What Is Good for Constipation?

I had this issue with my son when introducing cereal. I switched from a dairy formula to a soy formula and that made all the difference in the world for his digestion. When I stopped breast feeding the soy formula was all I could use regularly to keep him from binding up.

Switch to a different (NOT RICE) cereal. Rice can be extremely constipating for some babies. Try oatmeal (as long as she's hydrated) or barley.

When my daughter was that age she had terrible constipation. It turns out it was the rice cereal (and also bananas) that was causing it. Once we switched to baby oatmeal cereal she felt much better.

It could be that your baby is just not ready for solids yet. I guess I am curious why your doctor recommended cereal at four months- babies do not need anything but formula or breastmilk until they are 6 months old- that is when their little digestive system is ready for more than just a liquid diet. This is true even for bigger sized babies- it has to do with digestive maturity, not size/weight.

You can give her juice. Apple juice or prune juice are both good for stimulating the bowels. Just make sure you offer one first, use it for several days before offering the other if the first one doesn't work- just in case of allergies. Good luck!
P.

I agree with the apple juice that is what I always did for my daughter and it really works. I still use that trick when my 2 year old gets constipated and it works like a charm.

I had a real bad problem with constipation when my son was 4 months old. He was on oatmeal cereal and I would mix it with applesauce. He just wouldn't poop. My doc said to use karyo suryp in his bottles, and that didn't help so my Mom told me to take his temp because it is a natual reaction to push out something that goes in. I hope your baby does not get as bad as my son did. You should ask your doc how much karyo to use to help her out.

A few things.

1. You should not be feeding a 4 month old rice cereal and I would find a new doctor because any doctor who would recommend this is not current in infant nutrition.

2. The rice cereal is probably making her constipated.

3. NO solids, including juice, until at LEAST 6 months old.

4. Water is not necessary, imo.

Hi Rachel,
My son got constipated a couple of weeks after he was born and my doctor said to start giving him at least 1 4oz bottle of 1/2 100% juice (apple or cranapple) 1/2 water. You dont have to give your baby the full 4oz bottle at once. You can give it to her little by little if she cant finish the whole thing in one sitting. Once I started that my son was fine. He is doing even better now that he has his fruits and veggies throughout the day. We still continue to give him juice to this day but he drinks 2 4oz bottles now. I remember when my son first started to get constipated, it was pretty bad. He would scream and cry but once we started the juice, he started to have regular bowel movements. Hope this helps.

What my ped told me to do was use Karo syrup. I would mix about 1oz with 3 oz of water and that helped. I would give this to her at least once a day.

Hi Rachel:
I too have a four month old and when I started her on cereal she also got constipated. My ped. told me to put just a little bit of the MAPLE (brown) Karo syrup in her cereal or bottle. It seemed to help. My mother in law likes to feed her prunes... which REALLY works.. lol. But for now, just try the Karo... if you are uneasy ok it with your ped. first, but thats what mine said to do. good luck

You might want to try massaging her tummy. There is a technique of I love you that I have used on my son much and taught other moms to use (I teach infant massage). Just remember that you need to always massage in the natural rythm of her system (clockwise). You want to start with the I at the top of her tummy on your right her left side. You will basically be moving things towards the colon. then you do an upside down L from the top left (her right) and across then down (your right, her left) side abdomen and end with a U starting from the left abdomen then up and over ending at the right bottom abdomen. These are your lefts and rights. Please make sure you go in the natural direction of her system or you could constipate her more. If she had diarrea then you could do the opposite of this and give her some relief also. Hope this helps. Also check out:
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/babyconsti...

I had the same problem with my 3 month old son and my dr told me to use dark Karo syrup. You use 1 teaspoon for every 4 ounces of formula. It took like 6 hours to clean him out, but it worked like a champ! Hope this helps.

My daughter was the same way and her doctor said I could give her some pear juice or prune juice, or even apple prune but to dilute it 1/2 and 1/2 with water.... starting out with about 1 oz of water and 1 oz of juice.....

He also said I could make her cereal with the juice to added flavor... again diluted.

Good luck -

I always keep a few jars of prunes, or apple/prune juice handy for those instances.

if you put about a half a teaspoon of karo suryup in there bottles it works wonder.
T.

My baby was the same. She didn't go for four days, I was pretty worried. Our ped. told us to use the thermometer and that was the only way. After that I delayed the cereal till she was 6 months. And I can tell you that she was ready for it. No constipation at all. so you might want to wait for a while.

Rachel.
When my Babies were that age, i use to take bottles juices and fill bottles 1 oz to 3 oz water. they get the juice and its not too strong.
I also would take a bottle every few days and add 1 tbs kayro syrup.
You could try it for a few days.
The juices I bought jucy juice and 1 part juice to 2 or 3 parts water. I use to make them ahead of time, and make sure they had at least on juice bottle a day.
Hope that helps some.
My Babies are 23 24 18 now so it has been a few years:)
Have a blessed day.
T.

you can give her prune juice mixed half and half with water. my daughter had the same problem and the prune juice helped a lot. you will have to strain the prune juice first though or it won't fit through the holes in a sippy cup or bottle

I had the exact same problem with my child, he is now 3 and sometimes still has problems with constipation. He started having this problem at about 3 mths old, prune juice didnt really work, and yes i tried it when he was 3 mths, i would try anything! So i asked my doctor and he said to get vasoline and put about a dime size about on your pinky and just rub it around the anus very gently. Just remember dont jam it! It hurts them enough already! That works everytime!! You might also try a warm bath, this works better for him now that he is older but you can give it a try.

Ask your Dr. about a baby suppository, and my friend that has a baby has used warm distilled water... Good luck, i know how painful it can be for your little sweetie..I'll be praying for you! Sincerely D. Scott

Honestly, My son had an extremely severe case of constipation due to a medical condition with his colon that caused it to be too small near the anus. We gave him Dark Karo Syrup straight. Not mixed into anything. This helped alleviate some of the problem until he could get into the doctor to complete the procedure to enlarge the colon in that area. We use the Karo Syrup to this day when the kids are having problems.

Apple juice has always been the cure all in my house. For a four month old, you will probably need to dilute it with half water, but it always worked for us. Also, a little white karo syrup in the formula works wonders. Another trick is olive oil in the forumla, but the babies like the karo syrup better, and it seems to work faster.

baby glycerin suppositories work wonders, but be prepared. i gave one to my son when he was 6 months and the mess that followed was remarkable. you will be amazed by how much their tummies can hold and how rapidly can be expelled. lay the child on a bed, put on a glove and some ky, and insert the tab. immediately cover the bum with a diaper, unless you want to see a 5 foot stream of poo all over the place, and be prepared to switch out the diaper for a clean one a few times. hope this helps. with my son it was very amusing after the fact, somewhat disgusting at the time

If you don't have any prune juice, then you can always put a little karo syrup in a bottle of water...not too much though. That really helps my son.