constipation

[JayneMb]

I started giving solids to my little boy Ethan and within a week he was seriously constipated. He was partly bottle fed and breastfed before i introduced solids.
He struggles a great deal trying to push poo. Not sure what to do.
I am currently abraod on maternity and saw a doc who recommended lots of water. but this is not doing the trick...

Anyone out there with some tips :-(

what solids are you giving? Bananas and baby rice can be constipating so you could avoid them if you are using them. What age is he? You could always go back to just milk for a while and see if the constipation eases.

Make sure the water you give is cooled boiled water, it really does work but takes a little while.

I found with my dd that massage worked really well. Place the base of your fingers at the bottom of his tummy in the middle. Have your fingers pointing west, then, keeping the base of your fingers in place, fan your fingers slowly across his tummy to east. Repeat about 6-8 times. You must always go in a clockwise direction when massaging baby's tummy. Use some moisturiser or olive oil on your hands. I normally do this every time I change her nappy because she enjoys it, even when she is not constipated.

When changing his nappy, also stretch his legs out flat, then gently push them tucked up towards his tummy a few times and do cycling motions with his legs. This should all help to get things moving a bit easier for him.

You could also try putting a little bit of freshly squeezed orange juice into the cooled boiled water.

Hope that helps xxx

Had the same problem with my DS, HV suggested same as wigglemama - massage and orange juice in his water.

She also suggested feeding him prunes (chopped into his food) or getting him to eat some of the juice the prunes come in. He managed some of the juice (very sugary from fruit juice so only gave it as a one-off) - gave him a couple of spoonfuls and it did the trick. If you/he get desperate it's worth a try.

HTH

My DD was like this for a short while when I weaned her but she grew out of it after a month or two. Doctor prescribed lactulose solution twice a day which sorted it out very quickly. I think you can buy it over the counter in pharmacy and don't believe it has any health risks.

If you've only just started solids then I'd definitely cut back on them or cut them out completely for a few more weeks. He doesn't need solids yet anyway so a few more weeks won't do any harm - it might be that he's just not ready for them yet.

Agree with sleepwhenidie - lactulose works really well. It softens the poos but it's not harsh like a laxative.

I made a prune puree by boiling some dried prunes with water. Two teaspoons of that mixed with baby rice or porridge will ease any congestion and is my DS's favourite breakfast!

Do beans and carrots not fruit. Don't do pureed apple it is full of pectin which is a clogger. Bananas are a common culprit.