Constipated and Hard Stools in an 8 Week Old…

Hi S.,
Oddly enough, we're getting ready to move from Arizona to South Carolina :) Our daughter had a similar problem when we were living in Japan. She was about two at the time and it got so bad that we had to take her to the ER. The docs there put her on a super low dose of Miralax and it was a life saver. I think your little boy might be too young for it, but you can always ask the doctor. Miralax is sold over the counter now I think, which would make it easy. If he's too small then I would try pear juice or cherry juice. Both seem to work much better than apple juice or even prune. I don't think such small doses of juice will hurt him, even with the sugar. Get the baby juice bottles (they even have it in an organic variety) so you're sure that there's no added sugar.If you mix it with a little water, you can also insure that he's staying hydrated. I know that can sometimes be a problem when you use formula and would surely make his stools harder.

I cannot believe that pediatricians. are still telling parents to give babies or anyone Karo Syrup. How ridiculous is that. I am a Newborn Care Specialist and there are a couple natural things you can do that work. First Prune juice, or pear juice 1 t. per 4 ounces of formula.
Give you baby on Lactobacillus bifidus or acidophilus 1/8 t. of powder dissolved in formula 2 x a day.
Change the formula. Probably the best thing to do first. Get him off of formula with artificial DHA/AHA in it (Nestlé’s Good Start in the purple can or Parent's Choice without DHA/ARA). Artificial DHA/ARA has been proven to be damaging NOT helpful in any way. (see scientific report on www.cornucopia.com)
Last if a baby has constipation you can insert the rectal thermometer (like you were taking a temperature) and turn it around while in the anus (make little circles) and this will stimulate the anus to expel the fecal matter. Just have a diaper under him and ready because as soon as you remove the thermometer the poo will come shooting out. Do not make a habit of this as it can become habit to your baby and they will not poop on their own.
You can also message the lower abdomen in a clockwise fashion. This follows the path of the intestines and colon and can gentle ease the fecal matter out.

I had the same problem with my infant daughter 6 years ago. Have you given infant massage a try? It made a world of difference for our child. There are many good books and videos on the market, or you can check one out from the library. We also tried the Karo syrup/juice route and I was not too keen on giving her too much sugar as well. Try using water instead; you can either give it to him straight or dilute your juices. Good luck, I remember how frustrating this situation is.

I have had to do karo syrup and apple juice with all 3 of my children. For some reason my kids just don't poop! If it works for your child then do it, it's really not going to harm them and it's a lot better than him not pooping at all. I hated doing it at first too, I felt like I was putting these unnatural things into my child but now that I have had 3 all with the same problem and they have all turned out fine I would definitely do it again!!!

Hey I just saw that someone told you to add water to the juice and I just wanted to say it doesn't work! If the juice is dilluted at all it does not have the same effect! Also if you give them straight water at this age it is hard on their kidneys.

GET A REFFERAL TO A GASTROENTERNOLOGIST!!!!!! My daughter went through the same thing. We tryed the prune, apple, pear, pinapple... every juice out there... peppermint water, gas drops, kero syrup, glyserine suppositorys, fletchers laxative, and as she got older we tryed feeding certian high fiber foods... nothing worked!!! She would be constipated and miserable for a week or so up to nine days was the longest with out a "BM", have a massive "BM" (bowl movement)and be fine for a few weeks, then it would start all over again. I would take her to the Dr. a few times a month and for nearly a year I believed the pedatrician that that was normal (because i breast fed)and to just keep on with the juice and such. It finally got to the point that she was miserable all the time... she would go days/weeks with out a "BM" and then it would be so large it would rip her poor little bottom. I even got so desperate as to freeze her "BM" and take it to the doctor to show how BIG it was. I documented her "BM's" and the things she ate, took pictures of her bloated belly. (it got so big, she looked pregnate) I went through 15 pedatricians in a year before I found the one that listned to me. I cant even tell you how many hospital ER's we were in. Finally we found Dr. Babarinde she reffered us to a wonderfull peds. gastro. Dr.
Armadillo Pediatrics
Edwarl L. Patterson Jr., M.D.
515 W. Buckeye Rd. Suite 402
Phoenix, AZ. 85003
Tel: ###-###-####
She had MANY MANY tests done before we figured out what was wrong with her. She ended up having stomach ulcers, gastritus, G.E.R.D, and CHRONIC CONSTIPATION. She now takes MIRILAX laxative every day and PREVACID (shes been on her meds. for 2 years) and is a happy healthy 4 year old. You have the right to demand refferals to specalists. I was not aware of that for a very long time. Tell your childs Dr. you think he needs a refferal to a gastro dr. There are many reasons for constipation... Hirschsprung's disease, Celiac Diease, Enzyme defeciancys, Chronic Constipation, Obstructed Bowls, and many more, have your baby checked out by a specialist. I wish you and your baby the best of luck!!

Hi S.,

I can feel your pain :-) My 1st baby girl was always so constipated - she once went 9 days without a bowel movement and really never complained until about the 8th or 9th day. We were told by our pediatrician to do the same things - Karo syrup, etc. We also gave her Little Tummys Laxative Drops Concentrated Oral Drops, Natural Chocolate Flavor. The drops normally helped within 24 hours. The only problem is that the stools are so hard that it is painful for them - poor baby, she dealt with the constipation on and off for about 3 years and we are not sure what caused it because she ate well, ate lots of fruits and veggies, etc. As she got older, we gave her pear juice and that worked really well too. I would definitely talk to your pediatrician about the little tummy drops because I'm not sure about how young you can give the drops to them. Good news! It gets better. She's 7 and never has a problem. Hope this helps.

Have a great weekend,
M.