Bowel Movements

When I was breast feeding and my daughter, who is now 4 1/2 had that problem, my Dr. told ME to eat a bowl of raisin bran for breakfast, and it helped!!

You may try adding applejuice to her bottle if you pump or add it to some cereal for the time when she eats food. Also you can try Karo syrup (white) to her bottle too. The syrup worked for my sister's son and I try to give my daughter apple juice ever so often and it seems to work. Good luck!

also try working her legs and pushing them towards her belly, this may help her "work it out" by helping push the gas if she has any.

Try giving her the #1 Prunes. My son had like 4 to 5 sm to med BM's the next day. And they are yummy sweet, he likes them.

when my son was that age we too started giving him solid and we encountered the same problem. he went 5 days without a bowel movement, i was freaking out but his doctor said it's perfectly normal. she said i can delute plum juice half and half with water and give him 4 oz a day if i wanted to, she said the reason for no bowel movements was that at that age sometimes their little bodies absorbe all of whats going into it so there's not "waiste" to dispose of and sure enough he had a bowel movement without any problems on the 5th day. But i also want to add i did give him the juice because i was worried sick about him, he usually had at least 1 bowel movement a day!! so 5 days seemed like an eternity, anyway, i hope this helps ease your mind a little, good luck!!

Hi S....

Sometimes solids can create problems like this... I have heard that using just a sliver of soap... or even a q-tip with a little vaseline... and sticking it where the sun dont shine. I have also been told that if I were to ever use the q-tip remedy... to stand back...

Good Luck, let me know if this actually works... like I said, these are things I have only heard.

My daughter started having what seemed to be constipation but accourding the on call nurse at about 4-6 months their BM's get harder due to solids and just their age. It will even out in a few weeks or month or so , just give it time. I used suppositories(?) every once in a while too b/c she would REALLY struggle and strain at times. I would let her work her magic but when I saw it was bothering her then I would intervine like I said. She would get really fussy too and I knoe that it was time to help. Just be a little patient and let it run it's corse. Hope this helps. :-)

S.,

My mom gave me this tip and it worked with all five of mine, believe it or not a teaspoon of kayro syrup in an 8 oz bottle, I know your not using a bottle but you might try it with pumped breast milk, will loosen your babies bowels.

You can also try applesause and prunes if you are feeding baby food, I would be careful not to over load on the baby food it can be powerful stuff.

Good luck,

K.

All three of my kids had difficult bm's when moving to food from breast milk. Has the food in the evening helped? If not, I would stick to breast milk only if bm's are easy that way. Evenings can be fussy time periods anyway, maybe she is just tired or over-tired and comforting herself with frequent feedings in the evenings. Just an idea. My doc was not big on cereal as she considered it just a filler. If you look at the cereal box - it likely says 0grams or less than 1 gram of fiber anyway - so it isn't helping with bm's. I would just do fruit - has fiber and nutritional value if you must give her food. If you feel strongly about cereal, you might use prune juice or another juice of choice to make it (instead of water or formula or breastmilk) and you may also be able to get one with fiber in it from a health food store in your area. If you decide to introduce a bottle (4 months is a pretty safe time to do that), you can give watered down juice. I hope some of these ideas help you. S.

Hello S.,
Oh yes indeed the joy of bowels and constispation...This worked on my son who is now 19...and my granddaughter who is almost 7 months.
Take your little one and lay her on her back. Gently kneed her tummy with the knuckle of your hands. You then take your hands (flatened) one on top of the other. You work your hands counter clockwise. Then you take her little legs and move them like she is riding a bike. There is actually a song that you can sing with that not sure how it goes.

Warm Towels on the tummy this also helps with the belly aches.
I found that if I lifted my granddaugthers lets up a little this helped her go. The doctor suggested the tip of a thomieter with a little vaseline or other jell on it. Barelsy insert into the rectal area. This helped as well.
Something that also helped the grandbaby is sitting in warm water.
Anthing that was done with our grandaughter was mentioned to her Doctor.

