My oldest daughter (now 10) suffered a whole lot & still does w/constipation. We would give her all sorts of different things we were told to try by the ped but the one that worked the best for her was kondremul - it was a liquid we would give her before bedtime & it worked like clockwork. A few other things we would do would be to put her in about an inch or two of warm water in the kitchen sink or bathtub and let her sit in it for a little while - that would usually bring on a dirty diaper - or a warm hot water bottle across her belly - the other thing we'd do was to hold her legs up while she was straining to go. This had to have been one of the hardest things because you feel so awful for them with the crying & screaming. Good luck though and although many people will have their own cures, be sure to check w/ur ped because what may work for an older child can hurt an infant. Unfortunately we found out the hard way when we tried one of my mother-in-laws suggestions. Sami went from not going to a raw diaper rash in no time (she told us to give her senakot & i figured that since she had 3 grown children we were good, but boy was I wrong).
Hi Missy,
I was going to say that each child has his/her own 'regularity.' Going every other day is fine. My son would sometimes go days before having a bowl movement. However, since she is straining...have you considered your diet? Make sure you keep yourself hydrated, especially in this weather. That might help too.
Good luck,
Stella
Hi Missy,
Well done on breastfeeding :) I also breastfed both of my children, my youngest daughter had constipation around that same age.
I gave my daughter apple or prune juice diluted with water, it really seemed to help. (some ppl would probably say you shouldn't give juice but I always did my own thing and my children are extremely healthy with no alergies, no ear infections and very few colds... you know the saying, Mommy knows best) I also gave Natalie warm baths when she was constipated and I did watch my own food intake since I was breastfeeding.
I remember how upset Natalie would get because her little belly would hurt, it's heart breaking... I hope you find something that works for your little one. Good luck!
Well we’ve been on our reflux meds and once a day constulose syrup and our dd is a much happier baby these days. No more fussies at the breast, she can poop without too much straining, and she seems to be sleeping better now too. I am looking forward to taking her off the reflux meds at our next appointment to see if it was the constipation that aggravated her reflux problem. She poops at least once a day, and from my perspective of watching her strain for so many months she has cut back her straining discomfort 10 folds. Her bowel movements are still sketchy if I do not give her the constipation meds…they usually turn out very dark and green…but if I give her the meds she stays more brown/yellow and less thick than peanut butter consistency and passes more comfy. I have completely eliminated dairy…but I had started the elimination weeks before her constipation started. She is still breastfed and I am glad I have stuck with it, and it is nice now to see her face look up at me with smiles after a feeding instead of tears of pain.
07/30/08 update: Our dd is now 7 months is still battling with constipation. We found it was actually the cause of her frequent night wakeups. She is also started spitting up a lot more when we took her off her reflux med (prevacid) for two weeks. So we restarted her on prevacid again like before and she gets her consptipation med (stool softener) 3x a day. WHAT A DIFFERENCE…NO MORE ARCHING AT FEEDINGS AND SLEEP HAS IMPROVED! I’m only feeding her oatmeal, prunes, green beans, peas, pears, and peaches. I’m not really sure how the carrots and sweet potatoes did on her system so I will introduce them at 8 months, as well as for the bananas and applesauce. She also hasn’t tried squash yet…I may wait till 8 months on that too. Of all the “P” fruits…prunes works the best for us for irregularity. She is also FINALLY getting the handle of putting herself to sleep now…and even for naps! So to all those mothers out there who feel no they get no sleep…it does get better!! So MUCH BETTER in time! Thank you all for your advice to a sleep deprived first time mommy!