Constipated 4 Month Old

My daughter was so constipated. She was 7 months old. The doctor gave me a prescription for chocolate like medication that worked but I didn't want her on medicine on a daily basis. So I tried infant soy milk and in three days she was fine never to have that problem again. Recently I had a day care child who had the same problem but 18 months. He would suffer so and I would phone his parents. They took him to the doctor and put on infant soy milk and no more constipation. Milk is not for every body sad to say. My older daughter was allergic to milk; constant runny nose, fever, ear infections, etc. It took six weeks of being off dairy but she was a new little girl, Little Miss Sunshine! And now there is soy everything. Just my experience.
F.

Hi S.,

My three month old son (who is a twin) was very constipated. He was breastfed and supplemented with formula. I took him to the chiropractor who adjusted him. I also started him on probiotics (brands - BioK or HMF). That fixed the problem without suppositories, mineral oil or corn syrup. Also, it is not okay for the baby not to poop. Medical doctors will tell you it is okay for babies not to poop for days, but that is incorrect. Those are toxins that need to get out of the body. Good luck and you are a good friend!

Hi S.-
What about a small amount of miralax? My sister's son had some minor constipation issues, and she mixed that with a small amount of juice (had to be warm- he did not like cold juice) and it helped him. Whenever he gets really stopped up and hasn't pooped for 1 too many days, he gets a small dose to move things along.
-E. M

Hello S.,
My older son had this problem but I was breastfeeding and formula feeding. My mom's coworker told me to use glycerin
suppositories. I was so nerves being a first time mom. I rememebr the first time i inserted it when my son was 4 months old. She also told me to have a diaper under him. OMG!!!!! Never had a problem after that. Of course I only used them when he had not gone within a day. His dr said they are totally safe and babies need to poop at least once a day. My second son never needed them. Also, mineral oil in a bottle with formula/breastmilk works also. Its noot as fast but that is just as safe.

Good luck to your friend.

SAHM. 40yrs old with 2 amazing funny little boys. almost 4yrs & 15months (walking at 7mos) My life moves at the speed of light.

S.,
There's a really easy and safe solution. I figured this out with my baby and it has changed all of our lives. I purchased a product called Natural Vitality Baby Calm by Peter Gillham. It's a magnesium supplement. And it says right on the label to start with 1/4 tsp and increase until baby's stool is comfortably loose. It takes about 24 hours and it works beautifully. Some people just need more magnesium. It has worked for every baby we've told about it. She can google it or find it asap in a local health food store.
If she has questions, have her call me ###-###-####
Blessings,
C.

You can try mixing prune juice in a bottle with formula but generally he should see a pediatric gastrointestinal doctor if it is that bad. Mom would feel better with a professional opinion I'm sure!

My first question is: why does you friend think her baby is constipated?? Breastfed babies VERY rarely get constipated, as breastmilk is a natural laxative, and babies under 6 months of age should NEVER be given additional water! They are very susceptible to what's essentially water poisoning. Breastmilk is actually mostly water, so they don't need additional fluids until they aren't exclusively breastfeeding anymore.

That being said, I'm curious to know why your friend thinks her baby is constipated. Is he having trouble pooping? Is he straining or struggling? Does he seem uncomfortable? Are his poops hard/firm or more like an adult's stools? If the answer to these questions is no, then he's not constipated. Believe it or not, it's actually very normal for an exclusively breastfed baby to go DAYS without stooling! Dr. Jack Newman, who is the foremost leader in breastfeeeding, said that the longest he's seen a breastfed baby go without stooling is 31 days!!!! (I was amazed, too!) As long as baby is happy, content, and doesn't seem to be uncomfortable when stooling, he's not constipated. If he's not happy or content, etc, then he may be.

My next question would be: how educated is your friend's pediatrician about breastfeeding? Unfortunately, breastfeeding is NOT part of a doctor's medical training, so if they want information and education regarding breastfeeding, they have to do this on their own. Sadly, many pediatricians know next to nothing about breastfeeding, and the wrong advise could be given.

Your friend is more than welcome to use Nursing Mothers Counsel as a resource should she have any other breastfeeding questions or dilemmas :) Our hotline number is (650) 327-MILK, or she can visit our website at http://www.nursingmothers.org. We are a non-profit organization who provides FREE one-on-one peer counseling to breastfeeding mamas at ALL stages, prenatal through toddler through weaning!

I had the same problem with my little girl ~ it did get better soon as she started on cereal and veggies etc... My Dr. told me to go and get some baby suppositories. I found them at Walgreens, they were only a couple of $'s. He said to only use them if she hadn't gone for a couple of days. Also I have heard that it is somewhat common for babies who are only breastfed to not go poo every day, although a bit scarey, I think it is somewhat normal because it doesn't have all the junk in it that other food has! Also - your friend might try watering down the prune juice, like 1/2 and 1/2 or even maybe a little bit more water than that! Good luck! ~ Janine

She should consider her diet. He might be allergic to something she eats.
If she consumes more magnesium he will be able to get it in the breast milk. Magnesium is naturally laxitive. Magnesium malate, around 500mg daily, is what I would try if it were me.

