HELP!! My 7 Month Old Can't Poop!!!

My 6 yr old daughter had a similar problem. She would not go often and when she did, she cried. We went to see a pediatric specialist and they could not find anything wrong with her, but they did give us a prescription for a liquid stool softener, which did help. It has been so long ago that I can't remember the name of it. Eventually she got where she didn't need it after being "regular" for a while. So there is hope that she will outgrow it!

Sounds exactly like my daughter. She couldn't poop since she was 2 weeks old. We did the enimas for months and the stimulation, kayro syrup, prune juice, breast milk, different formulas, etc. Everything the doctor suggested, we tried and nothing worked.
What we did was put her on a pooping diet. I give her apple prune juice with water. (maybe you could mix this in her bottle) Also the only foods I feed her are:
veggies: green beans, sweet peas, sweet potatoes, spinach, corn
fruit: prunes, plums, apricots, pears, pumpkins
I did not know this, but applesauce is constipating, but apple juice is not. Once we started her on this diet, she's pooped everyday for 2 months!

On a side note, at 7 months, I really don't think prune jucie is hard on her. I was told to give it to her at 1 month old. You might also want to try less scoops of formula in the bottle and more water. When one is constipated, they need more water. Good luck!

Have you tried diluting the other types of juices and giving it to her in her bottle? Maybe she will like the taste better.
My youngest granddaughter has had the same problem but the Similac sensitive formula (orange can)has seemed to help.
good luck!

Poor baby girl! I use the glycerin suppositories on my daughter but the first time I used them she was already 1. She is now 3 and I don't need to use them very often anymore (maybe every 6 mo. or so) but 7 mo. might be too young. I'm not sure but it might be worth looking into! Good Luck!

When my Daughter was little she had the same issues and was breastfeed. I see you tried prune juice, but have you tried the baby food prunes? That helped some, but we ended up getting a perscription for Miralax wan mixing in her food, and that did the trick. If your DD continues to have issues you might find out about perscription meds to help her.

Here are two things that have worked for us. One is to put a bit (about a tablespoon) of Karo corn syrup in the bottle or cup. Another thing that worked is a bit more involved and many will choose not to do it because it is "weird." My son was extremely constipated from birth. If he went for more than 2 days with no BM, on the third day I would use a wet washcloth to gently rub the outside of his anus to stimulate bowel contractions. Worked every single time. Remember, this is the same general idea behind how cats and dogs stimulate BMs with thier litters. It is much more natural and it really works. I tried it because I did not want to introduce suppositories at such a young age (he was merely weeks old) and it was obvious that his little tummy hurt from not being able to potty and he was refusing to eat. Something needed to be done and so I did what I needed to do to get him to potty. Then all was right with his world.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Its weird that your doctor said no prune juice because mine actually suggested it. My little girl also started having constipation problems when she was a baby. Our doctor suggested that we start giving her prune juice. It worked really well. Now she is 3 and her digestive system is much better. We still give her prune juice once every two weeks just to make sure that everything is running properly. Personally, my mom started giving me prune juice when I was a baby too. It worked for me as well. My philosophy is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Sounds a little crazy, but 1 heaping tablespoon of corn syrup (Karo) in a bottle (milk preferably) will ease this I promise. I am an ER nurse and have recommended this to parents as well as done this with my own children (all three of them). The extra sugar in the digestive tract pulls water into the bowels, which in turn loosens the stools. My grandmother was actually right this time. Good luck.

Hi A.!
I hate to hear that. My daughter is two and she had that problem too from time to time. My doctor advise me to give her a little prune juice, now I was never told to mix them all together. I use products Infamil-check those out too. Now I see that you say veggies. Do you think you put her on too many different food to fast? Try giving her only veggies for a week with the milk, then fruit, then rice and cereal...maybe one of the food choices is making her constipated...I hope this helps..let me know........

I've heard adding a teaspoon of Karo corn syrup to her formula does the trick.
Using suppositories on a regular basis could wind up making your baby rely on them to have a bowel movement.
I would think that a daily enima would be more harmful than diluted prune juice.
Once she starts eating cereal, you can boost her fiber intake by adding bran to the cereal. I wonder if you can add a little bran to her veggies? Ask your pedi.
Have you tried massaging her belly?
Does she like beans or spinach? They are high in fiber as well.
Has your Dr tested her for Hirschsprung's disease or hypothyroidism? It sounds like she has some serious constipation.

Hi A.,

My baby was also very constipated. To the point that he was in pain a lot. Every single thing that went into his mouth I had to know whether it was constipating or will it loosen his stool. We were also giving lots of prunes and prune juice. I felt like an idiot when I talked to the Doctor. They would go over the foods I could give him and those we couldn't again. Repeat lots of fluid, all the things I know.(by the way, I am a nurse so I especially felt like an idiot).
Finally, someone did a rectal exam and suggested a barium enema. Turns out he had a "stricture" about an inch up from his rectum and a little abnormality.
The first Doctor I saw wanted to do colon surgery on my 10 month old baby. With a possible ostomy bag.
Anyway, I ended up getting 3 opinions and my son did not have surgery but the Doctor "fixed" it in his office.
Anyway, there could be something else going on with your baby. Be completely honest with them. I would show them a daily food diary and if you had to give an emema that day or anything you had to do. I would start keeping a diary TODAY so that you could show you Doctor now whats going on and show the specialists if you need to. You could even ask for a referal to a colon doctor. I would. Just for your own peace of mind.

