[Wisdom]

Our son usually has soft stools, but the last few days they've been harder than normal (not really hard, but harder than they should be) and the other day when I changed his diaper after a b.m. there was a little blood on the wipe. I called his doctor's office and was told to give him a capful of Miralax once a day w/apple juice for one week and a tablespoon of mineral oil twice a day. I didn't actually speak w/the doctor but an office person who got the instructions from the doctor. To me those dosages seem harsh for a six month old. I bought the Miralax and mineral oil but I only gave him one tablespoon of mineral oil so far. I'm not sure if I should give him the Miralax. Also, I didn't give him rice cereal yesterday nor will I give it to him today thinking that might help. (Rice cereal is the only solid food he's been eating so far.) He's been on the rice cereal for a month now and it hadn't affected him negatively so I'm not sure if it's that or not. He had a b.m. yesterday afternoon and it was better.
I'd love to hear input from anyone who's experienced this type of situation. Should I give him the Miralax?

[tweetybirdus]

Bree has issues with constipation quite frequently and we have never given her Miralax. We give her prunes or prune juice. Pedi said that if that didn't help to give a tsp of Karo syrup in 4 ounces of formula or breastmilk. Lay off the rice for a few days.

[Cjmeck]

My 6.5mo daughter has been on Miralax since she was 3-4 months old and her ped gastro doctor prescribed it. Since she has very severe reflux, she had to be on thickened formula with rice cereal. It constipated her so badly that she developed an anal fissure. Anyway, I give her the Miralax once daily (1 tsp mixed with 4-6 oz of formula was her doctor's instructions). It has been a lifesaver for her. If I forget it for even one day, she is constipated again. I asked her doctor if I should try to wean her off it and give her juice instead but he said no. He said the miralax is very gentle, non-habit forming and juice just adds extra calories/sugar that she doesn't need. And one more thing, you might want to try the baby oatmeal instead of the rice cereal; that's what we do.

ETA: The gastro doctor had us try Karo syrup first but that didn't work at all.

[finallyamom0310]

We too had issues when DD was younger and was told to put 1 tsp of light Karo in her formula to help. My SIL has issues with her DD and was told prune juice. Neither of us we told Miralax. Hope this helps.

[HappyTwinsMom]

My daughters both had issues with constipation as babies and they were prescribed Miralax. It worked very well for them, no adverse reactions (it's actually very gentle). In fact, they still have a standing prescription for it and use it occasionally at age 7.

[joskids]

Our two year old takes the Miralax with no issues and it has eased her birthmom's so much. If your doctor says it's ok, then I'd assume it is.

Josie

[mumofone]

My nephew had bowel issues, too. He was put on Lactolose and mineral oil, and it helped a great deal. Good luck.

[Beth.]

Originally Posted by Cjmeck

My 6.5mo daughter has been on Miralax since she was 3-4 months old and her ped gastro doctor prescribed it. Since she has very severe reflux, she had to be on thickened formula with rice cereal. It constipated her so badly that she developed an anal fissure. Anyway, I give her the Miralax once daily (1 tsp mixed with 4-6 oz of formula was her doctor's instructions). It has been a lifesaver for her. If I forget it for even one day, she is constipated again. I asked her doctor if I should try to wean her off it and give her juice instead but he said no. He said the miralax is very gentle, non-habit forming and juice just adds extra calories/sugar that she doesn't need. And one more thing, you might want to try the baby oatmeal instead of the rice cereal; that's what we do.

ETA: The gastro doctor had us try Karo syrup first but that didn't work at all.

This could have been my post. Our three month old has been on Miralax for six weeks. 1 teaspoon per day in 4-8 ounces of formula. We can't go one day without it.

I personally feel better about Miralax than mineral oil. I wouldn't want to swallow mineral oil, so no way would I give it to my kiddo.

Our ped said the same things p.p said about Karo syrup and juice -- no reason to add calories and rot teeth this early. BTW, Karo syrup did nothing for us.

Also, we are avoiding rice cereal. There is an organic, whole grain oatmeal cereal that Wal-Mart carries; a little fiber might help.

Another thing to try would be prune juice diluted with water. Gerber sells prune/apple juice in tiny little bottles that they sell in a four pack. Our ped said we could try juice at four months -- one ounce juice with three ounces of water -- if we want to try getting off the Miralax. Honestly though, if we need to use Miralax until she's 10, we will.

[Proud2BHisMom]

My son had constipation issues as well. He was on formula thickened with rice which often exacerbated the problem. Our pediatrician suggested one tsp Miralax in his formula once a day. We were leary of giving it to him everyday so we only gave it to him every once in a while. We gave him pears or pear juice which worked but often had the opposite effect of constipation. We were also told that Karo syrup was effective. Once he started eating solid foods, he became much more regular.

[xxsurroundedbyxy]

Originally Posted by tweetybirdus

Pedi said that if that didn't help to give a tsp of Karo syrup in 4 ounces of formula or breastmilk.

Our Ped had us do this from about 1mo old to about 1 yr old. At first we put it in every bottle for about a week, then about one bottle a day for MONTHS, then just every so often when we noticed a problem. Worked great! We also did 1:1 ratio of water and juice and still do at 27mo. We did not do rice cereal, but did oatmeal cereal instead.

Kim

[mumofone]

Sorry, I should have clarified. The mineral oil was mixed with juice, not straight. Although it did work, he soiled himself more often...very liquid. It caused many clothes to be ruined.

[Beth.]

Originally Posted by mumofone

Sorry, I should have clarified. The mineral oil was mixed with juice, not straight. Although it did work, he soiled himself more often...very liquid. It caused many clothes to be ruined.

We haven't had any problems like this with the Miralax. It is very gentle. I have also heard of others having similar problems with prunes.

[boysmom324]

We have had problems with constipation in our house as well. Any juice that starts with P (prune, pear (which I've found babies actually like better), pineapple, etc) are stool softeners and at this age work really well for hard stools. Miralax is polyethylene glycol and is a more mild form of what is prescribed to adults for bowel clean out prior to colonoscopies. It is not absorbed and works by causing more water to enter the bowel, thus making the stools softer. Safe med, but if you aren't comfortable using it, try one of the juices and check with your ped about what volume to use (usually no more than 4 oz a day of juice as it has really no nutirional value). Pear worked best in our house and it's actually readily available in the baby food aisle.

Good luck!