8mo with constipation

[YukoandHiro]

My baby will be 8 months old at the weekend. She's really constipated and nothing seems to help.

She's breastfed and we started solids a few days before she turned 6 months. She took to it really quickly and so we were having three small meals a day by 7 months. But I've dialled it back to 2 to try to help her. I'm also giving loads of p fruits, peas, extra breastfeeds plus water with all solids.

She's passing stools every day but they are thick clay like pattys, or sometimes like a pebble shape (not sheep droppings). Her nappies are wet so I don't think she's dehydrated but my periods just came back so I may have had a supply drop. Her tummy does seem distended.

I'm away on holiday (in Uk but not near gp etc) til Friday. Problem is that she really wants solid food so two meals a day is fine but she's eating quite a bit each time. I don't know whether to try to go to breastmilk only for a few days? Even though she'll be furious about that

I'm more worried that normal as I had hirschsprung's syndrome so this makes me nervous. My first had CMPA and hasn't had a day's constipation in her life so this is all new to me as a parent (not as a person, clearly).

I'll GP and HV when I get home, but any advice now, wise mothers in my phone?

If relevant she's about a break a fifth tooth too.

Anyone?

But surely if she’s pooing every day she can’t be constipated.

It's not the right consistency at all. If it's harder/causing discomfort when passing you definitely can be. Also it's small amounts... I keep expecting a blowout but it never comes

I’m having exactly the same. Have removed all bananas from her diet and moved to a few days of prune pouches only as solids. I’m trying to get her to take water from a sippy cup but it’s just not happening at the moment.

How's it going @Hfjshdhs?

Things are improving here today. Three dirty nappies, two with pebble type poos but the last much more smeary - hurrah! I've given prune and pear based veggie and fruit mixes twice a day and other than that just bf.

I'm going to carry that on for a few days to get everything clear and maybe speak to my HV about getting back up to 3 meals a day.

Let me know your progress. Good to know someone else in the same position!

My first DC (now 3) suffered with constipation from about the same age, and was really in pain. He was prescribed lactulose which he was on for a short time before being moved onto movicol. Movicol worked a treat to get him unblocked and regular again. He's on a maintenance dose now and it has halved now from when he was first put on it.
If you're on Facebook, join the movicol mums group, absolute wealth of information from parents in the same position and a fair few health care practitioners too.

Oh wow @YukoandHiro three poos is good!

I panicked yesterday at one single pebble poo, so have gone hard with the prunes, water attempts and milk. She’s done a bigger, softer one today.

My first daughter is like @Eileen101 DC and is currently on movicol. Though I joined that movicol mummies fb group and had to leave because it was so terrifying! Those were parents with kids who hadn’t pooped for a long time!

One thing I have learned with the older one is that constipation needs to be tackled proactively in kids. Our oldest went 3/4 days without going on three occasions, and just that has impacted so much.

Good luck!

Oh, and let me know what the HV says please!

Thank you. I definitely want to tackle it early as things have definitely been getting worse for a couple of weeks or maybe three weeks, but it's only this week that it's true constipation. I think I was hoping her gut would just adjust to the solids. She rarely has a poo free day but the consistency has changed and she's definitely sometimes upset doing one.