Baby Constipation

My kids doctor once suggested if the baby has constipation, to have the child eat fruits that start with P. They help them go better. Examples--Pears, peaches

My daughter always had a major constipation issue. We were told by her pediatrician to put Karo syrup in her bottle. 1-Tbsp, depending on the amount she drinks. I also would alternate prunes after feeding something like bananas to help and keep her as regular as possible.

If He gets to bound up, Glycerin Suppositories work well. They sell the infant size at any drug store - I would just cut them in half lengthwise.

Try Miralax. It is over the counter and very effective. Ask the pharmacist to dose it for you.You can put into formula. We had a horrible time too and this worked well. Good luck!

If you are breastfeeding, your son doesn't need fruit yet, even cereal is really unnecessary at this point. Try waiting a month and trying again with the banannas. Really, breast milk is all the nutrition he needs, and is a natural laxative. Constipation seems to indicate that it is too much other food, and not enought breastmilk. Introducing solids at this age is just to develop the palate, not to offer extensive nutrition. If your baby's digestive system is not ready to handle it yet, don't worry, just try again later. Under no circumstances should you give your infant Karo syrup as it is concentrated corn syrup (sugar!), and could really be damaging in terms of allergies and insulin resistance.

We had the same problem with our little one. First of all, stop giving him whatever you think is causing the problem. Maybe his little system is just not ready for bananas.

There are lots of other solids that don't constipate as much. Try peaches, pears, and applesauce; our little guy liked avocados (also high in fiber) or sweet potatoes.

Look into Dr. Sears's advice on starting solids and constipation. He's so helpful, and lots of his wisdom can be found online.

Increase the breast milk

hi J.!
banana definitely is constipating! and my son adores them!there are a few things that have worked for us - fennel seed tea - you boil the fennel seeds for like 5 mins or so and (its somewhat sweet, so well received) whenever needed in a sippy cup also good ol prunes! the organic puree mixed into food or straight works like gangbusters! applesauce is great too because of the pectin it is good for bowel happiness!
also rice is binding so you might want to try another type of cereal! peace! A.

My little one was constipated for a week when she was around the one year month mark. it was horrible - we tried prune juice, and a enema to no avail. we then gave her straight mineral oil (about 1-2 tablespoons) in her formula. After giving it to her twice - it worked! so i now always keep it in the house and slip a little in her drinks if i notice a need for it... all our methods were via the advice of her pediatrician - the mineral oil being the last resort. but i suggest asking your pediatrician his/her thoughts on these suggestions.
Hope this helps

Hi J.,
I can suggest lots on this subject. First of all the iron in the formula can cause constipation but your baby needs that. And rice and bananas are both known to cause constipation. Try oatmeal or barley for cereal and if you use rice, add pears or pear juice to it. It works just as well as prunes. Also add a little water to his diet. a few ounces a day is good. And if he is still having trouble, check with your pediatrician. Usually 1/2 tsp of milk of magnesia every day or every other day will be prescribed or the use of glycerin suppositories. Those are generally used for a time until the baby's schedule becomes more regular.
M. - pediatric nurse and grandma of a constipated 7 month old girl!

Bananas do cause constipation. Try giving him apple juice with his water. Also give him other fruits and vegetables.

I went through the same thing with my little guy and it is the bananas. Give your baby stage 1 prunes, it really works and regulates their system back to normal. I would stay off the bananas for a little while.

I had the same thing with my son when he was that age. I fed him applesauce by itself or with cereal and taht seemed to help. Good Luck!

Hi J.,

My youngest daughter had the same problem. My doctor recommended adding a few ounces of prune juice to her formula. I actually had to add more than that to help her. It did work though! I also gave her pureed prunes to eat. Good luck! C

I've been giving my daughter a container of prunes about every 10 days or so and that helps. Bananas, apples, rice seem to be the major culprits I think (B.R.A.T.) Have you tried oatmeal, barley and other fruits and veggies? I nurse and bottle feed as well... no juice or water yet, but I know some other moms who've given their children water with prune juice and that has helped them.

Good luck,
D.G.

Hi can i suggest 1 oz of prune juice to 3 ounces of water give this a try it really works just once a day. J.

i had similar problems except my children both were only few weeks old very constipated my doctor suggested giving my baby infant pear juice mixed with water starting at one ounce of each once a day. aslo when they started eating baby food she justed any food that started with "p" peas,pear,peaches,pruns, etc.
hope this helps

i actually use this method of pear juice when my children get constipated and my children are now 3 years and 16 months,

J.,

Your baby may be too little yet to handle the bananas. Try prune juice. My Pediatrician told me to use vaseline on the end of a rectal thermometer and act as if your taking his temperature and that will stimulate him to go. The formula could have too much iron in it and can constipate him too.Try a different formula if you just started with the one your using. Good Luck!!

