Need Advice on Infant Constipation

My doctor always told me to give my baby water when he was constipated and it helped a lot. Gas drops also work well also

For infant constipation, my pediatrician told us to give my son a tablesppon of DARK Kayro corn syrup in his formula. It worked great!! It MUST be the dark colored syrup tho.

Have you traveled recently? When traveling, my children often got constipated, or from new foods. I am not a doctor, but you could call your local pharmacist (my mom is one) and ask them for advice on some infant safe products. I took my daughter once for the same problem and was given some infant lacatives and they solved the problem. The infant ones were gentle for her. Check with your local pharmacist and/or doctor.

T.

Hi,

It could be he is dehydrated - if he is on formula - make sure there's not too much formula and enough water - For my daughter Maya, i was giving her a bottle with water, regularly, so she would stay hydrated (specially while being out and after coming back from a walk) - but again - the best is to see with his doc, what he recommends!

Good luck! :)!

Nat:)

When my 2 kids were that old I would add about a teaspoon of DARK Karo syrup to their bottles and that would help regulate them. It acts as a laxative but safer for them.

You should be able to push with your fingers on the outside of his rectum and tell....if he is, it will feel hard. Or, if you find that he is straining to use the bathroom, but nothing coming out.

One fix would be to feed him some Prunes baby food or prune juice. It seems to usually do the trick. If not, the make baby suppositories that you can buy at any Walgreen's.

You should call your pediatrician and ask to speak to the nurse. They will ask you when the last movement was and then advise you on home rememdy or over the counter remedy. The nurses are usually very good with new mothers and very patient.

Some babies go up to 6 days w/o having a bowel movement. If he is gassy and fussy try giving him prunes w/his cereal or VERY watered down prune juice if it continues I would call the doctor.

If you see him struggling to pass a movement, and notice that it's hard as a rock, then he's probably constipated. Or it could be that he hasn't had a movement in a day or so. Apple juice works like a charm. Make a 4 ounce bottle - 1 oz. juice and 3 oz. of water. If that doesn't work... add more juice. Sometimes it needs a little help. And it sounds gross, but you can put a thermometer about 1/4" - 1/2" in his bottom. It may help kick start him.

You can usually tell if he hasn't had a good BM in a day or so. Also, is he cranky? Feel his tummy. If it feels hard that's another indication. The remedy was never one that I really loved to do but it works great. You can get sepositories from any drug store. The pharmacy can direct you to the right ones to use. They are completely safe and VERY effective. Another route that works is Caro syrup. It's a syrup used in baking. It's sweet so baby will drink t up. I would put about a teaspoo ( or 1/2 teaspoon) in some warm formula and let him dxcrink it down. That will loosen him up as well.

If you need more descriptive instruction, please feel free to email me. It's nice having a network of mom's who have already "been there and done that" to help you through stuff like this! :-) Good luck. Hope your little Goo feels better.

J.

Sorry the position you're in, hopefully, all will go there well.

F., I have 2 boys 22 mo. & 3yr. My youngest was constipated alot in his 1st months. I breastfed and really had to watch my diet and cut back on dairy. The dr also recommended an "old school" remedy of castor oil - drops in his milk - Beware - you only need a tiny tiny bit. You should call your pediatrician to check 1st, but babies can go 2 days w/o poops. Congrats on your new addition to your new family!!

F.,
If it seems that your little one is either really having to strain to go to the bathroom or if he isn't going regularly. This depends on if you are breast feeding or bottle feeding as to how often it will be really. Breast fed babies go more often. Also, many babies start eating jar baby food around 4 months and this will thicken things up so to say. There are two things I would suggest trying that should help and wouldn't hurt anyway. First, try giving him some plain water in between bottles (in his bottle). Just 1/2 an ounce or so to start with and that should help make it easier for him to go to the bathroom. If that doesn't do it you can give him just 1/2 an ounce of Gerber juice. Apple or white grape juice are good ones to start with they aren't too strong. Don't give him regular adult juice for a while though because it will need to be diluted heavily to be like the Gerber! Most doctors say wait until about 6 months for the juice but if the baby is constipated they will usually tell you to go ahead a little earlier! I hope this helps. If you have any questions feel free to email me! I'm not an expert just a mommy who likes to help when I can! S.

My daughter had the same problem! Try Caro Syrup in his water bottle/milk bottle! It's in the grocery store next to the syrup! Start with a table spoon and see if it loosens, if not give a little more! Caro Syrup can not hurt the baby, but will help him enjoy water a lot more!!!!

Hi F.,

Is your son breastfed? I know that when my daughter was about that age, sometimes she only pooped once or twice a week. I was concerned, but learned that babies who are breastfed don't need to go as often as their bodies use the breastmilk very efficiently.

What signs make you think he is constipated?

J.

If you see that your son is straining and crying when trying to do #2 then he very well may be constipated. When both of my daughters were babies they had the same problem. Get some baby prune juice add half a bottle of the prune juice to some water and let him drink it. This should loosen up his bowels and help. If not, you should contact your pediatrician to possibly get some suppositories.