Daughter Has Not Had a Bowel Movement in 8 Days?!?!

She is definately constipated. Just because some parts are still, soft, I bet she is forming some clay-like pebbles in there. Twice my son has been this constipated that when he finally started to go it was extremely painful. I sprayed Lanocane on his anus and had to help him pull them out with a Qtip. Now I give him juice if he hasn't gone for the day. The food should be passed within 24 hrs.

since you are breast feeding.. are you eating enough bran, spinach... things that will help her go... This will help her... also you can buy jarred prunes baby food... try it.. it will help too. good luck

Hi C.,
Occasionally, a breastfed baby will go that long without a BM once solids are introduced. If she is not uncomfortable, and it's not difficult when she does pass stool, then it's not really constipation. To keep things going, I'd feed her baby plums as her fruit, or mix her cereal with prune juice.
Good luck!

don't fret - it's normal. my son wet up to 10 days after starting solids & the doc. said it's o.k - it will eventually come out. when i saw that he was straining to get it out i'd open up the diaper & push his legs up to help him out. it worked & eventually he was doing it on his own. don't worry about the juices etc...if she dosen't take them, it's fine.

My daughter had a similar problem when she started eating solids. I ended up getting a large tub of prunes, stewed them and pureed them. She ate them either alone or mixed with cereal, almost every day for several months, until things got re-regulated again.

My twin girls have the same problem but they are 4 months old. I tried so many things but nothing really worked. I tried the A and D on a qtip, Karo syrup, you name it. Then my aunt came in with infant suppositories. They are safe and THEY WORK. I used one on Lucie because she had not pooped in a week and within 15 minutes she went. Try those. You get them at the pharmacy. Ask the pharmacist to tell you where they are. They are made with glycerine. I don't know how they work but they do and it changed our life. Good luck!!!

The same thing happened to my son when I introduced rice and yes, bananas are very constipating for him. You can do 2 things. You can give her the pureed prune baby food. Only 1/2 the container at a time or else its too much. My son also loves to get his prune juice "injected" into his mouth. We saved the injector that comes with medication and he thinks its fun. My son never liked the bottle either. We went 9 days without pooping and it was very concerning. You need to up the prunes ASAP.

my daughter is (and always has been) an infrequent pooper, but once she was started on solids it got worse. We tried stewed pureed prunes. Worked like a charm. Stew them, puree them, mix them with cereal and breastmilk. They taste great, and work great too.

Have you thought about chiropractic? I work for a chiropractor and he has had great success w/ helping kids w/ constipation and no bowel movements. I have 2 year old twin boys and they have been getting adjusted since they were 6 weeks old. It really helped my one son when he wasn't pooping either. Find a family friendly chiropractor and don't be worried about the adjustments, most chiropractors do it with 2 fingers and light manipulation. Also bananas can have the opposite effect on little ones, at least my boys did.

Same happened to my cousin's son. She was told to check her diet because she might be consuming too much iron. She was advised to also check her prenatal pills. Some of them have a higher dosage of iron. You could ask your ob/gyn who might have prescribed the vitamins to you. You could also ask your local pharmacist about the iron dosage in your vitamins.
Good luck.

My son is exclusively breastfeed as well and went through the same thing at your daughters age. I too offered him water which he barely sipped so that didn't help. My suggestion is to insert a half of a childrens suppository. Its a bit scary to do but it works and its safe even though it says not for children under 2. My pediatrican okayed it for my son at 6 months. It will help release whatever is clogging her up and she and you will feel much relief. Try it and good luck.

This happened to my daughter when she was a baby too. The doc told me to use a thermometer and just rub it in the rectal area to stimulate the muscles for her to go. Then to give a teaspoon of Kayro syrup in her bottle. Well after drinking that she went and I was relieved! I think it was more painful for me worring and all then it was for her. Good Luck!!

