I have a 2.5 month old baby girl who seems to only make a bowel movement once aday every 2 to 3 days. this has been going on for about three weeks now. is there anything i can do to help her.
i have to say for the first month in a half she was breastfeed. but i was not producing enough and started giving formula, now she gets only formula (Similac isomil soy with iron)
Both soy and iron can be constipating. Even if only having a bowel movement every few days may be considered "normal", it's not very healthy. I would definitely research alternative formulas and see if you can't find something that suits her system more appropriately.
I would look into a different type of formula and consult with her doctor. She could have a bowel obstruction too so please make a doctors appointment it would be the safer thing to do.
Good luck and God bless
my little girl only pooped every 3 days. doc said normal range but you can get these tiny little clear baby suppositories at the drug store (ask the dr) and put in 1/2.
my daughter did this too. her doctor said it was very normal for there to be a drastic change in bowels in the 2n month, and that up to a week with no bm was normal.
I started breastfeeding and then switched to formula also with both of my kids. My pediatrician said that it can be normal for a baby to not poop every day when they are very little. It's more about the consistency of what comes out (is it hard like marbles?) or how uncomfortable she may be (which may be a little hard to judge--they often grunt a lot when they go!). Never hurts to ask your dr. in case there is something medical that needs to be addressed.
Also, please talk to your dr. before making any formula changes. When I asked our dr. about what I thought might be constipation in my daughter as a baby, one thing he stressed was the need for iron at this age. Don't skimp on the iron unless directed by your dr. He/she can best direct you about what's most important to look for in a formula for your baby.
Best of luck with your little one!
Formula can be constipating. Despite what another poster said, soy is not "bad for you"! There has been an ongoing discussion that is not substantiated.
Iron is constipating! You can relactate by the way if you are interested. And there might be other formulas that are not as constipating. I'd suggest getting your daughter to a chiropractor; which can help with this issue.
Is she uncomfortable or are you just noticing the difference?? The iron may be more than she needs, but if she's uncomfortable I would check with your pedi.
First of all, I don't think that this is that abnormal and second, its pretty common for them to be a little constipated when they are on formula. My first suggestion would be to give her a bottle with water a few times a day. If she gets really constipated, you can put a little prune juice in her formula, but not too often -- only if the constipation gets fairly bad -- because prune juice works by making her bowel respond and it's not good to make her bowel move unnaturally too often. My daughter was also on the soy formula -- I breastfed her and supplemented with formula because I also wasn't producing enough for her. She reacted very poorly to the milk-based formula and then gradually grew out of what looked like an allergic reaction to milk. I would say that the iron may be too constipating for your daughter and she may not need all that iron. You can change it up -- give her one or two feedings a day with the iron, for example -- and the others with the same formula without iron. The water helps a lot, though. Don't stress too much about it -- my daughter is now a beautiful, healthy and happy six year old!
This doesn't directly answer your issue but if you find another formula without soy I would Highly suggest it. Please research why soy is so bad for you. It is not a health food, quite opposite in fact.
Ask the pediatrician-maybe the added iron is a little too much right now-especially if she is getting liquid vitamins, as well.
