Baby constipation

Melissa - posted on 10/17/2009

Thanks for all the good advice girls. Didn't know that carrots could be constipating--good to know. Prune juice worked great when my 9yr old was constipated (as a baby)...but the twins hate it...ugh...I guess I'll get it figured out! Thanks so much for the help. Going to try some of your advice!

Maggie - posted on 10/16/2009

lots of water! prunes and raisins are good for moving things through, too. Fiber rich foods help keep the stools soft so use whole grains as often as possible. If you give juice you should water it down 1/2 and 1/2. Instead of using laxatives (habit forming) use stool softeners (non habit forming). It will make it easier to go without dehydrating, too.



got this from another website:



Diet treatment for older children over 1 year old



Make sure that your child eats fruits or vegetables at least three times a day (raw, unpeeled fruits and vegetables are best). Some examples are prunes, figs, dates, raisins, peaches, pears, apricots, beans, peas, cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage. Warning: Avoid any foods your child can't chew easily.



Increase bran. Bran is an excellent natural stool softener because it has a high fiber content. Make sure that your child's daily diet includes a source of bran, such as one of the new "natural" cereals, unmilled bran, bran flakes, bran muffins, shredded wheat, graham crackers, oatmeal, high-fiber cookies, brown rice, or whole wheat bread. Popcorn is one of the best high-fiber foods for children over 4 years old.



Decrease the amount of constipating foods in your child's diet. Examples of constipating foods are milk, ice cream, cheese, yogurt, and cooked carrots.



Increase the amount of fruit juice your child drinks. (Orange juice will not help constipation as well as other juices).

Cathralynn - posted on 10/16/2009

That's crazy! I know I had constiaption issues with the starting of solids and with the introduction of milk, but I knew why and how to solve it (after the fact of course). I'll offer my ideas but since you are working with a doc sounds odd that you need more help. Maybe you do need a second opinion cause my ideas came from my doc!



Anyways if you are feeding rice cereal, move on to another grain or stop altogether, Rice flour is constipating. And I somehow didn't know when babies replace formula or bm with solid meals they need to replace the water loss too. Make sure they drink 8oz of water at least a day. And then try for whole grains and tons of fruit and veggies. Sounds like you do that.



When I introduced whole milk my daughter didn't take to it right away. Doc said its okay just make sure she gets three servings of dairy a day or 24oz. My literal self tried to get my daughter to eat 8oz of cheese as a serving! Serving of cheese is 2oz. No wonder! But anyways if your twins have a high intake of milk, cheese, and yogurt you might cut back. There's always the probiotic yogurts too.



I never did karos or any of that only prune juice. We don't do juice, whole fruit is better, so I gave it straight from a med dropper. And made the diet changes. Worked for us. Sounds odd that both babies are constipated. Makes me think it is diet in some way and not a med problem they BOTH have? Good luck!

Amber - posted on 10/16/2009

Prune juice has been working for me and my 7 month old. I was trying to give her lots of applesauce but when i talked to the doctor about it she said that applesauce can actually be a constipator. But the prune juice has worked like a charm for me. Plus i have been giving her blueberries as well.

Jennifer - posted on 10/16/2009

Have you every tried to give them 2 oucnes of warm water to a 1 tsp of sugar. That does work my son had the same problem as a baby and i gave him that every once in a while and it works also. have you also tried maybe soy milk on them. I also tried whole milk and my son had a problem but with soymilk no problem at all!!!

Kim - posted on 10/16/2009

When my daughter had this problem, we traveled to a specialist to no avail. We changed her pediatric dr. who advised milk of magnesia. one half teaspoon to start, then three-qtrs if needed. She said this was safe enuf to use EVERY day and it worked like a charm. My 86 yr. old grandmother suggested this before the doctor did, so I guess old folks do know something!

Danielle - posted on 10/16/2009

my baby had the same problem, so i called the doctor and she told me to give him prune juice and it worked like a charm. good luck and i hope this helps.

Lydia - posted on 10/16/2009

You can get specialists for this kind of problem (my goddaughter needed one). Could be worth finding out if there is a specialist somewhere near you that you can get a referal to...

Barbara - posted on 10/16/2009

MY GREAT NIECE IS ALMOST 2 AND STILL HAS DAYS WHEN SHE HAS TROUBLE BUT WITH LOTS OF FRUIT SHE IS BETTER

Debra - posted on 10/16/2009

You can try just a little bit of mineral oil in a bottle with milk. About half to a full tsp. That is what my Dr. suggested with my son starting about 3 months when he started to have constipation problems. She never even suggested Miralax even though both his daddy and his 11 yr old brother have the same problem and use it. I think at this age it is really better to stay away from all chemical laxatives even though Miralax would be the gentlest to use.

Mimi - posted on 10/16/2009

I mixed prune juice and flat cola in a bottle and that helped my sons. His was always large and hard to pass also. This seemed to help better then the miralax for my son, and I dont like giving him meds everyday. They can get dependent.

Erika - posted on 10/16/2009

try a suppository. you can get that at a drug store. that usually makes it come right out. sometimes it it normal for them not to go for a few days, but constipation is different. if the suppository does not work, maybe think about having test done or an x-ray to make sure everything is working properly.

Melissa - posted on 10/16/2009

Yeah...I do give them prunes every morning too!! That is their first baby food of the morning...prunes with apples, or just prunes. Crazy that apple juice, prunes didn't loosen them up on their own...And the laxative too. I just can't believe it!



They were on enfamil AR, now they are on whole cows milk. They were constipated on the formula to..so I know it isn't the introduction of the cows milk. I will try the rice milk. Thanks Gwen.



My husband thinks we need a second opinion to Connie. Thanks.

Sandra - posted on 10/16/2009

I work with children and see this a lot. How much Apple juice are they drinking and what kind? If it is the normal apple juice that we as adults drink the constapation could be due to too much sugar in thier diet. Try giving them only water and milk to drink for a few days and see if that works. Children have a hard time digesting sugar, normally at a year old children can digest sugar but if your children were premature or had a low birth weight then it could take their bodies longer to be able to digest the sugar.

Connie - posted on 10/16/2009

i would get a second opinion. how does he know they are constipated and it is not something else? at their age they should not be taking a chemical laxative everyday. it sounds like he is treating the symptoms and not the cause.

Gwen - posted on 10/16/2009

Do your babies drink milk or formula? Try Fortified Rice Milk. My daughter had terrible constipation problems and this is the only thing that worked. It took a week or 2 to get things moving, but once it did, we haven't had any problems since. Prunes are also good for constipation (baby food or cut up into raisin size pieces, if they are good at chewing).