Very constipated baby

[Stefka]

My DS who is six and a half months is so constipated that he cried during the last two times he did a poo. I have been giving him water both in a bottle and a cup but he doesn't drink much. What else can I do to help him?

[Mine]

hey stefka
my ds had the exact same problem a couple of weeks ago. He'd cry/scream everytime he tried to have a poo and all he managed to do was a hard dry pellet.
Does your ds do the same....??
I found that they don;t like plain water, so to help him along i had to put a bit of sugar in his water (warm) and he would then drink loads. I don;t do this all the time, it was just to help him drink water to loosen his bowels. It worked as the next day he was VERY loose!
It took a few days for him to get back to normal, but the sweetened water defo helped.

[jkklpu]

It's awful seeing your children in this discomfort, isn't it? You're right that keeping a good fluid intake is key.

Have you started weaning your ds, Stefka? Babies' guts have to learn how to cope with the new challenge of solids (even puree), which means they can take much longer to do poos. My ds2, exactly the same age as yours, sometimes goes for 3 days then has a spectacular nappy-buster, not constipation, just a colon-ful of matter.

Anyway, if you're trying solids, apricots are good. Get some dried, soak them in hot water for a few hours, then blitz. You can always add some milk/water; apricot and stewed apple is tasty, too. Good luck with him.

[Morloth]

My mum recommended sugar water when DS was constipated, just a tiny bit for when that happens - it seems to work.

As your baby is old enough could you maybe feed some mashed banana? This was always a winner for "moving" things along for us.

[PTA]

DS2 can be very consipated. A few things that help are:

home-made lentil soup
home-made chicken broth (blitzed if need be)
grapes, apricots and bananas

You could also try prunes but they are maybe a bit strong for your DS.

Another tip, if you think your ds is trying to poo, lie him on his back and lift his knees to his chest. This will help open his back passage a little and make passing the poo a bit easier.

[Poledra]

Hi Stefka
I used to stew some dried prunes, dried apricots and some apples and puree that ( was from the Annabel Karmel Baby and Toddler Cookbook). Worked a treat and both my dds liked it. Just don't go anywhere without a change of clothes for the LO after you've fed them it