Can whole milk=constipation?

Okay I weaned the babies this weekend and they have not had any breastmilk since Friday. They have been drinking milk for about 2 months, but obviously a lot more now that they are done nursing. Well my regularly "poopy" babies are suddenly a little stopped up. They used to poop 2 times daily, fairly mooshy poops (sorry tmi) but for the last two days at least one of them hasnt pooped (ashley yesterday and alyssa today) and the one that pooped only had one (not hard) but SOLID small poop in her diaper. So are they constipated?? I gave them some applejuice/water mix for lunch today and for an evening snack we had chopped prunes. My milk is drying up and I have no back up supply, What do I do if milk is plugging them up? Or do I not worry, it might take their lil tummies a few days to catch up to all that is going on?

Just FYI I have an older DD that has alot of constipation problems and is on miralax, mineral oil and benefiber when things start pluggin up.... can I give 12mnth olds benefiber or mineral oil?? Oh and because of her I totally understand that kids can go A LONG time and not poop... the pedi doesnt even worry unless it has been more then TEN DAYS!! Yikes.

Thanks!!

 

My DS Nicholas got constipated for the first month when we switched them to whole milk. The Dr told me to up water/juices. I also tried giving more oatmeal, prunes, fruit, etc.

They have been on it now for almost two months and he still has problems once and while. I def. think that whole milk is a big change in their system, lots more fat!

Bernadette

 

One of my twins is a constipated poop. He has taken benefiber since he turned one. So it's safe, just of course be careful in amounts. I found prune juice worked best of all... and I mixed it in chocolate milk, he drank it right down. To me... I wanted to puke just making it.

The good thing is, about two months ago, he started going more on his own. So in time they do adjust. His twin however did have a slight problem with constipation going to milk, but was fine within a month. I think some of Matthew's problem was his seizure meds. We stopped them the same week he started going on his own.

Teri

 

Yes! We haven't made the switch but if I give them a container of yogurt (8 oz. shared between them), they'll both be constipated. They don't have problems with cheese but it makes me worry about when they do wean completely. Oh, and it's not more fat, it's actually less, but that's not what causes the issue. It's the proteins that cause the tummy problems. Whether they'll get over it or not depends on whether they grow out of the sensitivity (most do).

 

Thanks ladies! Well we had prunes for breakfast too, so hopefully that will get things moving today! My DD also like Plum Smart juice, it is better tasting than prune juice, works as good but is spendy! I think I will sprinkle some benefiber in their milk for lunch.

 

When we switched, ds was pretty ok with it but dd had some really bad problems. Hers got to the point that she was trying to go, but it was so hard that it would get stuck! I remember one day it was so bad, she was trying & trying to "go".....screaming in pain.....that finally I just had to reach down & help pull it out. :bad: She also got so constipated that she was starting to bleed pretty bad & the pedi said it was literally tearing inside her. :cray: We tried everything, too & nothing seemed to help (changed her diet, added prune juice, apple juice, suppositories, etc). Finally I switched her to Goat milk & she was fine! I did some reasearching on the internet & turns out some kids can have an allergy to dairy that causes constipation. I was told there's some kind of enzyme in cow milk that isn't in goat milk, which is why it works for some kids. However, that goat milk is expensive! Over here it's more than $13.00 a gallon!!! :shok:

 

I haven't read the responses (too lazy ), but Becca was on Miralux for awhile and I didn't like that she was dependent, so here is what we do for her:

She gets Lactaid milk, doesn't do well on milk w/lactose
She gets prunes in the morning (so does Jake) - we still give baby food (we are very lazy)
and watered down apple juice

this seems to keep her system working well.

 

Yes, it happened with mine too. We were switching from formula though, but same thing happened. Our doctor told me to keep them around 16 oz of dairy, and that includes yogurt and cheese. They were getting too much milk at first, about 16 oz of milk, plus other dairy. Cutting them down to just two small sippies helped. I also started adding wheat germ to their yogurt in the morning per the doctor's recommendation. Bea has always trended towards constipation anyway. The wheat germ really helps.

