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Original poster

Baby struggling to pass stools for months??

61 replies

PurpleRayne89 · 02/03/2022 10:38

My son is 5 months and 17 days. He’s always struggled to pass poop and wind. Kicks legs, the whole shabbang- even keeping us both up all night with the fidgeting.

Doctor at the hospital suggested colic and said we should wean him. Started weaning him 2 weeks ago and now he’s “constipated”. Spoke to a different doctor, they’ve ran with the notes on the system from the hospital. They’ve prescribed him Movicol sachets which must be dissolved in water and drunk. My son is too young to drink water, especially the volume they’re suggesting. According to the instructions, the entire thing needs to be consumed for it to be effective. To me that’s a nonstarter. They said they will review in 2 weeks time. The laxatives are to make the poop more watery. However, he’s EBF and his has always struggled passing loose, liquidy stools. So the laxatives are just likely to cause diarrhoea and stomach ache. I’m stopping the solids until he’s at least 6 months and I’ll stop start if I have to.

Any similar previous experience?

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Original poster
PurpleRayne89 · 30/10/2024 18:41

@PixieMother Hey, he grew out of it shortly after his 1st birthday. It was like a switch. He occasionally becomes constipated if he doesn’t drink enough water. No impact on weaning either which was great. I look back and I worried too much perhaps, idk. I hope you get answers you need but I’m confident you will have the same outcome as me.

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PixieMother · 30/10/2024 09:27

@CompressedNerve sorry just noticed you changed your name from PurpleRayne...

PixieMother · 30/10/2024 09:24

@PurpleRayne89 I know this is an old post but I'm just wondering how your son is doing? Thank you for sharing your experience.

I have a son with the exact same symptoms. He's 5 months, EBF, has struggled to pass soft stools since a young baby and wakes in the night squirming and struggles to go down for naps if he's having a bad day with it etc. I've tried all things but laxatives (I don't feel like he's constipated). I've cut dairy and soy out my diet already for a while now for silent reflux. I don't know what else to do... me and him are exhausted. Will he grow out of it? Did it affect your weaning journey? Any other tips?

Thank you so much in advance if you see this.

CompressedNerve · 21/03/2022 19:19

I should mention that I am @PurpleRayne89 I changed my username !!

CompressedNerve · 21/03/2022 18:34

@Amymamabear89 thanks for responding. How long did you deal with the constipation? I’m just hoping this soon passes. He now thankfully drinks water independently from a Nuby sippy cup, he really enjoys it. I syringe the Movicol into his mouth to ensure he gets the correct dose in the right amount of time. Eating ok too yet back to being constipated and the straining. He has water with his meals and throughout the day with breast milk. Out of 7 days. He had pooped 3 times, one being an explosion. Very stressful as he’s clearly straining.

Amymamabear89 · 17/03/2022 07:04

Yes! My daughter when first born went a lot more often than expected the sufdenly just stopped and we were lucky if she was going once every 4-5days we ended up trying a few different medicines she refuses water point blank so the movicol was a non starter too. Head back, doctors know medicine but you know your baby, and an alternative is needed, she recently tried …. Something sulfate. We stopped it a while ago and now she’s ‘touch wood’ alot more regular x

NoToLandfill · 17/03/2022 06:09

I've been where you all are. My GP said to use movicol not laculose. We used it until she was cleared out then found a maintenance dose that kept her regular and comfortable.

I'm confused as to why giving your baby extra water with the movicol is a bad thing?

My baby is now much older and she can still quite easily get constipated if she isn't drinking enough water or eating enough fruit. But their bodies do change as they develop.

As to clueless doctors - they see literally hundreds and thousands of babies so I took my GP advice. And the thing with a patient who is a baby - they cannot talk! Doc can only go on what is presented in front of them and the history you are giving. There is basically no way really to know what's going on with a baby- until afterwards! That used to do my head in.

CompressedNerve · 16/03/2022 21:28

I did say I’d update I’m case someone in future needs advice / information. So after the lactulose sorted his constipation, he came back again right away. I started him on Movicol paediatric 6.9 I do half a sachet in the morning and one in the evening. I sometimes use it to mix my purée food. Has meant he’s had a bowel movement everyday since starting. I will continue for 4 week and wean him. I’ll update again in a months time.

Original poster
PurpleRayne89 · 08/03/2022 14:03

Also, I don’t want my son to be on laxatives or stool softeners long term as doctors would advise a grown up against this so why’s it any different with a baby / infant / child.

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Original poster
PurpleRayne89 · 08/03/2022 14:00

@Alwaystalkingaboutpoo hey. Sounds exhausting and I can relate. You sound exactly like me, banging your head against the wall and medical or health professionals hearing what they want to hear. You mention the liquid poor and struggling to pass gas and all they hear us constipation. It’s as if they’re not addressing the actual issue. You see your baby struggling, endure the sleepless nights so you know what you are talking about. I understand that ebf can go up to a few weeks without passing a stool. However, is ur normal for them to be straining to attempt to pass liquid stools within that time? I am guessing the answer is no as any baby should be comfortable and not in any discomfort during third periods. Again people and doctors read or hear what they want from this.

