Baby Bowel Movements

Updated on December 08, 2007
J.T. asks from College Station, TX
32 answers

So we had to start my 3 1/2 month old on Enfamil Lipil AR because of spitting up issues and reflux. It has added rice cereal to it to reduce spit up. He seems to be doing ok on it so far, but I'm worried he is constipated. He hasn't had a bowel movement in days. I have heard for them to be "classified" as constipated you have to see hard stool, but is it possible he may be all blocked up because of the formula? If so, what can I do? Prune juice, suppository supplements? Any of these work? Should I just wait it out and see? Any thoughts would be great!!

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J.W.

answers from Lafayette on

Karo syrup seems to work well. Have you tried it yet? If not, put a little dab in his bottles. This did the trick for my infants. Good Luck with it!

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C.N.

answers from Baton Rouge on

Sometimes formula can constipate them. When my daughter was little, and was constipated, we gave her a combiation of 1 part prune juice (for laxative), 1 part apple juice (to cover the nasty taste of the prune juice), and 2 parts water (to dilute).

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J.H.

answers from Nashville on

I always used prune juice. I would mix 2oz of water and 2oz of prune juice everyday or every other day. It work up until he wouldn't drink it anymore. He knew there was better tasting things after awhile.

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J.M.

answers from Baton Rouge on

Hi Jennifer,
My son has acid reflux also and when his pediatrician suggested using rice cereal, I asked about constipation. She told me to give him 1oz of pear juice mixed with 1oz of water in a bottle and give it to him every day to keep him regular. It worked soooo great! And I was much more comfortable giving him juice instead of meds or putting Karo Syrup in his bottle (which my mom tried with him and it didn't work). Hope this helps!

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S.R.

answers from Johnson City on

When my daughter Rebekah started rice, she did the same thing. We stopped it, and gave her pear juice, the baby kind, full strength at my pediatrician's suggestion. It worked like a charm and I only had to do it once. Then we waited a day or two and restarted the cereal.

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E.B.

answers from Baton Rouge on

I used glycerine suppositories on my son when he was an infant and I have used them on my daughter who is only 3 months. I like using them better than a regular suppository, and I think they work better.

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T.A.

answers from Nashville on

Our daughter was on a formula with rice cereal in it and it made her constipated also. We added dark karo syrup and that helped a lot. Also we gave her apple prune juice (about 2 oz) either an hour before a bottle or 30 mins after her bottle. This also helped. Or you may just consider switching to another formula which also has rice cereal in it that doesnt make her constipated. Hope this helps your situation.

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S.P.

answers from Fort Smith on

when in doubt, give the child one ounce of pure prune juice ( don't water it down) if the baby has not gone to the bathroom in approx 3 days take him to the doctor

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M.S.

answers from Little Rock on

My daughter had this problem...we always just gave her an ounce or two of prune juice and water and it took care of the problem. And I felt much better about it than giving her medicine. I still give her prune juice now that she's 3 when she's constipated.

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R.M.

answers from Shreveport on

I have a 3 year old that has always had problems with this prune juice worked for a bit the welches grape juice worked you can take him to the doctor and they can give him a type of laxative (powder)but i deffinatley would not wait if you wait too long he will end upp sooo scared its gonna hurt when he goes poo poo then that makes it really hard during potty training.

mother of 2+4

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C.G.

answers from Birmingham on

1.This may seem a little nasty, however if you have one of the small infant tubs. Put warm water in it and sit the baby in it. The warm water helps the muscles relax. 2.Put a couple drops of Karo Syrup in their water bottle.

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E.G.

answers from Shreveport on

I had the same problem with the formula constipating my daughter. She is on Medicaid, and here that means (as someone so rudely put it to me one day) "If you want something for free you'll just have to wait!" That particular day I wasn't in the mood for rude comments. I had already been there for 5 hours and with a restless toddler that sucks. Anyways, back to the subject. We went through the juices & suppoitories and none of it worked. The Dr. will tell you not to give him Prune juice becaue it's so potent, but we watered it down and gave it to her anyways. She went from little rabbit sized poop that was hard as a rock to liquid almost all day. Not fun at all, so I stopped with the prune juice. She had gotten to the point to where she would hold her poopies in because it hurt so bad to go. It took about a year and a half before we were finally given something that worked. Glycolax. It is a powder that mixes with their drinks. Flavor less so it won't make things taste gross either, not that that is a concern right now with him so young. Linzi is 4 now and we don't have her on Glycolax now, I just give her a little bit of a fiber supplement, like Fibercon, and that works for her now. Good luck with this and next time you talk to your son's Dr. ask about the Glycolax. It worked wonders for her when we finally found it.

