Something Isn't Right...

My daughter was very constipated as a baby and we used a mix of different formulas, but we were told by the family dr. to use karo syrup, the clear kind, and that really seemed to work for her. You might try putting that in her bottle. We went through A LOT of karo syrup in 12 months! I hope this helps a little. If this doesn't take care of it, you might try suppositories. Those worked for us too! Good luck and let me know what ends up working for you!

J.

Are you able to breastfeed her?This will help her poop she may go more often and not as painful,just an option if you choose or can.

When my son was born and we had the same problem, we were told to use Kayro syrup in his formula, this seemed to work wonders.

My mom is a firm believer in giving babies water,sterilized of course, with my first child she boiled water, cooled it and put it in a bottle. I know baby water is also sold at most grocery stores too. The pediatrician told me when my 3rd child was born that babies do not need water (I've always breastfed, so mine probably didn't) but because formula is harder to digest, water may be something you may want to try...just a little bit between feedings. I hope your baby starts feeling better soon!
V.

Since she is in pain, you need to let your doctor know. That doesn't seem right. Not pooping everyday is probably ok, but not the pain. She should not suffer until next Tuesday! Also, you can call the free nurseline at Children's Hospital 314-454-KIDS. They've helped me through many situations!

Hey B., my friend was going through this exact same thing. Her daughter, born in Nov. of 2007, would go a whole week to ten days without pooping. She was like your daughter and VERY miserable. At first the doctor's weren't that worried about like your's seems to be ( or not be). Finally though, I don't know if it was doctor's order or just something they started doing, but they put Caro Syrup in every one of her bottles and it has done the trick. She is now almost 7 months old and poops if not once a day every other day. I know they still put Caro Syrup in her bottles, but I don't know if they have even tried to stop doing it to see if she will poop regularly by herself.
Also I went through something very similar with my now five month old, but different to. I nursed my daughter and she wasn't getting enough to eat. The doctor said that she wasn't getting enough nutrients to get rid of ( or poop) any extra. I know you mentioned formula, but maybe she isn't getting enough to eat? Hope these suggestions help, and good luck with the little one!!!

Good Morning B., it may sound strange but when our eldest was tiny like that we went to see hubby's grandparents, he was so constipated. Hubby's grma gave him a baby oil enema and believe it or not Boy he pooped big time. 7 diapers full waiting for me when we returned from a business meeting for hubby's job. I don't think it would take much for little Elliott. Grma used a baby nose sucker ;)

We give our 7mo old gr son water with a tad bit of white karo syrup when he is constipated. It helps. Dr. recommended Apple juice but it blisters his little hinny. So we have use pear juice as it is thicker and not as acidic.

God Bless you and your new little Elliott
K.

I see that Karo syrup was already mentioned. My first 2 babies had problems with constipation. The karo syrup worked ok- but molasses worked wonders for us! The other thing you can get is an over the counter baby laxative called 'little tummies'. We used it with our 3rd baby and she's now almost 3 and we still have to use it sometimes- just lessen the dose that you give her. Just put a couple of drops in only one bottle a day. It's non habit forming and really helps them be able to poop. (You can use the molasses and the little tummies drops together). Also you can try laying her on her belly across your lap and VERY gently bouncing your legs and patting her back.

Hi B.,
My daughter, who is now 3, went through what sounds like something very similar. She was extremely constipated as a baby and still is to some degree today. We had to give her a special kind of formula, it wasn't soy, but it was one of the enfimil varieties. It's just been too long for me to recall which one it was right now. But the thing that really helped her finally was putting dark karo syrup in her bottle daily. We finally tried that after the Dr had done several painful tests trying to figure out why she was so constipated and it helped tremendously. Much better than the various laxitive, etc. the Dr had put her on. I'm not sure at what age it's safe to try it. But you might ask you Dr about it. I was concerned about the sugar in the syrup but it didn't ever seem to have any ill affects. She didn't gain a lot of weight and continued to sleep good too and I liked the idea better than her getting addicted to a laxitive. Also, after reading other responses, it reminded me, we used the fleet suppositories as well when she was an infant and they helped a lot. What I learned with those was to hold her little cheeks together after you insert it, otherwise it came right back out. If I helped her hold it in for a couple of min, it would stay in place and have much better results. Stimulating by taking a rectal temp also helped sometimes, but not as well for us as the supposatories and Karo syrup. Good Luck, I know how hard it is to see your child in pain and not be able to help them. Hang in there.

