help my baby is constipated and cries a lot more now. what should I do?

Precious - posted on 04/24/2010

thanks for everybody s advise my son is getting better, he still hates to do poo poo but at least hes stool is not that hard anymore. I tried the prune juice and caro syrup plus lilac and vco that my pedia gave him. thanks!

Tonya - posted on 04/23/2010

stay away from rice cereal as well as bananas as they will cause your baby's poo to be hard. With these theyare mainly for babies with loose stools. Apples are a good source to make a child poo as well as apple juice do not do mac and cheese either as it also will bound them up. Dark carole suryp works but make sure the formula is warm as if not it will settle at the bottom of the bottle. If the bottle sets for a period just shake the bottle up to mix it. I have noticed with my son if given mango fruit it really gets him to going as well as sweet potatoe vegetable. Watch out for some of the formulas as some that have iron is too much for a baby or the baby just can not do the iron. I will give my son table food at times just to change his diet around for a new taste but it is not that often I do it so maybe that might be a suggestion you may want to look into. My oldest is 21 and it did not hurt him and I did not change with the other 6 that followed. They are all great healthy kids with hearty appetites and not a one is over weight either and now I practice the same with my grandkids too. Good luck

Melz - posted on 04/22/2010

Prune Juice or Brown Sugar in water also here is a formula out now that is a laxative type one for this reason. My son was like this a little while ago and we ended up having to assist him getting the poos out, sometimes he was screaming in agony, it was the hardest thing ever to watch your little baby cry like that. Exercise is one of the best things for constipation also... It breaks up the poos and allows it to come out easier... Lie your baby on their back and push the legs back into the stomach then stretch them out repetitively.

Leona - posted on 04/22/2010

The best and natural thing to give your baby when he/she is constipated is prune juuice or baby prunes that you can get at like walmart. If you do the juice do a 20/10 mixture: 2oz water, 1oz prune juice and let him/her drink it within a couple hours they should have a bowl movement. They might need help getting it out and my husband and I have had to do this and if you take them to the ER they will do this too. Get some KY or similar type of lube and put a little on your finger and rub around his anus and then get a little more on your finger and you'll have to put a little up inside so that it will be easier to help they push it out. Then you will have to help him push it out, so take his legs and do the "bicycle" motion and then push their legs up by their tummy until they've gotten the hard poo out. They will cry because it hurts but this willl help SOOOO much. These two things have REALLY helped my 7mo old. And both were told to my by my pediatrician.

Alice - posted on 04/21/2010

I agree with cutting out the rice cereal...we were having constipation issues as well and we switched from rice cereal to oatmeal and it seems to be much better!

Sharon - posted on 04/21/2010

This sounds exacly the same as with my first child, who is now 4. I found it so very upseting to see him screaming with those hard, hard poos!! The doctor put him onto para choc, after numerous bounts of prune juice, fruit and pear. The fruit didnt work, but it did, so long as i never ever missed a dose. he was so bad that unless i helped him by rubbing his perennium, to evacuate his bowels his poor little bottom would bleed. It was so distressing and such a horrible, helpless feeling. I desperately wanted to fix it ASAP! Alas, there was no quick solution. I tried changing every formula under the sun, wished id had more breast milk than my body could provide, and found para choc was the ONLY think that "fixed" it. Do you know, i had him taking it till he was almost two. The doc said it was ok. its harmless to babies, thats what its for, and it at least eased my heart and his little bottom! Some babies just have very delicate tummys and bowels,( he still doesnt like to eat too much), and it takes time to adjust to real food for them. Its not your fault, your doing your very best. Just try para choc, from the chemist , you dont need a prescription, but ask your pharmacist about the correct dosage. It solved my problems. Child number 2 is perfectly fine. Just a quirk of nature, i guess!! good luck!

Sarah - posted on 04/21/2010

My son was the same still is sometimes, i tried feeding him certain fruits and foods and nothing helped i found a formula called novalac im not sure if they have it where you are as im from New Zealand but it is good its a french made formula they have a few different ones for different things like colic, they have one for hungry babies and also one for constipation i give my boy a bottle of that everyday since all else failed and his stools pass through as though hes still only breatfed its great i love it lol. goodluck

Tanya - posted on 04/21/2010

you can try to put a table spoon of Dark Karo syrup in his bottle, it didnt work for my babies, so i put about an ounce of Prune juice. That really worked. Also you can try to give him some prunes. I hope he starts feeling better.

