My 5 Month Old Is Always Constipated!?!?!?!?

If you are still breastfeeding I would stop giving him solids. A bf baby doesn't even need solids til 12 months. I would look for a food allergy. Try eliminating dairy and wheat from your diet for a few weeks and see if he improves. It may be that something you are eating that is constipating him. Have you taken a good look at your diet? Also, you can start eating food that promote healthy bowel movements. My daughter has always been sensitive to what I eat. If I eat something that constipates/or loosen she gets the same results. I would also suggest some good acidophillus. They make it for babies and you can find it in the refrigerator section at Sprouts with the supplements. Good bacteria in the digestive track is always a plus. Also, I agree with adding a few ounces of water a day to his diet. I would definately try and find a solution before solids. Good Luck!

If you read all of the questions about constipated babies on Mammasource you will see the common link is food. Many mothers are starting their babies on solid food WAY too soon. You will also notice that they or their doctors have used mineral oil and/or medications to try to kickstart the bowel system. If you wait until the body is ready for food the bowel system will work naturally. Also 1 food should be started at a time and continued for weeks before introducing another. I'm a little puzzled why doctors are not sharing with mothers the proper age for food introduction and not explaining that the bowel system would not have to be forced to process if they would wait until it does so naturally. I posted some other suggestions to "Suzzane/with 10 month old constipated Lucy" that you will find helpful.
Love and support to you Bittany, I know it is both scarey and Wonderful to be a new mommy.

LISTEN TO YOUR INSTINCT!!!!! My daughter went through the same thing. I also breast fed and was fed that same line by several pedatricians. We tryed the prune juice, feeding certian high fiber foods... nothing worked. She would be constipated and miserable for a week or so, have a massive "BM" (bowl movement)and be fine for a few weeks, then it would start all over again. For nearly a year I believed the pedatrician that that was normal. It finally got to the point that she was miserable all the time... she would go days/weeks with out a "BM" and then it would be so large it would rip her poor little bottom. I even got so desperate as to freeze her "BM" and take it to the doctor to show how BIG it was. I documented her "BM's" and the tings she ate, took pictures of her bloated belly. (it got so big, she looked pregnate) I went through 15 pedatricians in a year before I found the one that listned to me. I cant even tell you how many hospital ER's we were in. Finally we found Dr. Babarinde she reffered us to a wonderfull peds. gastro. Dr. (DR. Patterson) She had MANY MANY tests done before we figured out what was wrong with her. She ended up having stomach ulcers, gastritus, G.E.R.D, and CHRONIC CONSTIPATION. She now takes MIRILAX laxative every day and PREVACID (shes been on her meds. for 2 years) and is a happy healthy 4 year old. You have the right to demand refferals to specalists. I was not aware of that for a very long time. Tell your childs Dr. you think he needs a refferal to a gastro dr. I wish you and your baby the best of luck!!

B., I have found that having your baby drink water frequently is very helpful. Since you are nursing, you should also incorporate ALOT of fresh apples in your diet. I would also juice some organic apples and dilute it with water and that cleans them out too. Do the juice every few days but water is fine daily. Fresh juice is more effective than pasteurized. It always helped with my daughter. And you should always check with your doc in case there are other circumstances that you should be aware of. Bananas will plug a baby up so don't go too crazy with them.

Does he act like he is in distress? Is he crying and uncomfortable when he passes his stools? If not I would move right along and not be worried. My first child went once for 11 days without a bowel movement. (I nursed him for a year, didn't introduce solids until he was nine months old.) he was fine.

BIG QUESTION - When he does poop is it hard like rabbit poop, or soft and squishy? If it is soft, then he is perfectly NORMAL! Breastmilk is the perfect food and there is not a lot of waste. It is normal for him to go 2 weeks without pooping. IF he is totally breastfed. I have even heard of babies going 3 weeks without a poop.

Constipation is only constipation if the poop is HARD. If so, your Dr. would be lots more worried. Call the doctor again if you are still worried.

I had the same issue with my breastfed son...but he would go almost 10 days! What a blessing :-D. If he isn't straining to go and his stools are loose when he does go, he is probably okay. You should still be primarily breastfeeding him so that is where he is getting most of his nourishment. Now that my son is 8 months and has been on solids for 2 months (and more and more formula since he is just becoming too active to breastfeed anymore!), he goes 3-4 times a day!

