bub constipated!!!

Over the last few weeks, DD (5 & 1/2 months) has gone from the daily or second daily poos to the twice per week or longer.
She is constipated - again. It has been 6 days since she last pooed. And she has gone 5 days twice before. She is straining to go, going red faced and everything, and only getting a few farts, and she is really uncomfortable. I have resorted to the coloxyl drops - again. But I hate doing this.
how can I help her poo without medicating her?

what I have tried so far:
chiropractic adjustment - twice
water - she hates it and spits it out, only had success on those BOILING hot days
massage - doesn't seem to make a difference

She was exclusively breastfed (except for a little water) up unitl 3 days ago, when we first started solids. But she really hasn't "eaten" any of it, more like just moved it around her mouth. If anything, she ate one (or two teaspoons at the most) of pears and rice cereal two days ago.
We are still BF, but she seems to have "gone off" her feeds a bit at the moment (probably because she is so full and uncomfortable).

any suggestions?

Rice cereal constipated my Dd1 every time. So we skipped it and just started on fruit and veg.

I'm not sure on tips to help right now, but I'd skip the rice cereal if your bub seems to have a bowel that is prone to constipation.

Rice cereal gave my bubble tummy pains she screamed both day I gave it to her..we never gave it again

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Is her poo hard, or is she just taking longer to have one? If it's still runny/soft then she's not really constipated (though they are often quite uncomfortable when they do finally go).
The cereal does often cause some issues with their guts.
Sometimes a nice, deep warm bath offers releif. Tummy massage (clockwise) and cycling the legs can also help.

i used sugar and water for my kiddies worked nearly everytime my MIL used to do it

I added pears if i ever gave farax to counter act the constipation

We had the same problems here with rice cereal.
starting solids can cause issues anyway, their little bellies getting used to new things etc.

BF babies can go up to 2 weeks without going and as a previous poster said, they may be uncomfortable when they do eventually do it.
The warm baths and cycling the legs helped here, I did also (on the advice of the parents helpline) one night give him brown sugar in warm water, within half an hour he had a massive poo and went soundly to sleep, after whinging, screaming and being in pain for a few hours. I think my DS was about the same age too.

Its so hard to see our little ones in such obvious discomfort, hope you are able to find something that works for you both. :)

It is hard to see them uncomfortable isn't it :hug:

As a PP said, going for a few days between poos is normal for some breastfed babies - it is only constipation if the poo is hard when it comes. If it is constipation, it is probably one of, or a combination of, her not being ready for the food yet, the rice cereal and/or the drop in breastmilk. Breastmilk is a natural laxative and the very best way to resolve constipation in a breastfed bub is to increase the breastmilk. Stopping the solids for a few days will help her tummy recover from any reaction to the food and should also increase her breastmilk intake. I'd be wary of using coloxyl drops or other medication unless absolutely necessary as it can cause a dependency in young children - meaning that they regulate their system based on the laxative and it is then hard to regulate them without it.

I am sure you are aware that there is a lot of debate about the best age to start solids. One thing is clear though, that all babies are different. Some are ready before the recommended 6 month mark, others are not ready until nearer to 1 year of age. A reaction to food when first introduced - sore tummy, sleeping issues, constipation etc - is a sign that the baby probably isn't ready just yet. There is no harm in delaying solids for a few days or a few weeks and then trying again. Another approach that works for many mums is to follow the Baby Led Solids approach - offering finger foods to the baby and allowing them to play with the food and decide when they are ready to eat it. There are many advantages to this approach including them being better eaters sooner because they are used to a variety of textures and tastes early. Another big advantage that might help you in this situation is that it allows the baby to set the pace. Babies instinctively know when they are ready for food, and the amount of food they need. So by offering the food but not feeding it to them, you allow them to follow this instinct and it saves you having to guess or make decisions about when they are ready - your little one will tell you! If you think this might be something you'd like to try, check out this thread - https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...-solids-94620/ for more information and there is a great chatter thread here - https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...er-5-a-148037/

All the best hun.

