my 3 month old is not having regualr bowels...

Danielle - posted on 06/25/2009

My Daughter had an awful time with this from 2 months old to about 8 months old. First the doctor put her on good carnation soy formula, and that seemed to help some. But eventually her doctor told me to give her 3-4 ounces of prune juice a day. It worked so well that she went everyday, sometimes 2 times!! Its okay to give them the prune juice the doctor assured me, they even give it to the premie baies in the neo-natal unit at the hospital. Good luck!! Oh yeah and my daughter loved it for some reson.

Jennifer - posted on 06/23/2009

My daughter could not go on her own (without babylax) until she was about 6 months old and started on rice cereal. We did not want to try laxatives, but her muscles would not work together. We had a very holistic doctor, and he assured us that babylax would not make her dependent because it is simply glycerin and is not absorbed in any way-just lubricates and makes them feel the need to push. Breast milk is easier to digest, so it forms less bulky stools. As a result, she never felt enough pressure "down south" to really know where to push from. Once she started eating babyfood and rice cereal the problem disappeared within days, and she has had no problems since (she is now 8). We used babylax for months because I was not willing to let her be uncomfortable, and she has had absolutely no negative results since.

Melissa - posted on 06/23/2009

Dark Karo Syrup is an old fashioned remedy used in water or you can put it in formula. It will work. It's what our grandmothers used to do.

Abby - posted on 06/23/2009

my baby was the same but it was when he was younger than ur little one, we were told to put a small amount of fruit juice, orange or apple with a few oz of water, shld soften thigns up nicely! x

Shanon - posted on 06/23/2009

I would have to say that these other posts are great if your child does not have a serious problem. My daughter now 2 1/2, has had constipation problems since birth. She was born at home, breast fed for 6 months, was on EVERY type of formula out there and once she went to solids, STILL had problems. We had her tested for hirschprungs diesease and that was negative. Finally the only solution was MIRALAX. It is a lite laxative that we would mix with her last drink of the day, usually milk at bed time. Everyday she gets 1/2 a cap. It is not a dependent, but you can tell when she misses it for a day. To me... it is worth her taking it daily vs. the screaming and bloody stools. The Miralax keeps her loose and regular. Her tummy is not bloated and doesn't seem to mind taking it. She knows it is her 'poopy' medicine and it works... I tried the juice and karo, even Gripe water... none of these worked for her. I hope that you find ease for your little one, as it is just as painful to the parent to watch them hurt.... Good luck...

Holly - posted on 06/23/2009

It can be perfectly normal for a baby to go days without pooping. They can litterally be on the same diet for months and have loose poops for a couples days, hard poops the next, and then not poop at all. If your worried about it call and ask the doctor. When the baby is a bit older on solids and they are seeming pretty constipated (really hard poops fussing, ear pulling) you can give them 3 oz of pear juice in a bottle one or twice in a day and that acts a safe natural diacritic. If you give it to them in the morning is usually will have affects by night time since they need to digest it. Same if you feed them fig baby food. One container of that usually does it, that for when they start solids of course though. Our was on solids at 4 months when the doctor okayed it. The juice can be found with the baby food on the same aisle, its by Gerber too I think. Don't make a habit of it either since its sugar and they don't need it, just a day or two to get things moving again. "What to expect the first year" is a great book to have, it answers all these questions and more and goes month by month for things that might freak you out that happen to be perfectly normal, but you just wouldn't know otherwise! :) If baby is still fussy and seems to be in pain doctor is always best and will often answer questions and can assess whats going on over the phone. If it sounds normal they will tell you what to do, if not you need to go in.

Rachel - posted on 06/23/2009

My little girl did exactly the same at 21/2-4 months on and off. My health visitor said it is really normal for breast fed babies to go up to 7-10 days without pooing - they're just having less waste!I think with formula they're more likely to have uncomfortable constipation. My baby's farts were pretty lethal! Some health visitors recommend water or orange juice if they seem really uncomfortable. Mine said "babies always make a big fuss about their bowels"!? As long as they're peeing regularly I don't think it's a problem. My little girl is now 5 months and poing every 2-3 days. Hope you get a solution & peace of mind.

