VERY CONSTIPATED BABY:( need advice from experienced mommies

Rochelly

Tue, Feb 02 2010, 8:23 pm

My baby is 4 months old and eats formula, oat cereal and some baby food. She has always had problems with constipation but now its really bad. I give her prune juice in her bottle but it doesn't help. The doctor suggested that I give hr myralax for a week. I was really afraid to do it but I didn't know what else to do. After 2 days she was making much to much and the doctor told me to stop. Now we are back to constipation. He said to give her prune baby food which is not kosher. Does anyone know where I can find it? Beechnut and Gerber are both not kosher. Do any of you experienced mommies have any advice?

THANKS A MILLION Smile

Fabulous

Tue, Feb 02 2010, 8:58 pm

what works for my son is prune juice (a lot, at 4 months it was about 4 oz a day) and a tsp of dark karo syrup in every bottle. It did the trick.

Now my prob is ds stopped liking prune juice!

shirafruma

Tue, Feb 02 2010, 9:14 pm

You can make the prunes yourself..boil them and give them a whiz in the food processer

Try a 2 oz chamolie tea..warm and not too dark

maybe lay off the cereal? my kids were also consipated kids and the cereal didnt help either of them much.

Even better: Rub their stomach OR (this may sound gross) rub their toush. It stimulates the bowels...my kids pedatrician reccomened that and it really works.

manhattanmom

Tue, Feb 02 2010, 10:13 pm

I have baby food jars of prunes--Beechnut with the OU.
Where do you live that you can't find them?
Some of them are not plain prunes-they're prunes and pears, etc.

I actually always make sure I have one or 2 jars in my pantry for times like this...

Fabulous

Tue, Feb 02 2010, 10:21 pm

pabambi wrote:

brown sugar and water...1 tsp of brown sugar dissolved in 4 oz of boiled water...works great.

Actually my pediatrician recommends about 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp per ounce.

I tried everything with ds, warm water bath, brown sugar water, thermometer up his backside, plain prune juice, light colored great juice, everything. The only thing that worked was the combination of prune juice and dark karo syrup in the formula.

devorahh

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 6:46 pm

My son was also very constipated. After speaking with a natural nutritionist, she suggested to stay away from rice and oats. Babies have a hard time diggesting it causing them to be constipated.

momomany

Thu, Feb 04 2010, 9:55 am

DD always had trouble with hard stools. The upside was that she never had a diaper rash or a leaky pamper Smile

. I had to keep away from baby cereal & later on even cheerios. [Corn pops (I know, they're not terribly nutritious embarrassed

) was a good alternative snack when we were outside] I fed her fruit (berries, peaches - not apples, banana or pears), lots of avocado, butternut squash, carrots, blended chicken etc. I tried to give her a bottle of prune juice diluted in water once a day - it did not do anything dramatic, but I felt that the extra liquid would do her good. Once I resorted to using Little Tummies Senna baby laxative. DD is now 3 & still tends to harder stools, but nothing beyond the range of normal.

momomany

Thu, Feb 04 2010, 10:03 am

I just reread the op post - If your baby is only 4 months old, why are you offering so many solids? Obviously the baby's little tummy is having a hard time with it. Maybe wait a month or 2 in order to let his digestive system mature a bit. DS is 5 months old. 3 weeks ago, I offered some baby oatmeal (ds is very big & eating quite often). After a few days, I realized that he seemed to have bouts of stomach aches a little while after the cereal. I stopped the solids & he is happy again. Even though he wakes at night to drink, I will wait a while before offering solids again. Every baby's body is different & it is important to follow their cues when making feeding choices.

Sunflower

Thu, Feb 04 2010, 10:18 am

hi
you have two issues here. one, is if he's constipated, help him get the "blockage" out- all of the prunes, etc, will only help for bowel movements that are after the one stopping him up. and two, once that's passed you have to keep your baby from getting constipated. so maybe use the myalmar (sp?) stuff again, and then keep him on prunes every day (if you can find kosher, just steam some prunes, boil in a bit of water till very soft, and then grind them with a hand blender) to prevent this from happening again. stewed prunes are quite potent, so you won't have to give much, a couple of teaspoons a day, but you have to be consistent.
hatzlacha!

Rochelly

Thu, Feb 04 2010, 10:23 am

momomany wrote:

Thanks.. I started to feel her solids as per the doctors advice. He told me that bottle fed babies need to start on solids earlier. He also recommended baby fruits to help with her constipation but I think it made it worse. I know it is on the early side but I tried anyway. I stopped on my own and will discuss with the doctor. I stopped and am waiting to see if she feels better... I was just hoping that the fruits would help her constipation.

Rochelly

Thu, Feb 04 2010, 10:30 am

manhattanmom wrote:

I looked in Target, Key Food and the kosher store (I live in Brooklyn). All the prunes that I saw did not have a hechsher. I called the OU and was told that the reason some of them do not have a hechsher is because they are made in the same machinery as non-kosher meat for baby food that is not properly cleaned and kashered in between. They said that there is another brand.. I think it's called natures best. I'm gonna be on the lookout... (If the doctor thinks I should still give it to her)

MommytoB

Thu, Feb 04 2010, 10:44 am

earths best has a combined prune/oatmeal jar with an ou. If you cannot find it in a regular store, whole foods has it. But 4 months is very early to eat (then again I never formula fed). Lay off the baby cereals b/c those make the problem worse.

On changing table, rub her stomach in circles starting at her belly button, be firm. Hold her knees into her chest to help her when she is trying to go and rub at the same time. Give her a warm bath and rub her tummy while in the bath (don't be surprised if she goes in there). After the bath some people will try using a thermometer with some vaseline on it to help them go. I only resorted to that once and it did work, bu the warm water and tummy rubbing are very effective. If you see her trying to go and not being succesful, that is when you need to start rubbing her tummy and holding her legs to her chest the most. Good luck!