My baby has been eating solid foods for about 3 weeks or so, and the last 4-5 days having more solid BMs. Just the last three days he's been crying/screaming out of nowhere and I discovered it's happening while he's pooping. I know it's probably hard to get used to a more solid BM for babies, just wondering if this is normal? His poops seem completely normal, (not super hard or anything) and after he's done and changed, he's fine.
thanks moms, I did call the after hours nurse and she recommended the "p" foods and letting him sit in a warm baking soda bath (if case he does have a tear) We're going to take him in on Monday to get him checked out!
Pears, peaches, peas all help constipation. It doesn't have to be "super hard" to be constipation...
Apple juice can actually be quite constipating. White grape or pear always did the trick for my son. Or prune. All watered down.
Poor baby! What sort of solids are you doing? I would discontinue any bananas or other binding foods. Maybe mix in a tiny bit of prune juice or apple juice into his cereal to make his poop more runny. As to your question about what is normal, my 8 mo old DD has not experienced this. She vacillates between having 5 bms a day to none, depending on what feed but when she does have BMs she seems happy about it. I hope the juice helps - good luck
Get him to a pediatrician. He may have a small anal fissure, and believe me, those are incredibly painful.
It might be a good idea to cut back on the solid foods for a few days, and introduce them very slowly (a doctor I know thinks you should only introduce one food every two weeks at first, starting with only 1 tablespoon maximum, to give that little digestive system a chance to adapt. If that food causes problems, drop it for 3 days, then introduce 1 tablespoon of another food. Any food that is well tolerated for 2 weeks is not likely to cause problems. If any rashes, severe gas, or other symptoms appear, you'll know which food is causing it.
i would definitely have him seen by a dr. or call your pediatrician to see what he/she thinks. Otherwise, maybe he has a bit of a rash or a cut near his little hole? This happened to my daughter and pooping for her was horrible. It took a minute for me to realize it too, cuz it was such a tiny little scratch/cut from her bm's being too solid. If this isnt the case tho, again, please call your dr and address this issue asap.
No, not normal. Of course going onto solids you will have constipation and/or diahrea as you change foods, but screaming while pooping is not good. Something your baby is eating is constipating him. You should talk to your ped. Some binding foods that you may want to avoid are bananas, cheese, applesauce. Some more loosening foods are grapes (not sure if your son is too young, obviously they have to be cut up), also prunes, watermelon, spinach and things that have alot of fiber. Also hummus is good for a baby his age. I know my ped always told me try new foods slowly, not introducing several new things at once. Maybe overdoing solids too soon?
My son did this when he was little and sometimes he still does.
So sad to watch!
Are you feeding him rice cereal? That can bind up his little tummy and can be hard for him. Give him a little bit of prunes in it if you do, and also you can give him a bit of watered down apple juice and that will help too.
My son was like this all the time too, and it was because he is lactose intolerant. Are you nursing? Or is he on formula? You either might need to change your diet if you are nursing too, or his formula needs to be changed to soy maybe.
My son drank soy milk and it really helped him. We also gave him gas drops, and the juice.
Also make a log of what he is eating solid food wise, and write down what happens. Like, he is cranky when he eats carrots and peas. If so, then you know that maybe peas and carrots dont set well with his tummy. (They dont in my son)
Just keep track of what he eats, and his reactions and that will help figure it out. Gas drops, prunes, and apple juice are great too.
Best wishes!
My oldest did this when he was around 9 months - shortly after we introduced meat. Turned out to be an anal fissure and as a result he started to withhold - meaning he wouldn't poop because it was too painful. He wasn't constipated - we eliminated meat and gave him food that would loosen him up (pears, prunes, sweet potatoes, juice, etc.) but none of it worked. After the third visit to our pediatrician for this issue, his dr. prescribed miralax - just a tiny amount, to help him go. He is still on it at 3.5 and potty trained and it is just enough to help him relax and go. If we miss a day on it he doesn't poop at all and the next day is really rough on him.
