My son has been constipated since he was about 1 month old. He is now going on six months and nothing has changed. He will go four or five days without having a bowel movement and sometimes even more like six or seven days... (his longest record was nine days!!!) I have talked to his doctor several times about it and he seems to think that because i'm breast feeding my milk must be so pure that there isn't alot left over to digest and that things would change when he started eating foods. Well I started him on baby food (rice cereal, squash, and bananas) about a month ago and nothing has changed.. Any suggestions? Should I be worried.
I had the same issue with my breastfed son...but he would go almost 10 days! What a blessing :-D. If he isn't straining to go and his stools are loose when he does go, he is probably okay. You should still be primarily breastfeeding him so that is where he is getting most of his nourishment. Now that my son is 8 months and has been on solids for 2 months (and more and more formula since he is just becoming too active to breastfeed anymore!), he goes 3-4 times a day!
Rice cereal and bananas can be binding. Try oat cereal, prunes and pears. Someone else posted the same problem earlier and there are alot of posts there as well. We have had the same problem sorry I don't have better advice.
LISTEN TO YOUR INSTINCT!!!!! My daughter went through the same thing. I also breast fed and was fed that same line by several pedatricians. We tryed the prune juice, feeding certian high fiber foods... nothing worked. She would be constipated and miserable for a week or so, have a massive "BM" (bowl movement)and be fine for a few weeks, then it would start all over again. For nearly a year I believed the pedatrician that that was normal. It finally got to the point that she was miserable all the time... she would go days/weeks with out a "BM" and then it would be so large it would rip her poor little bottom. I even got so desperate as to freeze her "BM" and take it to the doctor to show how BIG it was. I documented her "BM's" and the tings she ate, took pictures of her bloated belly. (it got so big, she looked pregnate) I went through 15 pedatricians in a year before I found the one that listned to me. I cant even tell you how many hospital ER's we were in. Finally we found Dr. Babarinde she reffered us to a wonderfull peds. gastro. Dr. (DR. Patterson) She had MANY MANY tests done before we figured out what was wrong with her. She ended up having stomach ulcers, gastritus, G.E.R.D, and CHRONIC CONSTIPATION. She now takes MIRILAX laxative every day and PREVACID (shes been on her meds. for 2 years) and is a happy healthy 4 year old. You have the right to demand refferals to specalists. I was not aware of that for a very long time. Tell your childs Dr. you think he needs a refferal to a gastro dr. I wish you and your baby the best of luck!!
My daughter would have this occasionally when she was a baby and if it was too many days I would give her these infant rectal glycerine suppository, if you can do it, they really help. I would also give her pear juice because that seemed to help the most. If this happens a lot I would contact the pediatrician.
make sure baby drinks water after each meal. also try apple juice and or applesauce. prunes and prune juice can give him gas before he has a BM so save that for a last resort.
Breastfed babies sometimes do go many days without a bowel movement, while the next one is pooping all the time! Once babies start eating some solids, offering them purified water is a good idea, which will assist the bowels. Bananas are constipating, so I would refrain from feeding him them. Is the rice brown rice, which has more fiber than white? Mashed avocado, with some water added to thin it, is a good choice for first foods, too. I would stick to whole grains like brown rice, millet, buckwheat and quinoa which have more fiber and thus will help keep the bowels moving. You can grind these whole grains in a blender for 2 minutes, then add slowly to boiling water, cooking for 10 min, and thinning to the correct consistency with water or milk to give to baby. Or cook the grains whole and grind in a grinder. Prunes are always a good choice to assist in moving the bowels, too. I hope some of these suggestions are helpful. Some are saying to offer apple juice and applesauce. I found that cooked apples in any form, because of the pectin which is binding, causes constipation. Only raw apples alleviate it, but raw apples for a 5 mon. old baby is not suggested. Babies really dont need solids until after 6 months, and if breastfed, even much later.
my daughter, now almost 10 months, has MAJOR constipation issues. it seemed to start AFTER I introduced formula, around one month old. she was a pooping machine when she was breast fed, so that part about your issue confuses me. at 7 months, it became so bad that she developed a little hemmorhoid, had to have sits (sp?) baths and apply medication to her traumatized bum! of course, I'm in communication with her pediatricians about this and the one in Tucson (before we moved) assured me that this is a common issue. I've removed rice cereal from her diet completely, add prunes to her oatmeal, give her lots of apple/ pear juice, add dark karo syrup to her formula... and sometimes it's still a no-go. so then we implemented glycerin suppositories. nothing. lately, we tried liquid glycerin suppositories. that did the trick! but I don't want to have to continue doing that. I feel your pain!