Hi Brittany

I have had my little one since April 30th. He is my third and my first born had tummy, gas and constipation issues. Try these safe things that I was told, mix 1 oz of pear juice with 1 oz of water, try using a thermoter and insert it in the anus and do small circular motions as a massage. Sometimes the anus needs stimulated. My third baby had issues as well when brought him home and he would only go every 4-5 days. We didnt change formula but I kept doing what I was suggested to do and it worked and he is fine now and pooping just about everyother day! Good luck and I hope your little gets to feeling better. I know it is hard.

A. P

My friend's son had some of the same problems. Sounds strange, but when she took his temperature rectally, he would poop. So when she noticed him having trouble, she would use the thermometer to help him out. Hope this helps. Good luck!

My mom is a firm believer in giving babies water,sterilized of course, with my first child she boiled water, cooled it and put it in a bottle. I know baby water is also sold at most grocery stores too. But because formula is harder to digest, water may be something you may want to try...just a little bit between feedings. I hope your baby starts feeling better soon! J.

well, babies don't actually NEED to poop everyday, but since ellie is in pain i'd say she does definitley need to go. go to walmart in the tums aisle and look on the bottom shelf for a little round container, white with a blue lid (or vice versa, lol) called Fleet's glycerin suppositories. buy some KY and go home and insert one until you pass the sphincter (you'll feel it, buy gloves too lol) and then just wait. it'll all come out. you can repeat every few days if you have to. and i would use table sugar if i were you, maybe a teaspoon per bottle, since molasses/karo syrup can cause botulism in babies, similar to honey. good luck! i'm a peds nurse and my baby did this too, this worked fine for us. just don't do too many suppositories in a day because it can slow down their heart rate if done too often, once every couple days is enough. and DO NOT give her water...it will mess up her electrolytes. pedialyte only if you really feel she needs it...but the suppository should work just fine, and much quicker than juice, and it doesn't cause cramps in their belly. good luck!

I know this goes against what your doc said but get her off the soy formula RIGHT NOW!!! My twins are 4 and have never had regular bowel movements. One of them would go days, and they would be so large and hard that she would actually bleed. We took them to a gastrointerologist(sp?) and she told us that their consitpation is a direct result of having been on soy formula. The doc told us that soy formula should be taken off of the market because all it does is cause bowel problems including pain and infrequent hard stools. This can be a life-long problem. She said that way too many docs reach for soy formula when they don't know what else to do and they have no idea how much damage soy does to developing systems. The specialist also told me that over 2/3 of her patients have this problem and they are all directly related to soy formula. We put the girls on Miralax, which is sold over the counter and perfectly safe. They immediatly started pooping normally. It doesn't make them go, but it is helping them to let themselves go. The specialist said it could take months to reverse the damage the soy caused to their bowels. Talk to you current doc about this, there is loads of info on the internet. If your doc won't change the soy, stop it yourself or find a new doc.

When my oldest was born he had the same problem. He went days without going and when he finally did it was a horrible experience. He had a great pediatrician and he told us to mix 2oz of prune juice and 2oz of water. I think we only did this once a day, but were told we could do it twice a day. In no time he was going. Anytime after that when we had a problem I would just give him juice. I gave it to him in between feedings. We also tried the Karo syrup but it gave him stomach aches. Good luck, I know how miserable both of you are.

have you tried sticking a thermometer in her rear. stick it in just a little and move it around (I know its gross) but that is what our Dr suggested. Sometimes that helped get the muscles going when my son had constipation as an infant. Good luck!

Hi B.,
Try using a thermometer and just put the silver part in her rectum. Use some vasaline and just hold her feet up while you do this (you might need help with this one) and it just makes her push. Believe me it helped my kids when they were babies. Worth a try anyway!
J.

B.,
My daughter had the same problem and the doctor had me add about 1 Tablespoon of light Karo syrup to her formula. This helped immediately and there are no side effects.

