Whats best to help with a constipated 2 1/2 week old who rarely poops? She eats breast milk and form

Elmarie - posted on 06/22/2009

Hi, I am a sister and works in a baby clinic. If baby doesn't appear uncomfortable, then you needn't worry. Otherwise you can give some milk of magnesia or if she is really struggling give her a half gliserine suppositry. You can get it without ' prescribsion and it will not do any harm to her as it works only locally. It is normal for some babies not to pass stools for several days, therefore if she is not uncomfortable, I wouldn't interfere to much. Good luck!

Jessica - posted on 06/22/2009

she is constipated because ur both breastfeeding and formula feeding it happend to my daughter you need to stop doing one of them and try giving her some sterilised water to help her poo thats what i did with my daughter

Jeanine - posted on 06/22/2009

A mixture of 1 tsp Karo syrup to 4 oz boiled water - cooled off
Ingredients are right.
I forget the measurements.
I think that's it.

Kylie - posted on 06/21/2009

Unless your baby is distressed, dont worry. The leg rolling and massage is great in combination with a warm bath. I wouldnt give my baby anything other than breast milk or formula until a lot later but YOU can have it. Rather than give the baby sugar, you consume it and it will go thru to bub. I found a McD' Caramel Sundae always sent my kids pooping!

Tammy - posted on 06/21/2009

talk to your pediatrician about Lactalose; it helped my little girl and she was a preemie

Mel - posted on 06/21/2009

i posted on your other one but not sure if you saw it anyway the prune juice works, raw sugar in the bottle, plenty of water between feeds, coloxyl drops, vaseline on a cotton tip when you change her nappy, and add 5-10 mills extra water to the bottle. or you can try changing formula, eliminate iron , and if planning on using rice cereal anytime , dont

Robin - posted on 06/21/2009

And further, check with your pediatrician before adding things to her formula, if you choose to continue the formula. She is young yet!

Robin - posted on 06/21/2009

Yes, reduce or eliminate formula, & it should correct. If not, have it checked out.

Tiffany - posted on 06/21/2009

You can try pushing their legs to abdomine...my youngest had trouble from day one. We switched her to a soy formula and it got better. When she has a lot of trouble we heat wash clothes on the heating pad and then place warm clothes on her belly and that seem to do the trick everytime! It takes about 45 minutes of warm clothes but then she always goes! Good Luck!

Lydia - posted on 06/21/2009

If she is constipated then you can use a little prune juice. I just added a 1/2 ml to each or every other bottle for my daughter. It worked very well for her.

But like Cathelijn says - constipationis the difficulty to poo not the frequency.

Stephanie - posted on 06/21/2009

My pediatritian said it's normal for babies to not poop very often. She said there are kids that dont poop for 3 weeks at a time and its ok.

Cathelijn - posted on 06/21/2009

Are you sure she is constipated ?? Does she seem to be in pain and straining while pooing? My daughter was breastfed and only had bowel movement every 3 or 4 days. When we started her on formula she had a bowelmovement every 2 days. I was told that it is more about what the poo looks like then how often they go! If it is hard and it is really hurting her mayb try a different formula or do half breastmilk half formula. But if it is paste like I wouldn't worry to much about it... ( sorry everyone didn't want to go into to much poo detail:-))

Tashia Ann - posted on 06/21/2009

i give my 4month old karo in her bottle an i even give it to my 3yr old in her cup with her juice or milk.

Tara - posted on 06/21/2009

I had this horrible problem with my baby girl who is almost 3 months, she would go sometimes up to 50 some hours w/out pooing. She would be miserable but our pediatrician kept saying it was normal for a baby not to go for a few days. I don't agree. We ended up going to see a gastroenterologist. They put her on whats called Lactulose. It is not a medication, or an antibiotic. It is almost like Karo syrup(sugar water) they give some babies in the hospital. She gets 3 mls twice a day and ever since she has been on it she poops at least one time a day and has made her little belly so much better. And not to mention better for her daddy and i because we are able to enjoy a happy baby, not one that is constipated! Good luck to you =)

Emi - posted on 06/21/2009

i had the same problem with my boy, mainly cause of my diet.add peach to your diet if you nurse or prune to the baby formula, will help a lot. it worked for me.Also the advide above to massazh the tummy clock wise and push the feet to the tummy. worked for my little one too. hope this helps.

