Has anyone found soy formula to be constipating?

[MichelleRC]

My poor 10 week old DS is not a happy camper. He has been on Good Start (non DHA kind) because he did not tolerate the Enfamil Lipil too well. He was still having painful gas (we also use Gripe Water & Mylicon drops) so I have been in the process of trying the Good Start Soy (which has the DHA/ARA). I have been mixing the 2 formulas together for about a week. Gas is a little better, but he has been constipated for the last few days. Is the soy causing it or just a coincidence?

TIA!

[swampnurse]

every baby is different so it's hard to say, but i had a similar experience. my baby always had a ot of gas and pooped just fine until about 3 weeks when he started going every other day, then it was 3 days, then 5 then finally 7! Being a nurse, i was in a complete state of panic imagining all the terrible GI problems he could have. Anyway, taking my pediatrician's advice, i tried regular formula, soy, lactose free and finally Alimentum. None of these worked and on the 7th day of no poop and still having terrible gas we went for an X-Ray. It was negative for all those terrible conditions i imagined, so on the way home i picked up some prune juice and went back to regular formula (Good Start). he pooped that night after just one serving of prune juice! Apparently, some babies just poop less frequently than most and some are very gassy and they outgrow both of these. the mylicon and gripewater didn't help at all. Also, he wasn't actuallly constipated in the real sense of the word, b/c he didn't have hard "pebble" stools. Does yours? My pediatrician talked with a GI specialist who said that sometimes babies just need all the nutrition they're taking in and therefore they just don't produce much stool or very often. My baby is now 3.5 montsh old and still goes only once every 2-3 days and seems very comfortable with this. The gas has also susided just like my doctor said it would. When he was small he would strain and cry, but not anymore. If any of this sounds familiar, i'd be happy to tell you more. just get some regular ol prune juice and mix in a 1/2 ounce or so into his formula.

[emmiem]

According to my ped, any soy formula is more constipating than regular formula. We switched from Enfamil to Isomil due to its richness. For the first week, she only had one bowel movement. My doctor said that was ok as long as she didn't seem uncomfortable. She was happy and eating fine. Now after 1 month, she has a bowel movement at least twice a day.
Michele

[kijip]

Constipation is where your baby is straining HARD to have a bowel movement and ca't. If you baby has not had a dirty diaper in a few days but is not straining then he is not constipated. My healthy, mostly un-gassy son would often go DAYS without a bowel movement. My LCs, nurses and ped agreed that this was normal.

Soy formula should not be used unless your baby cannot take the milk based formulas for allergy reasons. The large animal protein is generally better for babies than soy. I would only use soy on my peds advice. I think that soy is also more constipating than milk formulas.

Good luck sorting it all out!

[MeredithsMom]

Oh my god, yes!!! My mostly breastfed baby was receiving formula supplements (only about 2-5 ounces a day) and when she was colicky my (stupid) pediatrician recommended soy. I put her on Isomil and within a few days she was SO constipated. She got this horrific look on her face and screamed and screamed until the stools (looked like little pellets) were passed. This happened about 3 times, even though I immediately took her off the Isomil and went back to regular Similac. And keep in mind that this was with a mostly breastfed baby and that breastmilk is almost never constipating.

So, I'd say YES, soy can be very constipating. Later I read in a book that soy could be "binding."

Also, remember that constipation is defined by the appearance of the stool, not the frequency, and that babies almost always get red-faced when pooping, but that the faces and noises that they make when constipated can be much more alarming.

Finally, I gave her a one ounce prune juice, one ounce formula mixture for a few days to help clear her up. Water and prune juice works too--just not too often.

HTH.