Formula Feeding Question?

Question

My daughter is 4 months 16days old. I was breastfeeding but was hospitalized recently and had to start formula feeding, now my daughter is having really hard poops and her Ped. said that it should go back to normal really soon, but today it was so hard she cried for 1 hour after pooping. I don't know what to do. Please someone with more experience tell me what you think I should do?

momma2mingbu
I can't because of my medical condition. I'm taking 5 perscriptions that would harm her.

Answer 1

There are a couple of things that my ped told me to do because my son is on Soy formula and it constipates him sometimes.

1) 1 tbsp. prune juice in 2 or 3 bottles or formula per day (or 1/2 tbsp single grain oat cereal in 2 or 3 bottles per day).

2) Take her temperature rectally with vaseline on the thermometer. It lubricates everything and they naturally try to push it out anyway, and it helps them poop.

3) Try a gripe water that has vegetable glycerine in it. This is what works best for my son. I give him the maximum amount daily and he is rarely constipated anymore.

4) Baby glycerine laxatives for when they can't go at all. They go within minutes of using this.

Check with your doctor before any of this because all babies are different. But, seriously, the gripe water has worked best for me.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Less formula and more water. Our son was plugged for a bit and we thinned out the formula mix a tad. Also, a small bit of apple juice. Ped said the sugar will help "slip" things thru.

Answer 3

Giving her a little extra water should help loosen her stools. Now that she is over 4 months old you can also give her an ounce or two of juice (apple, prune, or pear) with a couple ounces of water once or twice a day. My ped reccommended it for my daughter, and it really helped.

Answer 4

I had that happen to my little girl i had to use prune juice but you need to water it down a bit give her 1 ta 2 OZ every hour or so and if you feel you need to give her more but if you give her too much it will be really runny so start off with that 1 ta 2 Oz dirst a nd see if that helps i hope she feels better soon i know it's a hard think to see your little one cry like that i cryed with mine a few times

Answer 5

Relactate.

ETA:
Are you SURE? Because doctors are VERY OFTEN wrong about the medications being safe or not. They typically check the PDR and package inserts that say nothing is safe. They tend to err on the side of caution and say "no" to everything instead of looking for the most accurate information. The BEST source for the info on drugs and breastfeeding is the book "Medications & Mother's Milk" by Thomas Hale. Most La Leche League Leaders and Lactation Consultants will have a copy of it. Call one and give them the list of meds to check for you to make sure you have the most accurate information. Or feel free to private message me the meds and I'll look them up in my copy of the book.

http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/index.html

http://www.lalecheleague.org

Answer 6

The change in you little girls diet will make her poos hard but dont worry, Give her boiled water or even a little baby orange juice or a tiny bit of brown suger in her water. I had this problem with my babies and this helped alot. You baby cried because it was a little uncomfertable for her but it is common and you will find it wont last long.

Answer 7

well im a mother of four children i breastfed them all untill i lost my milk and the same thing happend to me. 1st off what formula do you have her on. simulac is really hard on a breastfed babys stomach . i recommend you put her on nestly good start supreme it is the best formula for easy digestion. for the constapation i would give her diluted baby apple juice it worked for all mine.good luck and hope your feeling better from your health problems.