7 month old forever constipated!!

[FirstTimeMummaB]

DS is 7 months old and we’ve been weaning for about 7 weeks now (previously ebf)
DS now has 3 ‘meals’ a day at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Normally some form of fruit purée and/or yoghurt, and if I have time I try and give him fruit or extra soft boiled veggies for finger food at lunch or dinner time. At a guess he probably still has about 8 bf’s a day (not including 1-2 night feeds)
The problem is he is forever struggling with constipation. He does poo, but more often than not it’s solid or rabbit-poo like lumps (sorry if TMI)
I regularly give him pears and prunes to try and keep things moving, but struggle to give him water in any shape or form - he just won’t drink it 😕
Is it just his gut adjusting to new food or is he struggling? DS does have cmpa and other food intolerances but this doesn’t seem reaction-like so don’t think it’s relayed.
Any advice??

I would cut back on food for a little bit.

Have you tried him drinking from an open cut or a sports bottle. Nothing is more interesting than Mummy special drink (water) that you drink and let the little one have.

@anotherangel2 Maybe I’ve done too much too fast? X

Haven’t tried a sports bottle but will definitely give that a go today - thanks!! X

3 'meals' a day seems a lot for 7 months old, Maybe cut back to 2 and see how it goes. Don't forget the 4 p's - peas, pears, peaches and prunes! 😂

Have you spoken to your heath visitor? Personally i think the amount of food he's having sounds about right and he might just be getting used to it. After 6 months he needs the nutrition he is getting from food. Mine went through a lot of ellas kitchen prune pouches at that age!

We had this around the same age. Tried every thing and went through a mountain of prunes and pears. Eventually it just eased up as his stomach got used to the food. We gave him lactulose and put him on a potty when he was trying and struggling to poo. I know the potty sounds ridiculous but it really worked. Would only poo on his potty for about 3 months (smugly thought I'd cracked potty training with a >1 yr old. Not so, now he'll shit anywhere including on the carpet)

By ‘meals’ I do literally mean a pouch or 2-3 ice cubes of purée haha he’s not exactly having a 3 course dinner or anything just yet 😂 Sometimes I’ll give him a rice wafer biscuit or something to keep his hands busy whilst I prepare the purée but thats really about it.
Those prune pouches from Ella’s kitchen are literally what he lives off most weeks (or at least that’s how it feels!!) 😂
I might call the HV, she isn’t normally my go-to source for help after the lack of support she gave me before DS was diagnosed with cmpa (he literally screamed in pain 24/7 it was hell on Earth) but apparently he was just an ‘angry baby’ 🙄 but that’s a rant for another thread!! 😬😂

We were recommended by the doctor to give our son a sugar water mixture.
A small amount of boiling water mix in proper be in sugar (Not the pale brown one the dark brown sugar) let it cool. They love in because it's very sweet and within about 15 mins our son was letting it all out. Another one was Vaseline on a cotton bud and slightly pop in in the bum (also recommended by the doctor) wasn't too keen on this one but we were desperate and he was uncomfortable . It doesn't hurt them, and it really works.

We did blw but compared to what my DD was eating at that age it seems like a lot.

From six months breast babies should have a multivitamin. Are you giving it all in once go or splitting it over two dosages? It maybe that the iron in he multivitamin is causing it.

@Triangularsquare thanks that’s reassuring to know 😊 before I read your whole comment I was totally amazed thinking you’d cracked potty training that early too lol!! 😂

@anotherangel I don’t give him any vitamins directly just take them myself, was never told about that? Just that ‘he’s fine as he’s breastfed’ 😕 worried I’ve missed something else now lol
@Timeisslippingaway that’s great I’ll try the sugar water too! X

Advice is to give multi vitamins to babies over the age of 6 months who have less than 17oz of formula as iron stores reduce them.

How much are you still nursing? At 7 months you should still be giving as much milk as you used to, the food is just extra on top until they're more like 10-12 months. If the food is replacing milk feeds, it's possible he is actually dehydrated.

My DS2 is nearly 8 months and he was just as you describe, really straining to go. He would drink water from a cup but not a huge amount. So for the past couple of weeks I've been giving him very dilute juice with his meals. About 25% apple juice and 75% water. He drinks a lot more of this than if it was plain water, and it's resolved his constipation. I know it's not really recommended to give babies juice, but it's a very small amount and it's working for us.

anotherangel my DS is breastfed not formula fed so does that not apply to him then? Especially if I’m taking vitamins anyway? 😕
infrance I’m still nursing him pretty much the same amount, on demand really when and if he wants it. I do think he’s a bit dehydrated though I’m trying to encourage water alongside meals and bf but he’s not keen.
evemoneypenny I don’t think it’s bad to give fruit juice at all, in fact my mum also actually suggested this to me today!! So think it may be worth a try at least 😊