Constipated 10 Month Old What to Do?

Updated on March 26, 2010
M.E. asks from Aurora, CO
30 answers

my baby girl has always had a problem with constipation an now that she is on table food she has it much worse she cries and cries and wont let me near her when i change her diaper and she pushes like shes trying to poop but nothing i have tried a depository like the doctor said but when i put it in she doesn't give it time to work an just pushes the whole thing out with a very little bit of poo. i have tried prune juice but she doesn't like the taste and refuses to drink it now im trying to mix up the Gerber pure ad prunes but now she doesn't want to eat what i mixed it with any other ideas?

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D.S.

answers from Seattle on

Other things just as high in FIBER: Peas & others (ck back of lable).

Also, use baby OATMEAL cereal (fiber), others don't have it.

Also, have her drink more water-sippy cup.

1 mom found this helpful
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G.B.

answers from Boise on

Babycalm is a magnesium product you can find online which is flavored. Magnesium helps with constipation! If you take too much it can cause loose stools. You just reduce the dose so that you are comfortable. I take magnesium daily.

There is also a product called magnesium oil that you rub on the skin. In sinks into tissues and raises cellular level magnesium.

Both of these products should be safe.

1 mom found this helpful

T.J.

answers from Fort Walton Beach on

Have you tried apple juice?

Looked into allergies? Gluten allergy?

How much water is she drinking? Are you watering down her juices?

1 mom found this helpful

More Answers

N.R.

answers from Boston on

Try ultimate aloe juice. It works wonders. It's all natural and it tastes like a freeze pop so kids love it. All 3 of my boys are on it. I'll email you a link where you can read about it.
Hope it helps.

2 moms found this helpful
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A.C.

answers from Cincinnati on

Tarah has some great questions. food allergies or intolerances can cause constipation. your mention that the constipation has gotten worse since she went to table foods is a red flag. You don't want to stool to "back up" -
Have you talk to the doctor?

besides looking into the allergies, have you tried probiotics? (e.g. http://www.culturelle.com/your_health/culturelle_for_kids - gluten free and milk free).

Here are some additional suggestions (from: http://wholesomebabyfood.com/constip.htm) :

Tummy Massage - Gently massage and rub baby's tummy in a clockwise direction. Place your hands at baby's navel and massage in a circular motion, moving your hand(s) out and away from the center of baby's belly.

Warm Bath - Some medical professionals suggest giving your constipated baby a warm bath. The thought is that this may help relax baby and "get things moving" again. Give a tummy massage as you are drying baby.

Bicycle Legs - Place your baby on her back and lightly hold her legs in a half-bent position. Gently begin to move your baby's legs as if she is riding a bicycle. Alternate "Bicycle Legs" with Tummy Massage. *"Bicycle Legs" also may help to relieve a baby who is gassy.

good luck - hope she finds relief soon

2 moms found this helpful

L.A.

answers from Austin on

Good suggestions so far.. The other thing is to lay baby on her back and then peddle her legs slowly close to her body. Also make sure she is getting plenty of tummy time.. The more she can move her body, the better.

Baby food of Apricots, peaches, apple sauce, pear juice, apple juice will all work just as well as prune juice. Just remember to water down juices..

1 mom found this helpful
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A.R.

answers from Peoria on

My daughter was older, but our ped. suggested using miralax. I would check with her doctor and see if that is a possibility. Miralax completely dissolves in liquid, so my daughter can't even tell its there. We gave her 1/2 capful (but again check with your ped.- my daughter was older and I'm sure weighed more) everyday. Then when she was regulated we moved it to every other day. Then every couple days. Now we use it every now and then as needed. I've also heard of the karo syrup thing.

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J.F.

answers from Chicago on

Probiotics! They make kid friendly brands (we use Renew Life Baby Flora which is a powder for my 4 month old- and FloraBear which are chewables), I give my older son 3 a day and my younger one dose. I would suggest probiotics before you do anything else. The powder you can add to juice or yogurt and she'll never be able to taste the difference.
blessings,
J.

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A.T.

answers from Chicago on

My daughter had the same problem and the doctor said to give her one of the laxative that can be mixed in her juice or water (can't remember the name of it now, but ask your pharmacist), it worked!

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H.B.

answers from Chicago on

Hi M.

Have you tried Lactulose? if not ask you doctor first if your babie can have it.
also when my little boy had problems I use to rub the bottom of his back for him to see if that would help and some times it would.
Also fresh orange jucie would work too.
If you can use lactulose I use to put it in the bed time bottle of warm milk and in the morning he would go..But it can be used twice a day.

Good luck
H.

