thank god for prune juice!

we tried adding a bit of rice cereal to the boys' bottles in the hopes of preventing some reflux. we started slowly, adding about half as much rice cereal as was recommended by our pedi and trying every other bottle at first. owen took to it swimmingly, but jacob's guts just shut down. he's always had the more sensitive digestive system so we weren't hugely surprised. we just hoped that by now his tummy had matured enough that we could give it another shot. by bedtime last night he was just miserable. he hadn't pooped in 2 days and he was having lots of gas that made him cry when it passed. last night was sheer misery for all of us.

but thanks to this forum i read a thread about using prune juice cut with water to help babies pass difficult stools. i did a little more reading up on it and tried it. one ounce of prune juice mixed with one ounce of warm water. and BINGO it worked! he was hesitant about the taste at first, since we haven't explored new tastes much yet, but once he got going he was enthusiastic about it. and just as he cleared the first ounce he paused, grunted, and then grinned. sure enough, that's all it took! :yahoo:

it was amazing. the poor guy had been crying and uncomfortable and miserable for almost 24 hours. and all it took was 1 ounce of prune juice and water.

i'm so thankful for this community. it has become such a valuable voice of experience and advice for me. thank you thank you thank you to everyone who contributes here. you just never know when one of your posts is going to help a desperate mommy. :bow2:

 

The prune juice was a lifesaver for me when I was pregnant. I'm glad that it helped your little Jacob feel better. I hope you have a better night tonight!

 

That's great. I know that feeling of waiting for the poop, and then getting really excited. That's the true initiation into parenthood.

I'd definitely watch out for the rice. My guys are 8 months old and born full term, and it still constipates them. My poor niece was permanently constipated as a baby and still is today in part because my SIL fed her way too much rice (and bananas) way too young. I avoid that stuff unless they have diarrhea; then it's great.

Maybe you can ask your pedi about mixing something else like oatmeal or barley. I have no idea about anything related to the hell that is reflux, so I'm just throwing that out there. I take it the anti-acid isn't working well.

 

We started using 1 tsp prune juice mixed with her formula whenever our daughter would get constipated. Worked like a charm! We checked with her ped first, and she gave us the go-ahead.

Make sure that you get the juice WITHOUT the pulp. We didn't know that there were different types, and initially bought the one with the pulp. It stopped up her bottle, and hubby had to drink the rest of the juice and then spent most of his time in the bathroom (just kidding).

 

So glad he got some relief!! :banana:

 

I LOVE IT TOO!! WORKS LIKE A CHARM. PRUNE FOOD WORKS WELL TOO WHEN THEY START EATING!!

 

QUOTE(hannahshope @ Mar 3 2009, 02:48 PM) [snapback]1212429[/snapback]
I LOVE IT TOO!! WORKS LIKE A CHARM. PRUNE FOOD WORKS WELL TOO WHEN THEY START EATING!!


I'm glad it has fixed your l/o.. constipation is awful! At what age can you give prune juice?
One of my girls is on gaviscon for reflux it has bungged her up, when she does go it is rock hard and very painful for her. She never seems to finish a motion iykwim my dr suggested water between feeds but it is NOT helping. Any thoughts are welcome..

Tia
Liz xxxx

 

I agree! My DD has been constipated a couple of times. The Dr first told me to do a teaspoon of karo syrup in her bottle twice a day. That helped the first time, but not the next. The next time, she told me 2 oz of prune juice, but not to dilute it with water. That fixed her right up!!
I'm not sure how old they need to be to start this, but my DD is 4 months.

 

:hug: I'm glad the prune juice helped Jacob! :good:

 

yeah! so glad it worked!

I LOVE TS and think I have gotten so much helpful advice to1

gotta say, I laughed at your title to this thread!

 

QUOTE(sullivanre @ Mar 2 2009, 10:07 PM) [snapback]1212004[/snapback]
I take it the anti-acid isn't working well.

the prevacid is working to neutralize the acid. but antacids don't stop the food from washing up the esophagus. the only thing that fixes that is growing up and growing out of it.

QUOTE(mummy2ambernruby @ Mar 3 2009, 10:36 AM) [snapback]1212494[/snapback]
I'm glad it has fixed your l/o.. constipation is awful! At what age can you give prune juice?
One of my girls is on gaviscon for reflux it has bungged her up, when she does go it is rock hard and very painful for her. She never seems to finish a motion iykwim my dr suggested water between feeds but it is NOT helping. Any thoughts are welcome..

Tia
Liz xxxx

what i read was that the prune juice trick can be done after 2 months. 1 oz water (i warmed the water) with 1 oz prune juice. do not give it undiluted if you haven't done it before. i've heard horror stories.

since your daughter is right at that 2 month line (at least according to your siggy) you should probably check with your pedi first.

 

QUOTE(piccologirl @ Mar 3 2009, 09:36 PM) [snapback]1213421[/snapback]
the prevacid is working to neutralize the acid. but antacids don't stop the food from washing up the esophagus. the only thing that fixes that is growing up and growing out of it.


Ah, I didn't know they were from different sources. My Mark was a spit up kid, but he didn't have reflux. Over the last 2 months it has tapered off dramatically; I guess his digestive system finally matured.

I hope the little guys keep getting better.

 

QUOTE(piccologirl @ Mar 4 2009, 02:36 AM) [snapback]1213421[/snapback]
the prevacid is working to neutralize the acid. but antacids don't stop the food from washing up the esophagus. the only thing that fixes that is growing up and growing out of it.
what i read was that the prune juice trick can be done after 2 months. 1 oz water (i warmed the water) with 1 oz prune juice. do not give it undiluted if you haven't done it before. i've heard horror stories.

since your daughter is right at that 2 month line (at least according to your siggy) you should probably check with your pedi first.


Thankyou for your advice!! xxx