HI B.,
im sorry to hear about your little one. My daughter suffers from constipation. The doctors have told me the first day of life a baby should have a bowel movement. Well it took almost 48 hours for her. They say to give them diluted prune juice, grape juice, and apple juice. For my daughter, none of that stuff worked. I spoke to several doctors and all told me the same thing,(one even suggested karo syrup in her milk) before requesting a specialist. I think maybe try starting to do some of these suggestions and if they dont work tell your son's doctor that you want him to see a specialist (a gastrointronologist) I know it's hard to see your precious child go through this. I wish both the best.

V.

My son had a lot of problems when he was smaller, partly because he was premature. He would have a hard time having a bowel movement and he would cry out in pain because the stool would be so hard when it would finally come out. We started giving him some watered down prune juice (1/2 water, 1/2 prune juice) and that seemed to really help. We would give him some every day and that helped him become regular and have softer stool. He eventually was able to process more foods and no longer needs the prune juice. I hope this helps. Good luck.

First off; does your infant demonstrate signs of distress such as passing gas, cramping or any indications of pain? When he does have a bm, is it firm like rabbit pellets or soft and easily passed? Also, does he cry and seem to have difficulty with his bm's? If it is firm and in rabbit pellet form, just add mineral oil or olive oil or vegetable oil to his diet. Express some of your breast milk and add about a teaspoon of the oil to the bottle (this may be difficult to get him to nurse as he is used to you). The oil will lubicate everything and all should flow nicely. Oil needed once a day. He should be have bm's daily. Let me know if this helps!

About me: Grandmother of two; mother to one; had inhome daycare for over ten years...experienced everything under the sun! Potty trained over 100 children too!

Hi B.,

Have you tried probiotics? Consider seeing a naturopathic doctor who can help assess your babies nutrition needs, including probiotics and food introduction. Homeopathy and acupuncture can help as well.

www.lifesculpting.biz

my daughter was always that way since birth, and I breast fed her. My first daughter had a bm every time she ate, my second daughter not so much. Maybe every 5 days or so, and yes as long as nine days. The thing with her is that I had to eat lots of fruit, even one or 2 cans of pears in nature juice a week just to keep her going (literally). As she got older, it became a problem where she would be constipated and it would lead her to a UTI...it took me a while to figure it all out, but she's just one of those kids that NEEDS lots of fruit, pistachios (yes, they help), and whatever makes her "go". I don't know if they will help with your so or not, but hopefully it will. If you're still nursing I would suggest you eat alot of fruit (not bananas, they're stoppers) and if he's eating baby food yet, have him eat fruit...good luck to you.

Do not give your baby lots of water! It will fill them up so they won't be hungry for what they need and breastmilk is the only liquid they need at this age. As a pp said if it is soft and squishy don't worry! If it's hard then he is constipated. Don't give him bananas, rice, or applesauce (or cheese) as they will bind him up. Give him fiber like barley or oatmeal and foods that start with "p" prunes, pears, peaches, and similar foods like apricots or foods sweetened with grape juice. You could mix a little grape juice into his cereal for some of the water. Fiber is important! And make sure you continue to nurse, they should get between 16-24 oz of bm or formula until at least age one.

I had the same problem with my daughter who is now 7 months old. If he is not straining to have a bowel movement, then he is probably okay, it is normal for a baby to not have a movement everyday. I had to stop feeding her bananas and rice cereal because that tends to clog them up. Try feeding your baby prunes (which will clean him out and then some)and also try giving him a little water (2 oz). Vegetables like carrots and peas(when he is ready)will usually regulate them as well. Hopefully that will work. . .Happy Diaper Changing!:)

My sister has the same problem with her baby girl,who is now 8 months, she puts a little prune juice with the baby food and in the bottles - I know your breast feeding so maybe just try it in the food. Good Luck.

When you say constipated do you mean his bowel movements are hard and he strains when going to the bathroom? If so, I would get a second opinion from another doctor. He could have another issue not be detected by your current doctor. He may have an obstruction in his bowels. His diet doesn't warrant constipation.

try putting a teaspoon of dark Karo syrup in his bottle of juice or water since you are nursing, otherwise you would put it in his formula. It works great!

Sweetie, the worst thing for constipation is bannanas! But your doctor is right if there isnt much to digest, he wont go every day. If you see that he is struggling to use the bathroom, then you could start to give him prunes.