At the same age and similar circumstances my son went 14 days. I was mortified. My pediatrician said that some breasfed babies could go that long, especially once introduced to solids. When he finally went it wasn't even the amount you would expect after that long, nor was it hard. He got back to a normal schedule but at 15 months he began intentionally withholding stool. Where he could go a week without going. At that point a pediatric gastroenterologist (sp?) told me that children eating solids absulutely must go every other day at a minimum. He had some suggestions of how to make it happen at that age but I wouldn't do any of those at 6 months unless directed byt a dr. If you're really worried you can try putting some vaseline on a qtip and just inserting the tip (like you would for a rectal temp) this might stimulate the muscles to react. Good luck

same thing happened to my daughter at the exact same age. i was really worried but the dr. said just as long as when she went it was soft and there was enough poop dont worry. she sometimes only pooped once a week for a while! now shes comepletely on solids (shes 19 months) and poops a lot more frequent. i woudnt worry!

yes, you should be concerned. should be pooping many times a day. when introduceing solids, pooping decrease a bit, but doesn't come to a halt. so, two words...glycerine suppository.

Dear C.,
Usually prune juice doesn't work because most are filtered, so they don't have enough fiber to do the trick. What worked very well for my daughter was the following: buy prunes (preferably organic) and put them in a plate with boiling water (enough water to cover them) for about 10 minutes. Once they are soft, put them in a blender with the water if they are organic, if not organic, remove the water and add new water to the prunes in the blender. Blend until you get a very soft paste. Give this to your child and you will see she will stay regular. Prunes are also very high in Vitamin C and other good stuff. Also, avoid giving your child Bananas, Rice, Apples or Toast (bread) when she is constipated. This is easy to remember by the acronym (BRAT). All of these foods aggravate the problem. I am sure this will help!

Hi -- my pediatrician told me to expect this at about 4 months with my son, and she was right on the ball. Perhaps your daughter is just a couple of months behind. I remember that July -- he pooped 3 times the entire month. I didn't do anything about it, just waited it out (and enjoyed almost no dirty diapers).

Good luck,
B.

Normal introduction to solid foods, bananas are not binding.

Try applesauce. Works great for my daughter along with pears.

When I introduced solids I introduce pears and prunes first because they're supposed to help "loosen things up." And I included them in just about every solid meal I gave him.

If he's not into a bottle (my guy never was) try a soft spouted sippy cup. My guy took to those better than the bottle. I also gave him a bit of water (from the sippy) with every solid meal.

Good luck!

Pureed pumkin or sweet potatoes mixed with pureed pears will most likely produce a bowel movement that day, and they are great for little ones. Also, a little light corn syrup (less than a tsp) will help with constipation - it can be mixed in with juice or pureed food.

We had this happen with 2 kids at about the same age, I was told by the dr not to worry. My daughter went 10 or 11 days at one point without a bm then started only having 1 a week. Breastmilk so easily digested and there may not be any waste produt left because of that theres no poop. Unless you are seeing signs of constipation,discomfort, straining, I would not worry be keep tract so you can talk to your dr if needed. Good Luck

I know my daughter went very infrequently - don't remember the age or the details, but I'm sure it was as new foods were being introduced.

I think so long as your daughter seems comfortable and not distressed when she goes to the bathroom, she is probably alright. I would hold off from using any suppositories, until there are clear signs of trouble and then not without discussing with her ped first. But, feel free to try the prunes, they can't hurt and they're definitely good for her.

Well, bf'ed babies can go longer for sure but once I waited 13 days (same age, maybe younger) and ended up she was constipated so we gave her a 1/2 glycerin suppoistory and she promptly pooped. I think we had t do it a few days that week till it all came out.

Also there's a powder called miralax that's a softener but may be for older kids so check with doctor!

And bananas are binding. Instead give her pears, prunes or peaches (baby fd) mixed with milk and cooked pureed veggies help too. Like carrots, broccoli..and protein is best (meat, fish, beans). Just heated food helps too.

Good luck.

Isn't it great being a parent?!? When else in your life do you get to obsess over poop!!!

Not sure what you have started with, but when my daughter started solids, I started cereal first. I would make it with BM and keep it really runny and soupy. This seemed to keep her system moving. Then I added bananas to her diet. Try to add solids at lunchtime so that it has a chance to move through her system instead of sitting in her belly and intestines over night. Also, I would skip the juice and go straight for the solid (pureed) prunes. These can be added to the cereal and BM combo as needed.

Once you get her moving again, revert to the last meal that she was okay with as needed.

Good luck.
~C.