Petrisha - posted on 04/21/2010

I had the same with my baby when he was a bit younger! The soya milk made him constipated! Everyone told me give this and give that!! Like prunes, all kinds of medicines an siposatries etc etc etc! Everything helped for the moment, but nothing took it away!! SO, CHANGE YOUR MILK and get it over and done with, I did and all the constipation got to a end!!!! If he/she is on soya milk, change to any normal formula, if on normal formula, change to soya!! Don't be scared to change! First my son got stomic cramps, so I changed the milk, then constipated, so I changed again etc etc etc. I changed his milk 3 times untill I got a milk that worked for him!!!!! And at 7.5months his as happy as can be!!!

Rocio - posted on 04/21/2010

That sounds awful....Have you tried giving him some mint tea...just a couple of ounces..that has always worked in our family.

Betty - posted on 04/21/2010

Apparently Prune juice is good. I haven't tried. I had the same problems when I switch formulas (to a different brand because I thought I'll give it a try) but when my daughter had a hard time trying to poo, I just switched it back and never changed formula since which helped.

Stacey - posted on 04/20/2010

My daughter did the exact same thing when they switched her formula....the pediatrician told me to give her pear juice or even put a small amount of karo syrup in a couple of her bottles but not all...it really helps!

Ashley - posted on 04/15/2010

When my Daughter was 2 months old she was extremely constipated, she would cry and scream and it was kinda bloody because she would push so hard. My mom used to give me magnesium oxide( vitamin powder). So i went to my local Health Food Store and asked how much to give my daughter, who is 7 months now. But at that time she was 2 months and gave her 1/8 teaspoon in her morning bottle. At first it was a little runny but then she adjusted and it was then mushy but she goes everyday and with no pain or strain.LOL...You may want to talk to your pediatrician if u want to try but this is what i found worked.

Kirstie - posted on 04/15/2010

i have twin boys and wen they get constipated i use Coloxyl oral drops ...put in im water or juice or milk it works a dream

Jessica - posted on 04/15/2010

Just a little prune juice does wonders. My son would be stopped up when he was a few months old and i gave him just a little prune juice and some water and things would come along in about 20 minutes.

Bridget - posted on 04/15/2010

I have had to stick a thermometer in my son to get things "moving" a bit. I also try putting some baking soda in his bath and that is supposed to stimulate the muscles that help them go to the bathroom. Also some prune juice in his bottle of milk totally works within hours for us!!!

Sarah - posted on 04/14/2010

I would talk to your doctor and make sure the formula is ok for him.

To help him along, you could try:

~prunes/pears,

~switching his cereal to a whole grain (oat or barley)

~diluted fruit juice (half n half.. boiled and cooled water with juice) white grape, apple/prune

~nice warm bath *(if you notice some stool that is not coming out, this will soften it)

~bicycle legs, sing some songs to him while doing this to him

~belly massage



hope some of this helps your poor little guy. we just did all of this to prevent mine from getting constipated. My 7 month old son was starting to have harder stools, so we made all these changes, and he is poopin great again, lol.

Kelly - posted on 04/14/2010

my son is going through the same thing at the moment.I tried everything and ended up talking to a friend who is a naturopath. She recommended Inner Health for Kids. I just add half teaspoon twice a day to his bottle and it works almost immediately. Hope that helps!

Laura - posted on 04/14/2010

We went through the same problem. We thought we would give the 6mth & Up formula a try & big mistake! We tried everything everyone else has suggested, but the best thing we found was just swapping formula's. We think it was the extra iron & calcium in the graduated formula that he just could not handle.
Good luck finding what works. :)

Jamie - posted on 04/14/2010

Iron in the new formula is probably the culprit, this caused my sister to bind up and be colicky for 6 months. He is probably extremely tired and that is why he is not as happy or sociable as before. BRAT and Prunes, warm baths when he is straining

Sarah - posted on 04/14/2010

I swear by prunes lol. My son was having a lot of problems with constipation. It was so sad to see him straining like he was. Now I feed him prunes pretty often & it really has been helping. Sorry your little one is going through that. Good luck.

Sandrella - posted on 04/13/2010

Same thing happened to my daughter just last week when we ran out of her regular milk-based formula and my husband bought soy formula instead. The second day she was constipated and cried three different times while she was having a bowl movement. Stopped the formula right away and bought a different milk-based one-no problems since. Apparently if your baby is not lactose-intolerant, you shouldn't give them soy formula as it usually constipates them. I also gave her some sweet potato-which I baked-as it is fibrous. If your little one is on soy, then try switching back.

