Hi everyone, I have a 8 week old little girl that has soft stool but will not pass it without help. She acts like she is in alot of pain and it is starting to affect her eating. we've talked to the ped about the problem and had us change to allementum. we've also tried giving her dark karo syrup and mineral oil, baby lax and suppositories.i really dont know what to do.. thanx :confused: :confused:

Sorry to hear that. I know with my daughters when they were that age they were always gassy and constipated. We tried different formulas. The one that worked well was the nutramagen from enfamil the alimentum, can't spell to good right now, but that is from similac. They basically are the same just different brands. Hope it works for you. Also try mylicon gas drops maybe that will help. Hope she gets regulated soon.
Good Luck

I had good luck with the Carnation formulas with my kids. My son was the gassiest and we had him on Isomil, which didn't help at all with that. I really think Carnation is gentler on the stomach.
good luck!!

Has your child been tested for cystic fibrosis?

I have a lil girl who is now 3 months. Since birth Ive had the same problem with her but Ive found out what was causing it. For some reason the powder formulas would make her that way. We have changed her to AR for other reasons but WIC only gives it to you in powder so I tried it not sure at the time that is what caused her to be stoped up. Over the past 4 days I was buying the ready to feed AR and let me tell you...It cleaned her out good. So since WIC wont give the AR in ready to feed we are now going to the Enfamil Lipil concentrate and add Rice to it. Good luck, I know its hard and a pain to have to go through.

Hi- first to Mamasita_of_3, does the AR formula come in a concentrate? If it does, then have your Pediatrician fill a standard form that he/she should have in the office that states that your child needs to be on this type of formula and the WIC office has to honor it!! My children can only tolerate Isomil-don't know exactly why:confused: , just that each formula has its own variations of ingredients in varying amounts (just compare the ingredient list on the cans of 2 different formulas and you will see the difference in some of the amounts like the Linoleic Acid and water,!) My Pediatrician has to fill out this form since my state only uses Carnation. They honor it if the DR. will just fill out the form!!!

Now to newdad06, When we had our first, he screamed all night long the very first night we brought him home! He was fine the next day, but back to screaming the next!!! He seemed to have trouble going as well even though it was soft! I took him to the Pediatrician. He said to give him time! A week later he was still having trouble. My Ped put him on Isomil. Said to try it for 2 weeks. A few days later I noticed blood in his stool. I panicked and took him back to the Dr. My Ped was out of town so we saw his co-worker. He changed him to the Nutramigen. Nothing changed! Took him back to see our Ped. He put him back on the Isomil and said to keep him on it for the 2 weeks. He said the blood came from his tummy being tore up from changing his formula too often. He said to stay away from All the old time tricks to help constipation- Karo syrup, sugar water, laxatives etc! Their tummy just needs time to settle into the formula. After waiting the 2 weeks, all the problems stopped!!!!! It worked like magic!! No more struggling to poop, no more screaming!! The only other thing I did was a couple of months later I changed him to the Dr. Brown's bottles since he had severe reflux. Worked like a dream!!
I hope you daughter is fine now, but thought I would tell you my story just in case you still needed help! I know how frustrating this can be. When my second child came we went straight to Isomil! I am going to do the same when this one comes!!:D
Hope all is well,
dzsmom

I have two boys who were both breast fed the first few months, but my second had formula (isomil powder) at the same time, and he was less gassy than my first. I found that "Boiron" (homeopathic remedies) makes a Colic liquid. found at whole foods, trader joes, those kinds of health food stores. This is what really helped get through those long nights. I also am a strong believer in abdominal massage. You can learn to do it yourself, or have a massage therapist do it and show you at the same time. If you are ever constipated or bloated you should try it on yourself. It is a very gentle massage that follows the large intestine. Some schools offer a student clinic, where the service is offered at a nominal fee, and supervised by a well experienced teacher. If you go to a private massage therapist they will charge you a LOT more ([ REMOVED ]). A private infant massage session which includes abdominal massage usually runs at least $300, for 2 hours.

Here is a description of the massage, it probably doesn't sound as simple, so let me know if I can clarify anything for you. I can email you a diagram, too. The massage itself cannot harm your baby, as long as you don't push down hard with all your strength. as you learn how a full intestine feels (feel your own when you know its full), on you as well as your baby, you can use a little more pressure. Babies are extra sensitive, they also respond to things faster, so don't be surprised if he passes gas immediately.

Basically, look at a picture of the large intestine, and trace it on your baby. The part you will be massaging is a simple shape. It ends at the rectum, travels to the bottom of the left ribs, goes across the upper abdomen to the right ribs, and then down towards the pelvic area. Its like a square with the bottom missing.The massage should begin at the base of the pubic bone. Finding it on yourself and your wife first will help you locate it on the baby. It is directly below the belly button, the only bone you will feel about a handswidth downward on yourself. Also doing the massage on yourselves will give you more confidence. On adults the motions described below are four inches long, and you can use more pressure.
1. This is best done at least an hour after eating, or 15 min before the baby is due for a bowel, or when the baby is gassy. lay her flat on her back, a baby mattress works best since it is harder. no massage oil is needed, since you want to use the resistance of the skin to stay in the same place throughout each motion. Make sure it is warm in the room, put on some relaxing music, and keep talking to your baby throughout the massage. You can have one person do the massage while the other plays with the baby. You can leave the diaper on, but don't fasten it so you can access the lower abd.
2.with two finger pads (not tips) you should press softly downward into the lower abdomen, using a spiral motion, and with out lifting your fingers guide them down towards the feet in a soft brushing motion.Each motion will be directed with pressure and movement towards the pubic bone, as if you are pushing out toothpaste from a tube (the tube is the large intestine, the end being the anus). Every motion should be smooth, gentle, and slow. You don't need to press hard at all, just use enough pressure to bring your fingers down from the top of the skin to about 1/4-1/2 of an inch into the abdomen itself. These "brushing" motions should start two inches above the pubic bone, with the first motion ending at the pubic bone. Repeat this three times.
3.Then travel up at a diagonal towards the middle of the left ribs. the second set of motions should be about two inches from the starting point of the last motion, again push down slowly, and "brush" down two inches, keeping a steady pressure, towards the pubic bone.This second motion should end at the starting point of the first one. repeat three times.
4. keep moving just below the ribs, all the way to the right mid rib region (basically under the length of the diaphragm), doing the brushing motions every two inches, three times in each spot. this is usually where the most discomfort is, so they might not like it, but as you hear gas, you will know its working. This usually takes about 10-15 min and will most likely be followed by a bowel movement.
Stop if the baby begins to scream, they will harden their muscles and it is impossible to do this at this point.

Let me know how it goes!


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