poo: again, always, forever

myla14

Sorry to jump in with a problem rather than something constructive. My EBF LO is 6.5 mos, and he pretty much stopped pooping at 6 weeks on the nose. He'd go 7, 10, then 19 days wo pooping. The ped was reassuring til he went19 days, then threw up her hands and sent us to the GI doc. She just said give a suppository every 10 days as necessary, but since he's growing all is likely well. Well now that we've started solids, he strains and his poos are firm and seem hard for him to pass. I'm not sure if this is a normal reaction to solids and I'm just paranoid because of his history, or if I should call the GI doc back. He goes every 3-5 days now. Anyone have a similar non-pooping baby or any insight to offer? And sorry for the novel!

emilyann64

We have a pooping problem as well. Not quite as severe though. She won't drink prune juice, but will eat them. I've started giving her prunes or oatmeal mixed with prune juice for breakfast everyday. It seems to be helping! Hope that helps!

cd92007

Our ped said that if DS strains and has firm poops it's constipation.. I would call.

myla14

Thanks all. I give peach and pear purees and pear nectar, but maybe I should ramp up to prunes. The poos are kind of play doh like, not hard like pellets. I will likely call anyway, just tired of being the crazy poop mom at the doctor.

Nik102

Our pediatrician had us giving an ounce or two of water for constipation. He was BFed and straining to go. I agree that prunes will help whenever we give LO prunes the poop the next day is huge!

Liane28

My ped also recommends giving water with meals to help with digestion. I fill a sippy cup with about 3 oz and hand it to her after each meal.
She usually has a few sips. She is pretty regular, which for her means pooping every 2-3 days. Sometimes she strains a bit, but once it's out she's happy!

myla14

That sounds pretty similar @hvmom2b‌ ...its funny how I keep getting stuck with anxiety around this despite reassurance. I'm glad you're doing a good job of letting it go! And thanks to others on the idea of giving water. I think I was worried it would displace BM calories, but it sounds like it could help.

SoulTermination

The thing to remember about constipation is that it's not frequency of pooping, but how hard the poop is. If you poop once a week (example) and it's nice and smooth and you're (or they're) not straining a lot, it's not constipation. Or you (they) can be going multiple times a day and it's rock-hard or little pebbles. That's constipation.

myla14

I have heard that rule of thumb, too, and I still get worried. I thought solids would increase his frequency. I think I need to just own being crazy poop mom.

JWest07

Glad you posted this. My LO was a great pooper until we started solids. Even with prunes as a daily part of his diet he is constipated (based on consistency not frequency). I've tried introducing water, but that isn't going great. Any suggestions on what kind of cups you ladies have had success with? A few people have suggested I put some water in a bottle since he isn't doing good with cups. I had always heard that it isn't good practice to put anything besides BM (or formula) in a bottle so they don't start the habit of drinking only from bottles. I'd love to hear if water did the trick for your kiddos and how you got them to drink it.