Another question on constipation

I know there have been many ? on constipation, but I believe every baby's situation is unique...so sorry in advance for posting this!

So the last time my daughter stooled on her own was Sunday, 10/11. She is on Neosure and takes 2-4 ounces at least 6 times a day. She is almost 5 months, 2 months adjusted and is almost 8 lb.

On Tuesday, she still did not go. So I did the rectal thermometer thing. That made her stool a little. Wednesday, I called her doc. The nurse told me thay can go a week without stooling. This did not sit with me too well. I had her lie in warm water for a bit. Nothing happened so I did the thermometer thing. She let out some poo again. I cleaned her up and tried it again and yet more came out.

Thursday rolled by, still no poo. I called my friends mom who is a pedi and she said to mix Karo syrup with water. I read somewhere karo syrup is not the best idea, so I did not do it.

Today I gave her a regular bath. When I put her diaper on, her poo area was kinda brown, like she was about to go. I didn't do anything because I wanted her to try on her own. But nothing happened. I called her doc again today and the nurse said to use prune juice after speaking with the doc.

She is grunting, and passing gas, but no poo on her own. I am not sure what to do! Should I try the prune juice? Anyone else have had similar problem where they did not poo on their own for so many days??

By dustarella
Posted October 16, 2009 at 7:29 pm
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Does she appear to be in pain? We always knew it was constipation with our son if he would scream and actually cry (with real tears) during a bout of trying to poop! If she doesn't appear to be in any pain/discomfort, then I wouldn't worry about it... it is true that they can healthily go a few days without pooping :)

If there is pain/discomfort, I would try prune juice. That's what we did with my son and it worked for a while. He still has problems though. We would mix about a tablespoon of prune juice with a bottle 3 times a day at that age. Make sure it's a good quality prune juice - you want to make sure that it's got fiber in it! And be careful with doing the 'thermometer thing' too often or they will begin to rely on it!

By malcolm890
Posted October 16, 2009 at 9:23 pm
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I have twin daughters. One is still in the NICU the other is at home. They both had the same problem at the same time and we had the same thought as you when the pedi said it could be 6 days. We mixed prune juice at a rate of 10mls of prune and 10mls of breast milk in a bottle and fed it to the one at home. After 3 doses in 24 hours at this mixture she exploded. Just be ready because it took her 4 diaper changes to get it all out.

By 24WeekMiracle
Posted October 17, 2009 at 1:27 am
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Faddu,
I have a 24 weeker who I thought had severe constipation issues..it turns out it was a problem with releasing...nothing worked for her really, But I tried all the remedies suggested below with no real luck. I even give her probitiotics and DigestZymes which helped a bit but not enough. It seemed it just took her time for her system to mature I think. And I think I was confused for a long time as well, because sometimes preemies have a hard time releasing and its not really considered constipation. When she does poo, if its creamy and not hard or dry looking, it may be she is not releasing well. And thats why i think suppositories worked for my CJ and nothing else. Now I dont want to say that suppositries are something you should use, I am just sharing with you my daughters underlying issue. and the only thing that worked

One thing that did work later down the road, but I only used it a few times was Miralax which is sold OTC. I also do infant massage and I think that has made a differance over time.

My daughters issues with poo is a thing of the past as she now goes 3 times a day now...but I know how frustrating it is. We had many issues with NeoSure, but if your daughter tolerates that, its what most Neo's recommend from all that I was told. We use Good Start Factory Mix, not the powder, and that seemed to make a differance for some reason.

But here is a list of things I was told to try when we thought it was constipation:
1. Lactulose prescribed by doctor (worked but caused gas and cramping)
2.prune juice diluted with water (didnt work)
3.pear juice diluted with water (didnt work)
4.Karo Syrup (which I didnt try for fear of botchilism)
5.Miralax (worked) be careful with dosage, try very little at first if you decide to use.
6.infant glycerin suppositories whihc we used once a day for months...no other choice at the time.We cut the suppositories into quarters, so she was getting a small bit just to get her to release and this worked every time.
7.warm bath no soap..never worked for us either
6.Infant massage (worked but not enough)
7.Probiotics (didnt help constipation)
8.DigestZymes (helped at first, but not for long)
9. Be careful with that thermoter, its very sensitive tissue down there and it can tear.

Laslty, every baby is so differant and responds differantly, so some things work for some babies and not for others. Hang in there, it will get better..and I hope sooner than later. I really hope its just a temporary issue.

good luck

By Fozia
Posted October 17, 2009 at 4:47 pm
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I think its NOT a good idea to insert anything in the rectal area. She may get tear or something else. its better try prune juice or u can give water if u ped is OK.
My daughter was hardly poo daily when on neosure. NICU doc told me 5 poo in a day and one poo in 5 days both are fine if she dont have any signs of pain like crying and no poo, not eating, not sleeping.

By Fozia
Posted October 17, 2009 at 4:49 pm
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Also u can try massage her and give her warm bath at the same time. (fix time she may go for poo at the same time). u can add oatmeal in the milk after asking ur ped.

Good Luck

By mamaseeta
Posted October 18, 2009 at 4:08 am
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my daughter is on neosure with expressed breast milk and i was giving 1/3 of a glycerin tip every few days and then every other day until i read online that they can go once every 5-7 days. so i did a test and waited. she pooed on her own on day 6!! i havent given a tip since. my ped said as long as she's not in discomfort this is fine.. and her poo is so "moist!" if it's hard then your baby might need the tip.

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