My almost 6 month old has been Bf from the day she was born. I know that bf babies don't poo everyday but now I have started her on solids. She has been on solids for 2 weeks or so and has pooed since we started them. However, it has been 3 days since she pooed now and I am wondering if this rule applies with bf babies on solid food.
I think that I jumped the gun a little bit. She always pooped it seemed constantly when she was drinking just Breast milk so when she went a few days I got worried. She has been pretty regular since that first time though. One mom told me to watch out that we had a mess coming and my goodness was she right. Breast milk poo was down right pleasant compared to what we're getting now. I do appreciate all the good advice for the future though. Thanks so much mommas.
yup, this happened to my daughter right about the 6 mo mark when we also introduce solids to her. She too was bf'ed since birth. We just got some gerber stage 1 prunes (they have reg and organic) and that did the job quite well.
does he seem irritable, pushing/grunting, is his stomach hard and distended?
I know my son would regularly go 2-3 days without a problem, but sometimes he'd get constipated and we had to use a children's glycerin suppository (as per ped's recommendation, which we cut in half lengthwise and cut a little bit off the length, too). He wasn't exactly thrilled, but it cleared everything out and he was much happier in the long run.
[chuckle!] Constipation applies to anyone at anytime! It probably would happen with a change in diet, though. You could try prune juice mixed 1 to 1 with water to loosen her up before you go for the OTC stuff. Your doc will have other suggestions.
-S
Try babies magic tea and also drink it yourself and pass its contents through your milk supply. It's organic and herbal tea blend so very safe for newborns.
My son, up until he was 6 mo or so, never pooped every day (and there are still occasional days that he won't). He was breastfed until 5 mo when my milk quit coming in (due to several health problems). Around 5 mo he showed that his weight gain wasn't what it should be-he wasn't eating enough, even though he wasn't usually fussy and developmentally was ahead of all the charts (walking at 8 mo, etc). Between the 4th and 5th month, we found he gained less than an ounce. I didn't realize he wasn't gaining weight b/c he seemed to be eating fine (nursing and rice cereal), and he really was only fussy when teething, sick, etc. He also started sleeping through the night at 2 weeks old, so it never occured to us. I say all that to prove that babies don't always fuss when they need to eat, and sometimes it's good to try to feed more than they "ask."
Hi K.,
Now hang on a second; who said bf babies don't poo every day? Mine sure did! And if they didn't, they were colicky and very unhappy. You don't mention that she's unhappy; if she isn't then I wouldn't worry about it. I adjusted my babies' diets to no avail, so I ended up doing what my MD grandpa advised, and that was to use a baby glycerin suppository. They have a tiny tip, melt quickly, and are not irritating, but work gently and quickly to soften and stimulate. Or, if you don't like the idea of inserting anything, no matter how soft and safe, just put a little vaseline on the tip of a finger and just touch your fingertip to the anus with a little pressure. Often, just the stimulation of that bit of pressure will get baby's attention and she'll push. Voila! NOw this last idea works if the stool is soft, but if the stool is hard, then the glycerin suppository is the way to go, since it will soften as well as stimulate pushing. Hope that helps!
We have had major constipation issues in our house with our little boy, pretty much from day one. He was 2 months old when the pedi told us to give hime 1oz of prune juice twice a day to get him to move. We didn't BF, not because I didn't want to I just had NO milk, but regardless I have tried every natural option out there and wanted to say that prune does work but if it becomes and issue and she needs to eat prunes daily or every other day it will lose its ability to help. Carrot is a good "mover" as well as apple and if you rotate them it will help keep her moving. Right now we use a home juiced raw carrot apple spinach beet blend and it works perfectly but my little guy is 18 months!
Best of luck to you and your baby. I hope it's just a one time thing but if not feel free to PM me and we can chat about poo! lol!
I have a great intestianal (spelling) massage tequnique that I was taught by a massage theryipst when we had issues where our little guy didn't go at all for a week, she typed it out for me so if you need that feel free to ask!
(BTW I really can't spell, please feel free to get a good laugh at my efforts! lol!)
Hope you get a big ole poopy soon!
;o)
K.,
I had the same problem with my daughter, who was breastfed, when we started solids. Please check with your pediatrician. Our pediatrician first told us to try some pear juice (just a few ounces), which we had minimal success with. Then, we had to move to putting Karo Syrup in her foods, that worked great. I started out with 1/4 tsp, and then had to gradually work up to 1 tsp. Please check with your pediatrician for the proper dosing and to see what he/she recommends. Three days was the max my ped ever wanted my daughter to go without pooping while on solids.
Avoids doing a lot of the foods in the B.R.A.T diet (bananas, rice, apples, toast) at once as they are binding (but good to have on hand for diarreah).
You could try prunes or even adding 1 oz of prune/apple/pear juice to bottles (or offer them straight mixed 50/50 with water). Many pediatricians will tell you juice should only be used for this purpose in infants.
Rice cereal often causes constipation (see BRAT diet above), however, oatmeal helps babies (and adults, lol) to stay regular.
Hey Mama,
It probably is constipation since the switch from bf to solids. I would also add some apple or pear juice in her diet to help break down the constipation. Best of luck
My daughter was also constipated for her first year because I had her on soy formula. I would put one ounce of prune juice in her formula or milk everyday and that kept her regular. I bought the Sunsweet Gold Label Prune Juice, it comes in a 6 pack and the cans are small.
Good luck,
S.
If you are breastfeeding your baby is not constipated. He's holding up for a big one. Watch out! My baby girl did this once and it was a real mess! AF
I found all 3 of my babies got constipated when we started rice cereal. That, and bananas can be very binding. When my kids were constipated it wasn't just that they hadn't pooped in a while. I would see them pushing and straining, but either not have a bowel movement or it would be very small and hard. Switching to oatmeal cereal helped a lot, as well as adding pears and prunes to their diet. When things get really bad I also give a little white grape juice mixed with water in a bottle or sippy cup. That was our pediatrician's advice, and it really works!
You might also want to check for rice flour in some of the other things she's eating, like the Gerber puffs. They tend to cause problems for my girls if they eat too many.
Incidentally, most BF babies should poop every day. Formula fed babies may be more likely to get constipated. If your baby has been BF and had problems with bowel movements all along, you really might want to check with your pediatrician.