Give him prunes w/ the cereal. The bananas are probably giving him constipation, maybe hold off for on them for a while. The slowly intruduce them back in his is diet and just give a little at a time.

You can try to add a little bit of prune juice to the formula- about 1/2 oz or so. My daughter had very few bowel movements while exclusively nursing- (about every 7-10 days) and it was a problem whenwe switched to solids. Rice cereal is also constipating, so i used the infant oatmeal and that seemed to work better for her. You can also try to add a little bit ( a teaspoon or less) of flax seed oil to the cereal mixture. Good Luck!

Hi J.,

I had the same problem with my 8 month old - what I did was stop the carbohydrates - like sweet potatoes - also Dr. sears says carrots, cereal and bananas cause constipation - so I started my daughter on the 3 ps - pears, peas, peaches - Also in the book "The Baby Whisperer solves all of your problems" she states that breastfed babies go longer between stools...
Then I started giving my baby water and at first she wouldn't take it either but we kept at it because I felt like I needed to teach her to take it - and she likes it at different times now. I also had a lot of help from my pediatrician who knows I don't like to unnecessarily medicate.

I hope this helped and don't worry - I'm sure you are doing a great job!

L.
I hope this helps -

my daughter was constipated and bloated when i was breast feeding. the daughter asked me what i was eating. he said what we eat when breast feeding affects the milk. i used half juices and half water along changing my intake of foods. i had to also massage the stomach and the sides of the back to help releive unconfertness for her.moving her legs up and down. anything to help to work things out. good luck

I expect it is the banana, and suggest stopping that. We give our daughter banana when her stool is too loose. Rice is also constipating, so if you're moving on to cereals you might try a different grain.

I had the same thing when my son was that age. the only thing that I found helped was giving him the Gerber pear Juice. to this day I use that as a way of getting him to Go if he is constipated. that is the only time I was able to give it to him. I would also lay off giving him banana's if you think that is what is causeing the constipation.

Try Apple sauce or pears mixed with the cereal. If not call you dr and ask if you can give some prune juice mixed with water. They will like that better then just regular water. good luck

a friend of mine ha dthe same problem and the dr recomended prunes and apple juice

Hi J.!

My son had some of the same troubles (he is now 21 months). Earth's Best has a great Stage 2 jarred food: prunes & oatmeal. My son took to the taste right away. It's very yummy and it helped to flush him out when he had gone without a BM. As he grows and you introduce new foods to him, spread the prunes & oatmeal over a waffle or pancake. Now when my son has gone a couple of days without a BM, I cut up a pitted prune into small pieces and give him that or spread Levkar's Prune Butter on his waffle or toast.

I also stopped giving him rice cereal (only oatmeal or multi-grain) and even now, if he's constipated I don't give him bananas very often. He loves them but he also loves strawberries, grapes, and blueberries so I just pull back on the foods that bind.

Best of luck!

My Ped. suggested diluted prune juice when my son had the same problem. Also breastmilk is a natural laxitive, try breastfeeding or bottle feeding with breastmilk a couple of extra times. Hope you find this helpful.

More breast milk than formula might be the answer. It is not considered constipation if when the baby does stool it is soft.

hi J.
my daughter (8 months) had the same thing happen when i started her on solids. btw - it's definitely the banana! My solution which worked like a charm: PRUNES! i bought organic prunes, heated them in a little water to soften them, pureed them with the water, and voila - she had a lovely bm within 24 hours! Also, i was careful not to feed her any food after the prunes until she had pooped, because i knew that it would just get "stuck" and cause her stomach aches. good luck! Oh - and she didn't drink any water either (she is breast fed) - so i bought a sippy cup, filled it with water and let her use it as a toy to suck, and at night i would notice that a half or whole ounce would be gone. not bad!

try a little watered down pear juiceor mashed pears. They always worked for me

I am on my third child right now, and with my two older the banana has constipated them. I mix a little of the prunes or plums into the cereal. It may seem gross to us, but I have yet to see a child that didn't like it, and I have 8 nieces and nephews as well.

I hope this helps you out. Good Luck.

A little about me:

Mom to 3yr boy, 18mth girl, and 3 month girl.

J.

