My poor baby is constipated!

Laura Zoey - posted on 06/09/2011

That's good to know! Eric has only had small hard poop a few times, but only since he has been eating solids more, but when he was little he did go a few days without pooping, but he wasn't constipated, just didn't have much to expel cuz it was always soft when he did manage to poop :(

Michelle - posted on 06/09/2011

I can tell you that constipation can happen with breastfed babies. I had that problem when I breastfed baby #3 & #4 (when I had boob's to nurse my kids before breast cancer). Chandler's didn't last too long for about a couple of weeks. Ian's was worse and I ended up changing my diet to no dairy while I was still nursing him. It made a huge difference to him and after 1 month he finally got regular and not constipated. Breastfed babies are most likely to not get constipated but for those that do it's most likely has to do with the mother's diet.
So it can happen.

Chelsea - posted on 06/09/2011

laura most breastfed babies dont get constipated but while i was breastfeeding she started having problems when she was 3 weeks old, she could go but wasnt going right, she was exclusivly breastfed but her poo was not like the seedy yellow it should have been and was thick and she struggled to go, then i got stung by and Afericanized bee while down in flordia, i had a allergic reaction and although i made sure to repeat over and over and was assured by the doctors it was fine they put me on a steroid to stop the reaction. Kaelyn was already having trouble pooping at this point and the steroids made it much much worse, so it was just a buliding of problems....she is doing great now at 26 months we just watch what she eats (low dairy, high fiber, no bananas) and keep track of how often she goes, if she doesnt go for two days we give her a probiotic

Laura Zoey - posted on 06/09/2011

I'm so sorry for all of you :( ill never complain about fierna's watery squishy poop again!
I hope he keeps improving Michelle, poor boy!
Chelsea, I never heard that could happen! I've been told no breastfed baby can get constipated!

Katie - posted on 06/07/2011

I'm dealing with this right now also. My DS is 4 weeks old and he has a hard time with bowel movements, his poops are almost clay looking. My DR recommened bio gaia drops for his bottles, so we picked those up and since he has had only a few regular BMs but not enough to make him comfortable daily. He is formula fed also and I was told what I'm giving him is the best formula for digestion so not to change that.
I think gas is unavoidable in babies this young as their digestive systems haven't matured yet but constipation is something to keep a close eye on, looks like there is a few ladies in the same boat here with their babies, let me know if something works really well for you!!

Michelle - posted on 06/06/2011

Ladies thank you sooo much for your input. Wow, Chelsea it was a good thing you went with your instincts and got a second opinion for your child. I have always thought it's not normal not pooping for many days and I was getting very concern with my newest little one with him being only 5 wks old and being this constipated.
Fortunately he finally had a normal poop this evening, it was soft the way it's supposed to be. Yeah!!!
I have used a thermometer on my one son last year to stimulate the area so he could poop. It did work sometimes.
I will definitely keep in mind what everyone suggested in case he gets this way again.
Thanks again!!

√v^√v^√♥ - posted on 06/06/2011

bernadette, it's usually the ingredients in the formula that causes them to be constipated, like the rice and soy, as they are harder on babies systems. sometimes babies get used to it. but i read it can take WEEKS :( whilst some people say it never got 'regular'.

I would try the 2oz water/2oz apple juice (as that's what my doctor told us to do even when our son was 3 weeks old) and talk to your doctor about how long it should take for him to be regular. and if he isn't regular what to do.

remember people can die from being constipated, its called toxic shock syndrome. So it's no joke and after 3 days can become deadly so you have to keep on it.

on a weirder note, ive heard people use a thermometer to stick partly up their butts to 'break and open' the poop? I didnt try it. didn't have the guts to stick it up there...... ewwww
but its supposed to be basically a baby enema that works.
eww.. lol

Bernadette - posted on 06/06/2011

hello my dear i have five kids so i know what you are going through. the breast milk have water and all the supplement the baby need but with formula's are diffrent they dont have the water in it that is why she is consipated so you would have to give her water is she drinks 4ozs of formula you would give 3ozs & 1 water but she have to go daily or she will b uncomfortable

√v^√v^√♥ - posted on 06/06/2011

Ohhhhhhh yes. I did. Our son got very constipated on Soy and Rice based formulas. He wasn't puking up the regular stuff but he was very gassy and having so many tummy problems we tried the other stuff and it was instant back up for him and I would have to rub his tummy. It was aweful! I hear pear juice works better than prune or apple juice for unclogging babies that are backed up. It should be safe to put 2oz of one of these juices with 2oz of water into a bottle to unblock them. That's what our doctor told us when our son was very young (he was 3 weeks old having such problems! I felt so bad!) the doctor told us apple, so maybe you can try apple?

I hear that their systems can adjust but it takes a while. However, I wasn't comfortable waiting 3 days for him to poop and having to almost rub it out of him every time! It was so bad. I could feel his entire intestine be a big lump on the... right side of HIM... which is left if you are facing him. Aweful! I finally switched back to normal and figured out how to get rid of the gas (letting the formula sit and fizz out all the bubbles?!) gotta love it.......

Chelsea - posted on 06/06/2011

I breast fed my daughter and had the same problem started at about 3 weeks old, i dont know what is causing it but i urge you not to let it continue to long, my daughters doctor kept telling me it was ok and to try over the counter things and after 9 months i demanded xrays and a refurral to a GI specialist as well as changed doctors, at 11 months old she had a biopsy and had to have a barium enema xray and a upper barium xray which showed she had a redundant colon, which was caused by the stretching from the constant constiption. from the time she was 5 months old till 18 months she had poo so large and hard it made her bleed every time she went....we ended up having to admit her to the hospital to clean her out. The first GI specialist we saw referred us to a surgeon who thought we needed to remove the redundant colon so i went for a second opinion and was told the redundant colon was a result in my ped.s negligence and because it was caused by the stretching that if we got the constipation under control it would cause no problems and likely revers itself. We didn't have surgery and as a result of having the clean out, a miralax regimin and diet control she has been going well for a few months now. just after her 2nd birthday we stopped miralax and only have a hard stool once or twice a month.....anyway moral of the story " no constipation is normal constipation" from the words of my GI. my ped was telling me some babies just have hard time going poop and childhood constiption can be normal....



We switched from breastfeeding do to adding tons of juice into her diet and ended up using a prebiotic formula, we used a store brand and never tried soy because if anything im lactose intolerant and generally lactose intolerance causes diarrhea. we started using diluted apple juice at 3 months old, then went to prune diluted, to prune undiluted to using corn syrup and then miralax.