Hi ladies,
thanks for your replies. See my updates below.

So this morning makes it 8 days since she has pooed.

She had already not gone for 3 days before we started the solids.

She is still making regular "red faces" and pushing and pushing and still only getting farts out - not even leaky farts at that. That's what makes me think that she is constipated, not because she hasn't gone (as I know BF babies can go a while) but because she is so obviously uncomfortable. I even thought we might have got a car poo yesterday, but the car seat was just really uncomfortable for her.

Her usual poos are normally runny but after it has been a few days there is often a more solid bit in them (almost like a plug). We have been doing some part-time EC so I can see it quite easily in the potty.

Leg cycling - I had done that but forgot to put it on my list. She is forever kicking her legs anyway. And we had a deep bath together last night, but no poo yet.

Rice cereal - well we had only tried it the once, and I mixed it in with the pears to thicken it up a bit because my stewed pears went very runny and also because I didn't want her to get just too much sweet stuff so that she would learn some savoury tastes too. But I haven't added any since, and the pears actually thickened a bit in the fridge too. But I won't be using it again (I know it's empty calories anyway, it's just that my attempt at making my own turned into a dismal failure!) I hope the dog likes it, LOL!

I was originally hoping to do baby-led solids, but then decided to introduce some stage one foods as I thought she was getting hungry and wanting food. My cue for starting food was that she had begun snatching it of my plate. And she had begun waking at night at least once, sometimes 2 or 3 times after sleeping right through, and having a full feed, both sides, sometimes one side a second time. My milk supply hasn't declined any (well, I don't think so, I still feel quite full)
So I thought I would do a mix of baby-led and and regular. When she had the stewed pears, she also had a chunk first which she sucked and gnawed on. I had also given her a chunk of sweet potato but she didn't seem to like that (really screwed up her face - that's why I was a bit concerned about the "sweet tooth").

OK, so I think then I will lay off the stage one foods and still give her the chunks to gnaw on (if she wants ;) )

But I would still REALLY like her to poo -
I don't want to use the coloxyl again (she has already had 2 doses :( well, 1 & 1/2 as she spat half of the first one out, and not on the same day, but I feel like such a bad mummy because I hate giving her medicines, I feel like I am now one of those mothers that forever give their kid panadol)
I am very interested in the sugar remedy - how much brown sugar in how much water do you use?

thanks again ladies.

edited to update:
she has just pooed! Yay!
she sat there on her little potty pushing and straining and then she just did the hugest poo. and boy was it solid. Sorry if TMI but poor little poppet really was constipated. And when she finished she did the biggest smile, as if to say "that feels better". I am so relieved!

But I would still like to know more about the sugar remedy if it happens again, as it sounds better than coloxyl!

well I'm glad she's pooed!
Their poos do change once they start eating, but that sounds quite solid! Maybe just let her feed herself is she wants - pears and things like that should help keep things soft (hopefully).

Sorry hun but the sugar remedy really is an old wives tale. There is no medical reason why it would work except for the fact that the mixture is warm. Warm liquids stimulate the bowel - so warm water would be a much better option than putting so much sugar into a baby's system.

Prevention is a better option. The constipation could be due to two factors. One is lack of fluids - offering extra breastfeeds and/or water as you increase the amount of solids should help this. Not enough fluids might also explain the night waking. At about that age many babies start waking more often in the night for extra drinks as their brains are going through a period of rapid development and they seem to need more milk than usual. Solids won't meet this need, it's the milk they need. The other thing it could be is a reaction to the food - either an allergy or intolerance, or just not being ready. Now that she has had this reaction it might be an idea to introduce foods one at a time for a little bit to see if it happens again. That way if it does you will have a better idea of whether she's reacting to all foods or just some. Or it could be a combination of both factors.

Hopefully this was a one off and the rest of the solids process will go well.