Hi...our 4 month-old had the same problem; we played with formula types after discovering I do not produce enough milk to breastfeed consistently. The soy formula made it worse. Their digestive systems are so immature that this is probably normal and we gave ours an ounce of prune juice in her formula or breastmilk to jumpstart her system. At 4 months, she's going 2 - 3 times a day now, although sometimes not once during a day...ironically, my mohter told me I had the same issues as a baby and child, and in fact, still suffer from poor metabolism to this day. Maybe its hereditary? I would guess foods higher in fiber is the best answer for you. Prune juice works well!

It was dairy for my daughter, and she would go up to 6 days without going sometimes longer! She was breastfed and it turned out to be a milk allergy. The doctors didn't figure it our until she was old enought to start regular milk and I gave it to her and ended up calling 911. Turns out she is deathly allergic to it!

5-months may be too soon to be feeding solids. Bananas and rice cereal can be constipating for little babies, so I would definitely hold off on those at least.

It is quite common for exclusively breastfed babies to either be pooping frequently or infrequently; both are normal.

Is your baby truly constipated, or just not pooping as often as you'd like? Is the stool typical breastfed stool (mustard-yellow, grainy, mushy) or is it hard?

Make sure your baby is well-hydrated (nurse frequently or offer water) and you can also try giving him prunes to help a bm (works on my dd everytime!).

HTH, M.

My 10 month old grandbaby was doing the same thing along w/ vomiting
we went to see a gastro doctor he put her on lactulose as needed to loosen up her stools works great
used only when needed

V.

My son was the same way. As long as they are not struggling with bowel movements there is nothing to worry about. If his stool is dry, hard and difficult to pass that is true constipation. As long as it is normal when it comes out (my son would go for almost two weeks at times!) then everything is just fine.

My son was also very constipated. My pediatrician told me to start giving him just a little bit of sugar in bottles, or even in his cereal. The sugar brings water into the intestines and loosens the stool making it easier to poop. It worked great! Also, try giving him apples. They have a rice cereal with apples in it. Try putting a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar in the cereal. Good luck!
K.

Hi B., I always used a little karo syrup and I looked it up online and here is a link with loads of info. Good Luck!

http://www.righthealth.com/Health/karo%20syrup%20for%20in...#

Well our son and daughter went through that also and our dr. said to try a bottle with warm water and a teaspoon of cornsuryp. This will help naturally and can be given whenever the baby is having problems. My kids did really well with this, hope it helps!!
A.-mom of two

hi B., rice and bananas will constipate him more, i would try some pear juice mixed with water and switch his food intake a bit, continuuing the squash. you might see a difference.

When my daughter had this issue my pediatrian suggested Kondremul. It is a mineral oil that is non addictive - I gave her a teaspoon once a day - or put it in her milk/bottle. It has a milky taste - and it worked wonders. Good luck.

Have you tried probtiotics? May be ointolerant to dairy or gluten too.

Breastfed babies sometimes do go many days without a bowel movement, while the next one is pooping all the time! Once babies start eating some solids, offering them purified water is a good idea, which will assist the bowels. Bananas are constipating, so I would refrain from feeding him them. Is the rice brown rice, which has more fiber than white? Mashed avocado, with some water added to thin it, is a good choice for first foods, too. I would stick to whole grains like brown rice, millet, buckwheat and quinoa which have more fiber and thus will help keep the bowels moving. You can grind these whole grains in a blender for 2 minutes, then add slowly to boiling water, cooking for 10 min, and thinning to the correct consistency with water or milk to give to baby. Or cook the grains whole and grind in a grinder. Prunes are always a good choice to assist in moving the bowels, too. I hope some of these suggestions are helpful. Some are saying to offer apple juice and applesauce. I found that cooked apples in any form, because of the pectin which is binding, causes constipation. Only raw apples alleviate it, but raw apples for a 5 mon. old baby is not suggested. Babies really dont need solids until after 6 months, and if breastfed, even much later.

I had the same problem. My son's doctor told me to give him a littl prune juice or even jar food. I found that to be helpful. You would want to ask the doctor first but my little one was about the same age and he is now 6 and is doing great! I hope that helps you.

Hi B.

My oldest son was alway constipated also. My Grandmother told me to put a teaspoon of dark Kero in his bottles. It worked like a charm and he never had the problem again.

K.

make a cup of peppermint tea and sweeten it to your taste (no honey) then pour 2oz in a bottle and ad 2oz of water. some babies dont like it but all 5 of mine did and that seemed to help them out and make them less cranky and irritated,if that doesnt work i added a tablespoon of prune juice to there morning bottle.

I just hit send and saw how many responses you had!!! Wow!! I didn't mean to repeat and go on so long. Have fun reading!!!

