Seeking Advice on Child Constipation

I know I'm a little late on this post but I have to agree with Rosalind C. Miralax is what my pediatrician prescribed for my son's constipation. He is 6 now but when he was just a few weeks old that is what he was prescribed. I believe it is available over the counter now. My son was also diagnosed with signs of Down Syndrome on his first visit to the Dr. We we not told anything in the hospital. But after we were told some of the common symptoms, it was clear that he did have it. He is in Kindergarden now and doing very well. Good luck.

Try giving her prune juice. My son started drinking it at 6 weeks because he was so constipated. If she is drinking juice of any kind now, you could start her with 1 oz - half prune juice half water. If she isn't start off with a teaspoon (1/2 tsp of water, 1/2 tsp of prune juice) and move up from there. My son's gastroenterologist (spelling) is who started us doing this. It worked miracles!

Good luck!

Call Heather Michelle at ###-###-#### and ask her about XanGo's mangosteen juice. I've helped a LOT of people with bowel issues of all kinds with this juice. She would be able to take this juice in smaller amounts, of course, than say an adult would. But I bet it would work! Heather is a single mom of two boys and I like to send her referrals to help grow her XanGo home business! :)

When my child was constipated, I was told to mix a little Karo syrup in her formula. I can't remember the age though, so I would check with your pediatrician first. My older child is 5 and uses Miralax fiber powder. I just add it to any liquid drink.
Good Luck!

My son is 2 1/2 months old, and had a very similar problem. We took him to a nutritionist in the Clearwater area (Dr. Susan Player) and it turned out that he was a little dehydrated. We offered him spring water (had to warm it a little since he's used to warm breastmilk), and for about a week he drank several ounces a day, before refusing it altogether. Ever since then we've had no problem, and several dirty diapers a day. (He's exclusively breastfed).

hi M.,

You can add a little bit just a sip of prune juice to some water and give it to her and also make sure that she drinks some water everyday about 1 ounce or 2. water is very good for constipation. prune juice is the best thing i've known against constipation, i always have some juice or dessert at home in case anyone happen to be constipated. it's good for adult and kids and and it's natural. i have a 2 1/2 old boy whenever his poops is too hard i know that he didn't have enough water for the day. and if water don't work i give him some prune dessert(Gerber) and that's it! problem resolves. so try it ok and tell me how it went. but don't forget to not put too much prune dessert or juice. when my son was 5 or 6 months old i don't remember the exact age but i gave too much of the prune dessert and that day he end up pooping several times and it was very, very soft so good luck! don't forget to always be careful with home remedies they very good but you got to know what you doing.

Congratulations on your beautiful baby girl! I had the same problem with my oldest who will be 21 this summer! She was breast fed for the first seventeen months of her life and I was good about drinking lots of fluids and eating good while breast feeding her. She was already on solid foods at your baby's age and I would give her the gerber prunes but that didn't always work. The one thing that I did to relieve her constipation was to give her soap water enemas. I know it sounds strange but it was the only thing that worked. Just use warm water and a few drops of dawn, enough to make it a little sudsy and put it in an enema bottle. It won't take very much and it will clean her out within a few minutes. Other than that you should call your pediatrician and ask for their advice. I just find that having three children ages 20, 18 and 10 that the answers you get from medical staff are everchanging and sometimes you just have to go with what works. Good Luck.

if you are bottle feeding her try and add a bit of sugar to the milk

C.

I had constipation with my breastfed baby and it was b/c I had a major decrease in my supply.
If this is the reason there are a lot of herbs that can be taken to increase it.
If not, then Karo syrup and/or diluted juice will usually do the trick, but I would talk to your doctor first

I currently have the same problem with my 6 month old son. He is on hypoallergenic formula, not breast milk and is eating stage 2 foods, but, he gets cereal with his food and we have to put cereal in his bottle to help control his reflux, so, his stool can get very thick and hard at times. The pediatrician told us that we can give him a 2oz bottle twice a day with 1/2 water and 1/2 pear or white grape juice (Gerber) due to the high calories and sugar. I found that using a juice from the natural food store that is vegetable based works just as well and I don't have to water it down because it is not concentrated and has way less calories and sugar...he likes that carrot apple the best, but they also make a few other kinds, another good one is a beet juice base with berries. I give it to him in the morning and later in the day (usually 9am and 6pm) and we haven't had a problem since we started doing it regularly, about 6 weeks ago. Good luck!

