Four week old baby seems constipated?

Jamie - posted on 08/19/2012

Lol! Ha! Just saw this was from 09!

Jamie - posted on 08/19/2012

If you're nursing, at that age it's normal for their poop to change from all day long to once every 5 days or so. Also, to my knowledge they no longer recommend anal stimulation as this cause damage to the rectum. Just a little corn syrup in a bottle is a great, safe, natural laxative. I hope you read this, I see you already have quite a bit of replies. Trust your Motherly instinct, if you don't feel comfortable with the q-tip method don't do it! Like.I said, that is no longer considered a safe remedy for constipation. I went through the same thing when my son was that age. When I found out my doc was advising me to do something that could harm my child, as well as realizing she was not aware enough of our case to recognize developmental phases of a nursing, growing infant I started to look for another doc. Good luck Mama, trust and have faith in your God given instinct to care for your baby girl, call different nurses & docs on call.

HappyMommy - posted on 08/14/2012

Hi u can try prunes every three days and if that doesn't work u can give her about 2 ounces of water over a 24 hour period .....and y don't u start giving her purée try carrots

Melanie - posted on 08/12/2012

The q-tip and vasoline works every time.

Krystal - posted on 05/18/2009

My daughter was only 10 days old when she became constipated and a nurse I work with suggested an ounce of baby apple juice diluted with an ounce of water. I tried it and she hasn't had any problems since. shes 4 months now

Michelle - posted on 05/17/2009

I have the same issue, but all my sons bowel movements are beginning to come out kind of hard (like normal poo now) and i was told that its normal between 4-6 weeks for them to seem constipated, when in reality their little bodies are just taking alot more nutrients and stuff from the breast milk/formula. it will get easier for them to have a poop, its just (as i was told) stretching the hole

Sandy - posted on 05/17/2009

The same was happening with my little one i switched his formula to sensitive and that seemed to help at times I would also have to give hima suppository.

Mel - posted on 05/17/2009

no no water is fine for constipation! its not nice to see them going thru this. at this age what you can give them prune juice mixed with water this would be the best option 50 mills water to 20 mills prune juice and feed up to 30 mills per day. make sure you do give as muhc water as possible between feeds, and you can get coloxyl drops or something similar from the pharmacy, also in australia there is a specific formula for constipation which has a stool softener in it. other then that the cotton tips with vaseline which you ate already using and warm baths and lower tummy massage.

If the problem persist as she gets older start solids as soon as shes ready try the pureed apple and pears, try baby juice, and do not give rice cereal as this causes constipation. also feed straight orange juice and apple juice, or use parachoc after about 7 months x

Nikki - posted on 05/16/2009

Go to a natural food store and ask them for baby acidopholis! It does wonders!! It's about $20 dollars but We got it for my son when he was 2 months old and still have the same bottle and he's one now..

Katie - posted on 05/16/2009

Quoting Amber:

you can also use kayroo syrup the dark kind and just put a little in her bottle and shake it up thats what i used on my son. my grandma told me that one.

I totally agree with this, we used the dark kayro syrup also. It worked really well, we would also put him on his tummy with his knees tucked under his tummy with his bottom in the air, and we did so the water thing too. We would add an oz of water to his bottle and sometimes we would put some apple juice in with water too and it seemed to help. Getting the extra water also helps with dry flaky skin and baby acne. Hope this helps!

Katie - posted on 05/16/2009

First of all vasaline and a q-tip is a good suggestio, this is called rectal stimmulation. You can also privide rectal stim with just a little bit of gentle pressure at the rectum as well. Some babies when they are that young have issues with bowel movemnents it takes a little time. However, what I have learned from experience, (my son was a constipated mess until he was 1) , is that a tsp of dark caro syrup in the bottle helps alot (it helps lubricate). Also, water will not drown your baby. Some pediatricians believe that you should give at least one water bottle a day and others say that water is not needed because formula hydration is enough. Either way water will not hurt a baby it just should not become a source of nurishment. I also found that if this constipation also is accompianed with alot of gas then you may have a formula issue, but consult your pediatrician before you change brands. Last but not least, just sit your newborn on the floor on his back and hold the feet together and push the knees up to the chest and hold for a few seconds that will help facilitate any gas to get our or make it a more comfortable position to have a bowel movement.

