10 Month Old Crying When She Has a Bowel Movement

I can recommend an excellent pediatric gastroenterologist if you like. She is at the Childrens Hospital in Cincinnati but well worth the trip!

Hi A.,
I know what you are going though my daughter went though the same thing when she was smaller then that. When I would take her to the dr. she would tell me to keep using qtips and vasaline or to use the formula or the sapostories (sorry about spelling)None of that worked. So I called around and took her to a chrioprator. They adjust their back different then they do us adults. After the 4th time going she filled her pants no hard pushing, no crying. She is now 6 and hasn't had a prob. since then. I hope this helps.
K. W.
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Feed her soft food to go along with the lactose free milk.

I had this problem when my daughter was about 2 months old and the doctor switched her to lactose free formula which did help. It took a little bit because she was so backed up. They also suggested giving her apple juice twice a day, duliteted of course and for her butt. It is probably raw so you need to put vasiline on there and that will help and also take a q tip and put vasliline on it and rub around the outter edge of her butt hole and what that does it softens it for her when she does have a bowl movement and makes those spasams easier for her. I contintually have to keep apple juice on hand and give it to my daughter at least 3 times a week and she is 17 months old now.

When I was growing up I was lactose intolerant. When I had a bowel movement I would get sever abdominal pains, so to me that does make sense. It takes a while after your off the milk products for the pains to stop-not instantly. I dont know about the wiping though. My son also was lactose intolerant until age 3. Then my pediatrican recommended trying him on milk again. (I was so scared to try because he had such sever reactions-vomiting, crying for an hour etc.) But at age 3 we gave it a try and sure enough he had out grown it! I was so surprised. Now he is a healthy happy almost 5 yr old! But we had to be REALLY careful with his diet until then. Good Luck! I hope the lactose free helps her! No one likes to see a child in pain!!!

My son just turned 2, so he's much older, but he has done this off and on for about the last year. It has been worse the last week, I don't know why. There is no blood in the stool or around his bottom when I wipe him. I was wondering if it is because he has just really become aware of what he is doing, because we have started a little potty trainig. This obviously would not be your little girl's problem yet. So I guess maybe I'm wondering the same thing, could something be wrong with my son or is it just a phase??

you say her stolls are softer but are they really soft or just not as hard as they were. my daughter did this same thing we asked the doctor about it they said its safe to give supositories they have some that are liquid so you dont have to sit there and hold the butt cheaks together and its already measured just right for a little one so you dont have to cut them. also many times there are things in the wipes that irratate the skin... so for a week or so make your own wipes eather with soft wash cloths or just wet paper towels... also make sure shes drinking plenty of juice. keep vasoline on her all the time it acts as a sheld and it helps protect the skin. but if none of this helps i would deff take her to the doctor

My thought goes out to you. My 2 year old daughter tends to cry when I wipe her but I do not see her cry when she does a bowl movement. I would make a appointment with your specialist. I would rather get to the source then have your baby feel discomfort. Best wishes!

My daughter will be 3 yrs old in a month & we've had constipation/bowel problems with her since she began baby food at 7 mos old. No problems w/breast milk or single grain oatmeal, constipation began w/stage 1 veggies. It was horrible to go through this as a baby as she would strain & cry when she finally went. The bm's were huge, too, not something you'd expect from a baby. Before she was 1 yr old she was prescribed a laxative. Since then her pediatrician changed medications but it's still a laxative. She's been medicated for almost 2 yrs now!!! We got fed up & went to a GI specialist this past fall who told us it's normal for some kids to be constipated and then hold bowels b/c they associate pooping w/pain. The weaning period is extremely long for laxatives (months!) I just started taking her to a homeopathic nurse who specializes in many things, including allergies. We're now working w/her to help my daughter as it appears she has food allergies that can cause constipation. Not only do we not want her on medicine or having poop problems, we want to fix what caused it to begin with & regular doctors don't really seem interested in doing that. My advice is to see a GI specialist and then perhaps "think outside of the box" like we did if you don't feel like they are addressing the issue. I'm so sorry, I know what you're going through. Good luck!
PS Their butts get sore from the bad poops so switch to an all sensitive or all natural baby wipe. We'd also limit bubble bath and wash her hair at the end of bath time since that seemed to bother her, too.