Has she tried cutting Dairy out of her diet? My son had some problems with constipation and it wasn't until he was 6 months old and I tried giving him baby formula that I found out he was allergic to milk. He broke out in hives after 2 sips. When he got it through me the effects were not as drastic but they were still there. I cut out all dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, sour cream, etc) and breast fed him until he was a year and now we do soy milk.

I'm not sure what constitutes "constipated" for a four-month-old, so I can only give you our experience.

Our infant son (now five months) is also breastfed. He poops every four to six days (typically one, two or three diapers that day) and that's it. We were also told to him him an enema early on, just to make sure everything was "working" digestively, but it didn't really do anything to change the course of events, so we let it go and just waited for him. Then, we discovered it was really his own schedule. (Another girlfriend has a six month old who only poops every 28 days -- and boy, she has to stay home all day to handle that guy's diapers.)

According to our pediatrician and the books, breastfed babies may not poop regularly because they are using all of the nutrients up so rapidly in their bodies that there is nothing left to excrete. So I'd stop giving him extras for awhile and see if he has his own poop schedule -- once a week, once every two weeks, once a month. As long as he's pooped before and gotten all the meconium out, it seems to be OK that they aren't "regular."

Our pediatrician also tells me that once we introduce solids, the pooping will be much more regular. I know it seems wierd, but the benefit is you don't necessarily have to carry a diaper bag with every trip :)

Hope this helps!

Lots of water. My daughter was constipated most of her childhood and when we finally figured it out, she had a permanently streched out colon. If your girlfriend is drinking a lot of milk and eating a lot of cheese, she might want to switch to soy. That was my daughter's problem. She wasn't allergic to milk, she was just hyper sensitive to the binding qualities. She can eat anything now (she's 19) but she has to drink lots of liquids to keep herself regular.

T.

Dear S.,
My daughter went through this at about the same age. I used the little baby glycerin suppositories. I only had to use them a few times, but they work really quickly and after she got over that little hurdle, she was able to just go on her own without further problems.
Sometimes the more stuff you put in your kid to try to help them go just gets jammed up and makes it even worse. The suppositories work at the other end. That's what our pediatrician told us to use and it worked like a charm.

Best wishes!

It's fairly common for strictly breast-fed babies to go for days (up to a week) without having a BM. When he does have a BM, is it normal or pellet like? Is he having normal wet diapers? Is he actually expressing discomfort? I'd suggest your friend get a second opinion and not go to such extreme measures. Your friend might want to assess if her son might be allergic or sensitive to certain proteins in her own diet (dairy, egg, etc.)

GL

Maybe its' mom that needs to drink more water. That would be my suggestion.

Try getting more liquid in him ... water or water apple juice mixed.

Try diluting the prune juice in water, water / apple juice, or mix it with formula / expressed breast milk.

Also, I started my girls on cereal at 4 months (in an attempt to improve their night sleeping). Your girlfriend could mix baby prune puree with rice cereal and a little apple juice and milk.

I believe the fruit is more helpful for constipation than the juice.

I had a 18 month patient old who had chronic constipation and was put on adult levels of medication and still had trouble. 45 minutes after his first (chiropractic) adjustment he had a bowel movement. 3 minutes after his second adjustment he had a bowel movement. With regular care he became regular. She might consider chiropractic care.

Poor little guy! My daughter gets constipated sometimes also. I give her extra water and massage her in her back where the colon is (lower back on the sides) and a tummy massage (lower abs on the sides). After a good rub, she usually goes.

S.,
Please consider allergies. My granddaughter also had serious constipation issues as a breastfed baby. The issues continued after she was weaned onto regular milk. Finally they decided to have her tested for allergies and found she had an allergy to cow's milk. Apparently the cow's milk my daughter-in-law was drinking while nursing passed effectively passed through to my granddaughter - and my daughter-in-law also finally learned that she is allergic to cow's milk. Everyone is on soy milk or almond milk now and no more constipation issues!
Good luck. - J.

My son has been constipated several times. I gave him prune baby food and it helped. Also the dr gave me a perscription for Enulose to put in his bottles as needed and it helps him too. His got so bad his dr told me I could give him an infant suppository. I didnt have to give it to him because the enulose worked, but thats always an option. I would ask your pediatrician before I did the suppository though...all babies are different and my son was VERY constipated. Hope it helps

Does she have a pediatrician? Its very very rare for strictly breast fed kids to get constipated, almost impossible. However, you should never give a baby pure 100% juice, tons and tons of acid in it and couild cause lots and lots of problems. If you go to the baby isle and get gerber baby juice, give him 4 oz. of that a day he should do great.. if that doesnt agree with him give him 2 oz baby juice mixed with 2 oz. of water and slowly give him more. My son was on soy formula so he was always constipated after i stopped breastfeeding at 3 months. I think i started feeding him a jar of fruit a day and he was good. Make sure to change his diaper often however, juice is very acidic and it will give him bad diaper rashes if he sits in it for even a small amount of time, i learned that the hard way! Deffinately talk to a pediatrician though because strictly breastfed babies do NOT get constipated!

Hi S.!

