6 month old so constipated - how much water should they be having?

[LazyGreen]

My six month old is EBF although we have tried weaning recently. But the tiniest amount of food (think four spoonsful of prune puree) blocks them up. How much water should they be drinking per day to avoid constipation please?

At 6 months if you’re BFing they don’t actually need to drink any water, unless you’re BFing to a schedule rather than by demand?

Prunes are not going to cause constipation. How do you know they are constipated?

No water. Breast milk gives everything. Food is for fun. A few spoons of prunes won't cause constipation. A few spoons of first food might jist slow down the usual motions.
Baby on back and cycle his legs.

Sorry for got to ask, when you say it bungs them up, what symptoms do they have exactly? Are they in pain or is it just that their normal bowel habits have changed?

If you think it could be dehydration you could try some water rich foods:

Cucumber

Strawberries

Broccoli

Or just some Greek yoghurt?

BFing by demand, absolutely.

Long story short, we tried weaning on puréed cooked veg, baby became constipated and in a lot of pain, didn’t poo for 5-6 days at a time. I stopped weaning and with the GP’s help we managed to get him to poo around five times in a week. So we thought all was cleared.

Two days ago, he had four small spoons of prune puree and it feels like we’re back to square one. He’s crying out, tensing, in pain. He’s utterly glum and sad. The trapped wind is disturbing his sleep again.

No poo since. So it’s as though the prunes have blocked him up again. We’re giving water every day but not sure how much we need.

Yesterday we tried the tummy massage, legs cycling, going for a car ride (due to the car seat positioning) and nothing worked. Honestly it’s as we were a couple of weeks ago.

It is usual. Could you stick to milk for a few days and then see the GP next week?

I also agree with just breast milk until he is back to his normal. I had to hault weaning when DD2 was 6 1/2 months for a couple of weeks due to an allergic reaction and she eats well now at 5 yrs old.

This is the thing, he’s only had milk for over a fortnight now. We thought he was all cleared out on the medicine the GP gave, so I attempted 4 small spoons of prune puree on Tuesday. He’s had water offered three times a day since then, (and has plentiful BF on demand). And now he hasn’t pooed since Tuesday, and he was awake at 4am today tensing and crying out. All I can conclude is that he can’t even manage prune puree, which is said to help them poo!

I guess I will have to go back to the GP and see what the next steps are.

It sounds more like some sort of allergy or sensitivity. Or just not being ready for solid food yet? You did start on the early side. I’d go back to just milk again and try again in a couple of weeks.

Occasionally they can have an allergy to Fructose. I’m not saying that’s the cause of the symptoms but it sounds as though it’s worth reading up on

My son actually got constipated by BF and when I read how it's normal for breastfed babies to not poo for you to two weeks I never did anything about it. What I now know is I stretched his bowel by leaving it so long and when he came to wean he never pooped at nursery and is a withholder of his poop. I'm convinced he has negative connotations with it all from him being constipated as a baby so get this resolved asap. My son is almost six and we are still having problems.

Laxido or whatever to help

4-5 poos a week generally wouldn’t be classed as cleared out after a period of constipation.

Get on the ERIC website.

I started a couple of days before he turned six months, it wasn’t on the early side.

We followed the Eric guidance of waiting for two watery poos.

I will go back to the GP.

Thank you for the recommendations and ideas.

I have this exact scenario with my EBF 7&1/2 month old. He took to food like a duck to water, but any amount constipates him.

Tried bicycle legs every hour to keep mobility up, tummy massage a few times a day, water in a sippy cup with every meal, having each meal have a high fiber component. His diet was basically prunes, pears, peas and broccoli for two weeks and it didn't help. I tried keeping it drippy enough to run off the spoon, and still didn't work.

He's been to the GP and is now on lactulose every other day. The GP said that some babies just take a while to adapt to solids. That it was more important to keep things moving, and there would be no lasting harm from using lactulose regularly. She said to revisit it after a month, and if he needs it daily to provide it. She was worried he was starting to withhold the poos out of fear of them, and I think she was right. She also said to try 2-3 oz of juice middle of the day, and to make sure there was lots of fluid in his tummy with the lactulose as it would pull the fluids in to his bowel.