If you supplement her with a bottle of one ounce of baby/childrens apple juice (can be found in baby food aisle or just use an "all natural" kind) to 3 ounces of water it will help. My daughter has a 4 month old and he had the same problem. It seemed to help get him more regulated. Her pediatrician even suggested it.
Enjoy your little angel and I hope things improve for you and her!

Hi M.,

Try a little Karo syrup. I know you're breastfeeding but if you can pump into a bottle and mix about a teaspoon to start with- it may really help. I have twin 6 month old baby boys and had this problem a couple months ago. Keep in mind though that not all babies poop every day. I was shocked to find this out- but that's what our doctor told us.

I hope this helps and that it all "comes out" ok. :)

J.

try Mylacon drops. If that does not work. Go to the Pediatrician and get it checked out. Might be a digestive issue.

If you are only breastfeeding her, you should try to eat things that she can get through your milk, like bananas, prune. The doctors say that it is not necessary to give the breast feed babies water, but if she is constipated, I would start giving her some water. That helps my baby whenever she is constipated.

I think that's pretty common. I have a 6 month old and she will go every 2 or 3 days. Since the dr's don't recommend feeding anything until 4-6 months, I would hold off if you can.

Although once she starts solids, our pediatrician told us to avoid the BRAT (bananas, rice, apples, and toast although the last is irrelevant) if she isn't pooping and feed her oatmeal cereal. Gerber makes a stage 1 prunes and I have even heard a little prune juice may help (just watch the amt of sugar in the juice).

Good luck--if she doesn't seem to be in pain and her poop isn't dry and like little rocks, I don't think you need to worry...

Babies who are breastfed can sometimes go for DAYS. See, the milk is specially customized to their needs so they totally absorb everything and there is hardley any waste. That's the amazing thing about breastmilk! Do not worry and don't give her a laxative. My daughter actually went 10 days once - I was so worried!! But unless they seem in pain or uncorfortable then I really wouldn't worry. Sometimes if you take their temperature rectally, that will stimulate the bowels enough for them to go. you could also use a q-tip with some petroleum jelly in it to get the same result. But for the most part I wouldn't worry, her body is totally in line with yours and the milk is nourishing her without much waste!

My little one also was constipated on breast milk. She was only one month old at the time, so it was VERY unusual for her to go 2 days not pooping and she was obviously in distress. Distress is something you should look for. IF your baby does not seem to be in distress, I would not worry about it.

My pediatrician had me use pediatric glycerin suppositories. I gave her 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 at night. Usually she pooped within 1 minute! He had me give these to her until she started pooping on her own again. They are natural and easy to use and can be found at your local drug store. Check with your pediatrician first before giving her anything. I would NOT give her water or juice at this age.

Dehydration may be something to look into. Your pediatrician can easily diagnose this issue and help you alleviate it should this be a problem. He/she may recommend going to a lactation consultant, but usually it is something simple to fix and a slight change to the way you breast feed her so she gets more foremilk for a bit as suggested earlier will help.

Good luck!

M.,
Well, since I was one of those constipated type babies, and thoughout my life, as an adult I have found out what constipates me. SUGAR products or too many carbs that turn into sugar. ALSO I ate a lot of cheese and apples when I was a child and it did the same thing. So, watch you eat, if it is constipating you, it will the baby. ALSO, your child may have allergies or react to certain foods much different than you do. Hope this helps
n

Hi M.,

I can only share with you my experience with my baby girl. She struggled with constipation from about two weeks old. I consulted my paediatrician, and he said that my daughter should not go for more than 36 hours without a bowel movement. Her tummy would be very distended and she would be crampy by then. He recommended that I give her half an ounce to one ounce of Sunsweet prune juice, every day. You mentioned that you are breastfeeding, so this may be tricky. But if you do offer a bottle you can add it to her milk. This I found did help, but was quite a gentle intervention which is always first choice. However, when my daughter got to four months old, I gave her a paediatric glycerine suppository as she was really struggling. I was apprehensive about using it, but it was really effective. I dipped it in vaseline and it inserts fairly easily. I used these conservatively, only when REALLY necessary - but they do work. Fortunately she is now regular and that is behind us. I understand your apprehension. I read just about everything on constipation in babies . Dr Sears recommends placing the baby in a warm bath and massaging her tummy - he said this would be fairly instant. Unfortunately it did not work for me. The good news is that this will resolve with a little time!

