I have an 8 month old who realy seems to struggle with bowel movements. His poop isn't always very firm, sometimes just a thick peanut butter consistency, but still really seems to cause him pain. My pediatrician recommended watered down juice when he seems to be stuggling, but I want to avoid juice, and avoid fixing problems when they happen and instead avoid them all together. Is there something I can do daily to help keep his bowel movements regular and easy on him? Like should I give him a little bit of prunes everyday? Or is there any other food that helps, or ones to avoid? I really appreciate it!
I have been told bananas help with bowl movements...
My daughter eats them all the time and never has issues!
I didn't realize they moved things along until a neighbor told me, but that would explain her poo :)
The best thing I did for my daughter who was struggling with this was to take her to a pediatric chiropractor. Babies get squished all sorts of different ways coming out of the birth canal and they can be straightened! It's easy for the baby. The doc just manipulates them in their arms at that age. My daughter always pooped four or fives times right after an adjustment with no straining!
Good luck!
You already got some great suggestions, I just thought I'd add mine, too.
The reason that Karo syrup works is that is pulls water into the bowels, thus softening the stool, and pushing it out. I have no idea why high sugar content helps, but it does. Our pediatrician suggested FULL-strength apple juice, and it worked wonders. Same thing... sugar that helps pull water into the bowels.
Good luck.
both the prunes and pears are great. The chiropractor helped my daughter tons when she got constipated.
Good luck!
A.,
Hi, we've experienced this same issue, particularly with our daughter. We have given her prune juice, prunes, avacodos, grapes, applesauce,raisins and the thing that works the best is almonds. Now I realize your little person is much younger then ours is now but any of those that you can puree or cut up in small pieces will probably begin to help the problem. If possible stray away from dairy products (cheese in particular) as they tend to cause constipation. Also, don't forget...lots and lots and lots of plain old fashioned water. God Bless, L.
When my boys moved from nursing exclusively to formula exclusively at 4 mos (they weaned & I dried up), they had harder poop but no constipation problems. When I started cereals at 6 mos, my older son was so backed up he just wasn't pooping. We tried watered-down apple juice (didn't work) & the bicycle. On the 3rd day of no poop, I took him in. The ped said to try corn syrup (I didn't like the idea of purposely sugaring up my baby) & a couple of other things. MY doc who we ran into in the hall said that rice cereal did that to her kids. To feed my lil one exclusively oatmeal, feed him twice as often for a few days but half-strength formula (which is why i was feeding twice as often) & use some KY on a q-tip to help him poop. When he started straining I was to lay him on a blanket on the floor, insert the KY'd q-tip & rub it all around his little bum hole to help ease the hard poop out. I also hiked his knees up to his chin & hoped that he didn't suddenly explode poop onto me (thankfully that didn't happen :) It took a few days to get him back to normal, but within a week he was totally fine.
Hi A., we have gone through this when both of ours were babies too (my youngest is now 14-months.) The best advice we got from our Pediatrician was to feed her foods that start with the letter "P". I know it sounds silly, but it does work, so this would include peas, pumpkin, pears,potato, prunes, peaches, etc... Definitely avoid apples and bananas as they can cause more constipation. OUr Pediatrician also recommended trying barley or oatmeal cereal instead of the rice cereal which can be constipating. Doctor also recommended giving our baby plain water (about 2 ounces) at each feeding to increase fluids. Good luck!
Hi A.,
I would try baby food prunes, apple sauce, or depending on the child sometimes even yogurt can help. It does for my daughter. I agree that juice isn't the greatest idea cause of all the sugar. Ive heard that Kayro syrup does wonders but I've personally never tried it just cause I'm sure it also has a lot of sugar in it. If you want to try it you just put a tsp. in with his formula (if you are formula feeding) otherwise you would mix it with juice I think. Well I hope this helps and good luck! I know it's hard when you want to help your little one but just aren't sure how.
I've never thought of chiropractic care like some of the other moms have mentioned, but I would think that it'd definately be worth a try. GOOD LUCK!
I agree with the chiropractic care. My two sons started getting adjusted when they were about two months old, once a month. We have never had any problems with constipation - my boys are very regular!! But, the chiropractic care has helped them (I think) immensely with keeping their body adjusted and working the way it should be. They've had less illnesses than other kids I know, too.
As far as diet is concerned, avoid bananas, and offer prunes, apples or pears. You can also give a little apple or prune juice. I always dilute mine, use 100 % fruit juice, and only serve 4 oz. per day if needed.
If your baby is already constipated, they make baby suppositories to help with lubrication when he can poop. You can also try to just let him soak his bum in warm water a couple times a day to help alleviate discomfort.
Good luck!
Try giving apple juice or apple sauce every day. My daughter also struggles with bowel movements and I found that when I give her apple sauce DAILY she doesn't have any problems. Skip a couple days and she struggles. Good luck!
Make it a GREAT week!
S.
Don't give him too many bananas, or rice. Those are all part of the "BRAT" diet that is supposed t help when you have diarrhea. If he gets a lot of those they could be stopping him up. If you want to avoid juice try just water he's old enough. Pear is also very mild and can work like prunes. Are you nursing? I seem to notice when i eat more fruit, especially fruit smoothies, my daughter is a bit more regular. Maybe its just coincidence, I have no hard evidence, but it might be worth a try.
