Worst constipation ever!

singingirl96

I feel so bad for my little guy today!  He had it rough. First, he hadn't pooped in 3 days, then he couldn't poop at all.  I gave him a glycerin suppository and he soon pooped it out but no poop. He pushed and pushed and I could see it wanting to come out, but he couldn't push it out. 

I tried everything, bicycle legs, belly massage, two days of prunes and apple juice, you name it. 

I called the nurse on call and she said to stimulate his anus with the thermometer. I tried that but he couldn't pass the impacted ball of poop.  

So I proceeded to reach in with the thermometer and started to break apart the poop ball into little pieces with the tool.  All this while he's crying... I was heart wrenching.  He was finally able to pass a little of it with me helping in that way. 

This happened 4 more times this afternoon / evening.  They were all hard, compacted turds.  

He has been drinking enough breast milk, the only thing different is that he started having 2 solid meals per day since monday.   He's had avocado, peaches, cheesy brocolli, carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, papaya, and prunes (for the last two days).  Nothing out of the ordinary and no bananas. 

Has anyone gone through this?  What should I be giving him to prevent such agony?  It broke my heart to see him pass a poop so hard and large that he looked like he was giving birth while screaming. 

I need suggestions please. 

 Thanks.

dlemon

I'm sorry that you had to go through that! Usually when dd gets constipated juice helps but another thing you could try that I find calms my dd down is a warm bath. Hope he feels better soon!

missyrad

My son went through this soon after starting solids at 4 mths old and didn't poop for 5 days and the only thing that helped was another recommendation of using a q tip with vaseline and lubricating inside the rectum. My ds never cried so hard in his life till that night but 10min later we wentthrough 3 diapers!!!! 5 days of poop had come out and he was much happier after that. GL!

khill86

Giving water with solids helps with digestion. You don't need a lot. I BF too and give DS an ounce of water at each meal, which is two a day as well. We've never had any constipation issues. GL and hope your LO doesn't have to go through it again!

brookith

I just had the same problem with one of my boys today. He was screaming like I have never seen him scream before! I called the ped too and they suggested everything you did. We did the same with very little relief. They did say to offer about an ounce of water with each feeding of solids. She said carrots could be causing the constipation and to hold off on them for a little while.

We have our 6 month check-up on Monday, so I am hoping she has some more suggestions, because I know he still is constipated. Hope your LO feels better soon! It is a terrible thing to watch when they are in pain like that. 

Amanda2011

My lo has trouble with peas. My dr suggested we give a tsp of dark corn syrup twice a day. I put it in her bottle but you can also mix it with water. We have a product called windi. I found it on amazon. It helps the baby pass gas but it always triggered a poop for her even when she was really constipated. Lo had a lot of trouble when we first started solids but it only lasted about a month. Prune juice seems to work better for us then prun baby food. I mix it into her solids and she never seems to mind. So sorry you have to go through this. It's so hard to see your baby in pain. 

abbyhannah8

Try a teaspoon of sugar mixed with either 4oz of breast milk or formula, it worked great and fast for us!

ELF4321

Cheese and broccoli are both hard to digest, as is meat.  Try leaving those out and stick with the easier stuff to see how he adjusts.  I also make sure to give DD plenty of water when she's eating her solids meals.

littleredfish

I second the PP's on using water. We dealt with bad constipation when she started solids, but once we started giving her water in her sippy cup when she ate solids we never had an issue again. I just put her sippy near her and let her take it and drink as much as she felt she needed. It works out to about 1-2oz per meal.

Laur156

we are dealing with this right now too. Our guy actually got an anal fissure, a small tear, from trying to pass a large hard poop and there was bloos in his diaper, it wa scary since he's never been constipated this bad before. We took him to the Dr.'s and he gave us a special cream to help his tear heal and help take the pain away, but nothing for constipation. 

we are doing prunes with every meal and he finally passed two really large and very hard poops. we are also giving water with soilds and went back to one solid meal/day until his body gets more adjusted, then we will slowly add back in the second meal again.  

Sillylttleone

I was told when my son was first born by his old school pediatrician (practicing over 40 years), brown sugar does wonders.... its true!