Infantreflux.org | Constipation - Karo Syrup?

This topic has 40 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 17 years, 7 months ago by Anonymous.

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March 7, 2007 at 5:41 pm #26852

Anonymous
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Sarah is chronically constipated. Christine – I know we have discussed this several times through PM…I apologize I haven’t written down all of the natural remedies you give Myles…if you could chime in again I’d appreciate it.

I have been giving a little bit of benefiber in one bottle a day. Not really helping unless I give more (not sure exactly how much I can give a 10.5 month old who weights 22+ pounds)

So I would like to see if there is a probiotic that would specifically help this matter AND/OR other remedies. I went to the CVS pharmacy on my way home. The pharmacist was useless. She told me that probiotics can’t be given to babies (she didn’t know they made infant formulas of it therefore she didn’t know what dosing would be appropriate for Sarah in the adult versions they had) and she suggested putting TWO TABLESPOONS of dark Karo syrup for every TWO ounces of formula! Is that right? That seemed really “old school” and I’m not sure I want to try that with Sarah. Anyone else done it?

Just looking for some poo poo help! This is obviously something that will have to become part of Sarah’s daily regimine therefore I’m nervous about giving anything I don’t feel comfortable with.

Open for any ideas!
Thanks!

March 7, 2007 at 5:56 pm #26856

Anonymous
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i did one teaspoon in a 6 oz bottle when Trace was on enfamil AR back in the day and it worked fine.

Christine also told me about prunes (gerber stage one makes them) and have you tried adding oatmeal to her diet instead of rice?

also was told about flaxeed oil ( i believe thats right Christine?)

March 7, 2007 at 6:00 pm #26857

Anonymous
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We had good luck giving Bryce prune and pear juice when he was constipated. I haven’t ever tried Karo syrup.

March 7, 2007 at 6:27 pm #26859

Anonymous
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Yes I have done prunes as needed and they do seem to get the job done. Is there a “baby” prune juice or do you just buy regular? It would be diluted in water anyway…just curious!

THANKS!

March 7, 2007 at 6:31 pm #26860

Anonymous
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no i have not found a baby prune juice anywhere.

March 7, 2007 at 7:09 pm #26867

Anonymous
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I am concerned about the high amount of sugar there would be in the Karo…am I right in thinking that? I’m up for trying it once…but I need a more permanent solution.

Benefiber, prunes, prune juice…keep em coming!!!

March 7, 2007 at 7:17 pm #26870

Anonymous
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yeah i was concenrend about that too. i had to give it to Trace on a daily basis when he was on AR. my ped said what i was giving was nothing apparently, she had babies that were on a teaspoon per ounce of formula, and it was daily.
but there are healthier ways to get them to poop, like prunes and stuff. i would use karo when the foods and juices dont work. and then when karo didnt work, thats when i had to give suppositories, and then even an enema once! it was horrible!!!

March 7, 2007 at 7:22 pm #26871

Anonymous
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For Myles’ constipation problems I used the following remedies:

1. Gerber stage one prunes – 1/2 a container in his oatmeal every morning. For some reason I found that actual prunes helped more than prune juice.

2. Flax seed oil – 1-2 teaspoons daily by spoon, or added to his oatmeal in the morning.

3. Pear Juice – 1 ounce a day added to one of his feedings. I used to make one of his bottles with 4 ounces of formula or breast milk, and one ounce of pear juice. Sounds gross…but he never minded it.

4. Fiber Juice – http://www.fiberjuice.com I used to add about one ounce of this a day to his baby foods.

5. Benefiber – 1/2 teaspoon daily added to a bottle or to his morning oatmeal.

6. Broccoli – I found out that feeding him broccoli often helped and never hurt, so I began pureeing broccoli and feeding it to him most days. He loves it and still eats it a few times per week.

As you can see it was quite an assortment of remedies in combination that worked best for him. I felt bad about giving him juice because I don’t believe babies or toddlers need juice, but for him it was essential and it really did work well…and when you really look at it, he was only getting two ounces of juice a day.

Also, it was very important with Myles for me to avoid certain foods which would always bind him up. For him these foods to avoid were:

rice, bananas, apples, spinach, corn, pasta and blueberries.

Sweet potatoes had to be given sparingly…more than two or three times per week was too much.

Better foods for him were: oatmeal, squash, peaches, pears, carrots, gerber garden veggies (green).

March 7, 2007 at 7:26 pm #26872

Anonymous
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weird that apples bind him up? they have fiber in them…thats what the baby jar i have says lol i dunno all babies are so different.

but i agree that the rice and bananas can really bind them up!

March 7, 2007 at 7:45 pm #26877

Anonymous
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We just used regular prune juice and diluted it. You can get the pear juice in the baby section though.

March 7, 2007 at 8:31 pm #26883

Anonymous
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Yeah, I always thought it was weird too that apples would bind him up. Spinach, too. You’d think spinach would have lots of fiber and be great for moivng things along. I really don’t get it, but every single time I gave him apples or spinach he’d be constipated the next day. The same thing with blueberries. I think the blueberries because they are a low moisture food, so I can understandt that…maybe spinach is low moisture too. But apples? Who knows?

March 7, 2007 at 8:34 pm #26884

hellbennt
Keymaster

constipation is in the list of symptoms for food intolerances…

March 7, 2007 at 8:52 pm #26891

Anonymous
Inactive

I used to cut up real prunes for Claire and let her eat them herself. Not sure if Sarah is old enough for that yet, but they seemed to work better than the pureed baby food stuff. Also raisins always clear her out, but, again, Sarah’s probably too young??

Constipation is a real bummer, and we still deal with it with her. I agree with Christine that certain foods made it worse… with Claire it was too much dairy at once, sweet potatoes, rice, bananas, and now it’s also if she eats too much sugar. Apples didn’t bind her up, but applesauce did! Weird, huh?

If you’ve tried all the natural remedies, there’s a prescription stool softener that Claire uses (Miralax). Supposedly it’s very safe, runs right through them. It’s not absorbed. Anyway, it works great! She got so backed up at one time, it was all the way in her small intestine! Yik.

Hope you find something to get her moving.

March 7, 2007 at 9:03 pm #26894

Anonymous
Inactive

oh yeah! we have given miralax too!

March 7, 2007 at 9:24 pm #26898

Anonymous
Inactive

PPIs can also cause constipation.

About apples, they are known to have a poo-firming effect and are part of the BRAT diet that docs suggest when a child has diarrhea (bananas, rice, apples, and ???what’s the T again… toast?). Anyhow, I can’t remember but they all can cause constipation.

We used Karo, and it’s really quite unhealthy. We had no choice, but I certainly wouldn’t recommend it. We’ve also used flaxseed oil which worked quite well, as well as benefibre, lactulose (prescription), senekot (didn’t work), and now we’re doing Milk of Magnesia which so far is pretty good. It’s tasteless so you can add it to anything.

Good luck. It’s been a constant battle for us with it.
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