Apologies in advance for the long post!
Baby boy is 13 months and is having issues with his bowel movements. He is regular and does a poo most days but they resemble the 2 or 3 on the Eric chart (constipated). Today the movement was so painful he was screaming crying while passing it and for some time after.
For context we weaned at 6 months and started slow with single veggies and fruits. All was well and he continued his normal intake of milk (combination fed, mostly breast milk with one bottle of formula before bed).
As we started introducing more foods to his diet (bread, pasta, meat, dairy) his movements became firmer. He also started refusing bottles at around 11 months (both breast milk and formula). He still breast fed but generally only for comfort and before a nap/bed time. We tried cows milk and almond milk to replace the formula and tried different cups but he hasn’t shown any interest in milk at all.
Around this time his bowel movements started causing considerable discomfort and we had lots of tears, and occasional blood, when he would try to pass one. I contacted the GP about this around 6 weeks ago and he was prescribed Lactulose (2.5ml twice a day). They advised it wasn’t an issue that he wasn’t taking bottles of milk as long as he was drinking plenty of water and still getting breast milk (he’s always been good at drinking water and we get plenty of wet nappies so no concerns he’s dehydrated). They advised it was normal and it should improve on its own.
I have coeliac disease and follow a wheat and gluten free diet. DP has suspected lactose intolerance and does not eat / drink dairy. GP advised not to eliminate anything from DS diet and to keep a diary of what he’s eaten and what his bowel movements look like. The diary shows nothing of interest as he eats gluten and dairy most days and has a solid poo most days. He continues to eat fruit and veg daily, eats the same meals we do and drinks plenty of water. We’ve limited foods on the Eric site that cause firmer poos and tried to increase those containing sorbitol. We’ve also added Optibac drops to help his gut but haven’t seen a difference.
Today I called the GP again and they said this is normal but scheduled an appointment for 2 weeks time to discuss the issue in more detail. Is this normal or not? None of the mums I’ve met through the baby groups we go to are experiencing this. Family members never had these issues with their babies. I can’t help but feel I’m feeding him something that doesn’t agree with him.
The GP said it’s too soon to test for coeliac disease and has generally been quite dismissive. Perhaps I am overreacting and this is normal and will improve in time. I can’t bear the thought of him being in pain every time he poos. I especially can’t bear the thought of him crying in pain at nursery when he’s trying to poo and I’m not there to comfort him.
Other than the issues with his bowel movements, he’s healthy and happy. He has eczema patches on his stomach and they’ve been pretty stubborn but are starting to disappear after using Balmonds Skin Salvation religiously.
Has anyone else experienced this and do you have any suggestions to help?
Thanks for reading if you made it this far!