Brittany - posted on 05/16/2009

When my daughter was constipated my doctor told me to give her apple or pear juice. pear juice is better dilute it half water half juice and give her 1 ounce twice a day

Tabatha - posted on 05/16/2009

Quoting Brianne:

Im using the Similac Sensitive formula. Is that good? Ive also used gripe water but for some reason she wont swollow it, keeps spitting it out. Ive heard of rubbing her stomache in circles above her belly button to help. Ive done that too.

have you tryed laying her on her back and grabing her feet and moving them as if she was riding a bike?? my friend had the same problem and she gave her boy some prune juice watered down (50/50) and it worked for her! there is also 2 types for grip water maybe try the other one! and when i use grip water (rare) i just dip his suckie in it!

Tabatha - posted on 05/16/2009

Quoting Brianne:

Im using the Similac Sensitive formula. Is that good? Ive also used gripe water but for some reason she wont swollow it, keeps spitting it out. Ive heard of rubbing her stomache in circles above her belly button to help. Ive done that too.

have you tryed laying her on her back and grabing her feet and moving them as if she was riding a bike?? my friend had the same problem and she gave her boy some prune juice watered down (50/50) and it worked for her! there is also 2 types for grip water maybe try the other one! and when i use grip water (rare) i just dip his suckie in it!

Tiffany - posted on 05/14/2009

we had the same exact problem we gave riley one 1 ounce prune juice bottle but it was half prune juice and half water...if she keeps the problem up ask if theres a possibilty of being intolerant to milk we eventually found out my daughters cause and they put her on lacto free milk

Marilyn - posted on 05/14/2009

oh yes, warm baths with or without baking soda as well work wonders. he poops almost every time we add the baking soda :-)

Marilyn - posted on 05/14/2009

my little guy PURPOSELY holds in his poop - his sphinter muscle is too tight apparently.

Anyways, the doctors sais vaseline and a q-tip for sure, but to use a diaper cream with zinc oxide EVERY change. Also 1-4 oz water daily, with up to a tsp sugar (preferraby dextrose, but normal white sugar is ine) added if he won;'t take the plain water.



or in severe cases (he bleed the other day he was so blocked up) to mix 1 oz prune juice with 2-3 oz water.



always boil thw water first though.

Tammy - posted on 05/14/2009

hi i wud go to ur gp just 2 b sure but my son was like that he used 2 strain and not poop for a gud few days but i used a little sugar in sum cooled boiled water and that seemed to help. It is normal for them 2 strain and not poop for a few days as i asked my gp. hope it helps.

Tempest - posted on 05/14/2009

My son had the same problem when he was that age. I gave him a ounce of apple-prune juice mixed with a ounce of water and he was back regular the next day. If nothing works you may need to switch formulas. http://www.babycenter.com/0_constipation...

Stephanie - posted on 05/14/2009

Maybe not the best but it worked with my daughter when she was that young. I could hear the gas bubbles just breaking up.

As far as constipation, we had to change formula. And then we had to use just a tiny bit of pear juice. But she was around 2 months old when we did that.

Holly - posted on 05/14/2009

i had the same problem and was told the same thing by my doctor but the thing that worked for me was switching formulas my daughter was on similac as well and all she did was push cry and pass gass so i sent my husband to the pharmacy and they told us similac is good at first but its thick and hard to digest so switch formulas and a lower iron one helps as well i use enfamil with low iron and it has worked out great hope this helps i know how bad you feel when the baby is not feeling its best.

Gemma - posted on 05/14/2009

My son didn't poo for 12 days when he was a month old, not nice. We put some baby lotion in the fridge and when we changed his nappy we put his legs up to his chest and squirted the lotion quite hard so the cold shocked him to poo. It worked. You can give a baby of that age some cooled boiled water. Good Luck.

