anyone else have a constipated baby??

[greenshoot19]

My DD is 1 and seems to be constipated often. she goes all stiff when she tries to poo, clutches her head and moans :(. i wonder whether i am not giving her the right things to eat?? I do try and give her a varied diet with fruit and veg but often she goes off her food (especially when teething which seems to be constant!) so she obviously isn't getting the right things in her. plus she's not a great fan of water. anyone else in a similar position? any suggestions as to what to do??

[TwoPeasOnePod]

Hi, I have this problem too with my 9-month old, she will not drink water/juice from any form of cup, bottle or beaker!
My top tip is, maybe try 'tricking' your DD into drinking warm water first thing in the morning when she is very hungry instead of milk (although maybe shes a bit old to be having a morning bottle..if so then thats useless to you)

Also, berries are the way forward with mine, if she's off her solids also due to teething I just give her blueberries, strawberries etc, she loves them and they help with the hard poo issue.

I've bought tinned prunes as a last resort, don't know if she will eat them though. And during a particularly bad constipation episode I gave her Califig but its got sweeteners and nasties in so not great at that age (its not supposed to be used on young babies but i figured a bit would probably be ok and it was)

Certain forms of baby yoga can help get their bowels moving too apparently, I havent tried it but you could look into that, good luck with it

[Portofino]

Dd was very much like this for a few months around 6 months. I mixed prune juice with baby rice/fromage frais and held back on the bananas. Saw a paed at the hospital and they prescribed lactulose and told me to "make" her drink more water She grew out of it.

[Portofino]

It is painful to watch though.

[Portofino]

Rubbing her tummy in a circular motion also helped.

[greenshoot19]

thanks folks! she does still have a bottle in the morning Twopeas so might give that a go :) Yeah also heard prune juice is meant to be good. will keep trying!

[Bumbellina]

Try a dose of lactulose. Keeps it soft. It works best when it is a smallish dose every morning to just keep it soft and easier to expel . Our DD2 has had constipation issues since she was a couple of weeks old... We're told to use the lactulose (you can get it at any pharmacy over the counter or on prescription) and just experimented with getting the dose right. Not too runny results but maleable It is mainly a sugarwater solution with cellulose i believe and seems fine to be used.

[MaisieMama]

I had the same issue with DD (now almost 2) - she would scream and scream and ended up tensing her bum & thighs so much that there was no chance she could poop.

I was told to give her "p" foods - pears, prunes, peas and avoid toast, rice, apples & banana. I was mixing pureed prunes into everything when I was prescribed something similar to lactulose as it absorbs water into the stool.

We were told that some children's systems don't move everything along fast enough so it hardens inside them making it near impossible to poop but that they'll grow out of it eventually. HTH!

[Rainbowbubbles]

When my daughter was under 1 she had constipation - only once though and lactulose sorted it out straight away.

However, a friend of mine went through the same as some i've read here, with crying and painful poos etc with her little boy, she went to cranial therapist who identified that it wasn't due to constipation but something external and recommended she see another specialise (sorry can't remember the name but can get it if you like!) and they diagnosed it as manganese??? There was too much of it in the main brand of nappy she was using - not sure i'm allowed to say which one? so they recommended her just using sainsbury's own brand (which she used occasionally anyway and realised it wasn't as bad when she did but that didn't click at the time) and it never happened again! He's out of nappies now but it's food for though for anyone going through this.

Have to say that I also used the well known brand and it was fine for my little one so it's just an individual intollerence as they are a reputable brand.

[greenshoot19]

wow, really?? Better keep an eye on my nappies!! Thanks all, food for thought :)

[AlbaRose]

DD, 14 months, has this. It seems to be triggered by teething. We give her cooked, pureed prunes mixed with yoghurt, lots of fruit (oranges and kiwis seem to work best) and muesli (just oats and spelt flakes) for breakfast mixed with milk and yoghurt.

Go easy on the white carbs - bread, rice, pasta etc, try wholemeal stuff and also don't give her too many potatoes. Bananas are constipating and I've been told that blueberries are too. Crushed linseeds are supposed to be good against constipation so you could try mixing these into pureed fruit. Some people say to boil them up first in water to soften them up.

Regarding drinking, we started giving DD diluted orange or apple juice and she seemed to drink more then. We would just give her one cup of juice and when she finished that it was back to water.

We didn't get much help from our doc so we went to see a homeopathic doctor. We had a long time without any problems but she's got a new tooth coming through at the moment and the constipation seems to have reared it's ugly head again :(

HTH

[greenshoot19]

thanks AlbaRose - that does help! Yep i def think its to do with teething too. I've heard mixed reports about bananas - some people tell me its meant to help! might steer clear just to be safe. hope your DD is feeling better soon - looks like you're a bit of an expert mummy when it comes to constipation so no doubt she'll be OK again soon :)

[AlbaRose]

I'm not an expert at all greenshoot, I've just been asking all my relatives and friends for advice. It's amazing what tips everyone has - any old wives tales, I'll try them :)
Hope your little one feels better soon too. It's really not nice watching them in so much pain.