Constipated 5 month old... help!

[designerbaby]

Hi all...
Went to the doctors today as DD hasn't pooed in 4 days - we started her on a bit of solids a couple of weeks ago - on the advice of my father-in-law who's a GP (DD started wanting to feed more frequently, waking in night having slept through for weeks, grabbing food etc...) and while she prescribed lactulose to get things moving again, she wasn't that helpful on what might be causing it and what I should/shouldn't give DD to prevent it happening again.

DD started on baby maize meal in South Africa on holiday with the in-laws (the usual weaning food over there) but we can't get it here so she's been on a bit of baby rice, and has recently started having a bit of pear purée and carrot purée... She was fine in SA, but is now well and truly bunged up.

Should I ditch the solids altogether for a bit? It would be a shame as she's really enthusiastic... Cut out the rice and stick to fruit and veg? Anything else I can give?

My mum says I should eat prunes as I'm still BFing and it'll go through to her... (really?)

Can I purée some prunes for her?

Any ideas/suggestions?

Ta muchly...

DB
xx

Not sure how you knew she was constipated? Just because she hasn't been doesn't mean the poo will be a constipated poo. Classic constipation is like rabbit pellets.

Starting solids can lead to a change in bowel habit and a 4 day gap sounds normal to me (even 5?).

Puree the prunes - and no, they don't go through in breast milk!

The bacteria in her gut need to change to digest the new foods she's experiencing - but this can take a little time.

Ditch the baby rice for a bit? Give her extra water off the spoon.

Thanks Gagarin... I think she's constipated because every 15 minutes or so (when she's awake) she's pushing down and groaning and going red in the face - and a couple of times she's managed to squeeze a tiny bit of very solid, quite dry, fiborous poo out...

I'll take your advice re the rice, and I've been trying to get some water/fruit juice into her today by various methods - think I may have managed to get a bit in although she's not at all sure about it, strangely.

I think I'll just stick to breast milk until this blockage has passed, and then start reintroducing her pear and carrot in very small amounts, watered down more than they have been.

I think she was eating too much - she was enjoying it, but I should have restricted the quantities - I think I overloaded her system...

Good to know that 4 days in not that unusual though - was feeling like a bad bad mummy...

DB
xx