Shannon - posted on 05/14/2009

trying feeding a little bit of prunes or prune juice

Anna - posted on 05/14/2009

Since you're using Similac...that's milk based. My daughter didn't tolerate milk based formula's well either when she was that young. I had to switch to soy. I used Good Start Soy...which worked really well for her. If you don't want to switch off similac...you could try the formula they make for "gassy and fussy babies"...it's orange I think. I alos think they have a soy option.

Lacy - posted on 05/14/2009

I had this problem with my little one who is 3 months. is your lil one passing gas and burping? my doctor told me to give him pure baby juice: pear about 1oz. a day (you can dilute it if you want, but i never did) or you can try 1 oz of sugar water.



hope this helps

Mishael - posted on 05/14/2009

For my son it didn't matter if it was formula or breastmillk he just had bowl issues and still does. (We finally switched him to soy.) Try a little bit of apple-prune juice in her bottle or even a baby spoonful or two of prune baby food just plain or in with her formula. They really do like it. Not too much or she'll have an explosive diaper, but trust me it works. Also a warm bath if she likes those.

Amber - posted on 05/14/2009

you can also use kayroo syrup the dark kind and just put a little in her bottle and shake it up thats what i used on my son. my grandma told me that one.

Abby - posted on 05/14/2009

i used cow and gate prebiotic for my little one! but it really is trial and error like mylene said, somethings work some dont.

gripe water is a strange one, and cam wouldnt swallow it either, but i know some people put it in the milk(i never tried this so have no experience) but i hope something works as it is horrid to watch. we used infacol which was the only thing that seemed to work with my son's colic.

with the tummy circles, you have to do it one way so you get the stuff moving in the right direction, otherwise ur encouragin the food to go the wrong way thru his system(again this was told to me by a friend) if you have their head on your left arm, do the cirlce away from you(clockwise) good luck x

Amber - posted on 05/14/2009

switch the formula over to something without iron. does she have alot of gas that could be caused from the iron and it could constipate her. there also is baby suppositories at the drug store but i honestly think it is the iron in her formula.

Mylene - posted on 05/14/2009

well similac is good for some babies and not for others,,,, same as any other formula... maybe a switch would work... i use nestle good start and it works for us but it is really trial and errors.

Brianne - posted on 05/14/2009

Im using the Similac Sensitive formula. Is that good? Ive also used gripe water but for some reason she wont swollow it, keeps spitting it out. Ive heard of rubbing her stomache in circles above her belly button to help. Ive done that too.

Abby - posted on 05/14/2009

my son got constipated when he was on formula, if ur baby is on formula, try using a prebiotic one, this helped.

also my h/v mentioned he could have some water with a SMALL amount of fruit juice in it. it all worked a treat and we have never had a problem. we gave him about an oz or 2 of water! x

Chelsea - posted on 05/14/2009

no offence but there is no such thin as colic!!! my mum has a book comin out next year all about reaflux babies and sleep trainin! (so i have been very lucky with havin all her help!!!) also gripe water is not the best thinig to be usin if ur baby is that young!!!

Mylene - posted on 05/14/2009

There is also gripe water you can get in drugstores.. It is meant to reduce colics in babies but it generally helps with digestive problems.

Chelsea - posted on 05/14/2009

constipation can be a clasic sign of a dairy intollerance my son used to get it but he has reflux hence not bein allowed dairy!!! i knw it might sound a lil bit silly but try a dairy and lactose free milk!!!

Marisa - posted on 05/14/2009

Are you breastfeeding or using formula? I heard you can rub her tummy a certain way to help her. Try giving her a warm bath, that might help.

Marisa - posted on 05/14/2009

Are you breastfeeding or using formula? I heard you can rub her tummy a certain way to help her. Try giving her a warm bath, that might help.

Marisa - posted on 05/14/2009

Are you breastfeeding or using formula? I heard you can rub her tummy a certain way to help her. Try giving her a warm bath, that might help.

Marisa - posted on 05/14/2009

Are you breastfeeding or using formula? I heard you can rub her tummy a certain way to help her. Try giving her a warm bath, that might help.