babies and prune juice?

Question

i asked a question yest. about what to do for my baby. i believe she is constipated...shes got a lot of bad gas and hasnt had a bowel movement in 2.5 days. shes primarily breastfed, occassionally supplemented with formula. i havent given her formula in the last day as i think this is part of the problem.

ive been given her bottles of water to keep her hydrated but she continues to strain and acts so uncomfortable. i cant get in touch with her pediatrician until monday but many of you suggested giving her diluted prune juice. i bought this apple prune juice by gerber as it was the only thing i could find. do you think it would be okay to dilute an ounce of this with about 2 ounces of water and give it to her? any suggestions? thanks so much!

Shes only a month old...think i forgot to mention that

Answer 1

The apple prune juice is also what I was told to use from my ped. You can dilute it but you don't have to. It doesn't take much to loosen them up. Just be sure not to give her more than 4 oz's in a 24 hr. period.

Answer 2

My pediatrician told me that the Gerber kind won't work. I don't remember why. Some things he told me were that sometimes babies won't have a bowel movement for up to a week and this can be considered normal. If, when she has a bowel movement, it is hard then she is constipated. If is is loose like normal, she isn't. Straining is normal for babies and doesn't mean she is having trouble passing it. Some ways to help her have a bowel movement include diluted prune juice, pureed prunes if over 4-6 months old, a tsp Karo syrup in a few ounces of water, a warm, wet washcloth pressed on her rectum, moving her legs like riding a bicycle, and gentle tummy massage in a clockwose motion.

Answer 3

Or, if your hesitant about giving juice or food to a young infant, my baby is a month old too, and I was cautioned strongly against giving her any food/juice yet because she's soo young, I found that a quarter sized dallop of dark karo syrup in 3 oz. of warm water helped get her going again. We did it once a day for two days and it helped her go and she's been able to go ever since. Don't forget that sometimes breastfed babies don't have to go because the breastmilk is designed to give them exactly what they need and sometimes there aren't a lot of extras. When she's fussy, try bicycling her legs and folding her knees to her chest, as well as burping a lot because it may be some gas bubbles in there too. I don't know about the proper ration to dilute the juice though, I'd start small, maybe half an ounce to 2 1/2 oz. water, and see if that has any effect first. Better to do too little at first then to do too much and make her sicker because her tummy isn't used to having work so much to digest something she hasn't had before. Good luck!

Answer 4

You can try it. It'll probably be more palatable to your daughter. Just don't give her more than one ounce of the juice with an equal amount of water. You can do it up to twice a day. BTW - plain water isn't necessary - you don't want her to fill her tummy on anything that isn't breastmilk or formula.

Try this for the quick fix: take her temperature rectally. It might just be enough to stimulate her to go. Otherwise, go to the pharmacy and get some glycerine suppositores - they're huge, so break off a chunk and use it.

Answer 5

Ya, 1 month old...2.5 days really isn't bad (far w/n the "normal" range)...my twins would go a week sometimes....Anyways, the best for a baby that young is KARO syrup (the dark stuff), you can purchase it at any grocery store in the syrup isle....The best/easiest way is to give her some in a bottle, just use your judgment, several teaspoons....then shake it up....you can use it several times a day or until her stool loosens up....I used to give it in every morning bottle :)

I have 10 month old preemie twins, they used to get terribly constipated, I've tried several things, this is the BEST!!

Additionally, our Dr. said that babies at this age are too young for prune juice...he first recommended pear juice (the sugars are different), but I didn't have any success with that :)

Answer 6

You can try that, or try plain prune baby food, even if she hasn't had solids yet. I know some may say not to try the food, but the food has more of the prune's fiber in it, and will probably work better and faster. It helped my son when he was constipated. So you can try some of the juice, or a little bit of the baby food.

Hope she feels better soon!

Answer 7

I think I would call the local hospital and ask for the ped on call & ask them what to do. Two and a half days without a poopie diaper has got to be uncomfortable for the kid!

Good luck!