Shelby - posted on 04/13/2010

Our doctor said we can give our daughter Karo or Caro syrup about 1 tsp in one bottle a day. It is what is used for making pecan pie you can find it in the baking section.

Nicola - posted on 04/13/2010

My baby gets constipated from the medications for her reflux. I find that straight after I have fed her, I hold her out (stand him on your legs) or just on the ground, then this will make her poo. If it doesn't happen, try again the next feed. This has been a more effective method for my 6month old that any prescribed laxitive. This is the old fashioned way, and it DOES work! Also, I know pineapple helps to get things moving.

Karen - posted on 04/13/2010

I was just there with my little girl after starting solids...heres what I want you to do:

BRAT stands for bananas, rice cereal, applesauce, and toast....your not there yet but these you need to stay away from!!

Jenna was really constipated for days, and when she did pass a bowel movement she cried and cried..it was really painful for her and her general mood was cranky.
I gave her prunes twice a day...just the heinz prunes....great!! Also you can buy prune juice...

another thing that works wonders is moving their legs like they're on a bicycle...just moving their legs in that area helps their bowels move...

also when you do start solids thinks P!
peaches, pears, peas, prunes, etc...they're all help!!

hope this was somewhat helpful!

Heather - posted on 04/12/2010

I have found that my daughter (7 mo old) loves ice water in a bottle. She will drink a couple ounces or so after her oatmeal and that seems to help. She loves peas and green beans and those seem to help as well. Also, she only poops about every third day, which I have been told is completely fine. However, she is exclusively breastfed.

Jennifer - posted on 04/11/2010

I always keep prunes on hand (the baby food prunes) When Jack seems to be having a rough time, I feed prunes, and he's good to go.

I have a friend who's daughter had really bad issues, so they give her prune juice everyday. It really helps.

Heather - posted on 04/11/2010

In addition to eating prunes/drinking water/prune juice/apple juice and cutting out rice, try massaging his belly in a clockwise motion and doing the bicycle pumps. It really helped my litttle girl.

Alison - posted on 04/10/2010

prunes always work for my daughter

Sarah - posted on 04/10/2010

Ok I do not want to worrie you but I'm saying this more of a look out for type of thing. Make sure you baby is at least pooping everyday if he start pooping only like once a week or so and the stomice become extended the baby might have rectole problemes where there isnt enouph of a certian protien to move the poop out of the intestentes. This can devleop at anytime during the first year of life. But as long as your baby IS pooping daily then I would try prue juice it normal dose the trick, thermomiter in the butt helps too.

Tania - posted on 04/10/2010

My daughter's formula has all those oils as well, and she is fine with them. It will be specifically listed as either PALM OIL or PALM OLEIC. If you don't see PALM, then it is palm oil free. You can try introducing more liquids like some of the other mom's have already suggested. A small amount of juice or even just plain water in between his regular feedings might be all he needs to get this tummy trouble figured out.

Precious - posted on 04/10/2010

my sons milk is called gain. I checked the ingredients it has high oleic sunflower oil, coconut oil and soy oil. is this the same as palm oil?

Tania - posted on 04/10/2010

I'm not sure what type of formula your little one is on ...but check the ingredients. Alot of people are unaware of this, and I just found out this info myself due to my daughter having the same reaction, but check if there is PALM OLEIN in the formula. It's palm oil. It can cause babies to react almost colic-like, get constipated, and just be very very unhappy. I went through a few formulas before I realized that THAT was the problem. My daughter is on Similac, It is one of the only fomulas( that im aware of) that doesnt contain palm oil. I hope this info helps and your lil one feels better soon.

Angela - posted on 04/10/2010

2 oz apple juice with 1 oz water. Works for my daughter every time, within 30 minutes. helps soften it up too. I give her this every day about 4 pm, no problems since

Andrea - posted on 04/10/2010

my daughter had the same problem when she started on solids. i cut out rice cereal completely which helped, and she eats 2 oz. of pureed prunes at breakfast every day. that does the trick perfectly! good luck, i hope your little one feels better soon :)

Precious - posted on 04/10/2010

here in the Philippines we have tropical fruits, i fed him papaya and melon

Taeesha - posted on 04/09/2010

Try to give him prunes, pears. Stay away from too much apples, rice cereal, bananas as they can bind him up even more. I had the same problem with my daughter and i have to give her prunes, pears, green beans, spinach to keep her regular. Also i give her oatmeal that has prebiotics in it that helps her digestive system. Her formula also has prebiotics and bifidous.

Crystal - posted on 04/09/2010

what do you feed your baby?