Constipation

Hey all,
I have a 6 months old boy who gets EXTREMELY constipated. I try to give him water every day btween breakfast and lunch. It seems to help a bit but not much. I've noticed that potato can increase the constipation so i stear clear of it. He gets so bad at times his poor little bottom bleeds due to the strain. Has anybody else got a home remedy of how to help soften his poo? Or foods that may cause or decrease his constipation?

I sometimes use coloxyl but i prefer natural products. oh and i've heard of using brown sugar in his bottle but i have a high family history of diabeties so i dont want to increase his chance.
Can anyone help

Amy

Hi Amy,
My son gets constipated but not as bad as your little one. My Dr likes to use natural things when possible and he suggested to use things like fruit juices. He said prune juice was very good. You can buy the pre made up one in the little baby bottle where the baby food is sold, I think it is a Heinz brand. You can use the "Adult" one but you need to dilute this. He said to try 50% water to 50% prune juice. Then if that doesnt work try a little more prune juice to less water until you find the percentage which suits you. If your baby wont drink this you can mix it in with his food like stewed fruit or even rice cereal. I mix it in with my sons weetbix. I found my son would get particularly bad once I went from say food for a 4month old to a 6 month old and so on. You could also check with your Health Nurse as they may be able to suggest foods with more fibre suitable for your little one's age. When our son was younger I used the brown sugar as there wasnt much else suitable for his age. I know what you are saying with the Diabetes issue. I had Gestational Diabetes while pregnant with my son so this will increase his chances of Juvenile Diabetes. I also have a strong family history as both my Grandmothers and my Father have Diabetes. I try to curb him from having too much of a sweet tooth. I hope this helps.

Hi Amy,

My daughter also get constipated quite often, started when she started solid food. I find that giving her pears (puried) frequently helps her system! She didnt like the prune juice so this was my only way! Hope it helps!

hi all,

thankyou for the information. At the moment we're trying prunes(pureid) with his weetbix. i've found that weetbix(well i use vitabrits) help reduce his constipation a little bit so, i interchange his rice cereal and weetbix, and when he has rice cereal he has puried pears. I keep thinking it may be the formula, but he's on an anti reflux formula and my health nurse said that there isnt many AR formulas out there.

He's been fairly good with his constipation over the last couple of days, but his good days still mean alot of pushing and pain for him.

thank you again
Amy

Hi Amy,
Just a thought, my daughter used to be on S26 Gold and was getting constipated every couple of weeks. I then heard several friends babies use to suffer the same thing on the same formula, so I changed to Karicare and now we have no problems.
So maybe that is worth an extra thought.

Hi Amy, It would be interesting to know if the S26 AR is some of the problem. My son was on S26 AR and he suffered from constipation as well. In the hospital they used Karicare. But when we decided to use the formula my husband went by himself and bought the S26. I didnt know a lot of other formula feed babies but since reading this web site it does seem that a lot of people find constipation a common problem when using S26. Karicare does have an AR formula and in most places it is a cheaper formula. I am not too sure how you would go about changing formula. Maybe other mums could share their knowledge on how to do this.

Hi Calebsmum,
When I changed Ella from S26 to Karicare, I did so in one hit. I just changed it all over the next morning and have had no problems since.

Hi girls,

Well thanks for the info, its helpful, but the only problem is that Adam's already on karicare AR, so i guess i'll just have to put up with it untill he hopefully grows out of it.

I find it hard with him even with food, i think he must be a sensitive baby as the slightest change in diet and he can go from being happy and well to sick and grizzly. Like last night for no apparent reason he got really bad diahoree. Although i think he's teething and sometimes think that could be part of the reason for his constipation. Does anyone know if teething causes constipation?

Thankyou so much everyone.
You are all very helpful
Amy

I have also changed from S26AR to Karicare AR because of constipation. It made the world of difference for my little Emma! Like loulou I changed it over in one go. We didn't have any problems in doing this.
Janette

Hi All

Thanx heaps for all ur advice. Well just letting you know we figured out what was causing Adams Constipation. it turned out to be the thickener in the AR. We Started on Karicare Gold just yesterday to see if he still has a bit of reflux and so far we are goin good with only 3 vomits(lil ones at that)!!

Thanx heaps again

Amy n Adam

HI my wee boy had constipation when he was about a week old etc. in the end we gave him coloxyl drops, even my doctor said give it to him. it doesn't stop it but it sure as hell helps them. it helps them to pass without pain. and it went away, he also slept better as well. i used everything else as well. coloxyle drops i will use again. hope this helps other parents. cheers debbie. DCroy@xtra.co.nz

hi julz,
thank you for the puried pears idea, i have an 8month old baby girl i strarted giving her a formula 6month old.But now that she was 8mo she is constipated i tried giving her also prune juice or any kinds of juices even the water w/ brown sugar in it. it seems she doesnt like drinking fluids so i am worried by this time. i was wondering is it the formula?but why now that shes 8month?or is it her teeth?

thanks....