Bananas are constipating. For that matter so are most of the cereals marketed for starting your kids on solids. Not a good choice. I started both my kids on avocado for their first solid food and kept them on just that for a month before introducing anything else. It's a great natural food source for many things and it's not "manufactured". Once I got my daughter off the cereal and onto just avocado, her extreme constipation disappeared completely. If you choose to do this, just mix the avocado with breast milk, a lot at first and then reduce as you go. The second food I introduced (after a month) was mashed sweet potato.

Good luck

It probably is the bananas. They can cause constipation if the baby isn't used to them. Try giving him some other fruits such as prunes with the bananas. This should even things out in his system.

Hi J.,

Both my boys had this problem. I would cut out the rice cereal(give a mixed grain or oatmeal) and other foods that constipate (bananas). Start putting prune juice or pear juice in to his milk and cereal. You can also buy a thing called "Little Tummies" which is a mild laxative for babies you can put in their cereal/food/milk. Remember though, constipation does not mean that he is not going often, it means that when he goes he has hard balls come out.

Another thing that seems to help is a little rectal massage (I know, it sounds gross). Just take some vaseline on your finger and massage the area around the anus and that can stimulate a movement as well.

Good luck!
L.

Start him on any of the following: Peaches, Pears, Plums, Prunes or Apricots. But treat them like a new food, only if he hasn't had them yet. You know 3 days of only that to see if theres an allergy. My daughter went through the same thing. I also introduced baby oatmeal so that when I gave her applesauce and bananas I could give that instead of rice, which in itself can be binding.

My second son had a problem with constipation as a toddler. I asked our pediatrician about it and he advised us to try giving him peaches in heavy syrup. It worked wonderfully!

As your baby is only a 6 month old, perhaps you can put the canned peaches in a blender, or simply mix the heavy syrup with baby food peaches!

Good luck!!

I some times gave my daughter watered down Gerber Apple juice. It helped with constipation. She got the flavor of the juice but it was mostly water. This helped me until she started to like water.

J.,

When you feed bananas, you need to also feed your baby something that will soften his stools, like prunes or applesauce. Prunes will do the job the best, but many babies do not like it.

Hope this helps.

Deb

You can try KARO corn syrup in water or if it gets really bad (no bowel movement in 5+ days)you can try child glycerin suppositories.

Bananas do cause constipation. I didn't know that either when I started my 7 1/2 month old on solids, and she was constipated for about a week. Prunes and Pears work really well, along with the prune and pear juices. I have cut back the amount of bananas I give her now.

FYI: Apples also can cause constipation. Try prune and pear juice or fruits themselves.

First check with your pediatrician but I give my son 2 ounces of diluted prune juice ( 1 oz prune juice, 1 oz water). Some people use those glycerin suppositories. Best to check with the doctor though.

I feel your pain for your little guy! When my daughter was 5 months old, she began having constipation problems. Now she is 10 months old and things are better. I've talked to my pediatrician and a nutritionist. What I've found to work best is including avacado, plenty of water, and pears in her diet. I've also mixed in prune juice when giving her cereal. Cereal is also a binding food!!! I highly recommend the avacado!!! Good LUCK!

Our daughter (now almost 16 months) has been constipated a few times and we've found that a little prune juice in her bottle goes a long way! When she was around 6 months, we would either dilute an ounce with water or mix it in with her milk or formula and it really helped. (We generally saw "results" within a couple of hours.) We also learned recently from our pediatrician that bananas can cause constipation -- our daughter really loves them and was eating 3 or 4 a week. We've cut it down to 1 or 2 and haven't had any problems since.
Hope this helps!

Use white grape juice to mix the cereal instead of water or formula.

We've had the same issue with our 6 1/2 mo old boy. (He was never a great pooper!) When he started eating solids, our ped. suggested we start him on pears and prunes, and as we add each new food in, we make sure to mix it with one of those two. I make my own food, so I always mix two parts prune with one part banana when its on the menu.

My baby (10 mo. old) get's constipated also from time to time. You can try the baby foods that have prune's in them:Prune's w/ apples, or plain prunes, or a little diluted prune juice. You can also try warm water in a bottle w/ a small pinch of sugar in it. For some reason, it seem's to really work! Also, warm bath's sometime's help also. FYI- Bananas, rice, applesauce, dairy(cheese-possibly in your diet-being passed through in the breast milk)- are all very binding! Good luck!

Mix gerber prune juice into his cereal.

