Newborns with constipation

Dawn - posted on 02/10/2009

My son was constipated and he does not have many bowel movements. I started putting a small amount (just a splash) of apple juice into his bottles and it seems to be working.

Jennifer - posted on 02/07/2009

Best things to use is Gripe Water (which you can buy at any drug store) or pear juice. The gripe water helps their little tummies and makes them poo and toot easier!

Tiffany - posted on 02/07/2009

My son was on Enfamil & was extremely constipated. When I took him to the doctor he said the iron in the formula can sometimes make babies constipated, but they need the iron for growth & development so the doctor told me to put a tablespoon of prune juice in when I mix the formula & it worked so well. I know most babies don't start on juice until they are 6 or 7 months old but the doctor said that a tablespoon of prune juice would not harm the baby and it worked well. If you find that your daughter is still constipated from the formula ask your doctor about the prune juice :) my son is now one & I just stopped using prune juice because now he is drinking regular milk!!

Darlene - posted on 02/05/2009

Both my doctor (and the Baby 411 book, which is awesome!) say that you can only tell if baby is constipated by the consistency of the poop and not by baby's behavior alone. Many babies will cry simply because they're not yet used to the physical sensation of the intestines and bowels working, contracting, etc. and it doesn't necessarily *hurt* them as much as it's just uncomfortable because it's new. If baby's poop is soft and normal, he/she is not constipated. One of my twins (6 weeks old) was constipated (the poop was not soft--it was the consistency of clay, like Playdoh) and the pediatrician said to give him 1/2 an ounce to 1oz of water per day to help loosen things up. That did the trick. He's constipated again, though, so we're going to keep giving him the little bit of water to keep him regular. (By the way, he also cries when he has a bowel movement. When it's a normal one, he merely fusses and cries for a minute, but when he's constipated, he cries his heart out--that kind of cry where baby's face turns bright red and he's holding his breath 'cause he's so upset, and then he really wails. It breaks my heart!)



Anyway, good luck!!

Jessica - posted on 02/04/2009

My daughter has not had this problem, but maybe try some infant gas-x? It's made for infants so it would not hurt to try it to see if it might help her.