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K.M.

answers from Nashville on

Jennifer,

I would talk with your pediatrician or their nurse first. I was told karo (corn) syrup was not good to give b/c of the risk of infant botulism (like with honey) until after age 1. We have had on/off problems with constipation and our pediatrician recommended giving a 50/50 mixture of prune juice & water, no more than 4 oz a day. She also said we could try the suppository cut in 1/2 lengthwise but would wait to see if the juice worked first. We never had to use it, thankfully. I would say that if your baby isn't getting a hard belly and doesn't seem to be uncomfortable this may just be their body's system and end up being normal for them. I know of some children who go several days between bowel movements and this is just normal for them.

Thanks,
K.

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A.B.

answers from Johnson City on

I had this problem with my daughter...you should ask your doctor first, but children's suppository sliced in half long ways is one thing i did, i DID NOT leave it in, i only massage her anal passage for a few minutes,a few times a day, to help her have some relief....i also gave her a 4 ounce bottle of prune juice and water...i DID NOT do these at the same time...try one and then the other, the suppository may work, so try that first...
also my 3 month old had the spit up issues but my son is breastfed, he was put on prevacid...you could ask your dr. about that...hope this helps...A.

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E.C.

answers from Knoxville on

My oldest daughter was on the same formula for similar issues when she was a baby. We went through this to in the beginning. First of all, if he is passing gas thats a good sign that he is not impacted etc. Monitor him for signs of discomfort etc. Avoid the Karo syrup, its not recommended because it can give them botulism (spelling??). We just gave her some prune juice frequently, and also used a glycerin suppository one time. (worked like a charm) If you have any questions or are really concerned contact your ped. Good luck!

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C.D.

answers from Baton Rouge on

I agree with Tammy. Just let him get use to the cereal. Babies differ, so poop everyday 1-? times a day. While some poop every other day, every 3 days, etc.
My nieces and nephew would poop every other day. (they got that from my sister in law, she only poops 2-3 times a week)
Until he is crying and in pain or his belly is HARD from not pooping, do not worry.
If you do have to give him something, a little of KARO syrup in a milk bottle; the DR told us to put a drop or 2 of milk of magnesia in a milk bottle.
Let me know how it turns out, please.

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S.M.

answers from Shreveport on

Well from my exp. I would say just put a little bit of prune juice in each bottle, depending on how big the bottle is I believe I did 1 0z of prune juice in a 4-6 oz bottle. It usually works pretty good, the doctor told me with soy formula to put it in every bottle but if he goes okay i would just do it as needed, because you will see how it goes.

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K.S.

answers from Hattiesburg on

I use to use apple juice with half water and if that didn't work we would use glycerin suppositories. You shouldn't use the glycerin suppositories too often because you don't want the baby to become dependent on them, but if your baby doesn't have a bowel movement in 3-4 days you should try them. I would break them in half for my little girl and just use 1/2 one. Good luck!

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R.M.

answers from Nashville on

It appears as though you have several responses but I will go ahead and add mine. My son was born with a small amount of reflux. Not enough to be put on meeds but the ped. did recommend Enfamil Lipil AR. I put one tablespoon of Karo dark corn syrup in his formula, (6 oz.) and it worked like a charm. Of course that also was recommended by the ped.
Good luck, everything will be ok.

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J.G.

answers from Augusta on

Maybe try making the bottle more watery. Both my children seem to have that problem unit I watered down the formula alittle. I am sure his little body has to get use it forumla and rice if he has not had it before. I would water it down and try that before introducing prune juice or a suppository. Also call the doctor and see what he says. Hope this helps. God Bless. I know it is hard to see your child uncomfortable at such a young age.

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M.C.

answers from Nashville on

We had a similar problem. We gave ours just a little bit of pear juice like a 1 ounce water and 1 ounce pear juice per our pediatrician. The only thing is you need to be at home when it happens because they will blow out a diaper. It happens a few hours after they have it.