Hi S.

I had similar concerns when my son was young and found a lot of help about feeding and breastfeeding on the www.askdrsears.com sight - it was so helpful on sooo many topics!!!

Try this page
http://www.askdrsears.com/faq/ci2.asp

You do not mention how long she has gone between bm's. Thay can go for many days without a bm - But then comes the Big Blow Out!! :)

My personal experience showed best results when I waited until later for food progressions. Breast milk is really enough at that age, although I understand you probably get tired. Do you work outside the home?? Have you breastfed all 3??

Would love to chat more if I can be of any help - A.

just my 2 cents but its normal for them to go to 7-10 days between bm, and i bf as well and started cereal at 11 weeks- found that rice cereal made it worse but once we switched to oatmeal (and pretty much stayed on it the whole year) things were fine! if shes not in pain it isnt really constipation(so im told) if she just isnt going its ok! the karo didnt do anything for us but pear juice did!

Here is the advice that I have for you:

When my daughter was a baby, many years ago, she had constipation problems also. I am sure that there are many medications out there to resolve this. But what we did was take a thermometer as if you were going to take the baby's temperature rectally. I never really had to stick it in too far just to get her started. That usually worked. Sometimes I would have to take her diaper off and push her legs back at the knees to help "open" her up also.

You stated your still breast-feeding and have never given your daughter a bottle. I'm not sure how this would work but you could try. When my daughter was that age, we had to put Karo syrup in her bottles. Light, not the Dark. Anyway since your breast-feeding perhaps you could try adding a little to her cereal. If she's taking Rice cereal the least it would do is sweeten it up a little. Check with your pediatrican on how much to add. The constipation is typical when you first start with solids. She should straighten herself out once her system gets acclaimated.

I had this same problem with my daughter who is now 16 months. I fed her prunes every once in a while, and stayed away from bananas when she was having a bout with constipation. Also, I put about 1 tablespoon of dark corn syrup in her bottle every day. I know some people say to use the light syrup, but the dark always worked the best for her...besides, that is what my doc. told me to use. If I forgot to put it in her bottle just one day, she was constipated almost immediately! If you don't want to give her a bottle yet, just mix the syrup in with the solids or some rice cereal. She will LOVE it! (at least mine did) Good Luck!

HI S., Well, of course breastfeeding would be best, but if you need to supplement when you fix the cereal, put just a little light corn syrup, it worked for all 3 of mine.

Here is what I have found about both diarrhea and constipation and a website that explains what causes constipation in small children and why you see it more in formula fed babies than breastfed babies.

It also explains in great, no nonsense terms, why breastfed babies sometimes skip having BM's and what is normal and why.

It's really one of the best articles on the subject and one that explains things in the most thorough manner, I have emailed the link to many friends around the country who have had similar problems.

For Constipation:

any juice or baby food that starts with P. Prunes, pears, peach, etc. and apricot juice or fruit will cause a bowel movement quickly. Gerber has stage one prunes, you could mix them into cereal or use the juice form. And any form of pear (juice or fruit) gave results within an hour.

www.drhull.com/EncyMaster/C/constipation_infant.html

For Diarrhea:

Plenty of fluids and the B.R.A.T diet to manage diarrhea. B.R.A.T. is an acronym, which stands for:

Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast

These foods work well for controlling diarrhea because they are low in fiber and digestive residue.

Some doctors now recommend the C.R.A.M. diet (cereal, rice, milk) because the milk provides fat and protein (lacking in the B.R.A.T. diet) and the C.R.A.M. foods ease the diarrhea faster.

well....if she doesnt take a bottle, it will be harder...but depending on which solid she is eating.....if it is cereal, try mixing it with pear or prune juice instead of milk or water. Or you could try feeding her just a little bit of baby food sweet potatoes with her other solid. Otherwise, a little bit of dark karo syrup mixed in with her solid food might do the trick.

