My baby just turned 5 months old and we started her on solids about a week and a half ago. She has not pooped in 4 days now going on 5. I understand that when you start solids this can happen especially when they are exclusivly bf. I have tried suggestions that I found online: rubbing her tummy, warm baths, rotating her legs and trying some fruit. Nothing has worked so far. She usually starts getting fussy when she is being fed both bf and solids. She is not sleeping well at all. She seems to be uncomfortable (which who wouldn't be). She normaly goes poop at least 4 to 6 times per day. I don't know what to try now. I am going to call the doctor tomorrow if she does not poop by then but I cannot go another night of only getting about 2-3 hours of sleep. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Our ped told us to start her on rice cereal at 4 months and give it to her once per day for 4 to 5 days then try either fruits or veggies. We decided to wait until 5 months and we started with rice cereal then after 5 days gave her sweet potatoes. She had that for about 4 days before she got constipated. On a website for constipated babies it recommended giving her a fruit to help get the baby to poop. I know that bf is the #1 thing to do right now and I do feed her all day whenever she wants to be bf. She is only having about a tsp of solids once per day as the ped suggested. I have another daughter that is now 3 and we did the same thing with her with no problems.
Called her ped and they had us give her a very small amount of apple prune juice twice a day. Well that did the trick we gave it to her for 2 days and now she is going good. Thank you all for your suggestions.
Corn syrup, about a tablespoon. Works wonders and you can't overdose them on it by giving it often.
My little girl got constipated right around that time too. We tried a few things that our ped recommended
1 - "P" fruits - peaches, prunes, plums, and pears
2 - switch to oatmeal cereal not rice. Rice can be binding.
3 - Stop giving sweet potatoes, and bananas - also can be binding.
Those things HELPED but she was still having some trouble. Then ped recommended to add prune juice as the liquid to the oatmeal cereal. That works like a CHARM. She has it every morning and LOVES it. :)
Good luck. I know it can be stressful!
I would give her pears or prunes. They are great for constipation and always had my babies "cleaning out" in no time. Also make sure you are drinking plenty of water so that she gets as much breastmilk as possible.
Good luck and watch out when she does decide to go...there's potential for a MAJOR eruption!! ;)
My first son was a nightmare with constipation and believe it or not the only thing that worked was Corn Syrup. He was exclusively breast fed and I hated pumping and bottles, so a lot of times I would just mix it in his baby food every time he ate (about a teaspoon). If he was having an exceptionally bad bout, I made sure that every time he nursed I gave him corn syrup just before as well.
Seems like a lot of sugar for a little person but well worth it over the constipation.
Good luck!
Holy Cow Susan! Pushy a bit?
The only thing that clear my son out and keeps him regular is prune juice. If you are able to give her an ounce or two a day till things clear up, usually it takes 12 hours for it to work it's magic. If your daughter wont take a bottle, you can syringe it in or mix in with the rice.
Good Luck!! Oh and like an earlier poster said, watch out for a massive blow out! My son had to be given prune juice last night. . . it wasn't pretty this morning. Oh and it will be a blackish color so don't worry, it's just the color of the juice.
Oh and Susan is right about the just introductions to solids, but seriously if your baby wants it then don't deny her it. I would stop till she clears up, then start more with applesauce and pears, mixed in to oatmeal instead of rice. Oatmeal is more nutritious then rice. Rice is recommended to start out, just because it's highly unlikely of any reactions.
I've deleted my post after you gave more info and others have given answers similar to what I would have said given that info. smile
back off on the solids until she's feeling better, then try again. Avoid rice cereal, its really just junk food, there is no nutritional value, and its very binding... constipating babies.
My son went through the same thing when he was about six months. He had been exclusively breastfeed and that is about the time we started solids. He used to poop about four times a day but then it changed to once every five or six days. I called the doctor and they said to bring him in if he doesn't go after seven days. That never happened. In reading the other responses, I did stop the rice cereal (but mostly because he didn't like it) and the bananas. I gave him oatmeal and gave him bananas only on the days he pooped.
Once he turned about eight months, he started going once a day or once every two days. He's ten months now and he's going every two or three days now since we've introduced finger foods.
My son also sleeps very sporadically at night. He's never gone longer than four or five hours. I've actually switched him to sleep in bed with me between midnight and five a.m. so I can get some sleep before going to work at five a.m.
Good luck.
How many times a day are you giving her solids????
For the 1st year of life... solids is just an introduction to food... NOT a main course and not even 3 times a day, like adults.
And the portions are only like 1 teaspoon... at a time. Not a whole jar for example.
What are you feeding her?
Was it per your Pediatrician's saying what to give her?
Generally, solids are started from 6 months or older.
Even if she is on solids, as a tip... Breastfeeding is still a baby's PRIMARY source of nutrition for the 1st year of life... NOT solids and NOT other liquids.
-So, also, ALWAYS nurse BEFORE solids... otherwise, your baby will not want to nurse and will be too full to nurse... and then you will find your milk supply lessening and her weaning from breast. Whether or not you want that to happen.
And whether or not a baby is on solids... ALWAYS nurse on-demand, still. 24/7 day and night and especially at growth-spurts.
Breastfeeding is still the focus... not solids.
I think... STOP the solids. At least for now. A Baby gets all nutrients from breastmilk anyway, not solids.
There is no reason that she 'has to' have solids. Babies can and do, develop just fine and well even if just on breastmilk until older.
I breastfed both my kids... and what I have said here is also per our Pediatrician and what I did with my kids.
all the best,
Susan
Glycein supp. Or yrs ago we use to put a little karo in baby bottle, or maybe some prumes or warm prume juice...
My pediatrician recommended Milk of Magnesia in the am. MOM works best. You can give her a little teaspoon with some pear sauce or peach sauce in the morning and it will help her go in a few hours. Slow down on the solids. They don't need it at 5 months old. Wait a little longer until her digestive system is more mature. this is common at this age. You can also use a glycerin sypository for infants. They work great too.
Give up the rice until she is older. Rice is very very constipating and so are bananas. Pediatricians just tell you what the average mom/baby does or needs. Every child is different. If it is constipating just don't do it. My daughter is 10 months old and has only had a teaspoon of rice cereal ever. She hated it. She did start eating wet cheerios and some rice krispies a couple of months ago, but no rice cereal. There isn't any reason to start solids at 4 or 5 months if you are breastfeeding. Best wishes to you.
Another thing to consider is that breastfed babies usually poop WAY less than formula babies- it is just that breastmilk is the perfect food for them, and they absorb most of it. After they were a few months old, my babies would routinely go a week or sometimes more with only pee pee diapers, then finally have a big blow out, then go another week. NOT constipation. Seems like that tiny amount of solids would not physically have much effect, either. That being said, I waited until six months to start playing around with solids at all.
My baby had the same issues and nothing worked like babies magic tea.
Just keep an eye on things if the constipation continues. My son ended up on Myralax (Rx at the time but now over the counter) as a baby. We put 1/4 tsp in his milk every other day. It is non-addictive. Nothing natural ever worked for him. He is now 6 and still has issues and can't always seem to "feel" when it's time for #2. Necropresis I think it is called medically. Just keep your pediatrician informed of what you are doing.
