Help, very constipated baby... feel like a terrible mother :-(

[Katiekatiekatekate]

I've been weaning my EBF baby for about 4 weeks but cannot get him to take any water. I've tried bottles, beakers, spooning water into his mouth, adding various fruit juices in case it's the taste that he doesn't like and also tried giving it at different temperatures. He just won't take any. He was 6 months old yesterday and weighs 24 pounds so he's hungry all the time and, unless I continue with solids, I will soon lose the will to live (he doesn't take milk from any thing but me either so I'm regularly feeding him almost all night.)

He got so constipated that he didn't poo for a week. This has now passed but he is so so uncomfortable it is heart breaking. He's so sore that he starts to shake when I have to take his nappy off. I just don't know what to do, I feel like a terrible mother and I'm so upset that I've not given him a bottle to get him used to water. If anyone can help me I would be so grateful.

Have you tried:

Diluted fruit juice
Fruit
Tummy massage?

Diluted juice and a massage cleared DD's backlog. The poo she produced was so huge that I took a photo of it .

Otherwise go to the GP.

I had a similar problem with my DD at this age. I think constipation is very common as they get used to solids. I found prune puree or dried apricot puree did the trick very nicely. Perhaps he's getting enough fluids from you anway if he's still breast feeding well. I'd go for the foods that help like prunes or weetabix or porridge- you can always make it very runny to get in some more fluid. How much solids has he been having? can you cut back a bit while his digestion adapts?
it always seems to settle in a few weeks or so

Hi, thanks... I've tried all those things, and cycling his legs as well. In the end I stopped giving him any solids yesterday and the breastmilk helped get things moving, which means that the last couple of days he has pooed almost constantly and is now horrendously sore in the old bottom region. I really don't want this to happen again so I need to find a way to get him to take water.

Thanks zoey - crossed post. He's been having 2 "meals" a day. A few tablespoons of veg puree at lunch and a few tablespoons of baby rice and fruit puree in the afternoon. Plus bits of finger food but he really hasn't taken a shine to that idea!

perhaps try again with one "meal" until that's settled, before going up to 2 meals again. He can't really "need" water if he's having lots of your milk. though it will be nice for you when he does!
you know,perhaps he would take a drink of water from someone else but not from you? could your DP have a go offering beaker or cup or whatever?
but I guess it's the solids causing the problem not the lack of water, there's lots of water in bresat milk and in purees. I think their tums just take a while to get used to dealing with food.
good luck!

Great, thanks.... I didn't realise it could be just getting used to solids, I thought I really needed to push the water. I'll try reintroducing more gently and get DP to have a go as well.

I think I read somewhere that rice can cause constipation in some babies, as can bananas, so maybe use something like porridge (reddy brek?) as a 'bulker' for a bit?

You don't cut out carrots in favour of icecream when you go on a diet and the same is true of children. If his system is not ready to accept solids, which is possible as he's so constipated, then it's not relieving his hunger, just filling a gap. Starting again but slower is probably a good plan, don't think of it as trying to fill him up, if he's hungry he really does need your milk. It's not going to last for long, as soon as he realises that he can eat to fill up he will start taking it in.

Rice and bananas can cause constipation.

According to a baby weaning book I have underripe bananas (i.e. green OR yellow ones) will constipate a baby, but really ripe bananas (when they start having brown spots) help 'move things along'. So let those bananas age a bit.

For my ds, we made 'poo goo' which was steamed prunes and dried apricots (to get a little water back into them) then blended with apple juice to get a runnier consistency. Its called poo goo both because that's what it does, and that's what it looks like... he actually really likes it - either straight or in cereal.

Also, moving to a wheat / spelt / oat based cereal rather than rice helps.

poo goo - beautiful!! I'll give it a go, thanks for all advice.

Have his stools become difficult for him to pass? If they have, no amount of prunes or apricots will help shift it. If its that bad, a suppository is probably best. I got them from the Dr when DS was struggling. Only took one lot to get him cleared, then made sure that we offered plenty of 'poogoo' kind of foods to help keep him regular

If you are really struggling to get him to drink anything but your milk, add more water to his foods, and get it in that way. And offer things like cucumber and melon if he is taking finger foods, they are almost pure water

Have you tried a beaker like this

www.dooyoo.co.uk/kids-equipment/tommee-tippee-easiflow-beaker/1232220/

dd is 6m and loves hers (she has handles on her one though)

sorry, here