Lisa - posted on 06/23/2009

i HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH BOTH OF MY CHILDREN. GO TO THE STORE AND IN THE SYRUP ISLE YOU SHOULD FIND KARO IT IS OLD FASHION SYRUP I MEAN REALLY OLD. ANYWAY PUT ABOUT 1oz TO 3oz OF WARM WATER IT SHOULD PRODUCE A BOWEL MOVEMENT. IF SHE IS STILL NOT GOING IT IS SAFE TO DO 2oz AND 2oz. IT WORKS EVERY TIME AND IT'S JUST SUGAR AND WATER AFTER THE FIRST OR SECOND BOTTLE SHE SHOULD BE FINE. i HAD TO GIVE MY KIDS THIS EVERYDAY FOR ABOUT A WEEK BEFORE THEY WERE REGULAR. GOOD LUCK!!!!

Angie - posted on 06/23/2009

I would say 3-4 days with out a bowel movement is in some cases ok but six days is way to long.My little boy never took that long to have a bowel movent and in the nursing home I worked in if they didn't go in four days they were concerned and giving them something to go. She doesn't need to go everyday but six days is too long she might be constipated. I have also used apple juice,prune juice, the rectal temp and the kayro syrup. It all seems to help. I would talk to your doctor and see what they suggest also.Every baby is different and doesn't go everyday but six days seems a little long. It's just my opinion though.

Chasity - posted on 06/23/2009

My son had the same problem around 5 months, and his doctor suggested giving him a half ounce to ounce of prune juice with water, or prune baby food. Always did the trick!

Kara - posted on 06/23/2009

We had the same problem with our son, he is now 19 months and still has a hard time. The karo syrup worked for him as an infant, but it has been a constant battle. Things have started getting better since I have kept a close eye on his diet. Sometimes changing formulas at that age helps.

Kristina - posted on 06/23/2009

Hi Amanda,



My daughter, Emily, is almost three months old as well. She normally has a BM at least 1-2 x's/day; however, at times, she doesn't not have a BM everyday. She also seems to struggle with gas/tummy upset at times. Are you breastfeeding or bottle feeding? The are high dosages of iron in alot of formulas which my lead to constipation. If the problem persists, I would contact your pediatrician immediately; my pediatrician told me that my daughter should have 1-2 BM's a day. Good luck.

Jenyck - posted on 06/23/2009

My nephew has had this problem and they found that he had a milk intolerance. But when my son was a baby, 17 years ago, Karo syrup and fletcher's castoria did the trick.

Courtney - posted on 06/23/2009

Have you tried asking your Doctor? It may be the formula you have her on if you are not breastfeeding. Alot of times they just need to change their diet a bit. Also, supposatories are good things, they will not become depenedent on them, I promise. My little one is 2 and when she was that age she had the same issue. I had to "help" her at times but all it did was releive her pain and helped her feel better.



Have you tried to remove her diaper when she seems like she is trying and just take a Q-tip, put a glob of vaselline on it and coat the hole for her. It may be that when it gets there it is too hard for her to push out.



One last thing....give her straight apple or prune juice.... that will loosed things up. :)

Vanessa - posted on 06/23/2009

I have a 7-month old daughter and we went through this same problem. Question are you breast-feeding or formula feeding? Believe it or not that does make a difference, I to did not want to use the suppositories, so I talked to my 92- year old Great Grandmother and she suggested a 1/2 TBSP of dark kayro sryup to her bottle once a day or mixedin her cereal.. Oh course I called my Peditrician and she also said that I could do this as well. It worked and we started having a BM every other day.

Jessica - posted on 06/23/2009

It sounds like she's just going through a growth spurt. Mine went four days and then had a huge stinky diaper. Explosive even. Found out that it was part of the whole growth spurt thing. She's four months old and doesn't have a bowel movement every day. There's nothing wrong with that though. I also read that their digestive systems are just starting to mature. I wouldn't worry about it just yet. Mine seems uncomfortable too when she is gassy and also has smelly farts. I just try to help her pass the gas. If they are getting really smelly, she'll most likely be almost ready to have a bowel movement. At least, that is how it was with mine. I asked the doc about suppositories and he said no and that what was going on was normal. I highly doubt she is constipated. You could always take a rectal temp. That seems to help a little and I found it eased my mind on the fact that she wasn't running a temp. Hope that helped.