I've also found that having fats with every meal helps a little. It softens the stool almost, though too much can slow digestion.

Plus avoiding baby cereals, as the added iron can be constipating. Also avoiding binding foods like banana, apple sauce or eggs.

When he does go to poo, I sometimes help massage it out by pressing the the perinium (sorry TMI) because I find he'll get half out and then stop because he doesn't like it.

He's now on three meals a day, and having a higher volume of food hasn't changed anything. I was trying to go slower, but he's a hungry baby and literally screams like a baby bird for it.

Hope it resolved for you soon!

Hi @kc92 we have actually chatted a lot on the Sept 24 threads (name change), so it’s nice to ‘see’ you albeit I’m sorry you’ve had the same struggles.

How many times a week does your DS poo now? Does he also strain and cry, in the middle of the night or throughout the day?

We have just given DS some broccoli for the first time in weeks. Mushed down with a lot of water, and only an ice cube amount. I think you are right that it’s important to keep things moving. I have looked back and on the first week of weaning he was okay and pooing (mushed boiled broccoli, cauliflower, onion, mushroom, avocado), but the second week is when the straining and pebble poos started - we had given him sweet potato and parsnip that week. He eventually produced a pebble poo at the end of the second week, after some prune puree. I’ll stick to the veg from now and just see how we go.

I can hear him squealing downstairs now. Poor lad ☹️

@LazyGreen nice to 'see' you too! I should probably name change more often. Going to drive myself mad figuring out who you are now. 😂

He was crying hysterically when he needed to poo before the lactulose, and fighting the urge to go as much as he could. He was fussy all day, and not sleeping for me. He actually got a fissure from it, and there was blood with his stools. I know this sounds dramatic, but it was so bad I was crying too when he needed to go.

With that regularly administered, he's going every day, to every other day. With the lactulose, his stools are type 3&4 on the Bristol stool chart. Without, he's back at the 1&2 - I tried him for a week without it and just a small amount of veg a day. That didn't work, and I think half the reason he was fussing was hunger.

He is much more settled now, and doesn't cry when he needs to go. He's also sleeping better.

His diet is very high fibre and I ran his food past his GP. Today he had pears & blitzed porridge for brekkie, butternut squash and lentil puree for lunch, and carrots, parsnip and chicken puree for dinner. I only give him a small amount of dairy, just enough to keep it in his diet from an allergen perspective.

I also tried pumping and giving him bottles for a day or two just in case it was a supply issue and he was dehydrated - it wasn't but I was desperate!

Same happened to me when weaning and I was encouraged to just BF but in retrospect I would have given more liquid/water. It may not be the advice but it’s the only thing that’s worked for my DD. She has had to have various meds and we still struggle with constipation now, at 21 months.

And yes don’t slow down on the food too much as he may be hungry. Lactulose is a good thing to try. I also found my DD pooed better when bare bum and I would sit her on a little potty.

Our children’s doctor recommended giving her pear every day, which really worked (and kept things moving along better for the whole family) - though our daughter’s constipation was not as bad as what you describe. The only food that blocks her now is blueberries.

Prunes are a very high fibre food. He'll need a lot of water to push them through.

Try foods that are lower in fibre - cottage cheese, bananas...

We gave an ice cube of broccoli on Friday, cauliflower on Saturday, and pear today. I can’t emphasise how much these were pureed down and mixed with water. Plus lots of offering the bottle of water every day this week. And tons of BFing of course through day and night.

His last poo was on Tuesday so it’s five days now.

GP said if he doesn’t poo for five days then to restart Movicol. Maybe that’s how it’s going to be - No poos - Movicol to clear it out - No poos - Movicol to clear it out?! Doesn’t make sense to me? I don’t understand why he just won’t go?

Can you stop the solids for a few days to let their gut heal a little?

@LazyGreen if you do find a cure please let me know! 🙈 I find keeping mine on a preventative dose is working best, I do think he is just struggling to learn how to poo / withholding.

Did you get your the point of no movicol and no food and normal poos for a week or so before starting again with solids?

I’d be tempted to try that.

And if that doesn’t work then try the other approach of continuin movicol while also starting solids and then try and gradually wind the dose down.