Due to getting sick and having to take some prescriptions, I had to suddenly stop breastfeeding. My baby is 6 months old. Now after two days of no breast milk, he seems to be struggling to have a bowel movement. He grunts and cries until he is able to pass the bowel. I've read in my book to be sure he is getting enough solids and liquids, which I think he is. According to the book, I should be able to tell if he is constipated if the feces are small, hard pellet sized...that is not the case. So I'm not sure if his system is just adjusting to the change in diet or what but it is breaking my heart to see him in such discomfort. Anyone have any tips or advice or at least tell me it's normal so I can stop freaking out?
My son did the same thing when I weaned him to formula. His Dr. said give him the DARK karo syrup in his bottles till he had a normal bowel. He was drinking 4 oz. so we put 2 tsp. in it. It helped so much! Goodluck! I know its hard to see them go through it.
D.,
It is normal that the baby is just getting adjusted to the formula. Formula is harder to digest than breastmilk and alot of babies don't stool for up to 4-5 days with formula. If he is still pooping and it is soft then he isn't technically constipated. Also, since he's 6months and you're giving him baby food that could also be affecting his stools. I know its miserable to watch, i've been going through the same thing with my son(7months). Why don't you try baby food prunes? If he's truly not pooping then I would try Little Tummies laxative drops. We've have great luck with that. You can also try glycerin suppositories-pediatric size and just do half. Are you off of the meds? you could probably start nursing again if its possible. if not, good start formula was recommended to me by a pediatric dietician because it is the easiet formula out there to digest. Good luck to you!!
He could be having stomach cramps from the formula. I know that My first two kids had problems digesting Similac and Enfamil. I switched them to Carnation Good Start and their cramping stopped immediately. My 3rd child, I immediatly put him on Carnation from the get go and he never had a problem. Carnation Good Start has the milk proteins broken down a bit more than Similac and Enfamil and its easier on the stomach. And as a bonus, its less expensive than the others. you might try switching his formula and see if that helps any. It worked for my kids.
my pedi told me to use karo syrup. my little girl did not poop for like 3 days, so she said 2 tsp in 2 oz of formula. it worked instantly!
We just went through a similar situation. The Gastro specialist and our pediatrician said that it will take a while for his system to adjust. It is not abnormal for formula fed babies to go up to a week without pooping. For us, this was a HUGE departure as our little guy pooped several times a day. If the poop is soft he is ok! Our little guy strains really hard and passes a lot of gas before going. He only goes every 3-4 days now. The Gastro specialist encouraged us to give him prune juice. Not apple prune of some combo but just prune juice. This has helped! I know it is a big transition but give him time to adjust and see what his new normal will be. Congrats on breastfeeding so long!
:( poor little guy!
Get the Little Tummies drops for gas!!! My daughter takes these quite often and they help a lot. I actually just use apple juice mixed with water, half and half, to get her to have a BM.
GL!
baby pears also has lots of fiber and help move his bowels. you can even add it to the formula. the advantage of pears is that it doesn't give the bellyache prunes give. Maybe it's not the right formula for your baby. Good luck. ~C~
I don't he is constipated because he is not having hard stools. His body is just getting use to the formula. Make sure to give him plenty of pea, pear, and prunes if you are worried about constipation. My doctor told me that the P foods were the best for that problem. I stopped breastfeeing my son at 6 months and used Nestle Good Start/Natural Cultures he did fine it so you might switch brands if you are using something different.
We went throught the same thing with both of our kids. With the first kid, we added dark KARO syrup into every bottle that he took until he was off formula. That helped with him.
With our daughter, the KARO didn't do too much. She was and still has some issues. What we do with her is, put MIRALAX in her bottles. This is wonderful becasue you can control the consistancy of the bowel movement. Start with about 1/2-1tsp in maybe 2 bottles for a couple of days tp see how that works. If it's better, you can lessen or stop the miralax. If not stopped, add it to more of the bottles.
This has worked wonders for our daughter.
You poor things. He could very well be adjusting and/or constipated. Diluted fruit (prune or apple) juice helped my son. The added iron in formula and some cereals can do that. Also, not sure how long you have to lay off bfing, but chances are you could back if you want to.
you can also try a teaspoon of dark karo syrup twice a day. my 2 month old was grunting and straining very loudly. I gave her 1/2 teaspoon and she settled down. by that night, it all came out!