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K.S.

answers from Texarkana on

I know exactly what you mean. My son had severe acid reflux. We had to even add extra cereal to his formula. He became very constipated. We used several teqniques that helped a lot. Dark Karo, put like a teaspoon at first, my sone had to have a table spoon. This will help. Acouple of ounces of pure apple juice(not the half water that they normally give babies)A couple of ounces of white grape juice. It may make it a little runny but it is better than being constipated. Just be sure that you only use the Karo if you absolutely have to. It made my son gain weight faster than he should have, the cereal is going to do that anyways. There is also a very mild glycerine suppository that my pharmacy recommended. We never used a whole on but usually a little piece...like a third of one, would be enough to make him go.
Some people say that suppositories aren't safe but as long as they aren't abused my ped. says they are better than starting a routine of constipation and SBS(slow bowel syndrome)
My doctor at childrens hospital also gave me some really good advice. Babies at that age dont know yet that they need to push but any stimulation down there will help. That is part of the miracle of the suppository. He told me to gently insert my pinky finger just inside the rectum and you will feel when baby start to push, it doesn't hurt them but it isn't really comfortable so they will try to push it out and will generally result in a bowel movement. I know it sounds awful but it really worked. As often as I had to do something to help my son go it kept us from over using meds.
Another thing to consider is that once a child gets severley constipated the bowel movements will hurt and that causes them to not want to go and creates and even bigger problem.
My son had a really hard time potty training(poo poo only) because he associated poo poo with pain.

I hope this helps some. If there is anything else you want to know my e-mail is ____@____.com

I have been to childrens over this many times and there is a lot of things you can do that wont cause problems in the future.

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T.C.

answers from Nashville on

I think you should ask your son's pediatrician.

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C.M.

answers from Fort Smith on

When my son was younger he to had a problem to were I thought that he was constipated, not pooing or anything. I gave him some apple juice or grape juice, Juicy Juice, like 2 times a day and if that really didnt help You can buy some suppositiories. My doctor said use the Fleet Glycerin Suppositories, but use only 1/2 of it and it would work in about 1/4 -1 hour. If this goes on longer than you feel comfortable with , don't heasitate to take your son to the ped. Better safe than sorry! Good Luck.

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L.

answers from Baton Rouge on

Does he seem to be uncomfortable? Is his belly hard? My little girl had that problem once when she was about that age. We tried the suppository and she was so miserable until she pooped it out (just the suppository, nothing else) I would just do that as a last resort. A 4 oz bottle of apple-prune worked great!

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V.E.

answers from Texarkana on

Jennifer,

I have a 8 month old. You can try pear juice also. Oatmeal cereal works great also. I hope this helps.

V.

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S.P.

answers from Shreveport on

you should try using the tip of a thremometer, with vaseline on the end of it - insert the thremomometer, stick in quarter of an inch, and repeat. This should stimulate your baby enough to help him go...
S.

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T.M.

answers from Memphis on

You really don't want to interupt how his body is digesting the formula, just yet. His body hasn't been getting enough nutrience for so long, that he is most likely using every little bit. You will know it is a problem when he gets uncomfortable. His tummy will bother him long before there is a serious problem. Now that his food is staying down, you will both get a break. Give your little man an extra hug and snuggle from me.

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E.H.

answers from Biloxi on

My son had the same exact problems. We put a little teaspoon of light corn syrup in with his bottle when his bowels seemed blocked up. It seemed to help just fine. It was advice that I got from his grandparents. Hope it helps!

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J.S.

answers from Atlanta on

My daughter had the same problem and the doctor thought medication may be needed. Her nurse, a grandmother, told me to try light KARO syrup in her bottles. After a bottle or two it always worked.

Good luck, J.

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J.P.

answers from Mobile on

Good luck to ya! I had this problem, too. I got a priceless piece of advice once, and I wish I could put it on a banner for everyone: 1 Tbsp of dark Karo syrup in a regular bottle of formula (or breastmilk, or whatever you feed). It's magical. No cramps, no discomfort. I wouldn't wait too long. After a couple of days, both you and baby are going to be miserable!

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A.W.

answers from Montgomery on

Karo syrup in the bottle I forget the measurments but I'm sure someone on here knows. Try Karo first then prune if all else fails go with the suppositories.

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