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T.C.

answers from Chicago on

hi M.,
My 8 month old has the same problem. the juice didn't work for us. I started giving him baby food prunes every day. He'll eat them. Sometimes I mix the prunes with pears and that goes better. I also started giving him baby water. At first I put a few ounces in a bottle.
Now that he's doing better, I still have to give him prunes, but only every other day. I give him water in a sippy cup though I have to hold it for him 'cuz he hasn't figured it out yet. :)
This was all done based on my doctor's recommendation. I didn't want to use medication and I didn't want to use something that scared me like karo syrup. :)
Good luck!! Thankfully my son is doing great now.

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A.C.

answers from Chicago on

Hello,
I daughter have already the same problem. I went to the doctor and i solve the problem. I was doing wrong her soup. I was putting to much potatoes and carrots and just the "flower" of broccoli. We should put all stem of broccoli,cauliflower, cabbage and a lot off lettuce.
You can also give the water off broccoli cooking. My daught loves and after that she can do poo to much better and without suffering.
For dessert you can give papaya and avoid banana. Now she have 2 years and i still give every week papaya for dessert and she is fine.
You will see that she will be fine. Whish every thing good for you and your family.
Best regards from Portugal
A.

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L.D.

answers from Chicago on

he M. i hav read alot of the other people suggestions bt have u tryd real orange juice i no it dosent seem much bt wen ma bbies wer constipatied thts wat i use it natural an works ay least for mine with out any help from ma doctor try it an c sure it will work for ur bby sure did mine lol.xxxx

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A.

answers from Chicago on

I had similar issues with both my children though they were a bit older when the constipation began. I have used an over the counter product recommended by my pediatrician called MiraLax. It's a powder you can add to any drink. It has no flavor, color or odor so kids do not realize they are drinking it. Please check with your child's doc first. It make take a dose or two to kick in, but it is very effective and can be taken daily for extended periods. It's amazing and pretty safe.

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M.C.

answers from Chicago on

try a little bit of Karo Syrup in her bottle this might help her. I'm sorry to hear this Hopefully this will work.

Updated

try a little bit of Karo Syrup in her bottle this might help her. I'm sorry to hear this Hopefully this will work.

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D.G.

answers from Chicago on

my daughter had trouble with constipation also....we first used prune juice successfully. When she refused to drink it we went to metamucil. My daughter was older (check with your doctor for amount.) It has to be drunk quickly or it turns into a thick slime. We put it with OJ. When that did not work anymore, we used the metamucil apple crisp wafers very successfully. Again, she was older when she refused the prune juice and the the liquid metamucil. So by the time we had to use the wafers, she had teeth and could eat the wafers without fear of choking. Our daughters got better and she can now regulate herself mostly with no problem (she is now 16) Hope this helps. Since your daughter is so young, be sure to check with your pediatrican before you give her anything over the counter.

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K.H.

answers from Chicago on

I also saw something that says to rub their abdomen. Go about 2 fingers below their belly button and massage the area. I never tried it on one that old, but it worked when they were younger. I would just massage as long as they would let me and a number of times during the day. I also just put a teaspoon of regular prune juice in their formula too. It is plenty of the jucie, but usually she can't taste it because it is so diluted. I would try to read up on the high fiber fruits and veggies (like I know bananas are bad for constipation) and see if you can add more of that than anything else to her diet. Hope that helps!

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N.P.

answers from Chicago on

every day serve foods at least once that start with p - prunes, plum, pears - this alone should solve your problem. For a few days stop feeding bananas or apples. And give her more whole grain items instead of processed. So if you give her crackers or bread make sure it is high in fiber.

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R.M.

answers from Nashville on

Once you get her feeling better, here are a couple of links that will help you vary her diet to balance out the foods that cause constipation with the foods that cause diarrhea. I always had to go back and forth with my son doing some one day and the others the next. The first sign of too-hard stools and I fed him foods that would loosen it, and vice versa. I still do it at 2. I don't give him too many of one kind in a few days without giving some of the others. I loved this website for ideas on what to feed mine and recipes/combinations of foods.
http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/baby-constipati...
http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/feeding-a-baby-...
Hope she feels better soon!

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A.A.

answers from Chicago on

Dear M..
when my eldest son was a baby, he used to get constipated a lot. like you, i tried many ways to help him to be regular. i have't succeeded. i tried prune juice, tried boiled marrow juice, and even i had to go for bebegel. then i tried Lactulose syrup and it worked miracles!!!. still, today he's 6 years old and i still give him occasionally a tablespoon. and still works!!,Lactulose doesn't contain any medicinals it's pure vegtable extract. again, please go to your pharmacist and he will explain to you more in depth. hope that this was helpful for you.

