Soy Formula?

Hi S.-

I have a one year old that was breast fed up to 6 months, then switched to soy formula. My son never had any major issues with constipation, but it may be because of the advise I received from a friend. When I started him on formula I added one drop of flax seed oil to his morning bottle only. I found the flax seed oil in the vitamin department of Walmart. The adult serving is a teaspoon, so I never gave more than literally one drop in the morning. It really kept him regular, and I felt more comfortable giving the oil since flax seed oil has developmental benefits as well. As a note, I had more trouble with his stools when we started on cereal than with the transfer to formula. Good Luck!

J.

My three oldest kids were all on soy formula. They all had problems with being constipated. I took and put karo syrup in one bottle daily (usually in the morning) to help keep them regular.

I had the same problem with my son. When he went from breast milk to form. they all did that it took like a month or two to find one that didn't do that. She might need to talk to the doctor or just try some different ones on her own

My five month old was switched from Soy to Nutramigen when she was about six weeks old. She was in and out of the hospital a lot for a seizure disorder and my breast milk supply was hit or miss. When she was on more soy than breast milk she got very constipated. When they switched her to the nutramigen, it fixed the constipation right up.

I went through the same problem- I went from reg formula to soy then finally the doctor switched my son to Alimentum made by Similac- it's a bit more expensive though. I was also told to give my son either pear juice or apple juice. The nurse told me to give him an ounce per month he is- for example a 3 month old gets 3 ounces of either pear or apple. This seemed to regulate my son. Now he goes at least once a day and it's not hard

S.,

My little guy was on soy formula and didn't get constipated. i also take care of a little girl that is on a milk-based formula that doesn't have any lactose in it. I didn't know such a thing existed. It must be relatively new b/c my son is only 16 months old. Anyway, this little girl's mom puts kayro syrup in the first two bottles of the day. That keeps her daughter regular. I ask her mom to bring the bottles to me pre-made b/c she has it down to a science (the amount of syrup for the formula). It works for her. Just a thought.

Why is the child still getting cereal if she's taking other foods, I don't believe it's the soy milk (my son was on it) she need to cut out the cereal.

My son did horrible with soy formula. Our pediatrician had us move to a lactose free milk based formula. It's the orange Similac can. We also gave him once a day two ounces of prune or apple juice. When that wasn't enough our pediatrician had us put miralax either in the juice or in baby food. That does the trick nicely! We started with a teaspoon and then moved it down to 1/2 a teaspoon when things improved. Our pediatrician said miralax is completely safe for babies to use. We did that from months three to ten. Hope this helps!

my daughter tended to be constipated as a baby. I put prune juice, or babyfood prunes in her cereal, and then when she was past eating veggies, I would give her those, or just straight prune juice (baby food kind). Maybe you could add some baby prune juice to the formula also. a more natural and healthy option then karo syrup. Good luck.

My daughter is only 3 months old, but she is on soy formula too because she's allergic to milk. We have actually put the karo syrup in every one of her bottles, and I agree that it is sometimes inconsistent. The doctor recommended just some apple or apple/prune juice (like 1 oz. twice a day) to help with the constipation. That has helped quite a bit too. Is there a particular reason why the child is on soy? If she's not allergic to the milk protein, then I think it would be best for her to try some of the other formulas. We tried numerous before we discovered that she HAD to be on soy.

Hi S.,
First congrats on taking the time to get some advice for this mom & baby!! You really must be an awesome day care provider who really does care for "her" babies!!
My advice & opinion -- yes, the soy formula is probably contributing to her constipation along with the fact that at 8 months of age she really shouldnt be eating cereal, #2 baby foods & finger foods everyday. That is just tooo much on her little system - imagine her tummy only being as big as her fist.
I think we try to "grow" the babies up too fast these days and their systems are just not developed enough to handle it all.
My kids are now 28, 27, 25, & 23 & with my first one I pushed him to eat way tooo early & he had a lot of the same problems that you mention here. Once we got his formula taken care of (he was not a cuddler & wouldnt nurse past 2 weeks) I took away the extra foods & only re-introduced them a little at a time over the next few months & finally his system start "working" right!!
Is the baby getting any extra "water" bottles or cups during the day to help her move her bowels?
How much extra food is she eating during the day?
If its just a little bowl of cereal at night to help her sleep longer or a few cheerios during the day to help with her chewing & motor skills then that is probably ok.
Also -- once she goes home what does her mom feed her -- and any chance that she might be getting french fries & other fast foods?? Those will upset a baby's tummy too. Especially babies who are already upset & needing to go on a soy formula.
I have found out that the soy formulas are not the best for babies either ... if at all possible I would find out from her dr if the baby can be put a a different formula ... these days there are others out there that are lactose free (which most people have an allergy too) that are much better than soy!!
My oldest ended up actually having to be put on a pre-digested formula called nutrimagen (not sure of the spelling)but back 29 yrs ago it cost like $13 bucks a can & we went through 1 can every 3 days!! And it was not a prescribed formula then so we had to find it & pay for it out of our own pockets!! ;-)
Hope some of this info helps ... keep us all posted on how the little one does!!
D. Soffen
www.GoGoPowerTeam.com

Does the cereal get made with the formula? I found that to cause my son to become constipated. Instead of karo syrup try giving the baby a little bit of prune juice (they also have it mixed with other fruit juices). That worked wonders for my son and you really only need an ounce or two. I would also check what kind of fruits and veggies the baby is eating, not enough can sometimes stop things up a bit.

