Author Topic: solids / constipation - help figure it out, please!  (Read 2045 times)

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Offline Tecike

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solids / constipation - help figure it out, please!
« on: February 08, 2012, 16:24:55 pm »
Hi all!
My DS2 is nearly 7 mo, we started solids at 5 mo, with a few bites only. As soon as we started, the number of his poops wnet dowb to one a day and it slowly got worse. At a point, about 3 wks ago he was constipated for 5 days and cried at each effort or even when winding gases. So I stopped solids for 3 days (gave him a lot of water and the cooking water of prunes and pear) and in the end a glycerol suppository. He pooped for 2 days, I restarted solids and again he had no poops for 3 days now. When I first started, he tried apples, bananas, prunes, pumpkin, peas, green beans, carrots, potatoes and chicken liver (once only). The second time I gave him only pumpkin and prunes for 3 days and again he's constipated.

So my question is, how long is it normal not to have a poop when they have solids? 3-5 days?
And what should I give him to avoid constipation??? My HV said no to apples, bananas, steamed carrot and potatoes... But it's winter here, so there's not much to get at the market...

Any suggestions would be welcome!

TIA

P.S. If this topic would fall under Health, please feel free to move it!



Offline *Ali*

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Re: solids / constipation - help figure it out, please!
« Reply #1 on: February 10, 2012, 00:31:44 am »
Have you seen this thread for ideas for laxative foods?
 http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=54820.0
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Offline ~*Nicole*~

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Re: solids / constipation - help figure it out, please!
« Reply #2 on: February 10, 2012, 02:47:16 am »
My DS suffered from constipation when we started solids. I think, honestly, that making sure you start out slowly with solids and keep them very watery helps. Their little tummies need time to adjust to digesting solid foods. Our GI doctor (we see her for intolerances and reflux) suggested giving prunes every day as a laxative if he continued to have trouble. How often are you giving him solids? I think sticking with once a day at first is a good idea. So maybe, only in the morning, and stick to those laxative type foods for a week or two and see how he adjusts. Then you can work on heading toward two meals a day and then eventually three. Always continue to give the same amount of formula or breastmilk since it's easier to become constipated when you don't take in enough liquid.







Offline essexlemon

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Re: solids / constipation - help figure it out, please!
« Reply #3 on: February 15, 2012, 12:39:38 pm »
Following along as I'm thinking about starting DS2 on solids soon and he is prone to constipation on breast milk!
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Offline Tecike

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Re: solids / constipation - help figure it out, please!
« Reply #4 on: February 15, 2012, 19:40:47 pm »
Thanks, Ali, for that thread! Didn't have time to read all through, but gives a whole bunch of tips to try!
Nicole, I still BF him the same amount of time (sometimes more...) and I am going slow this time. I stick to one type of food for 3 days once a day in the morning. So far he only pooped after pumpkin mixed with prunes. I was mixing prunes into any puree before, but it did not seem to help. Now I gave prune alone and nothing... I started peas today, and I'll see...



Offline trailqueen

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Re: solids / constipation - help figure it out, please!
« Reply #5 on: February 21, 2012, 12:49:20 pm »
Here is my two cents:
What I found out with my son were the followings:
1. Rice cereal made him constipated - I brought barley
Than we had issue again:
2. Too much iron in the cereals, solutions: I brought organic cereals with 45% iron rather than 100% as the box reads.
Hope it helps.
Also, with my son now, i just grind the old fashioned oatmeal and give him that.
Hope it helps.
susan

Offline Lemonthyme

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Re: solids / constipation - help figure it out, please!
« Reply #6 on: February 22, 2012, 17:22:20 pm »
Lots of water, all the higher fibre stuff in the world won't work without water. Offer with every meal.
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Offline theu.s.lees

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Re: solids / constipation - help figure it out, please!
« Reply #7 on: March 02, 2012, 19:19:47 pm »
My DS had the same problem. We went to the doctor so many times because he would be blocked for several days, and then the day of our appointment, he'd poop (of course) so we didn't do much. Finally, I saw a great doctor that talked about how nursing a baby is constipating on its own. It is fine, except as you add solids, they pile on top and so you have a problem. We ended up doing mirolax in some prune juice (we had already tried, prunes, which worked for a while, and prune juice, which worked for a while, etc.) mixed with water. I was hesitant, but it worked. He was on it every other day for a couple of months and now we have no problems! It was worth it because it was affecting his sleep.

Good luck!



Offline Tecike

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Re: solids / constipation - help figure it out, please!
« Reply #8 on: March 03, 2012, 08:10:36 am »
Thanks for your tip! Could you just post what are the ingredients of mirolax, as here probably it would come under a different brand name?

BTW, things are getting slowly better. I find pumpkin/prune puree doing the trick for him, so I'm giving it every day now. We came to a point where he poops a small amount every day...sometimes it's pellets, but it still comes out...
Hopefully it won't get worse... :)



Offline ~*Nicole*~

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Re: solids / constipation - help figure it out, please!
« Reply #9 on: March 03, 2012, 13:12:36 pm »
So glad to hear it! Some LOs do just seem to need more time to adjust to solids. Sounds like he is headed in the right direction.

Long may it continue :)







Offline theu.s.lees

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Re: solids / constipation - help figure it out, please!
« Reply #10 on: March 07, 2012, 18:43:33 pm »
Thanks for your tip! Could you just post what are the ingredients of mirolax, as here probably it would come under a different brand name?

BTW, things are getting slowly better. I find pumpkin/prune puree doing the trick for him, so I'm giving it every day now. We came to a point where he poops a small amount every day...sometimes it's pellets, but it still comes out...
Hopefully it won't get worse... :)
I'm not at home, so I can't list the ingredients, but I'll admit, I really didn't want to put DS on it. The doctor told me that it was meant to pull liquid into the intestine to help with digestion and constipation. As always, ask your doctor. But let's hope that prunes keep on working!