Constipation - Irving,TX

maybe he is drinking too much formula OR maybe he is allergic to it. is it milk based? or soy? my daughter sometimes would get constipated when i would give her formula and her ped told me to reduce the amount she was getting... my ped knows a lot about food allergies and such... maybe you want to visit with her? Healthy Kids Pediatrics.com Dr. Deborah Baine. good luck.

My pediatrician told me to put a tablespoon of DARK Karo syrup in one bottle a day. It took a couple of days to kick in but worked great once it did. I continued to put it in one bottle a day for a few months to keep my daughter regular.

I ran into the EXACT same problem with my young son around the same age. He was MISERABLE and I felt so bad for him. My doctor suggested using the rectal thermometer with some vaseline. It sounds awful, but it works pretty instantly! We just laid an old towel under him (well, I did it while my husband stood at the bottom of the stairs cheering me on-MEN!) and just very gently inserted it and kinda made little circles. Let me just tell you the dam BROKE! And he was so relieved afterwards. I formula and breastfed, so I don't know WHAT caused it. I do know that once we changed formulas (from Lipil to Lacto Free Lipil) we didn't have the poopy/gas problems anymore. I had several friends that said that the Lipil was just a little too hard to digest for their kids. Oh, and doing juice didn't help us either! Just be sure to intro food really slowly and expect that you may have a few issues since it's just another thing that their body has to get used to (we started with pears and that was a complete nightmare!).

Twins are great; I know from experience. Sorry your little boy is so backed up. One thing I do with my lil' guys is massage their tummy. If you know where your large intestine is, this is what you are going to massage. Lie the baby down and gently press in tiny circular motions up baby's right side then slowly move across to the left side and slowly move down the left side and stop when you get close to baby's pelvic bone region. Do this over and over for about 1 or 2 minutes. The results won't be immediate but give it 30 minutes to an hour. I did this when my babies would have problems and it worked like a charm. I hope this method works for you. Also, IF your baby won't eat the fruit baby food mix it w/ rice cereal; it might help.

My son is 5 months old and he had the same problem. He is too little for any food but baby cereal. Also carrots and apples can be constipating for babies. Give him some purified water and hold off the food until he poops. Water is the main thing. If we don't have enough water in our system we get stopped up and dehydrated. Even babies need water. Most doctors would tell you otherwise, but our bodies are 80% water. hope this helps. Oh half his body weight in ounces is how much he needs. So if he weighs 12 lbs. he needs 6 oz of water for the day, not all at once.

What formula is he on?Has he always been constipated?It sounds like he might need to change formulas.IF he is only 4 months he is actually a little young to be starting jarred foods-he really should just be starting cereal-BUT rice will make him more constipated so start with oatmeal.If you are giving him rice cereal,stop it b/c that could be the issue.How much formula does he take he day,etc?Did he have a bowel movement in the first 24 hours of life?These are all important issues that need to be addressed.Also, defintely dont have him on soy formula b/c that is notorious to cause constipation.
Please let me know how I can help you further.
J.

Use baby suppositories. They work very quickly and effectively. Just make sure to put a diaper under to catch...it can be very messy esp. if he has nto gone for a long time. You don't want them to get so backed up that you need to use suppositories all the time....but occasional use is fine. I am surprised your doc gave you meds instead of goign this route first for a 4 month old. I had a very constipaiton prone baby and we used suppositories to help....I did nto start him on any solids until 6 months....just formula. sometimes I mixed karo syrup with formula but I never believed it helped much. It does resolve itself so take heart. This is a very common problem with formula babies. I also think my son just didn;t have very strong pooping muscles...sorry to sound gross! but he would really struggle and then at 5 months it resolved itself. his diet had not changed much at all.

S.,

Constipation is a symptom of digestive distress. Four month old babies don't need solid food or magic potions. They need food they can digest. Have you considered his formula is not consistent with his body? Did your doctor even mention the possibility of switching formulas and trying something new?

The difficulty here is that all formula is difficult to digest. However, some may be less irritating than others. Also, consitpation is not likely the only symptom of his digestive distress. It can result in whole body dysfunction and chronic illness if the body's digestion is impaired. Better to fix the problem (bad food) than a single isolated symptom (consitpation).

Good luck!

Hi S., I would recommend contacting your doctor and asking about Miralax. Our daughter was so constipated as a baby that when she tried to go I was crying with her because it was so painful. When she finally would pass anything it was hard as a rock. We were concerned that she was impacted and that will stop anything from coming out. The doctor put her on Miralax which is a powder that you can add to their milk. This is a gentler way to add water to the stool. Here's what I copied about the med:

Miralax (polyethylene glycolis) is an osmotic laxative, which means that it helps to produce a bowel movement by drawing more water to waste matter in the colon.

What symptoms does it treat?
Miralax treats symptoms of constipation.

How is it taken?
Miralax comes in the form of a white powder, which is dissolved in water or another drink and then swallowed.

And the nice thing is that it's now avaiable over-the-counter. My daughter is 5 years old and doing great - good luck with your son!