I am not sure if this is possible since it seems you are not breast feeding. The symptoms you are discribing sound like thrush. My youngest son had it because I was given antibiotics when I was in labor. I thought they said they transfered to him through breast feeding but I would think it could transfer through my blood stream during labor as well. Antiboitics destroy the good bacteria in your digestive system causing a yeast infection in the digestive system. Thrush causes gas and lack of bowel movements. It doesn't actually cause constipation so Andy's poops were normal when he did have them. Andy did not have them but I was told white spots in the mouth are an indicator of thrush.

She is only 10 days old. should the gas drops be given? my youngest was breastfeed and still had maybe 3 poopy diapers a week, i know its frustrating bc all we read is that they should have 3 a day or so, but i would let her get used to the soy and backoff the gas drops and other home remidies to give her belly a rest.

My daughter was put on soy for the same problems. She would be in so much pain and she ended up with fissures (little tears in her rectum). Finally at 18 months our doctor told us to try the Miralax...then it was by prescription only. When she was 2 1/2 we saw a specialist, Dr. Hodges at CMH. He told us that soy can constipate people and that many children he sees who are constipated deal with it for the rest of thier life. She is almost 5 and still needs Miralax every day! I have no clue about putting a young infant on it though. We did use the Fleet Baby Laxatives when she was that young though. Since it is not your first baby I would go with your gut instinct and keep pushing the doctors until you feel that your baby is feeling better.

Try the Lacto-free formula? The soy didn't work much with my son, but the Lacto-free worked well with both my boys!

I used Carnation Good Start with my babies and they did great-when we had to swith my second daughter because we started qualifiying for WIC, we had to change her formula 3 times. Good start has a soy formula. Do not feel bad about your choice not to breastfeed. Your choice for your daughter is fine. Also I would check with your doctor, but mine told me to dilute baby juice by half with water, and give them that for constipation (pear works best). It took a while for my daughters to get used to the taste. Be careful because it is thinner than formula, choking was a small problem. Also, my second daughter only went 3 times a week for the first six months. In babies it is not how often they go-it is the thickness of the poo that is the consern. If she is truly constipated-the poo will be in little balls, not normal. It could be gas-drops do not always help as you are finding out. I made sure I butped her extra and then did belly massage to kinda stimulate/increase blood flow. I hope all is well with your little one, and that she improves quickly. God bless!!!

Give her some water between bottles. Just a couple of ouces is all she needs. She should have a little anyways to help in washing out her mouth so she dosen't get thrush. You can also try to give her some warm jello water. Simply open a package of instant jello, mix a couple of table spoons into a bottle of hot water, and shake it till it is all disolved, let it cool down enough her be able to take it.( don't let it cool down all the way to the usual temp. she takes her bottle. Have it a bit warmer than that) Now if it's realy bad you can try this old trick that my mother was taught by her mom, and she showed me. It works and you don't have to worry about giving your infant drugs. Mix up a bowl of warm water with some soap in it. You should use the babies shampoo because it's much more gental than the rest. Then take an asperator ball (like the one you got from the hospital to suck the snot and buggies out of her nose with) Fill the ball with the warm soapy water, and very carefully and gentally give her an enima. Make sure to squeeze the water into her bottom very slowly with her laying on her back. Once you've gotten quite a bit in there; if she hasn't already started to poop from it; lower her legs down and rub her tummy till she feels she needs to push. I've had to do it a couple of times to each one of my kids, and it has never not worked in a pinch.

I had the same problem with all three of my boys. My first one had to be put on a low iron formula because the iron is what was doing it. So he have the low iron formula and then took iron drops one a day so he only had to deal with the pain once a day instead of after every bottle. My second one ended up being because I changed his formula to much and he needed soy. You really do need to give the formula a week as horrible as it is to watch them in pain. That includeds the same type of formula but different brands. My third needed a soy formula that was broken down more. I think it was Neosure.

Good luck

All your daughter's stomach issues would be solved if she was on breastmilk. I don't know your reasons for not doing so, but maybe you could get some from a breastmilk bank. I know it is expensive, but it will solve all your problems. If that isn't possible, I agree with the post that recommended goat's milk formula. Goat's milk is much gentler on a babies tummy than cow or soy. Good luck.