Your friend must be so upset! I, too, have heard that it's pretty much impossible for breastfed babies to be constipated. It could be an allergy, it could be a medical issue, etc. or it could be that the baby is just holding his poop (both of my kids did this from an early age). I highly recommend that your friend get a referral for a pediatric GI specialist from her baby's pediatrician. My daughter has been seeing a pediatric GI specialist since she was about 7 months old and I really wish we'd taken her sooner. As for what your friend can do, she can ask her pediatrician about using a small amount of Miralax (you mix it in with the baby's food, breastmilk, or formula) to keep things soft. Both of my kids are still on this....it's not absorbed by the body so it's safe, but definitely talk to the pediatrician first....and if possible a GI specialist. Good luck!

Hi S. G

If you and your baby drink alkaline water you will absorb the water in your cells better and will be able to release toxins out of your system along with good nutrition and you will not be constipated.

If you want more info let me know.

N. Marie

Is he truly constipated? Breast fed babies can go up to a week in rare cases (usually a couple days) between bowel movements. He is constipated if the stools are small and hard (rabbit pellet like) and/or uncomfortable. As they get older they get more efficient digesting breast millk and it is common to see a day without a poop. At 5 weeks my son started every other day or every 3 days. When she starts solids she can add a teaspoon of prune juice to his oatmeal. Just make sure her dr is aware that breastfed babies poop less often and it is truly constipation.

My 5 mo old granddaughter was having problems with constipation and her dr told them to give her Miralax. It is safe and works great. You can put it in the water bottle or in breast milk. She feels much better now.

My boy was also badly constipated and we were having bad nightmares due to his crying most of the time. After trying lots of medicines, massage and other remedies, we got relief from this tummy bug by using babies magic tea. It's a natural and herbal tea blend that has no preservatives at all.

I know that it is scary when you see little babies plugged up and you want to do everything you can to help them. If your friend is still breastfeed, it maybe the moms diet. A woman's diet can have everything to do with how the breast milk is produced. My daughter was plugged up at a young age, but it was when I stopped breats feeding. I would do the thermometer, but that wouldnt work. But there is an over they conter product that i used for my daughter, its called BABYLAX Glycerin. It will tell you how much to use for each age group. It worked for me. Hopefully that is helpful. Good luck!

I would like to ask your friend a couple of questions before giving advice about her son's issues, there are several reasons for infant constipation... you can email me at ____@____.com

Hi-

Has your friend ruled out any possible underlying medical conditions that may be leading to the constipation? The reason why I ask is that my daughter was chronicly constipated her first 2 years of life. We tried everything to fix it. Juice, fruit, veggies, MiraLax. Nothing worked and our pediatrician at the time was useless.

It turns out the reason my daughter was constipated is that she has kidney diease (she was essentially peeing out too much fluid, which was drying out her stools in her intestine).

If your peditrician hasn't ordered a blood test, ask for a Chem 10. A lot can be deteremined from that simple test. Before you freak out, kidney diease is very rare and chances are that your friend's child is OK but it's better to rule this out. If the pediatrician tries to talk your friend out of it. Have your friend switch doctors!! Breasfeed kids should not get constipated! I wish that I had switched pediatrician's earlier as we wasted 2 years with our first doctor. It is better to be safe than sorry. Trust me on this. My daughters prognosis would be much better had her kidney disease been found earlier.

My Sister-in-law sugested chamomile tea. I think she said about a 1/2 cup of tea in a bottle. Maybe ask at the health food store for some alternatives. I hope this helps.
I know that when my daughter gets constipated, I can give her applesause and that seems to do the trick. It has the adverse affect on her. So sorry to say she doesn't eat too many apples or applesauce. I'm not sure about the juice, cause I water it down so much. Good luck.

Poor little darling! I would tell her to give him some mineral oil. It is completely natural and can't hurt him in the least. It has absolutely no taste. It will go into his bowel and will soften up the stool so he can pass it and it will also make is slippery so it can "slide" out. My grandson had a HORRIBLE constipation problem for most of his life and finally when he was about five we hit on mineral oil and what a difference! Try it - I guarantee it can't hurt and will probably help!

Add a tiny bit of cold milled flax seed to the bottle-it is a fine powder form-try just a pinch to start & go up from there if need be. It is a good source of fiber & also good for getting the baby & Mommy too-the omega's. I eat it every day in a protein smoothie for myself & add it to my toddler- 15 months- foods a sprinkle here & there. Good luck-I know that is no fun. My daughter had the same problem during infancy but I would get the tip of a q-tip with vaseline & put it in her anus just the first half of the tip & twirl it around,
it always produced a poop sometimes right away & other times after a few minutes. I also added a half ounce or so of prune juice to her bottles before she could eat the actual pureed prunes which when she was 6 months & began eating she ate 1 container of prunes each day spread out into 2 feedings. She loved it & it eventually kept her regular with 1-3 poops per day. (she was formula fed from 5 months on)

i read half the posts before I saw this - glycerin suppositories. Make sure they are infant. They worked like a charm on my baby when he was very young and also solely breastfed.
Also, the anal stenossis sounds like it could be a possibility. My nephew was born early and has it.