Feeding 3 Month Olds

Soy definitely will constipate. Try switching to Nutramigen. It's a bit more expensive but it's worth it! My twins did well on it and they both are lactose intolerant. Hope it works for you too!

Hi T.. Who is "they?" There's no reason for you to start your baby on cereal if you don't think he's ready. Early foods aren't for nutrition they're to teach babies to eat from a spoon. 4 months is still on the early end to introduce cereal. If you feel more comfortable, wait until 5 or 6 months (or at least until you get this constipation thing taken care of).

In the mean time, will he drink water? It might help to get him some hydration that doesn't involve the formula. You might try watered down juice, but with such a young baby, I'd try plain water first.

Good luck.
T.

Do some research, but unless you baby needs more food or needs to bulk up then I would hold off on food until 5-6 months.
Try a bit of water....
But I would talk to his doc and let him know the issues. If you feel like he isn't listening to your concerns see another doc- truly!
The consitpation can be dealt with!

Hi T.,

I had to stop breastfeeding when my son was 5 months old and the minute I put him on formula he started to have constipation issues. My doctor told me to put him on an infant probiotic(you can buy it at any health food store) and then 1/2 tsp flax oil. We do that everyday and he is doing great and it's much more natural than karo syrup or Miralax.

God Bless...

My grandson went through the same problem, and my daughter took him to his doctor. When he was three months old , we began giving him an ounce of prune apple baby juice. This was three times a day, morning , noon and after dinner. We started to see him more cofortable and happy. He is now six months and is still taking his four oz. of juice. You need to do this everyday after he takes his milk.

The soy can be constipating, try a little diluted juice with your Dr.'s ok and let them know he seems to be having problems. They may suggest pedialyte or something else to try. As far as the cereal, yes it can cause problems wait for the ok from the doctor and he really doesn't have to start it at 4 months. We waited till 5 months and then it was because there was a MAJOR interest in everybody else's food.

Put a little karo syrup in his bottle once a day until he gets regulated.If he keeps having problems ask his doctor about him maybe not tolerating the soy formula.I know my Son could not tolerate milk based or soy based formula!

I would definitely wait longer before starting him on cereal. The reason for waiting to start solids is to decrease the chance of developing food allergies. Cereal allergies are common. He has already shown a tendency to not tolerate certain foods. So wait until he's older and then add foods one at a time slowly.

I don't know if soy is constipating. I definitely recommend that you talk with his pediatrician before trying anything. About Karo syrup. In the olden days they made formula with Karo syrup. I believe Karo syrup is the high fructose corn syrup that "they" are saying is not good for us. So I'd double check on that.

My grandson started being constipated around that age. The doctor prescribed a natural substance to be added to his formula. I don't remember it's name, right now. At the time it had to be prescribed but now it's over the counter. It draws moisture into the intestines. It is not habit forming. It is clear, tasteless, and does not thicken the formula.

My daughter is on the same formula & I ended up putting prune juice in the first bottle of the day (she wasn't crazy about it at first, but was hungry enough to take it anyway.) I would put an ounce, maybe half an ounce at first til she got used to it. Sometimes she wouldn't finish the whole bottle (because this makes it a 7 ounce bottle instead of 6) so I would just add it to her cereal in the mornings. I think she was a little older when I started using the prune juice...she was already older than 4 months I guess. Also, if she didn't have a bowel mvt, I would do it again in another bottle during the day. Don't give up, it might take a day or two for his body to figure out how to have normal (for him) bowel mvts again.

Just toy with it and figure out the right mixture for your son. I should have started my dtr earlier, poor thing. She would barely go once a day. The prune juice does not cost much and it is easy to do. My ped suggested mixing 2 oz water/2 oz prune juice, but she surely didn't like that! So, I mixed it with her formula.

I had to do the same thing with my other kids. She is almost 8 months now and I don't have to do the prune juice anymore.

Good luck & blessings!

Just a little sip of prune juice will fix it all. I learned that from my grandmother when mine was about 2 months old

First, you baby should not need cereal until 6 months of age. What is the hurry to give cereal. A few drops of Karo syrup in his bottle may help him not be constipated. If you gave him rice cereal, that would likely make the constipation worse. If he is having trouble on formula, solids will be MORE trouble.
K. Voigtsberger
www.wholeheartbirth.com

My daughter is on the soy as well and has issues with constipation. Our Dr. suggested prune juice mixed in her bottles or Karo syrup works too. We usually put 1/4 to 1/2 oz (depending on how bad she has been) of juice or 3 teaspoons of the Karo per 6 oz bottle. We sometime do it in every other bottle but always with the cereal.

I have 3 kids and as I was unable to BF all were formula fed , so constipation comes as part of the package. What I did was every morning I would boil some water and put around 4 or 5oz into a bottle and leave it to cool , then throughout the day before every feed I would give them a drink of water , over the course of the day they would usually take around 3oz of it , I found this was enough to keep the stools a regular texture. Things like prune juice etc are good to get the initial blockage moving but you don't want to do that every day so that the body get's used to only being able to "go" with the help of those juices.

Diluted Prune Juice or Apple Juice. More juice than water though and maybe at most 1-2 ounces. Apple Juice worked like a charm for our son. Good Luck!

My daughter is 3 months old and she is on EnfamilPro Sobee Soy due to the same reason......And she was going through the same thing....Just add maybe a teaspoon of Karo Syrup to his bottle it is a natural laxative and is perfeclt healthly.....It helped my dauther I hope it helps your soon GOODLUCK

All of my kiddos had issues with chronic constipation. My 10 month old has been on a daily dose of Miralax twice day, per doctors recommendation, as well as a few ounces of water throughout the day. You can either feed it separately or add to bottle...for example, if you're making a 4 oz bottle, add 5 ounces of water and 2 scoops of formula.....but only do this once a day, not every bottle.

And yes, cereal will make matters worse, so I wouldn't rush it! But when you do begin, I mixed a few tbsp of prunes in with the rice cereal to help keep stools softer. Hope things get better soon!