Both of mine had that issue, my pediatrician gave each a rectal suppository. One, he did in his office, the other, he sent me to buy them at the drugstore and I did it myself.

I have read through most of the responses and I will agree that Karo syrup can work wonders (I used it on my oldest son when he was a baby), however I would not give her anything unless your doctor agrees. You can try checking her temperature rectally. This will stimulate the rectal muscles and often relax them enough for them to have a bowel movement, however I would be sure to do this with a diaper at the ready to cover since sometimes they can really let loose as soon as you remove the thermometer. I hope that this helps and make sure that you use vaseline to coat the tip of the thermometer to help ease the insertion process. Good luck and don't worry I'm sure that everything will work out.

J.

We had the same problem with our first, she was a preemie and we brought her home and she did not poop for two weeks and her belly button extened up and was enlarged. We tried the Kayro syrup first but it did nothing, so I went and got some glycerin suppositories (for child/infant)and those really did the trick. The Doctor's office was hesitant to let me use them on her becuase they thought she would become dependent on them, I had to use them twice. I had a happy baby which made for a happy mama!

My oldest son had this same problem. We tried the soy and it wasn't for him. We went to Carnation Good Start and it worked wonders! Good Luck!

hi my daughter was the same way at 1 1/2 months old, he put on soy milk and 2 ounces of prune/apple baby juice with no water in it every day, it works the best. he said if that didnt work we could put her on mirlax like her older sister.

Hi B., my girls both had this problem too. It's horrible to watch them go through. Other people around my girls would be in tears b/c they were in so pain. I found that Kayro Syrup (the dark kind) worked wonders. Just put a little in her bottle. And repeat if needed. Also I had my girls on acidophilus. You're daughter may be too young though, I'm not sure. Mine was at least 7 or 8 months old when I found out about it. But, I would just crush it up and put some in her bottle. It was a life savor. My great uncle was a nutritionist and told me to give it to her. Hope this helps:)!

BTW, I have an Ellie too:) and both of mine were soy formula fed (it doesn't mean you're a bad mom:)), and I also used the Fleets Glycerine suppositories when needed. But, it just makes the poop come out even when it's really big and hurts them. Okay....I'm done adding to this. Good luck!!!!!

when my daughter was young I found that giving her gas drops seemed to make the her bowels slow down more.

Brittany----I am so sorry to hear about your little girl.
I know first hand how terriable it can be. My daughter had the same problems. She ended up not being able to poop at all about two weeks after we brought her home because she had twisted bowles which was corrected with surgery when she was six weeks old. There is also
something called hirschsprung disease that she was tested for. These two things are pretty extreme but they are something to look into and maybe ask your doctor about if your little one does not approve. It is probably the formula and will improve soon. There is also something called the sphincer muscle that sometimes takes a while to matchur in infants. I hope this information helps and your little one improves soon. Please contact me if you have any further questions.

If you look at the www.westonaprice.org site there is a recipe for a nutritious goat milk baby formula that almost all babies can thrive on. My friend's son was allergic to both milk and soy and she raised him on it. He is healthy and well. No allergies now even though they run in his family.

Good luck!

L. C.

I heard something about corn syrup working for constipation. Just mix some with a little water in her bottle.

Hello,
My daughter was the same way for a while but she can drink milk and that we gave her pedialite and that helped, and now she is 9 in a half months and she is doing great and we stopped giving her the pedialite at 4 months unless she really needed it. I hope this helps.
M.

Has anyone suggested low-iron/no-iron formula. Often times iron in the formula can constipate babies. That may be the problem instead of lactose intolerance.

We had the same problem with our little one after we put him on Enfamil AR we then switched him to Similac Sensitive which is milk based but lactose free. We also put something called Babys Bliss Gripe water you can find it at whole foods we put it into every one of his bottles I believe the dose is either 2.5 or 5ml per bottle we use 5ml but our little one is 9 weeks old now. This has worked for us I hope you can use some of this info. Good luck it is so hard those first weeks especially with constipation probs or any kind of probs.

Whatever your decision is, I respect it, but have you thought of trying your breastmilk? I would think if you spoke to a lactation consultant, you will be able to start back up.

