What do you do for babies constipation?

sroddy12 · April 2012

Two days ago I started to supplement my son with half soy formula and half breast milk bc I am back to work and cannot pump at work so I can't keep up with his eating (he eats 5-6 oz every 3 hrs..no joke). I thought that the formula was a lifesaver at first because he was sleeping longer than 3 hrs for the first time. However, the next day he did nothing but cry. He has been constipated and fussy and my husband and I decided to stop the formula. What do you guys give your babies for constipation? Do you have any non-medication ideas? We did bicycling the legs, warm bath, belly massage, 1 tsp of brown sugar in an ounce of water...no luck! I started giving straight breast milk again and after the second feed he had a huge stool which is great, but we are going to have to supplement him with formula soon as my freezer supply is disappearing fast. Thanks for any advice!

katie4253 · April 2012

Is his poop actually hard? I think a lot of people get constipation confused with general gastric upset.

You said he is on soy. Does he have a milk intolerance?

snoangel79 · April 2012

I'm assuming it's not hard just not coming and when it comes it's still soft and mushy? Stimulating his bum to go poop can work with a wipe. My kids have issues because of formula too. Have gone about 36 hours without a movement and seemed uncomfortable (daughter also has a hernia -repair surgery is this Thurs but we don't want her pushing a ton). The doctor actually told us we could give her 5ml of prune juice or a little less (try a little less first like what would fill the nipple). This seems to work well. Last resort is the anal thermometer, with a little petro jelly insert and move in a light circle, it works very well but I don't use this unless all other things have been tried and they aren't pooping (doctor says don't do a ton because they need to poop themselves) Apparently pooping is learned just like feeding according to my doctor... we had this issue too when switching from BM, apparently BM is a natural laxative.

sroddy12 · April 2012

His poop was very thick but not hard like pellets... He does have a milk intolerance so that's why he is on soy...I have tried the baby wipes and the thermometer before but no luck...I've never tried juice though...I just don't think he's used to having to work to poop bc he'd have runny stools multiple times a day with straight breast milk

adrielegorburu · April 2012

Remember that at around this age they start to poop much less..... DD was a multi-a-day pooper until about 2 months adjusted and then it started to slow - she was BM exclusive and for many months would stool once every 7-10 days and that was normal. All her docs reminded me that as long as the stool isnt hard, she isnt constipated. If you really are concerned you should probably consult your Pedi before introducing too much like sugar and juice... it might actually upset the belly more.

sroddy12 · April 2012

I did talk to him about it and he told me to use brown sugar and water but it didn't help...was just curious what others have done so if I call him I can ask if we can try a different approach...I understand that he can start pooping less but he literally pooped atleast three times a day and then on the very first day he had formula he didn't go and the days kept passing with no stool...I'm sure his fussiness is a combination of introducing formula for the first time and having to work harder to poop...he's also on iron drops for anemia and the formula has additional iron so that could be making it harder to go as well..I know his body will adjust but it's hard to watch his face turn beat red and scream as he tries to poop

jacque_z · April 2012

We do 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of miralax in her evening bottle for constipation. Works great.

SWR&MSM · April 2012

jacque_z:
We do 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of miralax in her evening bottle for constipation. Works great.

While I don't have direct experience with this, my good friend switched her baby to soy formula pretty early on and had the same issue and with a very fussy baby! The pedi (same one we see) initially said to add some prune juice to one bottle, but that didn't work. So she said to add miralax to a daily bottle and that did the trick

PhDMomma · April 2012

My son is also on soy due to a lactose issue. He was having hard bunny ball poops and burst a blood vessel in his eye straining (not to mention all of the screaming). The pedi kept suggesting like 4 oz of water a day. That did not work, additionally it was almost impossible to get him to drink that much water. So, we switched to 30mL of prune juice mixed with 30mL of water. For us that does the trick, his poop looks more "normal" and he is no longer strainning. On a side note, the one pedi who I do not like in the practice reammed me out for doing this, saying that I was going to make the baby obese (FYI he's 20% percentile for weight and 50% percentile for height). Regardless, it is what works for my son, and we won't be seeing that pedi in the practice (there are like 6 in the practice plus a NP).

Good luck

zoeyandsummersmom · April 2012

We just had this issue when we switched formulas for fortifying BM. Our pedi suggested prune juice or miralax to help push things along.

sroddy12 · April 2012

I did talk to him about it and he told me to use brown sugar and water but it didn't help...was just curious what others have done so if I call him I can ask if we can try a different approach...I understand that he can start pooping less but he literally pooped atleast three times a day and then on the very first day he had formula he didn't go and the days kept passing with no stool...I'm sure his fussiness is a combination of introducing formula for the first time and having to work harder to poop...he's also on iron drops for anemia and the formula has additional iron so that could be making it harder to go as well..I know his body will adjust but it's hard to watch his face turn beat red and scream as he tries to poop

sroddy12 · April 2012

Thanks everyone for the help...I don't know why my last post posted again...sorry!

sroddy12 · April 2012

PhDMomma:
My son is also on soy due to a lactose issue. He was having hard bunny ball poops and burst a blood vessel in his eye straining (not to mention all of the screaming). The pedi kept suggesting like 4 oz of water a day. That did not work, additionally it was almost impossible to get him to drink that much water. So, we switched to 30mL of prune juice mixed with 30mL of water. For us that does the trick, his poop looks more "normal" and he is no longer strainning. On a side note, the one pedi who I do not like in the practice reammed me out for doing this, saying that I was going to make the baby obese (FYI he's 20% percentile for weight and 50% percentile for height). Regardless, it is what works for my son, and we won't be seeing that pedi in the practice (there are like 6 in the practice plus a NP).

Good luck

Meow I would've lost it on that doctor lol

rednelson · April 2012

My DS gets two bottles of high calorie formula per day and the rest breast milk. He poops anywhere from twice a day up to once every five days. When he goes the longer stretches he does seem to get pretty fussy/uncomfortable, but as long as he eventually goes I try not to worry about it. I figure that in the end I don't want his system to become dependent on some kind of laxative to have a BM. I know that's not what you asked, but if youre like me I hate giving DS anything unnecessary-I really wish I could give up the formula as well. Also, when you say you can't pump at work is that because of time restraints or your employer? FYI-Your employer is legally obligated to give you time and a place to pump as much as you need to. I know it can be hard at work (I'm a nurse and it can be so difficult to find the time) but definitely worth it to keep giving our LO's the breast milk.

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