Hi J.,
My most favorite book about babies, food and health is called: Keeping Kids Healthy with Chinese Medicine by Bob Flaws

http://www.amazon.com/Keeping-Child-Healthy-Chinese-Medic...

This book will help you with the constipation and starting solids issues you're facing now and will help to prevent lots of problems later as well. Food is the foundation of Chinese medicine....it's not too far out there, it really makes sense once you check it out!

Good luck!
Susan :)

Cereal is a huge contributor to constipation because it is fortified with vitamins and minerals - it sounds great, but the fortification means that the nutrients are not easily digestible. This causes the constipation. Remember that babies 6 - 12 months old only need teaspoonfuls of solid food at a feeding - it is more to learn taste and texture than for nutritional value.
You may want to increase your breastfeeding, since breastmilk is a natural laxative.

all the best!
Chana

Try baby prunes. My son had the same problem with the rice cereal/bananas combo. I gave him 1/2 jar of prunes and it really helped.

i really don't think it's the banana's. it just the food in general. once i began feeding my son solids he was constipated for about a month. sometimes i'd even have to take his diaper off and push his legs up when i knew he was about to have a bm to help it out. gross i know but it worked until he was normal again. constipation when begining solids is completly normal. it is likely going to happen no matter what you give the baby, their intestines, stomach & whole digestive system is trying to get used to the solid food, even if it is just mush. going w/o pooping for several days is normal as well - it will eventually come out- just give it time & if you are really conscerned, call the doctor.

My son has suffered with constipation since starting him on foods. What helped us was prunes everyone morning with his cereal. I used the Beech-Nut stage 1 prunes and it really made a difference! The main thing to check is to be sure that it is just prunes, sometimes they add apples to it which prevents the prunes from working as well. Apples and applesauce can be constipating. Bananas can be very constipating, I only gave those to him once a week. Now that he is 10 months he enjoys graham crackers which keeps him going regularly and I fill in with prunes if needed. Good luck!

Put a little bit of light caro syrup in his bottle. Maybe you shouldnt give him rice cereal and bananas because they bind. I had to do this with my daughter. hope it works

Did you try the plums? They are really like prunes and will help. Maybe limit the bananas until his stomache adjusts.

Hi,
My little guy had this problem since he was born.(6mo)
The Doc's suggested we do a home remedy laxative.
Take 2 teaspoons of brown sugar and add it to 2ounces of boiling hot water. Let cool and feed the baby. They love it cause its sweet. It works overnight.

Not something you want to rely on. Recommended use: once in a while. But it will get rid of the blockage.

You can also try the oatmeal cereal, it seems to move things along easier than the rice cereal.

Another suggestion is to give the little guy applesauce or pears that cleans out their systems well too.

If you don't like those ideas, another is baby pear juice.(Gerber I think makes it)mix half and half. (Pear juice and water)
hope these remedies help.

Bananas always seemed to cause my boys to have constipation as well...but it works well when they have diarhea. Anyhow with the opposite problem...prunes, apples, prune juice and/or apple juice seem to make them poop more.

Hi you can try some corn syrup in the formula 1 tablespoon in their bottle(warm) or some baby prune . This seem to work for the kids i provide care for .

Hi J., hope this advice helps!! First cut out bananas until he is regular and then only give him a quater...they are very binding, I went through this with my daughter.

Give him the mixed oatmeal and barley cereal once daily and/or babyfood prunes. Give it a day or two and he should start cleaning out. Good luck!!

HI, my daughter had a lot of these issues. Switch to oatmeal cereal instead of the rice. Banana's are binding, so maybe don't do bananas for the three days in a row or also mix it with another fruit Also, prune juice helps a lot. Put it in a syringe and into the baby's mouth or mix it in the cereal.

Pear juice!! It should work like a charm!! (That's what my Dr. told me to try when my daughter was constipated). Good luck!

I had the same problem with my daughter when she started on solids and the dr told me it was the rice cereal and the bananas. She told me to give her prunes and to switch her to barley cereal. Good luck.

Baby prunes worked for my little boy. :) Of course clear it with your doctor, but that is what mine recommended when Ben got constipated on rice cereal.

Hi J.--We had the same problem initially. What no one told me was that when you start out with rice cereal, it can cause constipation. After my friend suggested I try the OATMEAL version, my little one didn't have consipation any more! It fixed that, but I definitely recommend taking out the bananas for now and adding that back in once he's 'regular' again. Try pears or applesauce instead. I'm really careful about bananas now since they make my daughter consipated too!
If you're doing both breast and bottle, that's great. I did the same and breastfed till she was 14 mo. No need for water. Check w/ pedi in case.
Good luck!