I would echo the recommendation to take your little one to the doctor to verify what is going on and if you need to get some miralax the dr. can tell you how much to start with based on baby's weight. It is an over the counter digestive aid and my son has never had an issue with cramping or bloating or anything. And before anyone jumps on the "it's not natural" and offers their own remedies please know that we've been there done that. My child gets enough fiber and water and we have tried other natural remedies but miralax keeps him regular and comfy. BTW he probably started out with 1/8 of a teaspoon and now takes about 1.5 teaspoons since he is obviously bigger than he was as a baby and now eats meat regularly without problem.
This happened with my first child because I introduced rice cereal and then bananas. I had to introduce prunes after that to relieve her constipation. Good luck. So sad when their little tummys are hurting:(
My daughter had very similar symptoms, and I was able to easily rectify it. Does your son have rice cereals, bananas, and applesauce mainly?
I initially started her on solids with rice cereals, and also included bananas. Her poop was just slightly more solid than previously, but she had lot of discomfort and used to cry while pooping. After 2-3 days of observing this, I stopped the rice cereal, and gave her oats. Instead of bananas, I gave her prunes. And while changing her nappy after she pooped, I carefully checked for any scratches or bleeding (fortunately, there wasn't any), and applied some Aquaphor before re-diapering. Another 2 days later, she was back to normal.
I learnt that rice cereal, bananas, apples, can induce constipation. On the other hand, foods like barley or oats cereals, prunes, peas, can induce diarrhea (not extreme though). So, I give her rice cereals one day, oats the next day. Similarly, I give her prunes or green beans one day (high in fiber), and apples or bananas the other. My PED also advised the same - to rotate the foods in a balanced manner, and as reqd. Plus, I give her a lot of water to drink, about 15-20 min after she has had her food. I've been following this pattern for the last nearly 3 months, and my DD hasn't had a problem since then.
There's some more info @ http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/constip.htm
Hope the info helps your little one! :)
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would also add that my second child went through something similar and in retrospect i think that 6 months was too early to feed her solids. i fed her only/mostly stool loosening foods for months until the symptoms magically went away around 9 months. i think her digestive system just wasn't ready at 6 months. No harm in stopping or reducing solids for a while.
Not normal! He is constipated, as adults we tend to think that if you can still have a BM you're not constipated but that is not the case, esspecially not wiht babies. Stop feeding him cereal for the next two weeks, give him fruits taht start with P like peaches, plums, etc. You can also try feeding him yogurt, even though he can not have regular milk yet yogurt is far more digestable because the protiens are broken down. Yogurt can help add more of the good bacteria that helps to digest his food. If he is breastfeeding, offer him more nursing time, breastmilk is a natural laxative. If he is on formula, you can add a bottle of 2-4 oz juice mixed with 2-4 oz water to his daily routine. Abdominal massage can aslo be good for constipation, use baby oil or olive oil and rub his tummy in a CLOCKWIZE motion. Don't be afraid to use a littel pressure, a feather-light touch will not be effective. You can fidn more information about infant massage online.
He doesn't sound constipated but if he's used to having looser BM's it's totally possible that he has a fissure/tear that needs to heal. I would avoid rice, peas, bananas, anything binding. If he's breastfed I would try to boost him back up as much as possible with breastmilk BEFORE giving him any solids even if you're giving him prunes, pears, barley, or whatever.
Remember too that his digestive system is still extremely immature so it's still learning how to digest solids. He's not ready for a wide array of solid foods yet and needs milk (liquid) nutrition far more than he needs solids in his diet. Solid food at this age is only "practice" for chewing for when he has a mouthful of teeth at over a year old. It's not really supposed to be for nutrition at all. So you can completely cut out solids right now, get him back on breastmilk or formula, just to let his system go back to what it already knows and to give his digestive system a rest.
My son did the same thing when his poop changed around 6 months. He would cry and have look on his face like "what is happening?" He's 8 months now, and doesn't cry anymore except when he's done because he's never liked a messy diaper. If its not hard I wouldn't be too concerned, unless he continues to do it. Also make sure you keep the fruits etc in his diet so he doesn't get constipated. Never hurts to ask your Dr. either.
Believe me, few things hurt like an anal fissure and you won't necessarily see it! A friend's infant had one and it's not uncommon in infants. As a grown woman it made me cry in pain! Take baby to the doctor!
