HELP, I Have a Constipated Baby

Did you change the formula all at once? Little tummies can be very sensitive and changing their food abruptly can easily cause intestinal distress.When you change formula you need to do it gradually. For example: day 1 - 1 oz of new and 4 oz of the old; day 2 -- 2 oz of new and 3 oz of old; day 3 -- 3 oz of new and 2 oz of old; etc. etc.

try less than 1/4 a tsp of light kyro syrup in 1 bottle a day. Enfamil constipated my daughter horribly but Good start was great for my son.

You also need to either drop down to 4 oz of water to 2 scoops of formula or 6 oz of water and 3 scoops.

S.

I'm sure some will think this is awful, but we added karo syrup to our girls bottles to combat constipation. Worked fine.

Do not water down formula. You should never do that. Call and ask your ped what they suggest. If it's been more than a few days, my ped would suggest an infant glycerin suppository. You can find them at any drug store in the infant medicine section.

It could be the formula change that caused it, but my kids also got this way during growth spurts. It's really common in babies, so don't panic (but don't ignore it either).

We went round and round with this. One time I actually had to help pull it out while she was bleeding because it was so bad. We tried Karo Syrup, pear juice, apple juice, etc. Finally, at 5 months, I let the doctor have it, and ended up with Similac's Alimentum. This was the ONLY thing that go rid of the constipation from the milk protein. Even now, my daughter just turned 3, has issues if she drinks cow milk. We have to use goat milk for her.

The glycerin suppositories do work, but you don't want to have to keep using them. I know its expensive, but give the Alimentum a try. Or, you can use the Nutramingen from Enfamil, but it didn't work as well for us.

Oh, a word of warning, Soy formula is very constipating, so don't switch to that.

This might sound strange but it really works! Dip the tip of an ear-bud into a jar of Vaseline until it is covered in a thick layer of it. Open baby's diaper and use one hand to push her legs back while gently stimulating the anus with the vaseline covered ear-bud.

I wouldn't give fruit juice at 3 months! Rather use the baby glycerine suppository if my trick doesn't work for you. Good luck!

We did 1 oz of either prune or pear juice per or pedi office at that age. We had the same problem but that was almost 7 years ago so things could have changed. I bought the gerber pear juice.

If you are doing 2 scoops of formula, that is for 4oz. If you want to do 5 oz water- do 2 1/2 scoops so you have the correct amount. Having the wrong amount of water or formula can be VERY dangerous for your baby. It can cause electrolyte imbalances etc. So be careful to measure correctly. As far as constipation---give her diluted pear/apple juice. 1oz water, 1 oz juice. Then do some massage on her tummy and bicycle legs. Good luck!

When that happened to our youngest, we switched to the Good Start formula. For whatever reason, that seemed a lot easier for her to digest than either Similac or Enfamil. You may want to ask your pediatrician (or call the nurse's advice line) for more information. I wouldn't water down the formula or give juice to a very young baby.

Do not give fruit juice to a 3 mos old baby. Her digestive system is immature and is not ready to deal with fruit. There is one theory that food allergies get started when a baby's system is bombarded too soon with certain foods.

Call your pediatrician and ask for advice. Consider what moms here say but check with the pediatrician to be sure what is best.

If the formula contains iron, it's possible it's the formula causing the constipation. Ask the doctor, but I think that a baby can get used to the iron and have their bm become more soft. Do mix the formula according to the directions. Too much powder or too little is not good.

My mother and my daughter used baby glycerin suppositories on the recommendation of the pediatrician.

First, go to a low iron formula.

Too much iron causes constipation.

Then try giving her 1-2oz of diluted fruit juice, such as apple-prune or prune juice.

You can also help her by "bicycling" her little legs and letting her push her legs against your hands, or laying her across your knees with her tummy on your leg and rocking your legs back and forth while firmly patting her diaper. Those exercises tend to help move things along.

Best of luck!

ETA: Yes, you can give fruit juice. Just stick with the same kind and be sure to dilute it with water. You could also add it to the formula.

Beth is also right...Karo syrup also works. My own mom used it on me as a baby. I preferred to use fruit juice with my boys as it's not straight processed corn sugar but natural fruit juice. But either will work.

ETA again: In response to above: Diluted fruit juice as a treatment for constipation is NOT recommended for babies less than 3 months old.

If your baby is aged 3 - 6 months, offer 1 oz of diluted juice (2 oz if he's over 6 months). Offer this twice a day until his poop is soft. Give less rather than more to start with as too much juice can result in abdominal gas, bloating and diarrhea. (See Carbohydrate malabsorption for more information.)

http://www.babycareadvice.com/babycare/general_help/artic...

I do research this stuff. ;-)

I would try to place your baby on their back and do bicycle movements with their legs. Then I am not sure why, but, try to take their temperature rectally it may help. Or just talk about doing that has helped me with my babies! Good luck.

Babies can get very sick from too much water, so I wouldn't add extra water. Follow the measurements exactly as on the container.

Usually, with babies this young, you (they) have to tough it out until they are used to the formula.

You could also call your pediatricians nurse line for additional advice/ideas.

Good luck!
p.s. I found the premixed formula to be easier on my sons stomach & he was less gassy, etc. with that--about the same cost,and no mixing!
Eta: No Juice!!!

I remember being told to use a glycerin suppository and i was horrified! But broker it up into a tiny little pellet and used my pinky with a glove. It wasn't even in, my pinky finger was only near her tiny little butt, and the teeny tiny bit of rectal stimulation was jsut what was needed to get her going.

Did you recently change her formula because she was constipated? I'm assuming yes, otherwise I'd say go back to the formula you were originally using.

My son had constipation issues around 10 months, when I started supplementing with formula. We were giving him Enfamil at the time. It was so bad I took him to the pediatrician, because he couldn't get the poop out, and when he did it was hard as a rock. The pediatrician gave me a few cans of formula called Neocate. I used this and within a week he was back to normal. It's expensive so before buying it myself, I tried Nestle Good Start Gentle Plus, and he was fine and had no constipation issues so that's what I continued to use. At age 1, we gave him whole milk which constipated him terribly, so we gave him reduced fat milk instead and his constipation issues went away. Hope you can get it figured out soon!

You shouldn't water down formula. Maybe find a better formula that is not so constipating but I would ask my doctor about what he recommends first. Some suggest suppositories, some juice, and not sure what else they may tell you these days. Don't water down formula though.

Check with you Dr/ Ped. But a little bit of Pear juice should do the trick.. We do that for my daugther.