Hi, my seven year old was the same way when she was an infant. I started her on barley instead of rice and cut the bananas to a minimum. Basically I did the opposite of the B.R.A.T. (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast)diet that you do when they have diarrhea. I also put her on prune juice instead of apple juice. Apples in the raw form are good for bigger kids so I assumed apple juice would be good, but in the juice form there is a different pectin that makes it worse. As soon as I stopped the apple juice and replaced it with prune, she did better. Good Luck!! The up swing to this is she only pooped once a day at the same day every day when she was potty training. Imagine potty training with a runny poop kid. I'll take the constipation. Also don't forget water. Constipation in adults is basically a dehydration issue so water always helps. Plus they develop a taste for water that stays with them their whole lives. One more thing - do more of the less starchy veggies like beans,mixed veggies and carrots and less of sweet potatoes and squash. Just a little advice from someone who has been there. When they start moving a little more physically, their bowels also start moving more. Just one more thing (i promise this is it:)) - if you have one of those big exercise balls, hold him and bounce lightly up and down on it for a few minutes - I didn't hear about this one until recently so I never tried it, but I heard it works.

Adding juice (half water/half juice, and no more than four oz./day, until a year old) and plain water is good - the more fluids, the better, but ensuring it doesn't interfere with breast-milk nutrition. Rice and bananas are binding (part of the old B.R.A.T. diet for diarrhea: bananas, rice, applesauce, toast). Go to these sites for good information, especially the first one.

http://www.parentbytes.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&a...

http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?id=21&action=detail&...

I was told by my pediatrician to give them juice (4 oz, 3 times a day) and this would help. However, do not give applejuice as this will consipated your baby even worse. When my daughter was that age, she would only have a bowel movement once a week. As she became older, she had more frequent bowel movements. I hope this helps a little!!

it is completely normal for purely breastfed babies to go up to even two weeks without having a bm. go to the breastfeeding forums on mothering.com for more great information

My first born child was born with alot of medical problems, constipation was a big issue for a long time. I had to learn alot about how to help her with this problem. 1.You should try another grain of baby cereal there are a few others to choose from. But dont over so the cereal and mix it with baby food prunes (they really taste pretty good). 2. You should hold off on the bannans and starchy things until this gets better and then watch carefully when you add them back. 3. The green vegetables are good for this like green beans, peas, garden veggies and spinach. 4. As he starts to crawl and get more active it should get better to. Good Luck!

Rice cereal and bananas can be binding. Try oat cereal, prunes and pears. Someone else posted the same problem earlier and there are alot of posts there as well. We have had the same problem sorry I don't have better advice.

B., I tried to send you a response to this, hopefully this isn't coming to you twice. I know a fair amt about this, one of my 3 sons was like this. I am also a dietitian and worked along infant specialists for 6 years, lots of free professional advice. Is he truly constipated ie)Does he have little pellets for poop or when he finally goes or does he fill a diaper. infrequent poop is ok, kids have different metabolism and digestion and breast milk is so digestable. Also some babies have a hard time pooping until their muscles develop mmore fully- their is a lot of muscle corridation in the act of pooping! he is still so young to be pushing the solids thing. I would suggest however to avoid banana for now and mix the rice cereal with a ground up whole grain, like barley or oats. (you grind them in the blender or chopper) then cook in microwave until soft maybe 2 minutes and sit covered for 5. If truly constipate you could mix with baby food pears,or prunes as they have natural laxitive effect. when this happened to my son, I freaked out and gacve him a suppository, this is not recommended and may even make it worse. Does your baby cry when pooping? Hope this helps and you will write back so I can understand better what you are dealing with. A.

my daughter, now almost 10 months, has MAJOR constipation issues. it seemed to start AFTER I introduced formula, around one month old. she was a pooping machine when she was breast fed, so that part about your issue confuses me. at 7 months, it became so bad that she developed a little hemmorhoid, had to have sits (sp?) baths and apply medication to her traumatized bum! of course, I'm in communication with her pediatricians about this and the one in Tucson (before we moved) assured me that this is a common issue. I've removed rice cereal from her diet completely, add prunes to her oatmeal, give her lots of apple/ pear juice, add dark karo syrup to her formula... and sometimes it's still a no-go. so then we implemented glycerin suppositories. nothing. lately, we tried liquid glycerin suppositories. that did the trick! but I don't want to have to continue doing that. I feel your pain!

you need to take your son to a specalist for this problem. it can lead to bigger worse problems if not taken care of. your bowels can stetch and hold to much and this can lead to possible surgery to correct it.