So when we started the weaning. It obviously made the issue worse as his poo became thicker - no brainier! So if we explained to my doctor he struggles to pass liquid stools and they pretty much suggest adding something to make the poo thicker, thus harder to pass. They can become pretty defensive when they have no answers or aren’t willing to even explore further.

The lactulose worked, as mentioned he exploded yesterday. However, we are back to square one with the sleepless nights and shuffling around as I believe he needs to poop again. I can understand that he might have more and is backed up. The lactulose was prescribed for 7 days. However, this behaviour existed before he became constipated for a long period once on solids. So is he completely backed up as he’s always struggled to pass stools? Point I’m making is that it’s stressful and confusing when you’re not being listened to and your baby is clearly uncomfortable. Then you read about diseases like Hirschsprung's disease and it’s scary. The doctor ruled out HD over the phone as he passed meconium within 24-hours of birth. Ok, poor assessment but fine. I’ve noticed doctors like to throw around the “colic” diagnosis when they are at a loss abs cannot be asked to do their job.

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Alwaystalkingaboutpoo · 08/03/2022 13:48

Hello there @PurpleRayne89,
I’m so sorry to hear you’re having difficulty, but so relieved to someone going through almost exactly as us and our 7 month old. Just like your little one, he has pretty much always struggled to do a poo (since around three months old) and his idea of regular has been once a week! Something which we’ve mentioned do the dr countless times and also the HV when we saw her (only seen her once since 10 day check - covid shortage apparently! Shock) who all said that’s ok for breastfed baby and as long as he’s farting it’s all good. But it’s not ‘all good’ for poor baby boy who spends most of his week squirming whilst feeding and sleeping trying to fart and obviously uncomfortable. Like you I’ve been told that weaning will sort it out…but now we have just come off the back of a 12 day ‘no poop’ period which ended with him being prescribed a suppository when the lactulose didn’t work for 4 days. Since starting to wean around 6 weeks ago we have resorted to using lactulose pretty much every week as he hasn’t gone by around 10 days - usually that shifted it within a few hours but IT IS LIQUID. So I don’t understand why that’s seen as constipation! Not once has his poo been anything more than that so it feels bonkers to be treating him as if he is. Hmm We are now 3 days post suppository poo and nothing since and continued discomfort and farting for him. We took him to A&e two nights ago (as he also had a temp which 111 said could be a sign impaction) and they advised that he needs to continue on lactulose for two weeks and if not move onto movicol. She didn’t seem to be able to answer my question as to why he might be struggling to pass soft, liquid stools and continued to go down the constipation route. Gahhhhhh!! Im calling the dr in ten mins when the open again to ask for a plan b because I’m not happy leaving him for another 10 days again!

I’m so sorry I don’t have any helpful advice but I’d love to know how you’re getting on & pass on my sympathy!

Original poster
PurpleRayne89 · 07/03/2022 19:23

So just do update, he pooped today. We were given lactulose by my GP as I refused the Movicol due to the amount of water my son would be expected to drink. It took just under 48 hours to work. Massive explosion that stank to high heavens. The was on 2.5ml twice a day 11 hours apart. Things I tried before hand;

Belly massage
Leg cycling
I love you massage
Pushing knees to stomach
Warm bath
Apple juice
Orange juice
Boiled water (cooled)
Carry around in sling
Vibrating swing chair
Probiotics
Prune purée with extra water
Offering extra breast feeds
4ml syringe of cool boiled water
Prayer

Finally after the 4th dose of lactulose he exploded. I am not sure but could of been a combination of the above. I don’t think he would of went without the medication tho. I’m laying off the solids for a week or maybe two. Just to clear him out. He will be 6 months next week so Ill introduce water properly in a cup. I’ll offer water with every feed. Hopefully he begins to pass stools easier as this struggling to pass them is not nice. Hopefully someone in future looking fir answers finds this of use.

OP posts:
EatYourVegetables · 04/03/2022 08:57

Not a doctor.

I would:

  1. Keep BFing exclusively until 6 mo
  2. Kick diary out of your own diet to see if it helps. Might take 2 weeks to see a change.
  3. Possibly also kick out other known allergens from your own diet (eggs, shellfish, gluten, etc). Then slowly reintroduce.
  4. Stay off Movicol etc.
  5. Consider probiotics
  6. Try to relax about the frequency of poos, and wait until the digestive system matures.
NoToLandfill · 04/03/2022 08:49

Sorry, I find most folk can't say vaginal delivery so they say 'normal'. But they are ok saying C section. That's all I was getting at. A C-section birthed baby goes through none of the birth canal squishing you see.

