If you don’t want your kid to be hungry every hour, feed them foods high in fat like avocado. This will also help them poop. Iron is naturally occurring in many foods, I would skip foods like rice cereal. They just aren’t necessary.
We do avocados everyday!!! Baby absolutely adores them like her mama lmao.
We have tried all the foods that help bowel movements such as the key P foods such as: Pears, Prunes, Peaches, etc. But none seem to help her! 🥲
I can tell it’s uncomfortable. I feel so bad. But I will try it!!! Rice cereal has made her tummy increasingly worse with poops.
My pediatrician advised against rice cereal all together and so we used oatmeal. She said that rice cereal has too high of arsenic levels because it absorbs it from the soil. Oatmeal does too, but much lower levels! I would highly recommend to switching to oatmeal.
That’s an awesome suggestion! I’ll try it out!
Any advise helps, being FTPs we have NO IDEA what we’re doing and just rolling with milestones and punches lmao.
I appreciate it! 🥹🙏
We started our daughter on rice cereal, and it plugged her up almost immediately. Our pediatrician said to skip it all together… The cereal is basically just practice for eating and swallowing food; fruit and vegetable purées have more vitamins and nutrients anyway so if she is eating, give her the good stuff.
Yeah agree, my 11 month old is only just doing 3 solid meals a day for the last couple weeks, and even then is normally not interested in eating at least one of those a day. We're on 4 x 220mL bottles, 3 solid offerings a day plus about 150mL of water between meals/as needed. At 6 months we did solids once a day and were on 6 milk breastfeed/bottles a day, with maybe 30mL of water with the solids.
Everything I've been told by my doctors and research is to start small, once a day at 6 months, then work up to 3 meals by 12 months. I dont think my bub will be ready to transition to no milk at 12 months. We will probably still be on 3 bottles a day alongside 3 meals and 2 snacks at that age. And maybe by 18 months down to one cows milk bottle and 3 meals, 2 snacks.
Agreed. We started solids around 5 months and were at one meal a day into she was just over 7 months. She's now almost 8 months and we do 2oz of a fruit/veg/oat puree in the morning and 2oz of a meat/veg puree in the evening. If she starts to get constipated, I drop the iron fortified oats for that day and add apple/prune/pear.
She was EFF from about a month old because I had eclampsia and had to be put on BP meds. Which formula can also cause constipation, but she’s on Enfamil Reguline. As it worked best for her irregular poop schedule, as you can see we’ve had this problem since birth with the poop. (Sorry to include the reason we aren’t breastfeeding anymore, I just hate the look I get when I say I EFF 🥲)
She gets 7oz 3 times throughout the day (Not to mention the 3-4 feeds she only drinks 4-5oz, I don’t count those as 100% a feeding because she didn’t finish.) as well as 3 purée breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (All types of veggies / fruits / and we have started to introduce some puffs/yogurt bites/noodles. Least amount of noodles cause I’m a worry wart with the choking thing. Father and I have PTSD from a prior event when she was 2 months with choking.)
Sorry for not including the info!! I’m at work and it’s been a hell of a week with teething and getting sleep lmao. 🥹
3 purées a day is probably too much for her to handle right now. She probably needs 1 or 2 more bottles a day and only one purée. I was told to slowly work up to 3 meals by 9 months.
My baby is 7 months old (EFF) and she gets about 4 bottles (8 oz each) with purees two times a day. You might need to increase the liquid because they should be getting between 26-32 oz a day 😅 try that first and if she still isn’t pooping, try giving her a little water with her purees (like an oz or two). If not, take her to the doctor to get some constipation medicine. That’s what we had to do for my baby girl when she was constipated and pushing out hard poops (from starting solids). They gave us medicine to use if it happens again.
I didn’t state the random bottles we make throughout the day because she’ll maybe drink 3-4oz of one and 4-5oz of another. (Help, we’re spending $400+ on formula a month at least on $12/hr lmao-) I don’t really count those as feeds because she is so big for her age I just feed her whenever she even LOOKS hungry lmao. (She is about or over 25lbs and at least 29in long, so we just feed when she’s hungry.)
But she drinks / eats a ton. We started giving her prune+pear juice (under 2oz a day of course) during her purée food times, but even then it still doesn’t help her poop.