Hi B.,
I know many doctors say that everybody has thier own schedule for bowel movements but 9 days is to long, I bet he did not feel very good either. I am glad to see that you have added fruit and veggies to his diet. Try adding more fruit and veggies, he need the nutrition from them, as we all do. I know of a simple affordable way to get more in his diet that are vine rippen and have been check twice for herbicides and pesticides. Email me and we can discuss it ____@____.com

be aware than both bananas and rice are binding. you may want to switch to prunes and other foods that help with movement.

i just copied the below statement from a reply i gave to another post.

my daughter had this problem. she drank prune juice at just three months old, we tried Karo for a while and suppositories all suggested by my doctor. finally the doctor prescribed Lactulose which is a sugar that is not metabolized by the body but helps keep waste soft and manageable so it is easier to pass. we went to a specialist who told us this is very common in babies and she will grow out of it. the lactulose worked and eventually she did grow out of it. until she started potty training, but that is a new and different story. she no longer takes the lactulose and hasn't for almost a year. i am still mindful of her diet. for example she does not eat bananas more than once per week and i occasionally give her prunes (she thinks they are a treat). i would start a conversation with her doctor. good luck.

My son is the same way. I've almost completely stopped giving him any cereal at all. It plugs him up very badly. I maybe give it to him once a week. I started by making him a bottle with 3 oz. milk and 1 oz. prune juice. He liked it and it helped a great deal. Now, I also give him baby prunes. If he goes 2 days without, then I give him some prunes. It has helped him greatly, but it is something I always have to pay attention to.

K.

We had the same issue with my son. It was really hard...he wouldn't poop for a couple of days and then would poop all day long and get terrible rashes.

We took him to a chiropractor, and it was gone within a few days. He's never been constipated again. I would recommend asking around to find a good chiropractor for children.

Now that he's eating solids, I would also try giving him some good gut-flora stuff. They sell some at Pharmaca or other health food stores like Whole Foods, and it's called Bio-K (the strawberry and fruit-flavors are good, and have the same amount of cultures, both safe for kids). I had to take antibiotics in my 8th month of pregnancy for bronchitis, and I think it affected my son, too. Re-balancing his good bacteria will probably help. You just have to be really careful to get something more potent than yogurt, because he needs it in his lower intestines, too. A lot of the products out there just stay in the stomach. Melaleuca makes a good product called "Florify" that is a pill, but you could open it and mix it with yogurt, too.

Good luck with that!

Hi B. ~
I had two little ones with the same issue. We were also told not to worry. After 5 days or so, though, I would "help" out with a Q-tip and castor oil. I checked in with my Midwife AND my Doctor and was told that this was ok. They both began figuring it out on their own, if you will, at about 5 months for one and 8 months or so for the other. My now 4 year old has an occasional relapse, but has been fine all along. ANd my now 10 month old is a champ at it!! (:
So, in the effort to help you relax, I am hoping that your son is on the same path as my boys. He'll "figure it out" soon, I would imagine.
Although, if not...please always trust your instincts!! You will be the best one to KNOW if something isn't right. Remember that always...and, again, TRUST that more than anyone or anything!!
Take care and many blessings,
T.

I breastfed my babies and the doctor told me that breastfed babies either have a BM 8 times a day or once every 8 days. All my babies except one had the 8 times a day. My last one had the once every 8 days. She was fine - it was normal for her. She is now 26. I wouldn't worry too much.

Hi B.!
I know that it is so hard not to worry, especially with the first little one!

I don't think that you should worry about this issue, though. If the weekly poop is soft and squishy, it's normal and fine for your baby. I have a 5 year old and a one year old. As an infant, my 5 year old would only poop once every 4-7 days. She was exclusively breastfed until 4 months old, when I started her on cereals and some fruits and vegetables. She continued her infrequent poops even after she had started solids for a couple of months. Like you, I also worried about this, but my Dr aslo said that my bearstmilk was just really refined, and that she was just able to use so much of it that she didn't produce much waste. At the beginning of starting solids, babies usually are still eating MUCH more breastmilk than solids, they still don't necessarily have to poop more often.

Even after my experience with my first daughter, my second daughter also worried me. From when she was a newborn, she would poop about once every TWO WEEKS! She once went 16 days without a poop. Again, I talked to the Dr, and because the poops were soft and the baby didn't seem to really strain (anymore than what is normal for babies to do when they poop), the Dr said that it was fine. Again, when I frst started her on solid foods, her pooping frequency did not seem to change for a while.