Instead of the bananas feed him strained plums for awhile. plums have a laxitive effect and will relieve him of his constipation gently.

I've read that bananas being the culprit for constipation is a myth, however the processed applesauce may be the problem. Rice cereal is especially binding, try oats. You can start him on fruit juices, dillude pure prune juice with water in a 2 oz bottle.

You can probably give him a little pear juice or a teaspoon of prune juice in his bottle.
Also oat cereal instead of rice cereal may help.

Hi J.,
Try a little apple juice. The juice should be ok and help "loosen" things up a little bit.

My sister was breastfeeding and once she switched to formula (at 10 months), all hell broke loose. She was giving her baby (per her ped's advice) 5 prunes a day, karo syrup, extra juice and Miralax at half an adult dose. She still wasnt pooping. My sister asked me to donate some of my breastmilk to her because her milk had dried up by this point. I began supplementing her baby with 3-4 oz. of my milk a day (she was off the formula at this point) and her baby began pooping without any issues. My sister is in the process of relacatating so she can give her own milk and until then I am supplementing. My advice would be to ditch the formula and work on building up your supply. Breastmilk has a natural laxative in it and formula constipates. Contact your local La Leche League leader for help with building your supply. Good Luck!

My older daughter had the same problem. Try watered down prune juice in a sippy cup (it sounds gross, but it's just really sweet, and kids don't seem to mind it). Or, if you don't like the idea of juice, you can also try Gerbers jarred strained prunes (it looks a lot like the strained plum stuff, but it's stronger). We tried these with our little girl and they worked miracles. Just go easy on the stuff. Try a bit and wait a diaper or so to see if you gave him enough. You don't want to start having the opposite problem! Good luck.

buy the baby food prunes and make that a part of his meals. My daughter had gone through constipation as an infant and I gave her a jar of prunes with one meal. It helped her go regularly and not so hard.

The same thing happened to my 6 month old daughter. I stopped adding rice cereal to her veggies and added prunes to her diet (which she loves), I only give bananas and apple sauce once and a while (after she has had a good bm). Have you started juices yet? Pear and apple juice (no more 4 oz in a day) have seemed to help as well.

Bananas are known to cause constipation. In fact, people who suffer from diarrhea often eat bananas as a remedy. They are the "B" in the "B.R.A.T" diet for diarrhea (bananas, rice, applesauce and toast). Avoiding these foods and increasing fluids should help. Too much iron is also notorious for causing constipation. Naturally sweet fruit juices like pear juice and peach nectar also worked great for my kids to get things moving again. Good luck.

Stop the bananas, try a different fruit and try just the one other fruit for like a week. If everything is alright then go back to the bananas and try again. Some fruits and vegetables are going to cause this reaction. Remember just like adults, some children can't digest certain things. My son who is now 19 gets heartburn from bananas,and citrus fruits and was never able to tell me when he was younger before he could talk. He use to have these terrible cying jags every night after dinner,finally when he was old enough to talk I understood why.

Dear J.,
Bananas do tend to slow digestion. For instance, bananas are the first food you should eat if you have the runs or a stomach virus. Since babies' digestive systems are sensitive, bananas are probably having the same effect on your son. I would wait to give him bananas for another few months.
A word of advice from my Mom which worked like a charm on my children; introduce them to vegetables before fruits. They are more likely to take a liking to veges and you will have less problems getting them to eat them as they get older. Fruits are naturally sweet and children will like them regardless.

If he won't take the water, try giving him 2-4 ounces of fruit juice, such as grape, pear, apple, cherry or prune, twice a day.

Since he is already eating solid foods, it might be helpful to give him some foods that are high in fiber, like peas, beans, apricots, prunes, peaches, pears, plums or spinach twice a day until the constipation improves.

If he hasn't had any of these foods yet, just be sure to introduce them slowly so that you can watch for any signs of food allergies.

Also--it did seem to help my little ones tummies when they were constipated if I gave them some Mylicon Gas Relief drops. I don't know why it helped, but it did!

Hope this helps! Goodluck!!