I breastfed my babies and the doctor told me that breastfed babies either have a BM 8 times a day or once every 8 days. All my babies except one had the 8 times a day. My last one had the once every 8 days. She was fine - it was normal for her. She is now 26. I wouldn't worry too much.
If you are still breastfeeding I would stop giving him solids. A bf baby doesn't even need solids til 12 months. I would look for a food allergy. Try eliminating dairy and wheat from your diet for a few weeks and see if he improves. It may be that something you are eating that is constipating him. Have you taken a good look at your diet? Also, you can start eating food that promote healthy bowel movements. My daughter has always been sensitive to what I eat. If I eat something that constipates/or loosen she gets the same results. I would also suggest some good acidophillus. They make it for babies and you can find it in the refrigerator section at Sprouts with the supplements. Good bacteria in the digestive track is always a plus. Also, I agree with adding a few ounces of water a day to his diet. I would definately try and find a solution before solids. Good Luck!
When my daughter had this issue my pediatrian suggested Kondremul. It is a mineral oil that is non addictive - I gave her a teaspoon once a day - or put it in her milk/bottle. It has a milky taste - and it worked wonders. Good luck.
When you say constipated do you mean his bowel movements are hard and he strains when going to the bathroom? If so, I would get a second opinion from another doctor. He could have another issue not be detected by your current doctor. He may have an obstruction in his bowels. His diet doesn't warrant constipation.
If you read all of the questions about constipated babies on Mammasource you will see the common link is food. Many mothers are starting their babies on solid food WAY too soon. You will also notice that they or their doctors have used mineral oil and/or medications to try to kickstart the bowel system. If you wait until the body is ready for food the bowel system will work naturally. Also 1 food should be started at a time and continued for weeks before introducing another. I'm a little puzzled why doctors are not sharing with mothers the proper age for food introduction and not explaining that the bowel system would not have to be forced to process if they would wait until it does so naturally. I posted some other suggestions to "Suzzane/with 10 month old constipated Lucy" that you will find helpful.
Love and support to you Bittany, I know it is both scarey and Wonderful to be a new mommy.
My daughter did the same as an infant and I was always told that it is not considered "constipation" if the stool is not hard. If it is a normal and somewhat soft stool then it is perfectly okay. My daughter who is now 6 yrs old still does not have a bowel movement every day - more like every other and it is never hard. I would not be worried. His little system is simply using everything he digests and has little waste at this point. Enjoy your little man!
make a cup of peppermint tea and sweeten it to your taste (no honey) then pour 2oz in a bottle and ad 2oz of water. some babies dont like it but all 5 of mine did and that seemed to help them out and make them less cranky and irritated,if that doesnt work i added a tablespoon of prune juice to there morning bottle.
My sister has the same problem with her baby girl,who is now 8 months, she puts a little prune juice with the baby food and in the bottles - I know your breast feeding so maybe just try it in the food. Good Luck.
it is completely normal for purely breastfed babies to go up to even two weeks without having a bm. go to the breastfeeding forums on mothering.com for more great information
my oldest son has constipation issues from the time he was born until he was 3 years old. We finally had to put him on Miralax (now over the counter medication). It was amazing. He was on the medication for about 6 months, with daily small doses, and he has never had problems since. :)
Does he act like he is in distress? Is he crying and uncomfortable when he passes his stools? If not I would move right along and not be worried. My first child went once for 11 days without a bowel movement. (I nursed him for a year, didn't introduce solids until he was nine months old.) he was fine.
Request a referral for Pheonix children's Hospital to see a specialist. Even if it is nothing serious it will make you feel better.