YES soy formula can cause constipation. If you do cereal consider oatmeal instead of rice - it will help move things along.

I agree with the mom who said apple juice. It works. Maybe try mixing the apple juice with the oatmeal cereal... whoa look out!

Also, I would not talk to the mom about why/why not her child should be on soy formula. That is her business and you might offend her. My child is on soy because we have tried milk based and lactose free and they don't work for her. I consulted my pediatrician after reading some responses here about soy formula, and she assured me that many babies have done fine on soy formula and have had no problems.

Apple juice... and many other juices! Bananas and apple sauce have lots of fiber and will constipate, but juices will help it flow through! Avoid bananas for a while and see what happens!

My daughter breastfed for 9 months, but I had a low supply so we used formula for her cereal and sippy cup training starting at 5 mo. She had an allergic reaction to Enfamil so we went straight to soy. i started mixing Karo syrup in her cereal which she ate twice a day, and she was never constipated unless she didn't get enough liquids during the day. This happened toward the end of nursing as she was weaning herself, and not eating for very long, thus dehydrating herself. Anyway, the cereal is so tasteless anyway, the syrup helped her want to eat it. She would eat anything, veggie, fruit, meat, whatever as long as it tasted like something instead of being bland. I don't know what your babysitting kid is like. Formula is usually more constipating than breastmilk from the very start, but that's why I did the Karo in the cereal. Also, some kids just have a harder time digesting solids. hope this helps...

I would stop the cereal asap. Try giving her prunes. Fruits and veggies with her formula is more than enough food.

My daughter is 8 months and on soy formula also. Yes, it can constipate and so does the rice cereal. The karo syrup works good but it makes the formula sweet and can make them picky. Try feeding them pears or prunes for their fruit a couple of times a week also pear juice will clean them out if really constipated. My daughter is used to her formula so she doesn't get as constipated as often but I do give her pears about once a week to help her out. Hope this helps:-) Good luck to you.

Both of my daughters were on soy formula. My older daughter was sensitive to milk and my younger daughter has milk allergies. IMO...I wouldn't put KARO syrup in the formula. If she is eating solid foods, mix a little prunes in with the cereal or fruit. I would get the small #1 size jars because a little goes a long way. 1-2 t. is all that's needed.

I also have a home daycare. My 8 month old is on soy formula. He has gotten constipated a couple of times and the prune trick works every time.

I have a child that was alway constipated and we used Kyro syrup, I cant say anything about the formula because I dont know but if the child is close to baby food stage, I gave my son gerber baby food prunes until he was old enough to have yogurt and regular fruit and that really helped. Now that he eats lots of fruit he goes alot better.

So maybe adding some pruine juice to the diet would help too.

I would encourage you to ask her tactfully if the doctor recommended soy for a specific reason. Soy products increase estrogen production, which can cause early maturation in children who use a lot of soy. (I have a vegetarian 10 year old, and we have educated ourselves about this and do not do a lot of soy substitutes for this reason) Perhaps she has simply chosen to follow something she heard about soy being gentler on the system, rather than getting advise from her doctor.
Also, I suspect it can cause the constipation, as generally, whatever you eat affects the stool. Having to give a child sugar, which induces diahhrea in a normal child, seems like a bad thing to have to do. If the reason for soy is some nutritional issue, it seems having to give a child fructose would counter-balance that. Is it possible to give the child supplemental water and still ensure she gets the right amount of formula per day? Generally, giving more fluids helps with constipation. My nursing daughter drank water from a cup at daycare during the day after 8 months instead of nursing at noon, and it was fine.

Yes it does and she should check with the pediatrician to see other option. This makes them gasy.

I think there is definitely a connection between the formula & her constipation. I also used Karo for both of my boys, at the dr's request. This did alleviate part of the problem, but not all. I also figured out which fruit/vegies added to the problem or helped...& then just amped up the use of the "good" ones. For each of the boys, the list was different! (as is with all of us) You might want to stop all components of the BRAT diet which is used to correct diarrhea: bananas, rice, applesauce, & toast...which would translate to even infant rice cereal. Try oatmeal or a mix of grains.
On another note: I also am a home-based childcare provider. 5 & 1/2 years here, 2 1/2 years prior at a daycare, & Mothers' Morning Out before that. Let's talk!

When my son [who is 30 now!] was a baby he could not tolerate formula so we had to put him on whole milk at 2 months old. We put a small amount of karo in each bottle because it WAS whole milk. However I would suggest maybe a small amount say once or twice a day. This should help keep baby regular. Then monitor to see if you could cut back to once a day or once every other day.

