Friday, April 12, 2013

K is for Karo Syrup

Once upon there was a young mother whose firstborn baby got constipated. The mother, accustomed to the thrice-daily deposits of waste material from her baby, became worried after 15 hours of "non-productivity."  

She called her friend.

The friend said to give him more water. So she did.

Twelve more hours of no poopsie-woopsies and the mother called the pediatrician. "Two days is not a concern," said the expert.

Day 3 came and the mother still had not seen any stinky diaper activity.  Panic began to set in for the  inexperienced 23-year-old mommy. So she did what all young mommies do when they are fretting about raising babies: she called the grandmother.

Grandmother had two words for infantile irregularity: Karo syrup.

She advised one big tablespoon; it's sweet so the baby will like it, sticky so he can't spit it out, and
magical in a way to move those bowels in no time. Just be prepared for a mudslide.

Actually, Grandmother didn't say mudslide but that was the image her daughter reemembers.
Grandmother also said if it doesn't work in an hour, give two more tablespoons. 

It took exactly one hour for  one tablespoon of Karo syrup to rev up baby's intestinal engine.

Lesson learned? Grandmother knows best.

5 comments:

Changes in the wind said...

Oh such memories!!

Lea @ CiCis Corner said...

OMG! don't know what it is in it that works as a laxative, but I used it on my kids and it definitely works. I wonder if any Moms use it today. If not, they should. Great post and brought back so many memories!

Nel said...

Little things like that are good to know! Thanks for sharing!
until next time...nel

Beth Zimmerman said...

How did I never know that! Wonder if it works on adults? Constipation is one of the more unpleasant result of thyroid disorders.

Zoanna said...

Really any pancake syrup seems to do the job.