small pharmacies, but works great!
RX-Miralax (Works awesome, inexpensive w/ insurance, non-habit forming). My 16-month has had serious constipation problems since we started solids, and after trying several different remedies and avoiding cereal and white fruits (bananas, pears, apples, etc), the doctor gave us a RX for Miralax and he's still taking it daily and he can eat what he wants!

Good luck!

A.

Hi J.,

I saw your question and I thought I would respond to it really fast. I have a 5 year old daughter now. When she was younger and I was starting her out on baby foods I found that carrots would be the case of her STRAINING to poop. She would get so bad that I would have to take her to the doctor cause it got really bad to where she would have cramping and gas so the doctor would give her meds to help with it. I am curious to know what you are feeding your lil one. Also check out www.webmd.com and put in your question(s) there and it will come back with all sorts of tips and helpful things. I go there alot and it is a GREAT TOOL to use.

Please get back with me.

Thank you
T.

TRY PUTTING 1/2 TEASPOON OF KARO SYRUP INTO YOUR DAUTHTER'S WATER BOTTLE.A SMALL 4oZ WATER BOTTLE. YOU CAN ALSO PURCHASE A CHILDREN'S LAXATIVE CALLED,FLETCHERS CASTORIA AND GIVE HER A 1/2 TEASSPOON OF THIS IF THE KARO SYRUP DOES NOT WORK.

FRAN

Hi J., My daughter had constipation when she was an infant (she's 6 now). I recommend you call your pediatrician's office and ask him/her or one of the nurses if they know of the dark Karo syrup method for baby constipation. I believe the nurse practitioner in our pediatricians office told us to put 1 tablespoon in our daughter's nighttime formula bottle if she was constipated that day. I don't remember the details for sure since it's been 5 years since we did it, so IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT YOU FIND OUT THE SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS (how to give it, how much to give and how often, and even if your doctor would recommend that for your baby at all) BEFORE YOU GIVE ANYTHING LIKE THAT TO YOUR BABY. It worked for my daughter and I've heard other mothers talk about it as well. Good luck! I hope your baby finds relief soon!

My pediatrician used to tell me to put a little Karo syrup in my sons milk. It did the trick every time. Hope this helps. S.

I am a firm believer in diluted apple juice (half water and half apple juice). Every time my daugter, who is know 14 months old, is constipated this is what I give her.

It even helpd when she is given anything with dairy in it (she is lactose intolerant).

My son uis 19 mo now but was one when he started having bouts with constipation. One works for us is 100% pure apple juice watered down (1/2 and 1/2). Depending on how bad it is we throw in a dash and I mean just a dash of prune juice. In less than 30 min. we have a dirty diaper. I asked the Dr. and he said it was fine for us to use this.

My son had the same problem when he was that age. I would feed him prunes(the baby kind in jars) and also a L. apple juice(mixed with water. This always helped him go. If it has been a few days since her last BM my ped. reccomended childrens glyserine suppositories. You can find them in any drug store or wal-mart. This method wasnt pleasent for either of us but fortunately I only had to resort to it once or twice. Usually the prunes worked within 12 hours. Make sure she is getting enough fluids to drink. Good luck. I remember how frustrating this is and how sad it is for our babies. She will get over it.

My daughter suffered with the same problems. She is 3 now, and rarely has any problems. Her Dr put her on Miralax (there is a generic). It is non addictive, and it has no taste. It is not a laxative, it is just a stool softener. It is wonderful. You just put it in their juice and that is it. My daughter had gotten so bad we had to take her to the ER. Now, we only give it to her maybe 1 to 2 times a month, and we were giving it to her everyday. I hope this is helpful to you.

Hi J., sorry to hear of you're little girl's problem. I have a some advice that may sound a bit odd, but I swear it works. Whan my son gets constipated, I massage the muscles around his hip, low back, and glute areas. Then I move his little legs back and forth (like riding a bike). This usually does the trick in 5 to 10 minutes! I also ajust his spine and pelvis with an extremely light touch (I'm a Chiropractor), so if nothing else works, seek out a good pediatric Chiropractor, or one who has experience with kids. If you need help finding one in your area, let me know, I'll be happy to find someone good for you.

Try giving your baby prune, appricot & plum baby food, and avoid bananas unless you mix them with some of the ones listed above.

Hi J.,
I fed my children the little tiny jar of Gerber's prunes I think it is labeled 1st stage, I would give them about 3 or 4 babyspoonfuls with each breakfast meal for their first couple of months of eating and then as they grew I noticed their bodies just got used to functioning but would still give them some a couple times a week. When they became toddlers I introduced regular prunes into their diet and they still love prunes now at 7 and 5 years.
I don't know if you are bottle feeding as well and I happened to have breastfed so I don't have personal experience with this but some of my friend's who used Iron and low iron formulas switched to NO IRON formulas and it helped because apparently iron can bind the bowels especially with little ones. Also that they have added about a T of prune juice right into their formula bottles. Your Pediatrician would probably know more but these did help my friends and myself. Good luck and Take care

prunes! I used to mix it in with my son's cereal in the morning. I bought the stage one prunes and put about a tablespoon or so (a third of the package) of the prunes in his cereal. it really helped!