Constipation/starting solids

[NewDad]

We just started our 4 month old on solids (rice cereal) and have noticed he seems to be getting constipated .... I think. He was exclusively breastfed, and would do a poo at least once a day, but since starting on solids last week, hasnt done one in four days. Should I be worried?

[Rell]

It does sound as if he could be constipated.Is he still breast feed or is he on formula now? If he has moved to formula this is probebly the most likely cause. You may need to try a different formula if it keeps up. If he is still on breast milk try giveing him some diluted prune juice (found in the Baby food section) and if this doesn't work you can buy a product called "coloxal drops" from the chemist and this works really well. If when you get his poos back to normal the rice cereal continues to make him constipated you may need to skip the rice cereal and go straight to veges. Rice cereal had the oppersite affect on my daughter so this is what the nurse told us to do.Good luck :)

[NewDad]

He is still only on breast milk, no formula.

Will try the prune juice. Thanx for the advice.

[Elfin]

Your baby is still a bit young for solids as it recommended these days not to start till 6 months. I would just be breastfeeding him till then and leaving the solids for awhile. Maybe his system is just not ready for solids yet.

[xkwzit]

Hi
Fruit will be good to get him moving, esp. pears (or pear juice). You could swap his rice cereal for fruit or mix it together. Bananas will tend to constipate, rather than loosen.

Best of luck
ps. I'd heard a rumour that the age to start solids has changed AGAIN - can anyone confirm? It was 4 months with my DD1 (2001) and 6 months with DD2 (2004). I'd heard that it was now 4.5 months - is that true or just maliciousness of health care professionals trying to keep us in doubt about our ability to parent (OK a bit tongue in cheek there - but it is CRAZY :eek: - the babies haven't changed, just the advice)

[NewDad]

We were actually told by the local maternity nurse that it would be ok to start solids. So I'm really confused as to when is the best time to start on solids.

As for the prune juice, I found the following on a Vic govt health website :


Prune juice: contains a natural bowel irritant and is not recommended for infants under 9 months of age, even when diluted

[jessica]

Hi NewDad,

As a first time mum I'm really hesistant to give advice but we recently had constipation problems with our 8mth old and it wasn't nice!!

She was pooing but only hardish playdough type pellets for about 3 days - (she is also breastfed and we started solids at 6mths by the way), well it got to the point that when placed on her back she started crying because the poo would try to come out but she couldn't - you could see it but she just couldn't push anymore (sorry if this is too graphic!) - anyway we rang the CHN and she said to take her into the hospital! Here they had to physically pull the poo out! HEAPS of really dry, hard poo! Then she had to have a suppository and an enema!! Alot for a little girl (and her mummmy!) to cope with!! I guess my point is this can be really distressing for your little one so I would suggest seeing your doctor -

HOWEVER! I know some babies who only poo once a week and are just fine! You will know if your son is really constipated because he will be in alot of discomfort!

Our daughter is now on Sorbolax (Sorbitol - a sugar solution) for a week to help get moisture into her poos.... the reason she got to this point was she refused breastmilk for almost 24hours... not sure why, I think teething, back on track now though! again sorry for the graphic description.....

P.S We give her baby prune juice made by Heinz? Haven't heard about the irritant thing?

[NewDad]

Its been 5 days now since his last poo, but he doesnt seem to be in any constant discomfort. I've read that Coloxyl is very mild, so am thinking of using it just to be on the safe side, rather than wait till he is in obvious pain.

have tried diluted apple juice only at this stage (as well as his regular breast milk feeds)

Good idea ? Or am I over-reacting ?

[Elfin]

Here is the link the web page for Queensland Dept of Health Child Health web page. http://www.health.qld.gov.au/cchs/nutrition_feeding.asp It says here that 6 months is the time to start solids although some babies might be able to tolerate their introduction before that. The six months thing has come from the WHO I think.

I have just suggested holding off on the solids because they may be causing the constipation problem. It may mean that the system is just not ready to cope with solids. I know of people that start solids even after 6 months, I guess it is a judgement that has to be made by parents when they feel their baby is ready or as advised by a doctor. However, if it was me, I would be holding off for awhile especially if it was causing a problem and trying again later to see if this fixes the constipation.

[mumworkingoverseas]

Hi New Dad,

We went through the same problems with our daughter at about the same age. We were advised to skip the cereals and move straight to pureed fruit. Our pediatrician also recommended Coloxyl drops which we initially used. After talking to my naturopath we decided to stop using the coloxyl drops as she has had patients bringing in 5 and 6 years olds who cant not take the coloxyl drops without becoming constipated - they have become dependent on them.
We now use a homeopathic product called childrens reflux relief (but also for constipation) and it works wonders. We only use it if she is constipated and it is natural - no dependancy problems. I believe you can get a similiar product from the chemist - Bauer or Brauer brand.

Worth a try.

Good luck,
Tan.

[redracer]

Hi New Dad, just thought I would put in my two cents for I have and am still currently going throught the same thing with my little one Mathew. He is 8.5 months old (still breastfed) and has had bowel problems since he started solids - he also started solids a bit early, around five months for he had a bit of reflux - everything that was going down, was coming right back up --- now with solids, everything is staying down and not coming out. He too struggles, looks as if he is going to burst a blood vessel and we sometimes have heaps of tears. I have been mixing everything (cereals, veg, fruit) with pear juice and he drinks watered down pear juice -- all of which seems to help. I have noticed that carrots get him moving. The nurses have told me when mathew is really blocked up, to massage his belly with some warm oil in small clock wise circles in one big circle around his belly -- this will help loosen the intestine and get everything working. Also to lie bubs on their back and gently push knees up to the chest. The nurses also told me to feed mathew prune juice and not to bother watering it down when he is really blocked up -- i too thought that it might be to rough for his system - but a little bit 20 mls seems to help. Best of luck