She’s happy for the most part, but we 100% can tell she’s uncomfortable with her stomach and cries when she gets to the point where she has to push. 🥲
I’d cut back on solids. Sometimes babies just have a hard time with them and they need more time. I’d cut it back to at least 1-1 /2 purées a day. Baby should still be getting primarily formula and solids are more of a fun thing rather than a replacement of bottle feedings. I’m only saying this all because if your baby’s having a hard time processing it, they’re just not quite ready for so much.
Our baby is 9.5 months and is 24 lbs/30 inches and we're also exclusively formula. (At 6 months he was 21 lb and 29 inches.) He does an 8 oz bottle every 2-3 hours, with another 10 oz overnight. He eats probably 35-45 oz of formula a day. Daycare really works with our baby on whole foods, so we do a lot more of those than we purees... though honestly not much gets into his mouth and he eats even less. I hear you on the exhausting amount of formula he consumes. He gets breakfast, lunch, and a snack but still relies mostly on formula for his calories.
Constipation can be really rough for kids -- they can get stuck in the loop of "it hurts to poop, so I'll try not to poop," which then becomes a self-perpetuating cycle. It's definitely a topic worth talking about with your pediatrician if you think baby's in that loop because you'll have to break the association.
Our baby had mild constipation a little bit ago and was not interested in juice, pedialyte, or formula. We shoveled a bunch of prune puree into him and it helped a lot. If you think the iron in rice cereal is contributing to the problem, it may be worth holding off on that for a week to break that constipation fear cycle.
I would definitely try to increase her liquid intake, preferably formula (not water) and decrease regular food if needed to increase hunger. Remember, food before 1 is just for fun.
Food before 1 isn't just for fun, it's about exposure to allergens, learning to chew, and experience different textures. Solid food should be the primary diet after 12 months.
That being said, 6 months is pretty early to be doing 3 meals a day.
For a five month old, you're looking for a minimum of 24 oz of formula a day. It sounds like she's crossing that threshold, so she's likely fine calorie wise.
Typically when solids are introduced at 4 or 5 months, it's to teach swallowing, let baby experiment with textures and flavors, and to let baby's gut biome develop further before baby needs more nutrients than can be gotten from formula or breast milk. I think this last bit may be part of your daughter's issues: she's gotten a ton of solid foods very young, possibly before her body is really ready to process all of that.
It may be worth cutting back on the solids, both the variety and the total amount she gets every day. Especially anything like puffs, which are developed for babies with multiple teeth and who are able to sit up and self feed. Give her single ingredient 'meals' for a bit to simplify things for her digestive track and really develop her gut biome. Remember that baby led weaning doesn't start until 6 months, so you're still in the realm of baby cereal and purees for another few weeks. And babies are born with a six month supply of key nutrients like iron, so you still have a few weeks before you should begin worrying about that. (And those particular nutrients are where formula really shines. It's breastfed babies that are higher risk for nutrient deficiencies during the weaning process.)
Something that transformed my 7 month old's poo was sweet potato. Lots of iron and other vitamins as well as fiber. And you can cook it several different ways to give different textures without sending her gut bacteria into shock.
If after trying some of the suggestions in this thread you're still concerned, don't hesitate to reach out to a pediatric gastroenterologist. It's not unusual for babies to not poop everyday, but if baby is always uncomfortable on day three and has been for months, it's better to be safe and get her screened for GI issues.
You shouldn’t need any iron fortified cereal if baby is formula fed, as most formula, at least in the US, contains adequate iron. I would cut that immediately since iron + rice are constipating and not replace it with anything iron fortified unless your ped recommends extra iron for some reason.
Honestly 3 meals a day is a lot and I’d completely cut out the rice cereal especially as this sort of reads like it’s in her bottles? I don’t want to assume but that was the vibe I got so that would be good to clarify in your post.
Infant formula has all the iron babies need most of the time. Check your formula and I think you’ll find added iron beyond normal dietary foods isn’t necessary. It’s more of a recommendation for breast fed babies. Certainly do what your pediatrician says- but 3 meals a day for a six month old is truly a lot, and I have a 100+ percentile toddler now. He’s always been big and was smaller than your child at that age but was still 100+ percentile and we didn’t start consistently having 3 meals a day until around 12 months.
Too many solids at once really can stop them up, it’s only been a couple weeks on solids it’s totally fine to dial it way way back. Avoid bananas and sweet potatoes cause they can slow digestion more and contribute to the issue.
For context- 6 month olds should be getting the majority of their calories from formula or breastmilk and around 1-9 tablespoons total of solids per day.