I was going to ask this same question. My name is S. too. Very funny. Anyhoo, I have a four month old baby girl named Mia Grace. We just started her on rice cereal on Sunday and her bm yesterday was solid ball. My dad watches her during the day so I'll see what he says tonight about her bm's today. I never breastfed. She gets formula and we have never had a problem with her bm's before. I know it should be more solid with real food but I'm just keeping an eye on it right now. I'd like to hear some of the safe remedies, so when you complile your list could you post it? Thanks.

Karo Syrup (dark) works great! I was reluctant when family told me this on my first child. So I asked the doctor and he said it actually does help. Sometimes our moms do know a little something!!

Good luck!!!

M. H.

I have used Karo syrup for my son. It is a natural stool softener and can be put into her 4pm solid feeding. Usually a teaspoon will do the trick.
Hope this helps,
C.

Someone has probably said this already, but...all 3 of my kids did the exact same thing at 4 months. My DR. suggested a "massage" of the "area" with a little vaseline. If that doesn't work or is too weird for you, (it was for me) she also suggested glycerin suppositories. They work wonders, and they each only needed it maybe once a day for 3 days...then they were right back on track!

Hi S.!

I had constipation issues with Bella for a few months starting at around 1 month old. My father, who is a D.O. and family practitioner, suggested that I use infant suppositories, and they worked wonderfully. He did give me a warning that I feel MUST be passed on to you, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES USE A BOTTLE ENIMA, or an enima of any kind. Babies rectal tissue is paper thin, and can tear extremely easily, and if torn, can and will lead to life threating toxicity and infections. If the suppositories don't work, take her to your ped. They can administer an enima if needed, but doing it yourself could potential turn very badly.
When i gave Bebe the suppository the first time, i waited around 3 hours, and had no movement. I then cut one in half, and gave her another half. Around 2 hours later, she went, (ALOT!! HA HA) and then we continued with about a suppository every 2 days until she was eventually able to go on her own. I even took her to the ped to see if she had a "Rectal Ledge" which is a polyp that obstructs the anus, and can be removed. She didn't. Apparently she just needed help for a few weeks. Just make sure to lubricate the tip of the suppository before inserting, and be slow and gentle. She's not going to like it, but i am certain that she enjoys the pain of constipation alot less! Hopefully all will work out, but if the problem persists for more than a week, you might want ot take her to the ped.

Good Luck, hope this helps!
T.

When my daughter started haveing BM problems my doctor suggested that we massage her stomach when she is straning and that we put vasoline on a q-tip and gently move it in circles in her anus. I know that this sounds horrible but it really worked for my daughter. Good Luck.

I have a 16 month old with similar problems. I added 1/2 tsp Caro Syrup to 2 TBS of cereal and it worked for a while. Another idea that worked is prunes or prune juice added to cereal.

If she's becoming constipated, she's not ready for the solids that are being introduced. Keep up the breastfeeding...the nightwaking is it's own issue, I'm afraid, and introducing solids won't be a long-term solution...

Good luck,
G.

The rice cereal will cause constipation.

I agree with Candy. I've breastfed two babies and they both started not having BMs around this age but for once a week or so. One time my youngest went two weeks and I was freaking out! I assume by adding solids to your little girls diet you just mean cereal? She is young to be starting on solids, and I certainly wouldn't give her anything beyond very watered down cereal at 4 mo. of age. If you are still concerned, or she seems in discomfort, check with your pediatrician. Good luck!

Firstly, she's really a little young to be on solids. La Leche League International recommends that for at least the middle of the first year that a baby be breastfed exclusively. Your adding solids to her sensitive digestive system is probably the culprit for her constipation issues. If need be, try giving her some watered down prune juice in a sippy cup to help it along but cut out solids for a while and go back to breastfeeding often...this alone should help regulate her back to regular bowels. Also, it is not uncommon for breastfed babies to only produce a bowel movement every 7-10 days because of the fact that breastmilk is very nutritious and is mostly used in the body so very little of it goes to waste. Hope this helps! :)