Congratulations! You are doing the very best thing that you can do by breastfeeding your new little one! Way-to-go!
Having infrequent bowel movements is entirely normal for a breastfed baby. They can safely go 5,6, even 10 days without pooping (yes, even 10 days!) - as long as they are happy, comfortable and they don't seem distressed or in pain when they do finally poop! If the poop is still soft and not extremely hard, it is ok. I am assuming that at 3 months, she is exclusively breastfeeding and not taking in ANY other liquids nor any solids (formula will make the stool firm and baby cereals can make it like cement and really bind them up!)If the stool does seem a little too firm (and you are exclusively breastfeeding) then she may be getting too much of the hindmilk (thicker more fatty milk) as opposed to the foremilk (the 1st milk coming out at a feeding that is more watery and less fatty). If she typically only nurses one side, you may want to pull her off the one side and switch her to the other just a shade before she would normally be full so she gets a little more of the thinner, watery milk...which should help her stools. If she normally feeds both sides at a nursing session, then I am not sure! I would definately get in touch with a lactation consultant...not a pediatrician (unless yours is VERY breastfeeding friendly and knows alot about lactation and breastfed babies....). I recommend the lactation consultant at Morton Plant in Clearwater.... you can call for advice for free anytime and can even come in for a consult by appointment, regardless of whether your baby was born there. Her name is Lucille and the contact # is ###-###-####. There is also a twice monthly meeting of Nursing Moms for support/questions at the hospital which is awesome and you are welcome! Best of luck and happy pooping to your baby :-)

Hi there M.! Although the docs say that babies can go as long as 3-5 days without pooping it is a bit distressing for us the parent, especially if it has never been an issue for yourself!There were a few instances this happened with us and it freaked me out by the 3-4th day! Since your baby is breastfed(as mine is too), your options are really for you to pass on to her......of course the most important is that you are drinking enough water(at least the 8 8oz glasses a day-usually 1/2 to 1 oz per pound of your body weight is recommended, 1/2 oz if your not as active and 1 oz if you are exercizing/very active) then of course comes the inevitable good diet.....plenty of fiber in your diet-fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, keep processed/fast foods to a minimum. Then you can add ground flax seed, about 3 Tbsp per day, to your food (like oatmeal, cereal, yogurt, cottage cheese, salads, soups, etc.)Flax seed will add fiber to you diet and "good" fats, it has multiple health benefits including relieving constipation in most people. The healthy omega fats are extremely beneficial for the baby and her brain development, and have the added benefit of aiding in the digestive/elimination issue. Buy the flax seed (whether you purchase at a grocery or health food shop) refrigerated, adn keep it refrigerated-the bag should last about a month once opened if you are using as directed.Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions and good luck!! L.

Hi,

Check with your pediatrician first, but miralax is wonderful! Since your daughter is breast fed, it may be some of the foods that you are eating, again, check with the doctor. They may send you to a nutritionist or something like that, but I would check with the doctor. My 5 year old has this problem and sometimes hers are huge. The miralax helps a lot.
The key at this age is to check with the doctor, they have a lot of information and can point you in the right direction.

my second daughter was the same~ infrequent and sometimes just little pellets, which was frustrating because my first daughter was(and still is) a champ in this department. I read stuff, asked all my friends consulted her dr and most everyone said the same thing...as long as she's doesn't appear to be in pain she's fine. if you are exclusively breast feeding(awesome!),drink an adequate amount of water. you could also experiment with foods you eat~(prunes, fruit juices, yogurt) once my daughter started on solids and water at 7 months it got better but she still isn't as regular as her big sis.

Hi M.
I thought I would share with you some of my experiences with my three that were breast fed and what helped me. Although, my youngest is 13yrs old now...I remember those days! LOL My first thought was are you still taking vitamins? If so, then that could constipate you and then you passing it along to your baby. Also, your diet in "general" are you eatting things that have sufficent "roughage" to promote either gasey or easier poops? If you are eating alot of green leafy vegtables that could help you help your baby along too. YOu didn't mention if your daughter is just nursing or has some cereal added in yet however, that is also another factor. And lastly, not to sound gross however, are your "poops" ok? I mean do you go "daily" vs. "every other day" and then I thought..what did your pediatric doc say when you mentioned this to him/her? Just a few thoughts...hope it helps...
good luck and please let us know how it works out for you....
Been there...
Regards
M.