So, if your little guy is having soft, although infrequent poops, I wouldn't worry about it. In fact, it is kind of nice. You save a a lot on diapers! Soon, enough he'll be giving you daily stinkers and you'll miss this stage! Keep in mind there is a big range of normal with breastfed babies, and your baby is diefinately within it! You can see this webiste to see more mom's with similar stories:

http://www.askmoxie.org/2007/08/qa-breastfed-ba.html

Here's a link from La Leche League:

http://www.llli.org/FAQ/bm.html

But, if you still feel unsure about it, you can always talk to another Dr to get a second opinion and give a yourself some peace of mind. I would caution you to not give your baby anything (mineral oil or anything else outside of appropriate foods) without first talking to a pediatrician.

Best of luck to you and your little one!

My son was the same way when he was that age. Everything you read supports what your doctor has told you. They are not truly constipated unless there is a lot of strain to go and/or they are totally uncomfortable and/or the poops are small, round and hard. Every person's body has a different rhythm and this may be just your son's rythm. If you are worried, you could try a very small amount of pear juice (50/50 with water) every day, but otherwise just keep your eye on him and in communication with your doctor. :)

When my son was less than 2 months old, he became constipated very bad and my dr had me start him on a tablespoon of fruit once or twice a day. The only fruits were the ones that started with a "P". IE: pears,peaches,plums,prunes.. I was worried because he was so young but it worked in less than a week and it kept him regular. He is now 33 years old.. Hope this helps,

this happened to my baby when he was 4 months. I finally took him to a naturopathic physician and we identified a probably allergy to dairy - I put him on lactose free formula, along with probiotics, and other natural and homeopathic remodies. It took a while, but he is now doing so much better. I am glad that I keep looking for an answer that I was not getting from our regular peditritian.
J.

My daughter got really consitpated when we started rice cereal. We actually stopped it for a while and gave her prunes (baby jars) each day. That seemed to work after a while. Hang in there - it will get better. We also switched to barley cereal a little later on because that is less constipating.

Constipation can happen whether the child is breastfed or formula fed. Since he is breastfed, are you getting enough magnesium in your diet? Do you tend to be on the sluggish side? If so, then you can take some magnesium - I usually recommend to my patients with sluggish bowels to start with 1000mg of magnesium citrate, before bed each night, and back off from there if it loosens you too much - and it will go through the breastmilk. If you don't have problems, then you can give him small amounts of Milk of Magnesia before bed each night. Find the right dose that keeps him going without causing diarrhea. You need to get on top of this because it can stretch out his colon enough that it won't work anymore (this happened to a patient of mine and he ended up having a bowel resection). You should also get some acidophilus and either put it right in his mouth, one to two feedings a day, or mix it into some cool (not warm) food. A human-strain acidophilus/bifidus would be best - keep it refrigerated. Thirdly, the foods you mentioned you put him on are known to cause constipation in kids and bananas are high on the allergy index. You might want to try some plums and/or squash. Hope this helps! EKG

Hi B.,

I had a similar problem! There are a few things that made a big difference for me that I would love to share: 1. I added a juice called GoChi to his diet -- about 1-2 ounces a day. He loves the flavor and he has only been constipated once since. You can call me at ###-###-#### and I will give you more information. 2. I was told by nurses and doctors to try adding some molasses to his milk, this pulls moisture out of his system to help him go. This type of sugar is not processed by his system, so that is why it works. It is also why I prefer GoChi -- which has many health benefits proven in a double blind placebo. 3. In emergencies, I used a baby lax enema, when he was crying because he needed to go and couldn't.

My experience was a little different. He never went more than 48 hours without going, but when he did need to it would be too big for him and hurt him and he would cry.

Also, rice and banana in their cooked forms, can be constipating. They are often used during times with a stomach virus, to help prevent diarrhea and vomiting.

Thanks!

T.

My son will be 6 months on Friday and lately he has turned into a once a week pooper. I thought something might be wrong too because he use to poop more frequently. I read a lot about it and the doc also said they are only constipated if their poop is hard or pellet like. Pooping every 7-10 days is normal. I guess we should rejoice! If he seems like he is pain, I would contact doc again. Also maybe try the thermometer trick in the rectum, helps to gets things going!

