Baby struggling to go to the toilet

[Rosebud1302]

Hi all,

My baby is 10 months and ever since weaning at 6 months he has had on and off problems with going to the toilet. I expected some problems due to change in food from purely milk, and having an inexperienced gut etc. But just when I think things are improving, this week he has been really straining again and has now got a really raw red bottom from straining so much. When he strains there will either be nothing or only a tiny bit which seems to get stuck. So I change him and almost straight away he is straining again. This can happen on and off all day. Normally he will eventually do one "normal" size poo but the last two days this has only happened when I have given him some nappy off time in the evening. Could the nappy be the wrong size or fit?! Could it be stopping him being able to go properly?

Also is there any good suggestions for foods I can encourage him to eat? I do try really hard to give him a balanced diet and always offer fruit, veg, carbs, proteins etc often but he is quite picky and I can't obviously force him to eat things :/ (he is blw).

Looking for reassurance I guess that this is normal and anything I can do to help? Poor boy seems to really struggle. I should mention as well he drinks plenty of water all throughout the day. He also bf's morning, after first nap, before bed and once (normally) at night.

TIA!! :)

Pea foods, prunes, pears and peaches. Prunes pouches are good. Ella do one and so do Tesco at half the price.

My daughter's 19months now but she had the same problem when she first started on solids - is LO getting enough water? I also found giving her one of the Ella's Kitchens prune packs in the morning helped if she was really bad!

Just to add we did blw but I have prune pouches and thought of them as just another texture.

Tummy massage helps mine. Also lots of fruit and veg.

My LO has awful constipation issues. I've heard that fruit beginning with P helps, so pineapple, plums prunes etc. I waited and waited until seeing the Dr as I tried to sort it myself but I wish I had gone sooner. The laxatives my LO has are very safe and have improved things. Hope your LO gets some relief soon X

Thanks all. Prune pouches sound like a great idea. I will see if he will take those. Hopefully he will. I do offer a lot of fruit and veg but he is really quite picky. I keep offering regularly but he knows what he likes definitely! 🙄

Yes he gets a lot of water I make sure of it especially in this hot weather. Tummy massage - I will give that a try thanks!

We used tummy massage, Apple pouches and as much fruit as we could get him to eat. I also found that it tended to coincide with his teething problems.

10 months, 12 months, and about 15 months I think were the worst

@DeadDoorpost that is so interesting you mention teething. I wondered if I should put this in my OP but I thought nah that can't be anything to do with it surely. I wonder if it's related. I always assumed it gave them diarrhoea not the other way!

Lots of water, "p" fruits are good, sometimes I give mine a couple of satsumas/tangerines and that does the trick! I find banana causes constipation in my DS, same with too much cheese!

@Yogurtcoveredricecake thank you. I will try the P foods. He loves plums and pears so I can definitely try that. He won't touch oranges or satsumas :/ this is where I wish he wasn't so fussy!!! Hmmm cheese is interesting. He does have a fair amount. Maybe that is one of the culprits!

Tread lightly with the Ella prune pouches - they can be very effective...

She says from bitter experience!

Apricots and prunes (Tesco is only 50p)

Both my children were constipated not long after I started weaning them. The one thing that works for them is a2 milk. Even though they were only having normal cows milk in porridge, switching that to a2 really helped (after a few weeks). I'd try to switch them back to normal milk and the problem would reappear. a2 is cows milk but from cows that only produce the a2 protein (normal cows milk also has a1 protein that some people are sensitive to).
Worth a try if prunes don't help 💩!

Oh yes, and neither of them could have banana until they were older for the same reason

I also avoided giving wheatabix, egg and banana.

@sar302 noted 🤭🤭 thanks haha!

Weetabix is interesting I thought that was good for digestion. Just shows how much I know! 🙈

The cow's milk thing is interesting thanks for that I will definitely keep it in mind if it doesn't clear up!

Please go to the doctor if these foods don’t make a difference after a couple of days. Untreated constipation is serious, as I know now to my cost, and your DC may need medication.

Princes have worked well for my little boy, he has also had this issue on and off since weaning. In the end we had to get movicol from the doctor and try to give him one sachet every one to two weeks or he gets very uncomfortable. It’s horrible to see! Try ‘p’ foods first but if not definitely trip to GP as constipation can be quite serious for babies I think

That should say prunes! Definitely not princes!

Our doctor said to give foods like cauliflower and brocolli, pears and prunes. Avoid apple, potato, go easy on dairy. Bananas are OK if ripe but not good when less ripe - something to do with one of their ingredients.

Acidic foods often give him a softer poo which smells a bit diahroea-y - citrus, kiwi, pineapple, tomatoes.

Water essential. When you say plenty how big is his beaker and how much does he drink per day?

I really doubt the nappy could be so tight it would prevent him pooing without it also being generally uncomfortable, leaving red marks etc.

Warm bath, massage and nappy free time. Can you take the nappy off next time he tries to "go" and see if it keeps making a differences? Some babies do not like the feeling of soiling themselves.

Thank you all for your helpful comments. Got lots to try. Yes I will definitely take him to doctor if things don't get better. I should say though, he is going it isn't like nothing is happening at all. And yes if I take his nappy off he tends to go much better so maybe you are right about not liking to soil himself @Kokeshi123? I've never really thought about that before!!

In terms of water, I can't seem to see how big the cup is but it is one of those munchkin straw cups and I'm forever filling it up throughout the day so I think he gets enough?! I offer it a lot and he goes for it of his own accord a lot too (it's always with him)

Oh that is a good point about preferring to be without a nappy. If you look up about elimination communication you will get some tips for encouraging nappy free poos in a baby so young.