My 5 mth old has only had a bowel movement about ever 10 days or so since she was 6 weeks old. She was exclusively breast fed and never seemed to have any issues except for really stinky gas (this after I gave up chocolate, dairy, carbonation and brocolli!). She ate frequently, every 2-3 hrs and was diagnosed with a little reflux but didn't require meds. We tried cereal at 4.5 mths as she was still eating so frequently and seemed hungry - and she loved it...only it constipated her really bad. You could tell it was painful and I asked the pedi about it. She suggested using applesauce to make it up and even apple juice but that didn't seem to help. Then she told me that some babies just couldn't handle cereal and just give her the fruits.
This week, she has had prunes and applesauce - loved it all and ate once a day about 1.5 oz. She had a really good bm last Sunday and it was loose and looked like a normal breast fed babies poop. That was it though - and yesterday we could hear her straining in the car seat and thought she would have gone, but when we changed her diaper, there was one little ball - that's it...it looked more like what my 2 year passes than a 5 mth old! I felt sure she'd have a bigger bm later, but after church this morning she strained and pushed and got the same result...concerned, I gave her a little suppository and what resulted was a bm that she worked really hard to have and it was little balls.
I have a 2 year and I don't remember going through this or her poop getting so solid until she was older. Should I be concerned? Is this normal? I hate having to give her something to give her some relief...any suggestions would be appreciated!!
**Just to clarify, she only went 10 days once and that was when she was still exclusively breastfed - which is not unusual for a breastfed baby.
I would be concerned. I think every other day is about the most a baby should go without pooping, especially at 5 months. Seems it may be possible that she's dehydrated? or her body is processing all of the liquid out of her intake so that it leaves only hard stools? Either way, I'd talk to the dr. again. Prunes & Applesauce should cause an explosion!
We had similar problems with our daughter, she is just now getting to a 'regular' BM schedule and she is going to be 3 in a few weeks. I often had to use suppositories, or stimulation.
Some of the best things to try are juices or fruits. For a while my dd also took a teaspoon of Miralax daily. Talk with your doctor about things you can offer her.
Every day we also take time to massage her stomach. This seems to help her. I would call your doctor, or even other doctors in your area and see how they feel. My doctor acted as if there was nothing wrong with my daughter, but I stayed persistent and continued to keep a schedule of her BMs.
Good luck!
Applesauce is very constipating! OMG why would a doctor recommend that? Apple juice is ok but apples have pectin in them and are used on the BRAT diet to stop diarrhea. Any way my daughter has had issues with constipation since she was very young. My ped gave me a recipe for this dried fruit puree which was prunes, figs, brown sugar and senna tea and you blend it until it is a smooth puree/paste. She loved it. I think I can get the recipe if you want.
Honestly I would talk to your Dr......it's normal for a baby to go up to 4 days without a BM.......but 10 days sounds painful and unhealthy. I have a 10 month old and when I started him on cereal it did the same thing. He would strain but only small pebbles would come out. My WIC nurse recommended adding an ounce of white grape juice to each bottle, or mixing it in with the cereal. White grapes have tons of fiber in them, which will naturally help to even out the BM problem. Also, stimulation......sounds kinda gross but it works. If he's a little backed up I just apply a little pressure to the rectum with my finger, covered by a wet wipe, with each diaper change. Sometimes more stimulation is needed in which case MY dr said to use a thermometer with a cover, a little petroleum jelly, and gently insert about 1-2 cm. Again, I would talk to your dr......you can't always trust what other people say, and what is normal for one child can be completely abnormal for another. Good luck!
Sounds just like what we went through with our first baby. She would strain and strain and turn red and sometimes cry and it never amounted to much. It was terrible to see her going through that.
After getting a second opinion it was explained that babies really are not born KNOWING how to have a bowel movement and that sometimes it was necessary to teach babies/infants how to relax those muscles when having a BM. The doctor taught us how to help "stimulate" our daughter's rectum and she has been right as rain ever since. Of course, we had to proceed with caution (as would you) because true constipation can actually involve compacted stool and you wouldn't want the baby to be in pain after trying stimulation. We also had to give our daughter small drinks of water (per her doctor) to help soften her stool. A doctor can explain the stimulation in more detail to you as well as confirm whether or not your daughter's stomach is distended. Please check with the doctor before trying any of these things as I am not a doctor and am only explaining our situation.
While every child is different it is not even healthy for an adult to have a BM once every 10+ days. Not to second guess you or the Dr. or anything but I would get a second opinion.
Best of luck to you and your daughter. Hope you get through this quickly!
we had a similar problem with two of our children with one he could not eat rice cereal at all, but he could tolerate the oatmeal cereal. and he now uses miralax (at the age of 8 as needed) and with my 5 year old the dr had me give him a 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar in every bottle, which helped a lot, but he wasn't as bad as 10 days. TALK to your Dr! don't let it go unchecked, my now 8 year old has bladder problems because of constipation, and we still can't seem to get that problem solved.
All 3 of my kiddos had/still have issues with constipation. Starting at a few months old, our pedi recommended Miralax twice a day mixed with bottle, sippy cup, etc. Check with your doc for the specific measurements. It definitely helped to keep their stools softened.
My baby went every 4-6 days when she was this young. I found pear puree and warm apple juice to be good for her when she was 6+ months old. Before that, when I would see that she was gassy or had not gone for 2-4 days I would submerge her lower body in warm water and lift both her legs and rotate them clockwise(a nurse recommended it). This helped her go sooner (every 2-3 days)and prevented her stools from getting hard.
It sounds as if she is dehydrated and/or her intestinal flora is out-of-balance. Be sure she is getting adequate breastmilk and slow down on the fruit and other solids (its just treating the symptoms and feeds the bad bacteria in the gut and is making her less hungry for her primary food source which still should be breastmilk). Start taking a good probiotic as it will help fortify your breastmilk with good flora and help get the balance under control as well as her bm's. It can take from a week to two weeks for her to get things back in balance, but give it the time it needs to work or else you will find yourself in an endless cycle of treating symptoms and not the cause.
Babies do this, I wouldnt worry. As a mom of 3 girls with the oldest at 15 and youngest just turned 6. One of the best things that I found that worked was to give them about 3oz of Pear juice. Out of all the things I tried over the years that is what worked best. Try to do this 3 times a day until the baby poops. I found Organic Pear juice at sprouts.
If your baby doesnt like the juice you can use it to mix the cereal instead of water.
Good Morning, Not sure if someone has recommended this, but my son has had this problem since birth, up until now. He turned four yesterday.. Miralax has always helped him. this used to be prescription only but is now sold over the counter, Can be mixed in with her milk. hope this helps.
yikes! i would be very concerned about that! I can't believe your dr. was not more worried. My 4 year old has trouble with constipation and one of the first things my new dr. asked was if there had been trouble with constipation as a baby. Apparently it can be common for there to be problems with the baby's intestines and can cause constipation in babies. I would get a second opinion and get that checked out!! can you imagine even an adult going 10 days with out a bowel movement!
My little girl had the same problem from birth we tried every thing the Dr. suggested we finally had to take her to a specialist when she was 2. After a complete checkup he put her on Miralax (it is a very mild safe medicine) she has been on that for three years and goes everyday with no problems. I would made an appointment to get a prescription. It broke my heart everyday to see the pain pain she was in and the medicine has made all the difference. Good Luck!