Rice and bananas will stop him up too. If that's all he will eat, mix in some pureed prunes with them or give them to him straight. Try to back off the rice and bananas though. Try the apples, prunes, carrots, peas, etc.

my oldest son has constipation issues from the time he was born until he was 3 years old. We finally had to put him on Miralax (now over the counter medication). It was amazing. He was on the medication for about 6 months, with daily small doses, and he has never had problems since. :)

Is your son happy and in a good mood? Does he seem to be in pain? Breasmilk causes infrequent bowel movements that are runny. If his bm is not hard he is fine. If you are still worried eliminate the constipation foods. My 4 month old girl has gone 7 days w/o a bm and is now on an every other day program. It can be worrisome but you need to chill out because it is totally normal!

I'm a mother of 4; 7,5,2 and 15 mo. No, he should not be that constipated! He needs to have a bm at least every couple days. Prunes, apple juice. Try juicing carrots/apples and adding that to his bottle or just give him some in a bottle after he's nursed and had his regular feeding. Watch what you're eating. Not enough fiber, maybe. Is he sensitive to dairy or wheat or anything? Feed him prunes once a day. Flax oil helps too. You can take it and he'll get it. That also really helped with cradle cap. My one son had it severly (but i've since learned that he is allergic to wheat) and when I took flax oil, his cradle cap would go away. I nursed all of my kids. If he's only six months, you don't even have to introduce foods till 8 months. So watch for allergies too when you intorduce a new food. ie. skin rashes, cradle cap, etc.
See a naturopathic dr. He will be much more helpful. Hope that helps.

My daughter would have this occasionally when she was a baby and if it was too many days I would give her these infant rectal glycerine suppository, if you can do it, they really help. I would also give her pear juice because that seemed to help the most. If this happens a lot I would contact the pediatrician.

I was worried my 2 month old was constipated because suddenly she went from having 5 BM's a day to one every 3 days. I was panicking even though she was not acting like she was in any distress or pain. (My first baby..) I spoke with several pediatricians, and none of them were worried. Apparantly it is perfectly normal for the number of BM's to decrease significantly after baby's first month. One pediatrician told me it was normal for the baby not to have a BM for anywhere between four and twelve days! I was told to give the baby a couple ounces of white grape juice or apple juice or a tsp of dark karo if she acted as though she were uncomfortable. I had started introducing iron fortified formula to her breastmilk diet, so I thought it was the iron in her diet causing her constipation. Apparently she wasn't really constipated,and I was over-reacting. Also, I was told that as babies get older, they absorb almost all the nutrients from your breastmilk, so there is very little poop from it.

My daughter did the same as an infant and I was always told that it is not considered "constipation" if the stool is not hard. If it is a normal and somewhat soft stool then it is perfectly okay. My daughter who is now 6 yrs old still does not have a bowel movement every day - more like every other and it is never hard. I would not be worried. His little system is simply using everything he digests and has little waste at this point. Enjoy your little man!

My daughter is now 11months and I have been going thru this too. I work in an ER and talked to a couple mom md's their suggestion is real pears....mash them and within a day it works. Also I have heard breastfeeding babes don't poop as much as i still breastfeed but i think a mom knows whether she is satisfied with the amount., Try pears I get the organic at sunflower market Good Luck!!

My son was also this way, but he was formula fed and it started when he was put on solids. the thing that helped the most was to water down his food and to give him more plain water to drink. I give him half a bottle of water before I feed him anything. this has help tremendously!

I agree with your ped on the breast milk and low frequency of bowel movements. I have seen this many times and my daughter did the same. However, once solids are introduced I would think he should be having more regular BM's. This would also depend on the volume of solids he is eating. Once solids are a regular part of the diet it is actually more normal to have BM after most meals due to the gastro-colic reflex. I know this doesn't offer any advice but hopefully a little info.

I have a friend who's baby does the same thing! She(mom) has to cut all the major dairy products out of her diet while she is nursing her daughter. It makes a huge difference. She said it even helps when she doesn't eat chocolate and peanut butter also. She is way tough and has a ton of will power!! When my 4 month old son started having similar reactions I put him on Enfamil Nutramigen formula and it did wonders. It is for babies with colic due to cow's milk PROTEIN allergy. It's not lactose intolerance. It's more expensive though. But he only used it for 2 months. He is now 6 months old and has grown out of the allergy. Good Luck!

B.-
If you have him on foods try to give him prunes. I know what you are talking about and I was told that if they go more than three days without a bowel movement that they can give themselves hemirroids from trying to push so much. But I know that if you give him prune juice watered down about an ounce everyday or baby food prunes a little everyday it can really help them to become more natural.
I hope that this helps.