 

I just want a to update you all a little. It is bad, very bad, for Alyssa. She was just grunting so I changed her and there was one little ROCK turd in her diaper, so I got out the suppositories and it was so hard!! Anyway she goes and plays a little and I see her turning red grunting. I check again, 3 lil turds as I am wiping her one is trying to come out so I "help" her with what is left of the suppository she pooped out (oh this gets even more TMI....beware) and out come FOUR more hard little turds. After that whole ordeal I put the suppository back in thinking it will help soften up what ever is left up in there. Well in about 10 minutes here she is grunting away again. I lay her down and out comes the suppository and three more little turds, with some more help (my arms are sore from holding her down, poor baby) 4 more turds... that makes 14 little turds in all, with a little bit of blood, which is to be expected. So I clean her up again and then in about 5 min. I hear her grunting again and now she starts to scream!! I went and laid her down and there was one giant but soft poop in her pants.... WHEW that was a whole new work out for me today! I am so sad for her... after the last poop she just laid in my lap panting for like 10 minutes. So I gave her some juice/water with a 1/2 of mineral oil in it. Any other suggestions?? I can NOT let her get this plugged again, tomorrow maybe only a half a cup of milk until she poops? Any help is welcome! Thanks. BTW, Ashley pooped twice on her own both solid but not hard at all and seems very happy, but I am giving her benefiber too.

Mods could you maybe add "update" to my post's title???

 

I was just going to say, Zoe had the same problem today......I started thinking back & realized it'd been several days since she'd pooped. And the last couple days I've noticed her really straining, but just barely a stain would come out. She's been eating a lot of bananas lately, which was the only thing I could think of. I chopped up about 4 prunes for her tonight & that seemed to help. Our pedi told me that sometimes kids can get constipated if they're not drinking enough & if it gets really bad to even try some Pedialyte.

 

THANK YOU! Yes I try to avoid bananas with older DD too but she loves them! So we also do chopped prunes at night. The benefiber and the 1/2 TSP of mineral oil seemed to get things moving. Any other suggestions?

 

Try making pancakes or waffles with canned pumpkin or squash mixed in the batter. You can add 1/2 cup to any pancake mix. If you make your own mix, you can also make the flour part 1/2 regular, 1/2 whole wheat or oat bran.
Grapes help too, also make fruits juicy ones like mandarin oranges or watermelon. Berries are helpful too. Oh, and kiwi.

 

I was just going to say, it'll probably get easier in the summer/spring when more fruits are available. Pears are one of the best, but mine won't eat the canned kind.....they love it fresh! Last summer we were shopping in a store that specializes in lots of desserts, chocolates & fresh fruit. DS went bananas, wanting a pear he saw! I was so happy he picked the fruit over all the candy. But you might try some pear juice, too, just to kind of mix it up a little.

 

I have twin 16month old boys. One of them has been struggling to poop for months now. When he does poop he cries and screams. I've talked to the doctor's office on serveral occations. I always here the same thing, push more fluids. The problem with this is, the only fluid he will drink is milk and maybe 2-4 ounces of water a day.
I call the doctor's office again today becouse I cannot stand to hear my child scream like he is. I now talk to a nurse who tells me that if all he drinks is milk, give him milk, at least its a liquid??? Wouldn't more milk constipate him more??? I am so confused. I asked about suppositories or laxatives, I was told no, he is too young.
Can someone help??? The other problem is they are still on baby food. We've been trying desperately to get them to eat table food. They don't want it. So the only fruit and veggies they are getting is in baby food form, peaches, prunes, pears.
I have to do something for this child. He is in agony every time he poops!

 

**I have twin 16month old boys. One of them has been struggling to poop for months now. When he does poop he cries and screams. I've talked to the doctor's office on serveral occations. I always here the same thing, push more fluids. The problem with this is, the only fluid he will drink is milk and maybe 2-4 ounces of water a day. **

Start spiking the milk. Put 1 oz of prune juice in it or apple juice. That is what one pediatircian had us do with my son who was 8 months old. It did help. Also when one of my older son's had this issue we put 1 tsp of mylanta in the milk per Pedi instructions (different Pedi) to help on the bottom end.

Keep trying more table foods. Grind up whatever you are eating!

Cindy

 

absolutely! my girls have always had constipation issues, and the switch to milk made it worse. They only get 8-12 oz of milk per day. We also make sure they get some yogurt in as well to increase the dairy intake..

 

QUOTE(kajulie @ Mar 21 2008, 09:50 AM) [snapback]680663[/snapback]
absolutely! my girls have always had constipation issues, and the switch to milk made it worse. They only get 8-12 oz of milk per day. We also make sure they get some yogurt in as well to increase the dairy intake..




Thanks so much for that tip, I didn't even think to spike his bottles! I will be to try that tommorow. I'm pulling my hair out with the table food, its almost like they know before I even give it to them that its not their baby food and sure enough they tighten those lips! Little buggers. Thanks again!