You won't have constipation, you won't have intolerance. It might make all your lives much easier....

Best of luck to you!

Sorry, this is late. I don't check my email on the weekend. I haven't read all of the responses. I know a few said breastfeed, but people have to realize it's not right for everyone. Your choice is your choice whatever the reason. I feel funny about getting breastmilk from other peple also, you may not & that's fine (breatmilk bank). I just couldn't imagine giving my baby something that came out of a strangers body?? My son always had bowel problems. A quick fix to make her more comfortable is infant suppositories. Alot of people are scared to use them, but it's not that hard & it works within minutes. It is not a fix but will relieve so she isn't in pain. I used Karo syrup even though you are not supposed to. My son also had alot of allergies & ended up on goats milk & Nutramigen, which is an expensive formula, but it went straight through him, which is good thing for a constipated baby. I also had a chiropractor teach me a massage technique on his lower abdomen that worked. Hope some of this is helpful!

Hey B.!! I feel your pain completely! I have a daughter that I had breast fed for a long time. I was trying to give her formula before bedtime but found out she was lactose intolerant. The doctors had put her on soy, but that had only made matters worse. I had to get a Lacto free formula. It worked wonders. As she got older we bought the Lacto free milk. She is now two years old and has finally out grew this allergy.

As for my other daughter who is 4.....I had to diagnose her with IBS (irritable bowl syndrome) myself. There were times that she would try to poop, but it was literally stuck in her rectal area. I would have to pry it out and help her. She literally had to have brown sugar put into everything. Talk to your doctor and see what they think about a little bit of watered down apple juice. I know this is a horrible nightmare, but things will get better. I hope I have helped you some. Good luck!!

~S.

My son had to be put on nutramigen(sp?)formula because of stomach problems. This formula is lactose-free, milk-free, soy-free--I think it is actually corn-based if I'm not mistaken, but it did work for him. Down-sides were that it was more expensive and he did not have any trouble pooping, instead he had explosive bowel movements. I can't tell you how many times it leaked out of his diaper. But he was happy, not crying, not in pain and growing healthy, so I dealt with it. Then at six months we would able to switch back to regular soy formula without any problems. Hope this helps and good luck to you.

My son is now 3 months old and we went through the exact same thing! He went fine at the hospital, but stopped going when we came home. The doctor also put him on soy formula. He was on breast milk and we would supplement with the formula. I didn't see a difference between the soy and infamil. Finally, I talked to the nurse again and found out that some babies only go once every 5 days! I was really relieved. We switched back to infamil and now he goes once a day or every other. Apparently it is common for babies to only go a few times a week.

When you make her a bottle only put 1 scoop in and more water. So if you are making a 2 ounce bottle put 4 ounces of water, you may have to feed her sooner but it will help.

I would call the doctor again and tell him that she's only pooped 3 times in one week and ask if this is OK. With a newborn I wouldn't wait if something doesn't seem right. She might feel even worse the longer she goes without pooping.

Use Dark Karo Syrup. Or ask the doctor about prune juice. Both my son and I are lactose intollerant. We had to put him on Nutramigen formula, which was great for his bowels. Now (four months old) he has been switched to ProSobee - a soy formula. This one is causing him constipation, so I am using Dark Karo syrup (approx 1 tsp in every other bottle) and it works like a charm.

I found Nestle Good Start to be easier on my daughters tummy. She was a spitter-upper, but also got constipated easily. I started giving her 1 oz prune juice w/ 1 oz apple juice & 1 oz water (3 oz total) once a day, and it helped tremendously. She is 4 now, and she still needs the prune juice at least 3 times a week for her to be regular.

DO NOT feel guilty about that comment about breastfeeding! I couldn't breastfeed my daughter either, although I tried for 3 days and she was starving. I finally told the hospital to just give her formula. Yes breastmilk is best, but sometimes it's just not possible. And I wouldn't give my kids some other mother's milk either... that's just nasty!

ps.. since your baby is so little... I would go with a 1/2 oz of each of the above until you see how it does. Too much will cause diarreah... as I learned the hard way!!! LOL (Poop all the way up her back!!) When she's bigger, you can eliminate the need for water to dilute it. Good luck!