Constipated 8 month old. Help!

[RBH]

DD2 is 8 months old and on three meals and three bottles a day and keeps getting constipated. I give her loads of prune and apricot purees and lentils as well as offering plenty of water. Is it worth changing her formula? She has Hipp Follow On. The doctor seemed to think all formula was much the same and just said to keep on doing what I am but the poor thing is miserable and doing lots of little pellets of poo through the day and cries each time which is not good for her. Any suggestions/magic remedies etc?

there is no need for follow on milk, try going back to the normal from birth milk.

Does the follow on stuff make them more constipated? To be honest I think the first stuff did a bit too but she had at least some breast milk which is what I think kept things moving.

From what I've heard from other mums, not all formulas are identical. Some do cause some LOs to be constipated, so it's worth changing for a week or so to see what the effect. But you would need to try each new formula for at least a week, maybe two.

Try cutting down on her solids a little, at lest until the consitpation passes. I found that too much red meat constipated ds1. Tomatoes also help things move along (I had to be really careful not to give dd too much as she could blast out of her nappy if I did!). Olive oil is very good to keep things moving, I think it gently stimulates the bowel. You can mix half a teaspoonful into the LO's food before you serve it, as it's better uncooked. Jelly and cucumbers (not necessarily together) are good for adding water to the diet. Do not use sugar-free jelly, though.

Thank you PrettyCandles. I will definitely try the olive oil and will up the tomato content! I think I will try a different formula brand as well to see if it helps. Because I suspect the milk is part of the problem I am nervous of cutting back on food as then she will want more formula.

Is she hungry? Constipation sometimes affects the appetite, and, in any case, if she's not passing the poo you don't really want more building up behind.

She definitely isn't as hungry as normal today. And is very grizzly poor thing. I am about to go up to her and see if I can get her to drink some water and will be buying prune juice tomorrow.