My son and my nephew have had similiar problems particularly my son with large bowel movements-his bottom will actuall bleed a little because his poop is so big. His pediatrician and I decided going the natural route would be the best, so I make sure he eats plenty of grapes, grape juice, prunes here and there, and raisans.
We also try to avoid large amounts of more constipating foods, like yogurt and cheese (yogurt is great for diarrhea though,) bananas, and vitamins with added Iron (or any supplement that says it has "Plus FE").
Now my nephew throws a fit when you wipe him as well, but just like my son, if his little tooshie has had some yucky poop and is getting a bit red, our pediatrician advised us to use Cortisone cream to help with the irritation, and it helps both of them alot. For my nephew, if he's having a rough bowel movemnt, you can usually rub his back and shoulders while he's trying to go, and rub his tummy at the bowel area to help stimulate them, and it helps him a lot.

Hi, so sorry to hear about your baby. I have a daughter who was in the NICU with bowel problems when she was born so I sort of know what you are going through. My only advise is to definitely see a doctor about the issue. The doctors at the NICU told me that a baby may make funny faces and grunt loudly when having a bowel movement, but it should not hurt! By your description it sounds like your baby is constipated, but if her poops are soft I wouldn't think that is the problem. I'm sure the problem is something minor that can easily be fixed. Good luck, no one likes to see their child in pain!

I have heard that if a child has a hard time with a bowel movement, they do not forget it for awhile. I'm sure she is still thinking about how much it hurt there for awhile. I would give her lots of fruits & veggies (prunes, etc...) to keep her stools extremely soft -- that should help her go with no pain and maybe the old memories will fade. Good luck!

I think you may want to take her just in case, also it's been going on a while, she may have learned to associate pain with it and even without the pain she's still thinks there migh be. My little one has the same trouble I just increased her level of liquidds through the day, watered down juice, formula and breast. It really helped and maybe if she has a fwe REALLY soft movements and you're very gentle when cleaning her then she might learn that now it doesn't hurt and there's no need to cry.

Good Luck!

My 12 month old just recently started crying with SOME of her bowel movements. The initial one will be hard, but the rest that she cries with are soft but on the same day as the bad poopie. I've noticed that the only times that she has hard poopies is when she doesnt have all of her apple juice for the day (we used to put Karo syrup in her formula bottles-which her pediatrician reccomended)- put about a teaspoon in EVERY formula bottle and it'll soften those bad boys. you can change how much and how often based on how she responds to it the first day. her little pooper is probably sore and possibley injured. I would definately try what i just said, plus when shes struggling put 1/2 a child suppository in and see if that helps. i know how you feel though. we were out of apple juice the other day and the past two days have been difficult. when all else fails, just hold her, try to help by putting her knees to her tummy (so she can push better) and let her know that you know that shes hurting and you are there. Good luck!!

My oldest (now 7 yo) had trouble when he was very young with BMs. I changed formula and that didn't help after several painful weeks I finally convinced the Dr. to actually look at his bottom and he had himeroids (sp?) and that was causing his pain. Just an idea if changing the formula doesn't work! I also started using alcohol free wipes for him and and that seemed to help make diaper changes less painful for him. Good luck!

Hi there! Is your baby on any juice yet (particularly apple juice). I noticed with all my kids that their stool became much softer as they began to start on juices and baby foods like apple sauce and pears etc. Since she is ten months old, I'm sure you've been trying those things but something else that helps are stool softners (suppositories). They really helped my kids when they were babies, I still have them for when they have a hard time now. You can find them at walmart or any drug store. They look pretty big but you can break them in half. Works like a charm! I wouldn't take her to a specialist until you've tried everything else. Most specialists tend to be pretty invasive. (Just my opinion)

If that formula doesn't work within the next day or so I would take her to a specialist. Pooping should not be so traumatic, there is probably something wrong. Also, do you have a wipe warmer? If the wiping upsets her too warm wipes might make it a little better.

Just a small suggestion, but something easy to try to help a little. We used to add extra water to every bottle. For the bottles, I would add around an ounce extra to every bottle she had (I did it so I wouldn't run the risk of her getting constipated) She never really had any problems, but she seemed sensitive, and a little extra water never hurt anyone. We stil do it for juice or whatever she drinks. She always gets half and half. She dosen't like water, but she will drink anything dilluted, as long as it tastes good. Also give her some fruit. Just NO banannas, they will only make it worse.