Constipation

[Godzgirl]

Every since i switched my baby from breast milk to formula it doesn't seem like he's pooping as much. I'm afraid he might be constipated. Does anybody know what to do when a baby is constipated? :(

[mommyb]

Some Kero water might help. Put a little Kero syrup (corn syrup) in some water and let him drink it. Should help him got to the bathroom!

[soulmom]

i wonder if that would also work for my 3 1/2 year old that makes himself hold it for 3 or 4 days before finally going...

[e&m'sirishmum]

I sometimes just give my ds an onze or so of boiled water, obviously I let it cool down first! I have added those gas drops to it and it seems to help too!

[butterflymom]

When I breast feed my youngest one, he went through the same thing and his doctor told me to get some gerber prune juice, warm it up, and there you have it, and it really worked. He was only about 6 weeks old when I did this. I have also used the Kero but I just pust mine right in with the formula and that worked as well. I used the dark brown Kero.

Butterflymom

[mom n luv]

Since you are formula feeding you could also put a little Karo in the formula. I always had a hard getting my little one to drink enough as it was so the dr. didn't want me to give additional water. But also for a long time my guy only pooped every 3 - 5 days. But it wasn't hard and didn't cause pain coming out so it wasn't considered constipation.

I hope your little guy poops soon. :lol:

[stephwhiz]

I agree that Karo is great to help solve that problem. I had to use it alot with my ds. He had very hard poopys if he even had one at all. Stephanie

Karo is wonderful for constipation. Also in older children popcorn is full of fiber, just be careful of hulls. We buy the hull-less kind. My ped also recommended Tang. It helped my older ds. He would not go for 3-4 days and those things really helped. I think the switch to formula is harder on them especially if you are giving the formula w/iron. Karo and water should do the trick though.

[Gracie]

With breast milk, dd would just have really easy poops. But after we switched to soy formula she would scream and cry whenever she had to push out her poops. So the doctor said she wasnt trying to push them out the right way (I guess, for a lack of a better word, she was keeping them up there, or just not pushing out right, idk). But it was just a phase and she did eventually start pushing them out with ease.

[Godzgirl]

Thanks for all you advice ladies. My little guy finally did poop a little after i asked for your advice. It just seemed like such a huge difference. Because when i was breastfeeding he was pooping like all the time and now not as much.

[justmeNmine]

Massaging the abdomen in a clockwise pattern and also positioning on the left side seems to help with my ds, especially when we switched from breastmilk to formula... I've done the warm water thing too...

My midwife told me that breastfed babies just poop more than formula fed babies. I don't remember how often Abby had a bowel movement (when on formula) but it wasn't every day I don't think.

[Godzgirl]

My midwife told me that breastfed babies just poop more than formula fed babies. I don't remember how often Abby had a bowel movement (when on formula) but it wasn't every day I don't think.

Yeah, i kind of figured that was one reason he didn't poop as much.

[MomFromCanada]

Our dd had constipation went she went from formula to whole milk. We tried to move her legs back and forth (almost like cycling). We did this when she was a newborn to get out gas too. Our Dr. also recommended lots of fruits and vegetables. That seemed to help eventually.

If she seems ok otherwise then she is probably fine. As long as you get bowel movements still... I think it's even normal to only have 1 or 2 a week but I can't remember. If you see her grunting, going red in the face or straining then she is probably constipated. Sometimes it's just hard for them to poop. Even when they aren't constipated.
You could try some prune juice or pear juice. That will help soften things. Or a teaspoon of boiled water mixed with brown sugar. I only tried pear juice though. HTH

If they are constipated they do tend to get upset and sometimes can go red in the face as if they are pushing out "a poo" and can't, they may appear to have a belly ache.

My son used to get constipation a lot and I found one of the best tricks is a warm bath (it relaxes them and the warmth actually helps the area)

If that fails infant suppositories (although not pleasant to administer) work a charm! I had to give my daughter one once and she went within 5 minutes - this was after her being very distressed and screaming.

The chemist told me that was the best thing to give (suppository)

[Rach]

Yeah, my ped said bf babies poop more often and it's mushier. Sorry if that's TMI. LOL

How old is your little boy?