My nephew was on soy formula and soy milk after breast feeding. He can now eat cheese, drink milk and most dairy. We started feeding him little bits of string cheese, yogert, and tappioca pudding. These are pasturized forms of milk and help their system get used to real milk. Also try to avoid foods that cause constipation(bananas). Hope this was helpful, good luck
J.

It could definitely be the soy formula! My oldest son, who's two, had to have soy formula because he spit up so much, and it didn't affect him that way. But my daughter, who's 7 months old, was using soy formula for about two months. Her BMs went from normal to hard and infrequent seemingly overnight. When we switched her back, they were normal again after a couple of days.

Good for you for helping out this little one and her mommy!

It's tough figuring them out sometimes! My son is lactose intolerant, but we found that he can still handle the lactose in Enfamil Lipil (gold can). They do also offer a lactose free - but if it is just lactose, there are studies that say you can train some tolerance between 1 year and 2 years, so you may want to look in to that as well. Enfamil has a website you can order from directly for their specialty formulas.

The best thing I could suggest is some yogurt too. We get the Soy Live! - soy yogurt, but with live active cultures. You could also just go to the store and get some probiotics for her. Try fruits like papaya and prune and if she's used to cereal, mix them together until it's mostly fruit. And, do whatever you can to push liquids! Just watch the sugar content - that could sabotage her appetite as well.

It's such a balancing act with their little systems! I hope you find the right mix of things to make her life a little happier!

T.

My youngest child was allergic to all of the brands of formula but soy. He was always constipated, the DR. told me to do the (DARK)karo syrup not the light syrup.I found that if I put it in every other bottle it kept him regular. He wasn't like a normal baby but he went more offen, with out all of the straining. There is also glycerin suppositories that can help alot. It is almost at once! Well with in 20min at least. Hope this helps.

My son went through this. After I stopped breastfeeding him and he had a reaction to regular formula we put him on soy formula and he immediately became constipated. It was awful to see him struggle with it. He was in pain every time he had a bowel movement. Eventually he started holding it in because he anticipated the pain.This led to worse constipation. Karo syrup is not a good long term solution. She needs to see a doctor and get a laxative to put in water before this becomes a cycle like my sons. We started out on Lactulose but eventually swithched to Miralax and that seems to be the right thing. I am not kidding when I say that this has been aproblem for over a year. It is awful to see your child in the kind of pain and discomfort that it results in and that is why I urge you to tell this lady to take her child to the doctor. I tried Karo syrup, diet change, massage - any thing I could think of because I didn't want to give my son medicine. None of it worked for him. Be sure to tell her that these medicines need to be taken with plenty of water. They pull water into the bowels to make it soft. I really hope this has helped. Feel free to email me if yuo have any other questions. I hate to think of another mom seeing their child in pain.

My youngest was on soy. And by 8 months my dr said to start giving him juice. So he started getting a 1/4 juice mixed with water a day. That seemed to help out with the constipation. That is also how we started the sippy cup too. HTH

2 out of 3 of my kids were on soy formula. I didn't notice any difference in one formula causing constipation more than the other. Mine didn't drink more than 6 ounces at a time even when they were close to a year old. I fed them baby cereal mixed with fruit baby food with water to make it not so thick or mixed it with apple juice or their formula for breakfast. They ate a veggie for lunch and usually a veggie or dinner type meal for dinner and a little fruit with 4-6 oz of formula with their babyfood meals and 6 ounces of formula for their other bottles between meals. If they woke up in the middle of the night after they were 2 months old I gave them a water bottle which most of the time they slept through the night. Is the baby taking iron supplements? My first baby had those which the doctor prescribed but made him constipated so much and he was using regular formula with iron so not sure why the iron drops were prescribed. I quit using the iron drops and he did fine. We had different doctors for our other 2 kids and they never prescribed iron drops with them and these 2 were on the Prosobee soy formula. Maybe the cereal, fruit, and veggies helped because they didn't have that problem that often.

I also do chilcare in my home, I have ine child that is constipated often. The parents have given milk of mag and they have also taken the baby to the doc and he has prescribed an exlax that is put into the bottle. It seems to work. I also had a friend that was a vegetarian and her child ate soy products all that natural stuff and had a very bad time going to the bathroom, they had to change his diet to get him back on track.

You can also give like prunes and such when eating, natural food that helps you go.

My son does the soy thing, and he doesn't seem to have a problem. I would see if her cereal has added iron? Too much iron could be the problem. Also what jarred food is she eating? Try adding more greens, and apples. Hope this helps!
Jess

my son had to use lactofree enfamil and that made him constipated. My doctor told me to use a mixture of regular and lactofree. That made a difference. I would ask my doctor for any more information.

Hi Shiela, try some fruits (like prunes) they help the best but you can also do applesauce. Or you can try a little bit of juice/water.
One other option is if she takes a 6 ounce bottle of formula only put in 2 ounces of formula to the water this will help also.