Is my infant constipated?

Question

My 2 week old baby has been having only one bowel movement a day but tday he has yet to have one. he has been staining for over an hour? Should I be concerned?

Answer 1

Alot depends on if he is breastfed or formula fed. Formula has alot of iron which can cause constipation. Since hes so young I would not reccomend giving apple juice. Call your doctor and ask what you can do. That is the best way to go about it... My ped has a 24 hour line. Good luck and congrats!

Answer 2

This is a direct quote from a hand out the doctor gives me with my daughters check ups..."your baby will have her own frequency of bowel movements. Most babies strain, grunt, and fuss when they have bowl movements. This does not mean that they are constipated. Constipation is hard poop, not necessarily the number of bowel movements in a day." As long as it is not hard I would not worry. If it is hard take him to the doctor, or try and find a nurses hot line, some hospitals or insurance companies have them to cut down on unnecessary doctor visits.

Answer 3

I had the same issue with one of my twin girls and asked their pediatrician just yesturday. He told me that it is typical for babies to skip a day without having a bowel movement and to also act as if they are in pain while going. He said that as long as the bowel movements are not hard in texture when they finalIy do come it is fine. I changed my baby's formula also because it contained extra iron.

Answer 4

At this age, I wouldn't be to concerned. Some babies at this age move less than that. As long as the stool is loose when it does come out, then he's not constipated. I wouldn't give the baby anything sweet or with sugar, unless you want to pre-dispose him to allergies, being overweight, or diabetes. Use something externally that may help. Like caster oil. Just message it in on his belly and that will help, almost instantly...........usually within an hour.

Answer 5

Baby normally defecate around 6 times or more everyday. Report this to his pediatrician. The doctor will advise you to do rectal stimulation first or prescribed you with a glycerine suppository. Constipation is usually caused by iron supplement in milk and wrong formula dilution meaning more milk than water.You can also give baby some water to drink.

Answer 6

Yes. Call the doctor right away and ask what you can do. 22 years ago, I used to fill a 4 ounce bottle with warm water and then added dark Karo syrup (about 2 tablespoons) and this always took care of the problem. But I don't know if doctors recommend that now days.

Answer 7

Not overly concerned but you should talk to your Pediatrician regarding this and they will advise you on what you should be giving your 2wk old. They might suggest something over the counter or possibly suggest a different formula. One that is easier for your child to digest.

Good luck

Answer 8

I wouldnt be too concerned yet. to help him out, you can get over the counter glyercine suppositories to help pass the stool. A good way to prevent constipation is using prune juice or Karol syrup. The Karol syrup is the white pancake syrup. My sons liked this alot better than prune juice. You can always call your pediatricians office and see what they recommend.

Answer 9

he will problably go on his own,but if he doesnt after 24 hrs of no bowel movement i would give him some karo syrup in his bottle... like 1 teaspoon per 3-4 oz milk (my doc suggested this and it worked pretty good for me) call the doctor-its his/her job to answer questions like these-daily!

Answer 10

when my baby was born, he would get like that, or his poopy would come out in little balls, the milk they drink contains alot of iron, so they do get constipated alot. i would go to the store and buy my son prunes. i would boil them in water, i would add a bit of sugar and have him drink it. he would poopy well!!! it doesn't harm the newborn at all. just add like 3 prunes to like 4 cups of water. i at first gave him half formula & half "poopy juice". u can add it in his milk-just do half & half.