My son was the same way. We tried everything from fruit juice to enimas, which were horrible. What finally worked for him is Miralax. It is available over the counter now, and basically just adds water to the stool, which softens it up and makes it easier to go. We started with 1/4 of the adult dose mixed with four ounces of juice or milk once a day. It takes a few days to kick in, and you may have to adjust the dose up or down until you get it right. If it is too high and causes loose stools, then just back off a little (a small decrease goes a long way). It will also take several days to see the change when you adjust the dose up or down. Once they start going consistently, you can back off on the Miralax dose. My son now is on about 1/8 of the adult dose. Good luck, and feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions.

I use magnesium citrate (you can buy flavored liquid at the drugstore) and mix it with juice for my boys when they are constipated. It probably wouldn't taste good in milk though...

Have you considered giving her probiotics? You can buy them in a powder form and mix them in with her formula (she won't even know it's there). They are the good bacteria that help regulate the digestive system. I always gave these to my kids after a round of antibiotics. I now give them a wholefood juice powder drink called "The Feast" every day that contains both probiotics and digestive enzymes. They are regular like clockwork.

Wow, I can't believe a doctor would say prune juice is harmful -compared to enemas?!?! I would get a second opinion.

A little about me: A WAHM of 2 boys, ages 3 & 5. I enjoy the freedom of working from home and helping others become healthier. www.urilife.net/nutritionforlife

I second the probiotics. Google the benifits of probiotics. It helps with many things. I have been opening a capsule into my sons cereal since he was 6 months old. You can get it at Walmart (culturelle) There are several brands at various stores.

Hi A.,

If you haven't tried Iron Free Formula give that a try.

My sisters little girl had the same problem and when she switched over to iron free was much better.

My Mother, Aunts, and Grandmother all gave their babies Karo Corn Syrup and we all turned out fine. I believe now days doctors say to stay away from it because it could cause botulism. (I gave it to my son before learning this, he is fine).

Best of luck!

C. Roeschen
The Trinity Group
Keller Williams
###-###-####
____@____.com
www.TheTrinityGroup.org
www.ValueMyNeighborhoodOnLine.com

I just heard about this yesterday...A girl had not had a normal bm since the day she was born (it would be several days inbetween and so hard that it would cause rectal tears...) The mom had tried everything and the girl was then nine. She took her daughter to her chiropracter. The next day the girl began having normal bm. I heard this from my chiropracter after asking him about an article I read about thinking of chiropractic visits more like dental visits...preventative in nature. The article recommended taking even young children in.

Even children as young as yours can be treated according to the article I read and my chiropractor.

If you want to hear the story from the source/interested in that as an option for your situation

Dr. Thomas ###-###-#### 2551 NW Loop Stephenville TX (across from the High School) www.stephenvilledrx.com

I hope you find something that helps.

C.

My son didn't poop for consistantly for 5 weeks. It was so frustrating! My doctor said that a baby not pooping for up to 15 days is normal! Enfamil Ready Made in better because it won't constipate them as much as powder. We were only allowed to use suppositories every 3-4 days in order to not mess up his system. He eventually evened out. Our doctor said Similac is the worst if you have a constipated baby! I understand your frustration, and I feel for you! I prayed for a pooper, and now I have a great little one! Pray about it! I know it seems silly, but He listens to everything we ask for whether we think it is silly or not!

My 8 month old son has been constipated since he was a month old maybe younger. His doctor told me to give him Milk of Magnesia 1tsp. twice a day. This works very well. I buy the Phillips MOM cherry flavor and we don't have to do suppositories or anything anymore and it works the next day. They told me that there is no harm with prolonged use of this product. You may have to adjust the dosage because they wanted me to give it to him 3 times a day and that was too much!! Hope this helps!

My daughter had the same problem right from when she was born. We did half and half prune juice in every bottle until she was about 10 months old and never had a problem with it. We had tried other juices, but they just weren't strong enough. I think doing daily enemas and forcing her to go would do much more damage than natural juice could ever do. You might also try looking around at Sprouts & Whole Foods Market - they both have natural supplements sections and would probably have something you could mix into her bottles or jar food.

My son had the same problem. Since she loves fruits, feed her babyfood prunes. Sometimes they are hard to find, but Walmart generally has them. I usually mixed them with my son's cereal every morning, or if I knew he was really in a bad way, I would feed them to him directly. I have NEVER heard of giving prunes to a baby to be bad for their digestive system, my ped. suggested it before we ever talked about meds. Having said that I know that Little Remedies makes a Little Tummies Laxative that you could try, just make sure she gets a lot of extra water. Also, rice cereal is VERY constipating, so continue to stay away from that. I feed my children oatmeal, or you could even do the barley cereal so she could get some more fiber in her diet. I feel for you - it is so hard to deal with.
L.