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D.B.

answers from Chicago on

Kyro syrup. You can find it in the baking isle. When my daughter was a baby this worked great in her bottles. Add about a tablespoon per bottle. Stay away from cheese, bananas, white bread, and apple juice. Apple juice is very binding and I had no idea. Only the skin on the apple has fiber. I feel for you. My daughter would be playing and all of a sudden stop dead in her tracks and start crying. We knew right away what it was. Benefiber works great as well. It has no taste at all. I put it in everything. I use it now that my girls are older but you might want to check with your Dr about your daughter.

G.O.

answers from Chicago on

my 3 year old daughter has suffered with constipation for as long as i can remember. ive had lots of advice and tried everything but i can guarentee one of the following will definitely work...1) give you baby lots and lots of raisins to eat. kids seem to think they are sweets and love the taste of them. 2) ducolac.. a great over the counter syrup for constipation, you'll get it in any pharmacy. 3) cheap crisps like chicatees or any maize/ corn type crips.. runs everything right thru them. i really hope this helps. my advice is mainly try to stick to the raisins, i really find them the best.

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E.B.

answers from Chicago on

Hi M.,

try to give rich in fiber foods and fruits. increase fluid intake and better to change ur milk formula.sometimes it can be one cause of constipation. also give her light massage to manage her stress. its not only us can be stressed. babies also are stress when they cries to often; these can also caused constipation.

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T.G.

answers from Rockford on

My oldest had this issue as an older infant/toddler. We tried various dietary methods but when that didn't work the pediatrician told us that we could give him a small amount of mineral oil. He was hesitant to reccomend it (and there may be better options out now as this was 8 years ago) but it did work. We would just hide it in food/drink. He took a little bit for a few months and the constipation issue seemed to go away.

Be sure when you do the suppositories that you get it in there far enough. I have found that if I didn't push it up in there just a bit that he would just poop the suppository alone back out.

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D.P.

answers from Chicago on

Miralax works wonders. It is orderless and tasteless and can be put in any drink. To get the ball rolling for a week, a cap full would be great. You can use the generic form of Miralax, it still works. If you buy from Costco or possibly Sam's, you may have been given little scoops.. You may need to give 2-4 scoops to the drink that is 8 oz.. the more med's to drink is the best - she will need it concentrated. You do not need to tell her, just do it.

To help her out at the start, you may have to do something that is very unpleasant for both.... You may have to manually start her with vaseline to scoop out some to get her open.

Our son would hold it for a good week and then when he pooped, it hurt and it was HUGE! You don't want that of course. So get her open and on the happy path again. She may need to be on miralax for sometime - some are on it for years. Once open you have to keep her open for a long time so she don't go backwards again. You don't want her to be afraid to go poop on her own.

Best of luck.

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E.B.

answers from Chicago on

Try 1 tablespoon of Kayro syrup with 2 oz of water. That's what our ped suggested.

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J.P.

answers from Portland on

Also, one thing we found was our guy got constipated when we added milk to his diet at a year. Are you breastfeeding or formula, if formula you may want to try a non-dairy one or minimize milk based solid foods. Yogurts are usually good for the digestive track because of all the live cultures. Also you can try mixing the prune juice in with other juices or foods or just try prunes (as they may be tastier). Google search constipation foods infants for lists of all the good/bad things for your girl. Also try to make sure most or all carbs are whole grain and higher in fiber. You can sneak prunes. This will help them clean things out and not just turn into sugar-based energy.

Our guy got so constipated we took him the emergency room one night because he was doubling over a few times an hour and screaming in pain. Bananas, apple juices are all things to avoid. The hospital recommended suppositories but our pediatrician the next day said that was the wrong way to go. She said to get it out of their system you have to go from the top down (via stomach). She prescribed a laxative so our insurance would cover it but I think you can get it over the counter (ask your pediatrician if they can recommend something as you want correct dosage and product for an infant). We regulated the dosage and played with his diet until he was eating more variety and didn't need it anymore. A teaspoon a day in a his bottle or sippy cup did the trick. You want to make pooping less painful so that they don't hold it in and it gets worse. Talk to your doctor before adding anything non-food based to your girls diet but this may help you out.
Good luck.

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N.D.

answers from Chicago on

I used to have to put a teaspoon of light Karo syrup in my daughter's bottle. The doctor had me do this after the prune juice just didn't do the trick.

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J.L.

answers from Chicago on

Add ground flax meal to whatever she is eating; or flax oil to her drinks. I'd also eliminate all dairy, as it sounds like dairy intolerance or allergy. Good luck to you!

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A.

answers from Chicago on

A bottle of soy formula always worked for us. Good luck!

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