My daughter who is now 4 had the same problem. I breast fed and supplemented with formula(tried them all).
At that young age there was nothing to do other than what you are doing.
When she was about a year old I was able to add a powder fiber product found at the grocery store to her juice etc. That finally made a huge difference. But every child is different.
For now I would try prune puree daily and try making your own babyfood. Dont use jarred or pre-prepared because it loses its fiber which is what you need more of.
Try pureeing apples with skin and maybe add a prune or 2.
Use food processor or blender and try to use totally raw food. Thin with a bit of prune juice or water as needed. Serve one to 3 spoonfulls a day(not too much)Store leftovers frozen in an ice cube try for easy use.
Hang in there...this is a common problem and will get alot easier when he is older.

When my daughter was a baby she had the same problem. The prune and pear juices did not help her at all. A nurse recommended i put a tablespoon of vegetable or olive oil in her formula. I worked like a charm. When she began potty training we switched to Miralax.

I have 2 month old twin boys as well. One of them has had a problem with constipation. The doctor recommended doing a brown sugar mixture. 1/2 tbsp of brown sugar to an ounce of water. He said it works like a charm. All I have to do is mix it up to give my son and he has a BM. Good luck and congrats on your double blessing.

It seems to me that the baby is on solid foods a little early------that may be more the problem than anything else. I do not know the new philosophies that doctors are touting now--but when my children were babies--no solid food until they were 3-4 months old and then only start with cereal---introduce fruits at 5-6 months (one at a time) and then try veggies---another issue may be iron in the milk---iron constipates many babies (and adults for that matter)--you may want to try someting like goat's milk also---very nourishing and very easy on the digestive system! glycerin suppositories do help--just be extrememly gentle when using.

Me--Mom of 2--Nana of 3

You might try diluted cucumber or plum juice; both work great for the entire family.

Have you ever heard about a product called Juice Plus+? It is fruits and vegetables in a capsule (or gummie for children). It has fiber as well as micronutrients from fruits and vegies. If you want more information, please contact me as I am a distributor and our family has been on Juice Plus+ for 10 years.
M.
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SINGLE mom of twins! You poor thing! I have twins that just turned 3! It gets better & easier. I just solved my daughter's constipation problem after 3 LONG years. Let this be a lesson for you. I found out my daughter was allergic to milk! We did use a soy based formula when she was little due to the gas/constipation. I did breast feed & then whole milk..........she would go 10 days several times w/o a bowel movement. When they are so little, my pediatrian said, "it's not how often they go but the consistency when they go".

This was a VERY big family affair everyday. We had skid marks in the diaper for days. When we potty trained at 2.5 yrs., it was a nightmare b/c of all the false alarms. She may try to go for days & then when it does come, she doesn't know it & went in her pants.

Three weeks ago we took her off of milk. It took 1 week to move the black tar, a second week to get a bowel movement & she's gone in the potty ever since.

I started reading about milk intolerance on line. Sure enough, her tummy doesn't break down the casein (sp). We are a very happy family now.

Thank God we didn't have to do surgery or any invasive procedure. YES, the Karo syrup, the brown sugar, the mineral oil, etc. all works for a while. We used the infant suppositories several times over the years. We even did Miralax for a year but it didn't work very well.

Best of luck! J.

I know this sounds crude, although I am a 35 yr old mom of four beautiful young children myself, and I had the same problem with one of my girls. I tried everything like you did, until the doctor finally told me to use a rectal thermometor to stimulate the bowel. Put some vasoline on the thermometor and gently ease around the rectal area in a circular motion about 1/4 inch deep, not deep at all, and it will stimulate the bowel to move, and he will void. I usually put her on her tummy as it seemed to be more comfortable for her at the time. When my doctor told me that all I could think is OMG that sounds horrible, but it was not, and it relieved her, and she was so much more pleasent after because she wasn't in pain.

I hope this helps. If you have any questions about this, please call your doctor first, but think about it, babies have had their temp checked there forever.

A.

I have had similar issues with all three of my kids. You've had some very good advice - although I haven't read it all. I'll tell you what has woked for me.
Baby food prunes - the juice didn't work, but the actual food did. I fed my 4 mo old son prunes that morning and had a big mess that night. :)
Miralax has helped my older children, but I am not sure about the dose on a baby that young, you would have to ask a pediatrician.
Glycerine Suppositories - I used on my daughter when she was very little, they work pretty well. Found at Walgreens.
Digestive Enzymes - can be found at healthfood stores, Whole Foods, Sprouts. You can get childrens, cut them in half, crush and mix with water to give to your baby. It definitely will not hurt him and will help in digesting the lactose from milk, and other things he may have a hard time with digesting.
I want to reinforce that you should look into changing the formula. Soy may not be a good alternative if he is also sensitive to soy. Nestle Good Start has worked well for my chronically constipated kids - I would bf and supplement when necessary with that. Lipils are hard to digest, and it could be milk (lactose) that is causing the problem too. A lot of peds have samples or coupons for samples that you can ask for to be able to try different formulas without buying a lot of everything.
Stay away from rice cereal when the time comes. That will stop him up for sure. Start with oatmeal or barley instead.
HTH - good luck!
L.
PS - www.sharonkrahn.com She can help with digestive problems in infants. In fact, she can pinpoint exactly what it is that is causing the problem. She also carries a very good children's enzyme.