[ToTeenyTots]

Hi
Not sure if this is relevent or even true but I find that with Tash, before she started solids about a month ago the freqency of her poos was effected by what I was doing and how I was eating. If I didnt eat well enough then her movements were affected same if I got really busy. One midwife told me that as babies get older they are more proficient at using all the milk therefore less waste produced and same if milk is a little light on due to diet and lifestyle.
Since solids I always try to make her have a drink of water during and a quick breastfeed if I can after. Tash wont take a bottle so I try letting her give herself a drinl with a sippy cup. She hasnt gotten really costipated yet but her poos are definately more solid and she has had to learn to push. I also mix her rice cereal with pear juice instead of water/milk.
I also massage Tashies tummy and cycle with her legs, I was doing this for her wind but it also seems to be helping her movements.
Hope little one is feeling better.

[Kamaikia]

I found the best way to beat constipation was a small amount of brown sugar in water for a few days worked perfectly with my son

[rubyred]

Has anyone else found trouble with S26 Gold and poos?? My little girl seems blocked up for several days and when she does have movements I think she is going to explode with the effort!! She turns bright red and grunts like nothing I have ever heard and then a tiny plasticine pebble emerges after all the effort!!! Have tried prune juice but not really effective. she goes only every 4 days or so. any advice? :confused:

[lil monkey]

One of the best things you can do for constipation firstly is to offer bub some water. Try this first before you get onto the drops etc and only use the drops if it is really necessary. Any change in diet usually causes some sort of issue with the bowels as bubs body adjusts. Maybe, dilute the rice cereal a bit more with some breast milk ?

I do know that Brauer has a natural remedy that you can purchase from the chemist.

As for s26, it is apparently a known side effect that it causes constipation. We found this with 2 different s26 formulas that we tried so we swapped to NAN ha gold and no constipation problems whatsoever!

[kamckellar]

I DONT WANT TO ALARM ANYONE BUT MY MUM FOUND MY BABY BOOK FROM THE CLINIC SHE USED TO TAKE ME TO.SO HERE GOES
*START BABY ON DILUTED ORANGE JUICE AT 2 WEEKS OF AGE
*START BABY ON ARROWROOT BISCUIT 2-3 DAYS LATER
*IF CONSTIPATED GRATE SOME SOAP INTO A BOWL MIX A LITTLE WATER WITH IT ROLL INTO A BALL AND GENTLY PLACE IN RECTUM. :eek:
I AM 32 YRS OLD AND I WAS DEVASTATED WHEN MY MUM SHOWED ME.ALL I CAN SAY IS IM STILL HERE.BUT HASNT TIME CHANGED?I WOULD NEVER EVER DO THESE THINGS TO MY KIDS.ANY WAY GETTING BACK TO THE REASON OF THIS POST IS I USED KARICARE GOLD FOR MY TWINS AND THEY WERE FINE.AS FOR ANY OTHER FORMULA AND CONSTIPATION IM NOT SURE.

[rubyred]

thanks taylas mum! have swapped to NAN and she is getting used to it. hopefully we will be successful! :D

[nemosmum]

I had such a bad time :( with my son when he started solids I tried everything but didnt want to turn to medication as my bub was only 4 and a half months at the time. After 6 weeks of trying all sorts of things I finally gave him pure prune juice in his rice cereal and a little bit in a bottle during the day. WOW what a difference it made, he was fine after that and after a few weeks I cut done on the amount of prune juice I gave him and I also started diluting it with water. Now he has about 100mls of water to 10mls juice mixed with his cereal every morning and he is so much happier :)

[jarrahsmumma]

hi new dad,
when constipated they can tense up and really strain to poo, of course some bubs just poo this way normally (as mine does) and as mentioned they are peebley and firm. sometimes my bub doesn't poo for a few days, he also started food at 4 months is now 5 1/2 months.

you could try some water from a bottle or cup or spoon even, not too much obviously but 10/15 ml it can help to soften it a bit, this is what i was told by CHN, though i bottle feed so this may be different to breastfeeding.

[Melanie Higgs]

We just started our 4 month old on solids (rice cereal) and have noticed he seems to be getting constipated .... I think. He was exclusively breastfed, and would do a poo at least once a day, but since starting on solids last week, hasnt done one in four days. Should I be worried?

Firstly good to hear you are breastfeeding. I have just finished reading about the bowel movements of baby's and it is quite normal for them to go days without having one while being completely healthy. (In the paper I just read a healthy ten week old baby went 33 days without a bowel movement). So I wouldn't worry right away, as your baby might be perfectly healthy. I would however (if I were you) double check with your GP if you are really worried, especially if he seems to be in pain/discomfort, to make sure nothing serious is wrong.

ALSO!

According to the WHO (World Health Organisation) and UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) it is best to exclusively breastfeed your baby until six months of age and then to slowly introduce solids. Four months is too early to start solids as your baby's digestive system has not fully matured. This fact might explain your troubles.

Despite this fact that, baby food producers continue to market and label their baby food for baby's aged 4-6 months, in full knowledge that it is not recommended. This is misleading to parents who read the bottles of baby food to find out when to start solids with their baby. It says it on the bottle 4-6 months!

Companies, misleading parents to the detriment of our children's health, to earn more money......It makes me very, very mad!

[melzy]

Hi, we used brown sugar and water for constipation. Put at least half to one teaspoon of brown sugar in 30mls of warm water at least 3 to 4 times (dissolve sugar) a day until poo is soft. Do this before or after bubs has the milk.

As bubs is only 4 months, I would hold off on using certain fruits until it was bit older.


FYI - for diarrohea, you use white sugar.

All the best.