Hello,
When my daughter Kaylee was small (she's 2 now) and she had a problem pooping, I would give her peaches and usually within the hour she was good to go. If that didn't help I would use a teaspoon of mineral oil, (as per her pediatrician) in a 4 oz bottle of warm water. That was great. She was a happy little baby after that. I know it sounds gross but I tried it before I gave it to her and it has no taste so I was ok with giving it to her.
Good Luck

I totally agree that solids are not necessary right now. PLEASE don't use karo syrup - it's corn syrup and corn is one of the top 8 allergens. Early exposure gives your baby a higher risk of developing a sensitivity or true allergy.
I honestly think you can skip the cereal. I know pediatricians say start with it, but there's no real reason to unless you have a reflux baby. Fruits are fine to start with - although my oldest son reacted with horrible nighttime gas pains to apples and pears. My youngest son reacts just to apples luckily. Pears have a ton of fiber in them as well.

Hello J. -

This is what Dr. Tom Kirchhofer suggested:

"Banana might indeed be the culprit. Children grow from the inside out as they expand, their legs and intestines are the last to mature. Solids can be a problem.

If the constipation is causing a lot of discomfort, you can do an emergency thing that I know works. Brew a pot of coffee in a drip maker with a glass pot. (No Aluminum) Then fill a cup about 1/4 full and fill the rest with pure water. (filtered or bottled so that there is no chlorine in it). Make sure it is still warm but not over 100 degrees. Test with the back of your hand if it doesn't burn that, they it won't burn the baby whose interior temp should be about 104. Then using a rectal bulb syringe made of all soft rubber like the one you might irrigate your ear with and fill it full of coffee. Ideally this syringe should be one made for rectal use.

Using a little butter on the tip of the syringe to make it slide better (not Vaseline), insert the tip of the syringe about 1" into the baby's rectum. Once in place, squeeze gently on the bulb thereby emptying the contents of the syringe into the baby's sigmoid colon. The presence of the coffee will start the peristalsis (movement of the colon) and the baby usually will begin to evacuate the colon quickly. Be sure you have a pad underneath the baby so you don't soil the surroundings.

This is a safe procedure if you follow the following practices:
1. The water is not too hot. Test on the back of your hand to make sure.
2. You do not insert the syringe too far into the rectum DO NOT FORCE
3. Make sure you dilute the coffee 1/4 c coffee and 3/4 c water.
4. If it doesn't work the first time you can try again, but no more than twice.
5. Watch for fever. If there is truly something wrong the body will warn you. The two symptoms are pain and fever. Babies can take a higher fever than adults so there is no real danger or cause for concern until it exceeds 102 degrees. At that point, however you must seek the care of a qualified physician.

Under normal conditions, you can mix Juice Plus+ capsules (17 fruits, grains and vegetables) with the baby's solid food. A portion of the fruit capsule (red) can be mixed with the baby's cereal or with his/her juice. A portion of the Vegetable capsule (green) can be mixed with any vegetables that you are feeding the child. At six months of age, no more than 1/2 capsule per feeding would be wise."

I hope this helps.

For additional information on the Juice Plus+ capsules, Please check my website: www.juiceplus.com/+ss05088 and my MamaSource link: http://www.mamasource.com/business/16065541178082197505

Let me know how I can serve you.

Good health -

Sally

Gerber organic prunes! Works every time!
Good luck!

My ped reccomended a 1/2 teaspoon of dark caro syrup in the bottle. It helped us and usually took 2 hrs for him to have a bowel movement.. and when he did.. he DID!

My son (7 months now) had some issues with constipation and I found pearjuice to be helpful. Just be sure it's the real thing and not from concentrate or with any added sugar. I love Knudsen's brand - it's pricey but organic and 100% juice. I diluted it with water and he loved it (though he'll take anything). There was a period when the constipation was really bad and adding Karo syrup to his bottle of formula helped greatly (about 1/2 tsp per 5 oz). My pediatrician told me that the sugar (in juice and Karo) pulls the water from his body into the stool to help it to be softer and therefore pass more easily.
Also - bananas and apple sauce can be very binding. So can rice cereal - try oatmeal insted.
Hope this helps - good luck.
E.

Our pediatrician recommended prune juice (cut with water about half and half). That always worked wonders for our son and he loved it.

Hi, It may be that the baby is getting too much iron. Ask your doctor about switching to a low iron formula and see what happens. Good Luck.

bake some apples and puree them. You can put them in the cereal. I make them with just a touch of cinn and sugar. My boys LOVED it. If you get the submersion (sp?) blender...It looks like a blender on a long stick...it is really easy to use and to clean up. I used to puree anything I got my hands on to feed the kids (ie any sqash, swt potatoes, reg potatoes, bananas, apples...anything really) Put a bit of butter in and some formula or milk or water and you got yourself a meal!
The apples should help tho. Good luck.