Carol - posted on 06/21/2009

When my little one got constipated I put about 2 drops of baby apple juice into an ounce of water and accomplished two things at once. I was able to get some water in her and it made it easier for her to poop. Not sure what type of formula you are using but the soy based formulas are famous for making babies constipated clear back to when my oldest was first born and she is 31 now. Also when the baby does try to poop and has a hard time with it help by lightly pushing on the stomach (sort of like rubbing) in a top to bottom motion to ease some of the cramping. Imagine how you feel when you are constipated and then remember that the baby doesn't know what caused their discomfort.

E. - posted on 06/21/2009

Pump your breastmilk into a bottle and and a teaspoon of prune juice to the milk....

Jenny - posted on 06/21/2009

It is common for breast fed babies to poop less often. I had a daughter who would go several days without going. If you are concerned because you think she should, but she is not irritable, then I wouldn't worry about it. But if you think her stomach is hard and she seems uncomfortable, you could try to put a few drops of mycilin in her bottles and that will help with any gas. If she can get that out, then she can get the poop out, if there is any. Maybe she is absorbing everything she eats.

Christy - posted on 06/21/2009

I used to use the cranberry juice or even a bit of prune juice nota lot mind you but I recall after like 3 bottles my daughter had a BM an it's okay and safe without using meds

Danielle - posted on 06/21/2009

My son had this same problem if you put one tiny drop of Karo syrup in her bottle that will help. Also if you feel uncomfortable doing that you can put a small amount of cranberry juice right in her formula bottle. You could do that to as many bottles as you'd like but the Karo syrup you can only put in one bottle a day. My doctor reccomended the Karo syrup to me but a friend of mine used cranberry juice in her daughters bottles. Good luck though!

Mel - posted on 06/21/2009

well its just common sense i think. thats why they sleep longer because formula fills there tummies more and is also used for prem/underweight babies. so perhaps this lady needs it to help her child gain weight. either way she is entitled to use formula is she wishes. i know i will be with my next

Tamara - posted on 06/21/2009

Quoting Melissa:

isnt it her choice to do so Tamara? maybe she is using formula to get more sleep during the night

Considering there is no scientific evidence showing the early introduction of formula or solids increases the length of sleep periods at night, there is no reason to use it to "get more sleep."

Mel - posted on 06/21/2009

isnt it her choice to do so Tamara? maybe she is using formula to get more sleep during the night

Tamara - posted on 06/21/2009

Why are you supplementing with formula? It shouldn't be necessary and is more than likely the culprit of the constipation.

Barbara - posted on 06/21/2009

i had this same problem with my daughter. my doctor told me to go and get the pedi-fleets. they are little fleets. they almost look like teardrops. you give half of it. and she should poop with in 20 mins.

Jenn - posted on 06/21/2009

have been a foster mother for the last 12 years give her a little karo syrup in the formula like one tsp in 2 once of for formula . until she is going normaly

Kyla - posted on 06/21/2009

Hi, I'm a pediatrician and a new mom. DO NOT add extra water to the formula. Babies, especially young ones, are unable to handle free water like older kids and adults. The formula is probably what is adding to her constipation. If you can, give her half formula and half breast milk with every feed, that way she is always getting breastmilk and this will help break down the formula and digest it easier. Also if she hasn't pooped at all in a couple of days and looks uncomfortable, you can give her 1oz of pear juice. Don't give more than 2 oz/day. Try those things and I hope that your situation improves.

Serena - posted on 06/21/2009

Take feet and pull up towards belly, and rub belly in a clock wise circle... (clock wise) it's very important.

Cheryl - posted on 06/21/2009

Stop with the formula and increase your fiber in your diet. I had this problem with my youngest. She was just on formula but she was very constipated. So I changed her milk to soy. It got better after the milk change. So now she is 18 months still having problems but I give her 2% milk and feed her lots of veggies.

Chantal - posted on 06/21/2009

The formula is probably whats causing the constipation. You can add extra water to the formula to make it thinner. I add less formula but my son is 7 months. Good luck