My 6 week old baby had her formula switched from Enfamil Lipil to Prosobee Lipil last week. The milk based was giving her diarhea so we put her on soy and now she is constipated. Anyone else have this problem? What did you do? Any ideas on how to get her un-constipated?
I switched her formula to Nutramigen and she is no longer colicy or constipated. What the can says is really true. "reduces colic within 48 hours"
Use the tried and true method. For years mothers have put karo syrup in their babies formula to help. Just use a little of the light karo in a bottle or two and that should do the trick.
My pedi recommended Karo syrup and it always worked for my daughter. We added a Teaspoon at a tie until she had a normal bowel movements. You kind of have to play with the mixture until you find something that works, but it always worked well for Isabelle. Good luck!
*****You won't need extra water, Karo syrup, or flaxseed oil...If you prepare your formula as instructed you shouldn't need additional water. I just had my third child 4 weeks ago and my other two had constipation as babies (they are 7 &9 now). First to help your baby go to the bathroom you can use a q-tip with vaseline on the the tip to stimulate the bottom. Do not insert far (just cotton tip) and move gently. Somteimes you don't need to insert, just touching the rectal area will stimulate enough for him/her to start pushing.
To address the constipation and formula concern...my pediatrician recommended Enfamil Gentlease. I bought it and it works like a charm. I tried the Wal-Mart brand because it advertises it's the same as the Enfamil brand at half the cost, it is not. My son was constipated after using that for a few days. I switched back to Enfamil Gentlease brand and he has no constipation at all. Unfortunately it's twice as much as the Wal-Mart brand, but if you have ever dealt with a constipated baby you will pay anything to get it to go away. I used the Isomil soy with my other two kids and they were both constipated. I am very thankful for this new formula so I don't have to deal with it anymore. Having a constipated baby is exhausting!!!
I've heard a teaspoon of brown sugar w/water which i have never tried on my son but the little boy that I used to watch would drink that per his mom and his pedi and it worked.
I agree on the thermometer thing, I don't really like the idea of a q-tip.
I have done the thermometer and it really works just be careful and move it around a little bit to stimulate and It REALLY works. Me and the mother of a 2 wk old baby girl did it this past wkend and she went within seconds.
I hope this helps.
M.
when i switched from breastmilk to formula my children were constipated...i always use prune juice, i water it down 1/2 & 1/2, it doesnt take a lot, even 1-2 ounces should help if she is only midly constipated...if it doesnt help maybe ask your dr.
(also my friend swears by dried fennel, it is a vegetable & natural laxative, she says she just puts a little in with her formula, you can find it in the health foods store)
hope this helps!
Exactly the same thing happened to me. Soy did the exact opposite of what it was supposed to do. It seemed my son had more gas and a much harder time with his movements when we switched. I tried Gentlease Lipil after that...has less lactose but is still milk based, not soy. I got a lot of spit up with that but it helped with the constipation. I then switched to Lactofree Lipil and that was the winner. Every baby is different so you just have to watch and see what works. Question though...are you giving her water? Breastfed babies don't usually need water but formula fed babies do or they will get constipated. Try a couple of ounces of water. Also, Karo syrup works great but dont use too much! Good Luck
I had the same problem with my youngest. We put a little Karo syrup in her bottle, it really helped.
GOod Luck!
this happened to my youngest son, then he started spiting up alot. we found out he need a special formula because he has gerd, its called alimentum. if thats not the case, then as gross as it sounds, the ped told me that if you were to get a rectal thermometer to just kinda take the babys temp. when they are that little stimuli to that area makes them poop. hope that helps.
We had the same problem. Soy is a naturally constipating food so it is to be expected. My doctor has us give our daughter 1 tablespoon of dark Karo syrup diluted in 2 oz of water every day. We have been doing this since she was 3 mo old. The doctor said we may have to do this until she can eat solids with more fiber (prunes, apples, pears, oatmeal cereal, etc.) We found out our daughter had a milk allergy and that is when we switched to soy. She also has acid reflux. The soy didn't help with that, but she is now on 3 meds for that as well.
Add a teaspoon of ground flax seeds to his bottle
We switched to a lactofree formula instead of the soy and have had no issues.
Another way that I learned from my pedi is that you can insert a Q-tip (just the part that is covered in cotton) and that will stimulate them to poop. I was doing the thermometer with the probe cover, but Q-tips are easier to work with...good luck!
Try Adult prune juice...We use Sunsweet because it is all natural and comes in small cans. I add water to it and give it to her. Works great! Save for your 6 week old baby.
Otherwise ask your doctor. Right now she is on an over the counter laxitive MiraLax (ask the pharmasist for it...it is behind the counter) in which I only give half of the adult dosage and mix with 4 oz of juice. The doctor recomended this product for her to use for a month....NOTE: MY BABY IS 14 MONTHS. I would ask the doctor FIRST!!!!
I had similar problems with my son. We put him on Prosobee and he became constipated and had anal fissures from straining so hard to have a bowel movement. My dr. first suggested supplementing water in a bottle between feedings. When this didn't remedy the problem, he said pear juice diluted 1 to 1 with water though he wasn't too crazy about giving juice to my son at 8 weeks. Anyway, the juice remedied our problem. He's now 9 months old and we have to continue to give him juice at meal time to keep him regular.
I used regular prune juice in the bottle with formula. Worked great until things got moving again. Also take note, the longer they are constipated the longer it will take things to start working normal again. So keep up the prune juice once a day until she has been normal for awhile.
C.
I always used diluted baby apple juice with my baby and it worked like a champ. I didn't have the heart to put anything in his bottom and hear him cry because it was hurting him. Good Luck I feel for you and your baby.
