Is it considered constipation for a 1 month old to poop only every other day or every 3 days? My ped says it's fine and to use dark karo syrup if I really feel like he needs it and switch to oatmeal cereal instead of rice. But according to him it's not a problem.

Sometimes when he poops it's really hard and stays stuck to his butt and then some are normal and mushy. I've been giving him an oz and a half of pedialyte every day ( which is what the other ped in the office told me to do 2 appointments ago but she is also the one who tried telling me oatmeal cereal is bad for Austin's age) just to keep this pattern going. I'm wondering though if I should really keep doing this.

He is always pushing and grunting and turning red and then cries. I feel so bad for the little guy and the ped just blew it off as if it's normal. Is it? Am I just thinking it's worse than it is because I'm his mother?


Jenn
Ashlee
Austin- my little refluxer-zantac

No, that doesn't sound like normal infant poo. I was told that frequency doesn't matter, but that if it causes pain or is hard, THAT is constipation. Did the switch to oatmeal help?

Ditto what Sheila said...

Did you say one month old? A one month old might be a bit early for cereal there are other thikeners if that is the reason? Theres also brown rice cereal that is suppose to be the easiest to digest. a health food store carries a great brand or you can make it yourself (see a book called "Super Baby Foods") . But my dd went 16 days at one month old w/o a poop. My Dr. says the record for his office is 18 days. (Gave her bad gas but there was no pain while pooping and it was mushie) and that is with a souly breast fed baby

why the dark karo works to get a baby to poop is because it saturates the body with sugar. Sugar overload will cause diareah is a non-constipated people but does the oposit for constipation. But at one month? to have to work to poop doesn't sound right neither does giving a one month old karo. Maybe talk with a second opinion on that one.

Sue

It's only day 3 on the oatmeal so far so it's hard to tell. Yesterday I got a really nasty diaper but today nothing and he is trying to push so hard. I think I will give the cereal switch a few days to see if I notice a difference and then try the karo syrup. I'm kind of wondering too if it could be the soy formula. I don't know though b/c he started getting cereal at the same time as the formula switch.

Jenn

What other thickeners are there? He's been on cereal since 2 weeks old.

Jenn

I am NOT a doctor but what you described does not sound like normal bowel activity. --Especially considering your baby's age.
Karo syrup is an old remedy used to cause diarrhea/soften stools (lots of sugar can cause/exacerbate diarrhea); however, I'm not so sure it's a great idea for such a young baby.
Is there anyone you could consult for a second opinion?
I'm so sorry you and your little one are going through this--having a new baby is stressful enough without worrying about constipation!!

{{{BIG HUGS}}}

I would second what all the others have said. A one month old has enough digestion issues and having cereal is an added problem for their immature digestive system. Do you find that he needs the thickening for feeds?

Did the ped or GI tell you to use the karo? The problem with using something like that on a regular basis and on someone so very young is dependancy on it. I am not familiar with karo personally, but any laxative use should be cleared with the GI or ped first.

How often does he have the hard and sticky poops? And how often for the mushy ones? Keep a log of it (we used to call it our "LOG log":-D ) and it really helps to see patterns when you couple it with logging in what he has had to eat as well (yes, I know his intake is limited, but you would be surprised what you can learn)

Usually he'll have one really hard poop every other day and then sometimes later in that same day we'll get a mush one. Yesterday we got one hard little pellet and that was it. The ped is the one who suggested the karo syrup.

I decided last night to take him off the cereal since it was suppose to prevent puking and spitting up and he is still doing it anyway. After he spit up a farely large amount of some VERY thick stuff I decided no more. It was like the consistency of mashed potatoes! It scared the crap out of me considering he is so little and eats only liquids so why would his puke be so thick. It literally just oozed out of his mouth. Does that seem strange to anyone? I am very surprised he didn't choke on it. I think he is having a little bit of a hard time getting use to the consistency of no cereal but I'm sure he'll adjust. I just hope he'll finally poop right!

Jenn

Okay, I was told that some babies can take up to 10 days to poop...and that is from very early on. They all have their own patterns. My girlfriends son and daughter both only pooped every 10 days or so... and that was on exclusive breastfeeding. They would have a "massive" cleanout!! Of course, most babies go several times a day at such an early age.
As for the really thick puke.. that sounds like it has curdled.. how long after the feed is the puke? Just wondering if if it's DGE????
Definitely a call to the PEd would be in order.. if nothing else but to give you some peace of mind.

The thick puke was about 2 hours or so after his bottle but I am kind of wondering if maybe his food has been sitting in his tummy still from other feedings just building up and building up to get that thick. Because the cereal thickens his bottles but not that much!

Jenn

I am pleased to report that after 5 days of no cereal Austin is doing much better! Of course he is spitting up more now but it doesn't seem to bother him too much and he is no longer grunting and straining constanly. He even got out 3 poops in one day a couple days ago! :-D He seems like a much happier baby now. Thank you to everyone who suggested he is too young for the cereal.


Jenn

I know I'm late but I wanted to agree w/Sheila. It is comletley normal to not have a poop every day...but the pain is not. Glad you got him off the cereal and he seems to be better. In the futer, I just wanted to add that my ped told me that if I THOUGHT he was constipated at such a young age (when I did, but he wasn't) to only give him ONE OUNCE of water w/one teaspoon of LIGHT karo syrup. DUnno what the diff. is but I just wanted to add that.

So glad things are better! Sometimes peds rush to the thickening with cereal and forget that it can actually cause more problems in the form of allergies and digestion issues. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not.

You know I am unformilure with your DS's story as to his reacion to reflux but I am glad to hear he is off the cereal. Do you think that is what started the poop issues in the first place? My DD was put on cereal at 4 month and it stopped her up just like that. We always called that first hard poop the popping of the cork and then out came all the rest (gross hu? sorry). I remember the curdled puke. it is scarey. How is he doing now that he has been off cereal for 4 days?

Sue

Sue

Now his poop is great but his puking is not! Aaahhh! I can't even count to tell you how much he puked or spitup between last night and today. So which is the lesser of the 2 evils? Can't poop or lots of puke?! At least the puking doesn't bother him too much as long as we get his zantac in him and he keeps it down for a while before puking. I hate reflux!!!!!


Jenn

It might be better to deal with the puke than the constipation caused by cereals. We dealt with puke for Cady's first seven months when the GI finally put her on formula thickened with rice cereal. The meds effectively controlled her pain, so the puke was more a pain in the butt for me, you know? If thickening made him a little more comfortable, what about talking to the doctor about using one of the thickeners on the market, instead of cereal?

Hi. I just wanted to agree with Judy about looking into a thickener. Some moms on this site have used Simply Thick with luck (I am blanking on who, though). I agree - I would take puke over poop problems any day.

Hi, Hunter's ped told me that pooping every other day is perfectly fine. He said that a baby will not be considered constipated until they have gone 3 or more days with a BM. Hope this helps!
jenn(23)
engaged to Harold(28 )
mother of Hunter 10-20-05