Constipation- which formula is worse?

[Anonymous]

We are on Nutramigan now and although Cooper’s poos are watery they are pretty infrequent. He acts really really uncomfy when he tries to go and is back to not sleeping well. I think the acid/burning is under control becasue he is eating better and then content to look around and coo. But then he will start drawing up his legs and grunting and maybe a bit of liquid will come out ( poo liquid ), but he is still very upset and keeps trying to no avail.

Is alimentum any better for constipation? The Dr recommened this one, but I already opened a can of Nutramigan. She actually said the alimentum might cause diarreah- true?

What have you all given your babies ( he’s 2 months ) to relieve this?? Or did you just let them work it out on their own?

[Anonymous]

I’m not an expert whatsoever about these formulas, but since being a member here for the past year I’ve read a number of posts about babies not doing great on powdered Nutramigen due to the high corn content. Some babies are intolerant to the corn and they get gassy and uncomfortable from it. I would try Alimentum RTF. I think the powdered Alimentum also contains more corn than RTF. I’m not 100% sure, but it seems that more babies do better on Alimentum RTF than either of the powders.

I hope he’s feeling better soon.

[Anonymous]

Makes sense and it’s worth a shot! Does anyone know if the RTF has no corn or is it just a lot less??

Thanks!
Tina

[Anonymous]

http://rpdcon40.ross.com/pn/PediatricProducts.NSF/web_Ross.c om_XML_PediatricNutrition/7D36D292801CA52685256D93006B6241?O penDocument

As you can see the Alimentum powder contains 35% corn. The RTF contains none (unless I missed it).

[Anonymous]

We had very lose stools (2 to three diapers a day) with only 6 ounces a day of Alimentum RTF. We tried the powedered and she didn’t like it at all. We then went to nutramigen powder and her poos were so thick! Our ped told us if the poo is thicker than penut butter then the child is constipated (which her was pretty close). now we are trialing pregestimil. No poo problems so far and it has been 3 days. Iam suplementing, so kendra does not get all her nutition from it, but we also use it to concentrate her breast milk. sorry i hope i am not given too much poo info. and i hope this info helps.

[Anonymous]

Wow, thanks for the link! I just don’t have time to do searches like that, so I really appreciate it!

I just bought some RTF, so hopefully that will help. Also found Gerber apple prune juice…

He did just go, but again, very little and very runny ( still some mucous ), but he continues to grunt and cry while nothing comes out.

Thanks for the ideas…

Tina

[Anonymous]

You didn’t miss it- I read the “features” and it even says ” no corn”…

Thanks,

Tina

[Anonymous]

I hope he does better on the Alimentum RTF. My fingers are crossed for you.

Apples or apple juice used to bind Myles up. It’s weird but apples contain pectin which can be biding, so if the apple/prune juice doesn’t help, you can maybe try Gerber Pear Juice and add a little prune juice or pureed prunes. He’s pretty young and some babies will get very gassy from prunes, so keep that in mind.

Good luck. I hope he’s feeling better soon.

[Anonymous]

Oh oops! Okay, well I don’t have any pear juice on hand, how about white grape juice???

[Anonymous]

Prior to solids Alana did one runny poo (liquid actually) every 3 days (Peti Juniro is like Alimentum). I used to call it “poo day” cause she was in a “bad mood” until the poo! She seemed to have difficulty with it. I tried water…juice etc with no avail. I never did sort it out. Now with solids I have the opposite problem….”poo hour”. Sorry no help other than to say it does happen!

[Anonymous]

Therese,

That’s Cooper to a T. Did your Dr ever say anything about it?? He just seems like he’s really in pain! I am worried there’s a huge blockage up there, and the watery stuff is all that’s coming through.

This is so frustrating, but I am thankful that he is feeling quite a bit better overall

Tina

[Anonymous]

Hmmm….not sure about the white grape juice. I’ve heard it’s gentle on babies tummies but I’m not sure if it’s useful in helping with pooping.

[Anonymous]

We were told that white grape juice would help with constipation.

[Anonymous]

Here’s my personal experience with forumla. My son is breast fed, with 1 bottle per day of formula maybe 5 times per week (so about 5 bottles per week of formula). We started with Alimentum RTF and it was fine. We switched to Alimentum powder and his reflux got much worse — so much throwing up. We thought it must be the corn. We then switched to Nutramigen RTF and he didn’t poop for 7 days. Hard to believe such little amount of formula could back him up that long, but the Ped. Gastro. said Nutramigen sometimes does that and also recommended against any powders (of course, as he’s not paying for it). So, when we supplement, we’re back to Alimentum RTF.

For the constipation (my son was approx 4 months old when the week of no poop occurred), we were told not to use the thermometer, but to use childrens suppositories. They told us to push it in and out for 5 minutes. Within 3 hours after that, our son pooped. After that, they told us to use orange vegetables for fiber. I was hesitant to introduce food b4 6 months as my son is MPI, but we did it and since then, he’s gone at least 1x per day. Not sure if it’s the Alimentum, the vegetables, or a combo, but things are much better.

Good luck.

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