On another note I do wonder what % of babies have the 'optimal' squishing on the way out? So I reckon all babies should get a cranial osteopath check up a couple if weeks after birth.

Original poster
PurpleRayne89 · 03/03/2022 20:06

@NoToLandfill makes sense about the alignment. I do think our current osteopath is a bit of a fraud to be fair. I’ll shop around. Normal as in uneventful, no issues. If I wasn’t showing I never would have felt pregnant. I had a vagina delivery. For the record, all births are normal and natural. 😌

@sunshinesupermum oh good. Yeah his butt was inspected by a paediatric doctor when I visited A&E. however, I’m sure to diagnose something similar a more throughout assessment would be necessary.

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sunshinesupermum · 03/03/2022 19:39

PurpleRayne89 no further issues. Can you see another paedetrician?

NoToLandfill · 03/03/2022 18:54

By normal birth I assume you mean vaginal? And yes the body is all connected so parts of the body out of alignment can affect the digestive system.
Yes do try a different cranial osteopath if you aren't connecting with your current one. It is your precious bundle they are holding and treating, you have to respect them I reckon.

Original poster
PurpleRayne89 · 03/03/2022 17:33

@sunshinesupermum ok. Was that the only issue? No complications after? Thanks for sharing btw.

My sons anus was checked over by a doctor who said it looked normal. To be it’s so small and tight it looks painted on. I honestly can’t see how anything thicker than BF poop could fit through it.

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sunshinesupermum · 03/03/2022 17:11

DD2 had this problem. She had an op to widen her anus.

Original poster
PurpleRayne89 · 03/03/2022 17:04

Some really good suggestions. He sees an Osteopath already for his flat head, I honestly don’t feel like the osteopath really does much. Lol. He just holds his head in his hands and talks to be telling me what he’s doing. Not convinced by this particular guy. Our precious osteopath, who treated his torticollis was much better, she said the head will sort itself once the tightness has been sorted. She loosened up a certain muscle and no lie he could turn more.

How would a cranial osteopath help constipation? I’m not able to connect the two. Birth and pregnancy were normal.

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veevee04 · 02/03/2022 23:50

[quote PurpleRayne89]@x2boys ok, thanks did you not know he had chromosomal issues before? Also, we’re his symptoms similar to my sons?

@NoToLandfill thanks for responding. Oh right, so what were your child’s stools like before using the stuff. As my son struggles to pass watery stools. Do you think this would still be of benefit? His stools aren’t hard or anything that would suggest traditional constipation.

@veevee04 same question as above really?[/quote]
Yes she had watery stools it was like overflow with an impacted stool it was like an explosion by the time it came out . She had to have a suppository when abroad in hospital as the food really really upset her stomach and impacted her more. She even had a slight rectal prolapse a couple of times. She had lactulose and movicol. No allergies the doctors thought her muscles might be underdeveloped it basically resolved its self by the time she was 2 with very occasional episodes and none since the age of about 4-5.

TokenGinger · 02/03/2022 22:51

My son is 2.5 now but still struggles with constipation. We've been back and forth with CMPA thoughts and I do think we need to eliminate dairy completely for our own peace of mind to see if it helps the constipation and the eczema.

I just wanted to say, we tried Movicol for the first time a fortnight ago when we ended up in hospital as DS was in such intense pain, screaming unable to poo, and I am so, so glad we now have it.

I think his poo had compacted, and even though we were giving lactulose, the watery poo was slipping out around the lump. Once he had the Movicol, it softened it enough to get out.

We didn't give it to him again until this yesterday when he's been really bad again. He's now started to pass some of the more solid lumps out today.

I've just joined the Movicol page recommended for more support.

Thank you for posting this thread x

mummyh2016 · 02/03/2022 22:42

I immediately thought CMPA from reading your post and can see I'm not the only one. It doesn't sound like colic.

cushioncovers · 02/03/2022 22:28

My son was the same I took him to an osteopath once a month and it helped. He had a huge poo within an hour or two of each treatment.

NoToLandfill · 02/03/2022 22:25

Oh another vote for cranial osteopathy. Was the birth tricky perhaps? Sometimes the baby isn't quite optimally 'squished' on the way out and a bit of cranial can help align their wee body. That can definitely affect bowels.

I am very pro bf, but I'm thinking that maybe baby needs more volume ingested? Will he take the movicol in a syringe? Or a cup with you carefully holding it?

Also look up 'ec' elimination communication. Yes it's a bit hippy however it works. It's what society does before nappies. Is he in a sling at all? Babies don't poop in a sling. Take him out of it, hold him over a potty/ the loo and the position will help him go. I know it sounds crazy but it does work. My dd was weeing on the loo for her morning wee from 6months old. Still wore nappies and did regular potty training. But I'm pretty sure she was more in tune with what was going on. Which helped her through the constipation.