Hi, my son never had this problem (was VERY regular), but at first glance it sounds like his diet might be the culprit. When babies/kids are sick and having trouble with diahrea, most pediatricians recommend the BRAT diet (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce & Toast). You are giving your son 2 of these items which may be contributing to the problem. you might try switching to oatmeal if he can tolerate it and consider introducing a little water or watered down juice (apple juice tends to have the opposite effect of apple sauce in that it brings on bowel movements). I know some pediatricians think it's pretty taboo to do this, but I gave my son bottled water at about 4 mos. because it just started to get darn hot. He hated it at first, but then he'd take little sips here and there. Since it's pretty dry here and your milk appears to be pure, a little extra water really might help to bring things on. If you are concerned with juice, I might even try some form of pedialyte. My son has always been a "drinker" and i think that this has contributed to him being really regular in that department. Good luck- I hope this was helpful!

Request a referral for Pheonix children's Hospital to see a specialist. Even if it is nothing serious it will make you feel better.

make sure baby drinks water after each meal. also try apple juice and or applesauce. prunes and prune juice can give him gas before he has a BM so save that for a last resort.

prunes prunes prunes! and oatmeal instead of rice cereal. Both of my kids' systems are slow so I give my 7 month old 2 -4 oz of prunes everyday (either by itself or mixed in his oatmeal). A gal I know also gave her son white grape juice everyday to help him go (not sure how much though). My 2.5 yr old I give oatmeal or yogurt everyday and a tsp/day of benefiber in her water/milk.

Hope you find this helpful.

My peditrician put my 1 month old on 1 oz. prune juice/1 oz. water (diluted) once a day. That cured his constipation. Takes a day to kick in but it works. I was using Karo syrup and my peditrician didn't like all the sugar. I forgot to give him the prune juice for 2 days and he was all backed up again. So it's working and it's working better than the Karo syrup.

Rice and bananas can be constipating, especially in a baby that already is constipated. Remember that your doc will recomment the BRAT diet for anyone with diahrea! (That's Bananas Rice Applesauce and Toast) You can always try baby prunes (Gerber ?) or a small amount of diluted prune juice every day or every other day. I have heard that some people add corn syrup to water but, I am really apposed to corn syrup. You can also try adding distilled or nursery water to his diet. What your doc said about the breast milk does not make sense to me. I breast fed both of my children and was a member of La Leche League http://www.llli.org/ They are a great source for moms. I am a nurse and I know that breast milk goes through faster and digests much better and purer than regular store bought stuff. I would start with increasing water and a wee bit of some kind of prune. Please don't stop breast feeding or give your baby any laxatives or suppositories unless absolutely necessary. Some people do not go as often as others, but, 9 days is pretty long. You need fiber and water to have a good BM which usually breast milk provides enough of, but, your baby might need a bit of help with the hydration part. Please check out the LLL site and see if something there can help. I am sure you and your baby will do fine!! Hope this helps!

Have you tried to feed him baby prunes? Since he's started on fruit, try to work a little in to see if it helps. The cereal and bananas are a constipator, so I can see why you haven't seen a change. Try mixing some prunes in his cereal. It should help. Good luck.

If he was having problems with you just nursing him, I would try eliminating dairy from his diet and diary from your diet if you are still nursing. Dairy can constipate a lot of kids and some doctors are leary of taking kids off of milk but it can make a drastic difference in a lot of kids. If that does not work, keep trying. As a mom, you always know when there is something more going on even if the doctor says no. Listen to your instinct.
Good luck!
B.

karo syrup!!! just a little in his food. works like a champ. our doctor recommended this for my little girl when she would go a week without going. ohh and i hear from friends that pediasure (sp?) works just as well because of the sugar.

I agree with one of the other mother's look at eliminating dairy within your won diet and even consider putting him on a gluten free diet as you introduce food. I have a 1 year old and she rarely every had the issue you are encountering, but I have had her on the above diet since birth. The few times she was constipated I used a pinch of "Pure C" which you can get at Whole Foods and put it in her bottle every 1/2 hour until she had a bowel movement. Which by the way was pretty quick. Good luck and remember rice cereal and bananas will stop your baby up not help him go.

well,
I do not like your doctor's answer, 5-9 days without going is not normal. the good news is, that it does not sounds like Hirschsprung's disease. yet it may be a relaed or minor version. If the doc thinks it's your milk, he/she should check it. and the baby should be checked.
worry is not the word I owuld use, inquisitive is.

me