My 2 month old is now exclusively on formula, and his bowel movements are 3 to 4 days apart. Problem is, he strains for the last 2 of those days to go, and when he does finally go, he acts like he's pooping out glass. His bowel movements seem so painful, and I'm pondering using the 1/2 teaspoon of Karo syrup in his formula based on the advice of my grandmother.
Is this a load of B.S.? Or does this old wives tale actually work?
My family has used this for years. I in fact just last week recommended it to another mama source mom. It works. put it in a bottle of warm formula. and within a very short time it works. I am not sure a half teaspoon will do anything at all thought. More like a tablespoon. But try it. it won't hurt anything and will make him feel so much better afterwards.
I would talk to your pediatrician, and personally would never give a baby corn syrup. It's really dangerous to up their sugar intake that much.
Personally, it sounds to me like food allergies or possibly not being well hydrated. I would try a dairy-free formula before I would do corn-syrup, but then again, I have never given a baby formula at all (I just cut dairy from my diet because it was bothering my baby in my breastmilk and that worked like a charm for me.)
Hope you find an answer soon
Manda
I used it with my son, but he was about 6 months and I put it in water. I also only used a VERY little bit, not even 1/2 tsp. It did work, but I am not sure I would be comfortable using this method on such a little baby. I never used formula, but maybe trying another type of formula might be easier on his belly.
Good luck,
Kristi
First of all, Congrats to you on having a new baby boy! How exciting... enjoy every day since they go fast!
When we changed from BF-ing to exclusively formula we had the same problem. After a couple of weeks of her having hard rock like bowels and cramping with stinky gas we switched her to soy based formula and things got better fast. That might be an option! Lots of peds offices can give you a sample can of it. I used Similac Soy Formula.
Another thing that may help is moving his little legs like in a bicycle movement. Also running the belly in a circular motion. It helps get things moving a little bit and it might even make it easier for him to go. It also helps with gas as well- just do not sit on the recieving end :) We also did warm baths to soothe her... she enjoyed them and would relax a lot in them.
I am not sure how comfortable I would be giving an infant Karo Syrup. This is something I would definately discuss with his pediatrician. If your next appt is not soon then put a call in to them. I am sure they will get you in sooner or probably even help over the phone!
Good luck and many blessings to you and yours!
**** I was just babbling with my hubby over this and our daughter when he reminded me that we would have this problem no matter which formula we used if we did not heat it up. Might want to give that a try! (hate when Daddy remembers more than me lol)
Hi Ann, this is not a wives tale. My pediatrician recommended I use a teaspoon in his formula before he was three months old & then after to use apple prune juice. Something about the calorie intake being more with the apple prune juice. I would talk to your ped first however because this was a one time thing & I don't know if I'd do it without checking with him first.
Good luck!
Have you consider changing the formula ? I found that similac brand cause constipation for my child. But enfamil brand is fine. My friend has the same problem also. I think switching formula will be better than keep giving karo syrup.
Hi Ann...Iam alittle late responding but I thought I would answer anyways...when my nephew was an infact (he is 13 now). He couldnt take any kind of formula and my sister couldnt breastfeed so the only chose was regular mile with karo syrup in it, but my sister used a full teaspoon in atleast 1 of his bottles a day so he would not have a problem with is bowels. Now with all of our kids anytime with have a problem with backed-up bowels we will feed them a teaspoon of karo syrup and with in a couple hrs they are able to go....but we buy the clear syrup not the dark syrup. I dont remember the reasoning behind it to be honest. Good Luck and it wont hurt your baby at all....And congrats on your baby boy.
my sister used it with two of her kids and it worked great. She used the white syrup she would put in their bottles. The only problem was getting the off it because they liked the sweetness so much.
My son started having issues at exactly that age. He had a combination of breastmilk and formula and often wouldn't go for a week.
If the problems continue, I would talk to you doctor about Miralax. When I started talking to other moms about our experiences, there are a lot of kids on Miralax until they are potty trained. Our doctor explained that it's very safe because it simply lays glucose molecules in the gut that draw water and make it easy for the baby to go. It's not a stimulant so it can be used long-term and doesn't have the drawbacks of Karo Syrup (addiction to sweetness, overall dangers of corn syrup, and risk of botulism).
It has been my experience that old wives tales are usually the best.
Sorry just read this, but sounds like you may need another fix in the next few days. I used mango juice or mango puree and it really helped when my son was tiny like yours. That was on the recommendation of our pediatrician.
Hi Ann,
Congrats on your first baby, you get so excited but then when they are born you realize they do not come with an instruction manual. Yes the Karo syrup does work. My pediatricain used to recommend it for my kids whent hey were babies with the formula and especialy when they started taking cereal in formula at night.You may want to change formula. We used Similac and neither if my kids responded well.They had gas from it. One responded to the soy based version and the other one I put on Carnation, way cheaper and better.
Old wives tales are wonderful and always the best. But, please don't use the Karo syrup one. There's been a new study just out that they've identified either mercury or aluminum in some of the corn syrup products, from the machinery used in processing the corn. Please, don't even take any chances with this as mercury and aluminum both are questionable in autism and also learning disabilities. Apple juice is binding, but prune juice is safe, but at that young age, always check with your pediatrician first.
You might not want to use the Karo syrup too often, since it has corn and it is sweet. It could be harmful for long term use. Instead, talk with your doctor. Mineral Oil does the same thing and doesn't have anything harmful in it, it is also cheaper too.
I used the syrup. It worked well! Thank god it worked! I cannot remember if I put it in formula or water. You don't need alot of it though.
Hi Ann,
Our pediatrician actually recommends the karo syrup for helping with BMs. There recommendation was 1 Tablespoon of light karo syrup with 2 oz of water up to once a day. Our little one was on soy formula and it made her constipated. We made our formula in a larger batch and added the karo mix everyday. That helped keep her regular.
My son is 2 years old now and I used the Karo syrup a few times when he was an infant. Either he was due to go or it really works. The pediatrician gave me the idea. I don't think it hurts to try! Good Luck!
I have used it with both daugthers (formulas fed from the age of 3 weeks). I only used a couple drops in a bottle, but it almost always did the trick... :)
Ann-
I was advised to also use KARO syrup too. My oldest (14 now) was having the same exact problem. My Dr.. did advise me the same thing... however, it didn't work for us, I used "babylax" suppositories and when he was in alot of pani, Dr. told me to just stimulate him with the thermometer and that made him go for sure.
I've been in your shoes, I remember the pain they went through... it was awful & you feel so helpless. Hope this helped a little... they will grow out of it. Mine did!!!
Michelle