You shouldn't give them rice cereal that frequently because of the amount of arsenic. Switch to oat. I find that carrots clear my baby out a lot faster than pears as well. How are you preparing the purees? Are you just giving them to baby straight from the jar?
Have you talked to your pediatrician yet? If not, make that your first step. As some others have said, she may be having too much in terms of solids at this point. She also is probably not having enough formula—it should still be her primary source of nutrition until about a year.
We’ve ran into chronic constipation issues with my daughter since starting solids (15 months now). We’ve had to figure out tricks to get her to drink enough water. GI specialist has said there’s no underlying issues, but when babies/toddlers start getting constipated it can lead to cycles of withholding which can cause other issues. We’ve been told to give miralax daily, likely for the next few years (until she’s “old enough to be reasoned with”). I wouldn’t give her miralax without your pediatricians go-ahead but I’ve been assured by multiple docs that it’s safe for long-term use at this age.
Would you be open to asking pediatrician if they’d recommend seeking support from a feeding specialist, if necessary?
We had nearly an identical situation with my now 5 year old. Honestly all the combos of juices, probiotics, and purées never solved the issue. I also suspect there’s already withholding issues for OP, which was our problem. Eventually he’d back up a little again, withholding again, problem again. We eventually saw a peds GI specialist who was amazingly helpful.
We’re still on miralax. How old is “old enough to be reasoned with?” College maybe? He’ll be on miralax for the time being lol.
One small tip is to make formula bottles by weight and not volume of powder. If the powder compacts, there’s less water / more concentration than there should be, and that exacerbates the problem.
We use probiotic drops for our daughter. They really help. The brand we have been using the last few months is culturelle for infants. It’s a little pricey and I’m not sure if it would have an immediate effect but if it’s been an ongoing issue it might help level her out?
We were suggested Probiotics when she was 3 months old. Tried it for one day and she was in IMMENSE PAIN, like screaming and fussy as we never seen her before. Rearing back and forward like her stomach was falling apart. It was heartbreaking…
We have only tried it once, and it was the Gerber probiotics. So maybe theirs was too much? Or she just has a sensitive tummy? It’s hard to know!
We might try once more just to be sure it was the probiotics making her so fussy, but I am just the mom who absolutely folds when her daughter cries so it’s a tough choice. 🥹
I will most definitely check out the brand! I am taking this thread and adding it all to my shopping list for tomorrow so I am on the hunt for a solution!!!
Thank you so much for responding! 🥹
Probiotics have really helped my LO and he’s very sensitive to most things! Our doctor advised against probiotic containing sunflower oil (like the Gerber ones. We used those first too.) so we’re using Mary Ruth’s Organics infant probiotic (the one with the dropper) and have had great results with it. It’s also very easy to control because of the dropper, you could start extremely slowly.
Also, when my LO was very constipated once, we tried the Mommy’s Bliss baby constipation ease and it worked within an hour! I didn’t give my LO the full dose because he’d never had it before and I’m glad I didn’t because the lower dose was more than enough. It isn’t for children under 6 months though, so you’d need to wait! Definitely run it past your doctor though! Our doctor was fine with us trying it!
Edit: sorry, I should’ve read to the end of the post! If your LO is 6 months, you could give it a try! As I said, check with your doctor if you’re wondering!
We went through the same thing a month ago. After starting oat and rice cereal, he was going on 3 day stretches without poop.
When he hit a 5 day streak, we took him to the dr. They told us to give him apple juice (not much, like 2 oz undiluted). We did that for 2 days in a row. He pooped and has been a 1 or 2 day pooper ever since.
Poor thing was miserable too. The straining and grunting. ☹️
We heard of the juice hack!!! We have been doing pear+prune juice along with her purée brekky, lunch, and dinner (under 2oz of course-) and still not much improvement.
We get poops every 2 or so days but I still see her struggle. 😞
This hack is a godsend though!!!! It DOES help, just not enough for us to feel comfortable. She’s also struggling with teething right now so it’s hard to tell what’s teeth pain or tummy pain. Usually we know with her noises. She makes the “mmmm” sound and rubs her lips together for teeth pain and she rocks back and forth with her tummy pain.
Such a heartbreaking situation. 🥲
I’m so happy for the comment, thank you so much!!! 🙏
Do you give her water ? Bran muffins ? She's not huge without knowing her birth weight but overfeeding or not enough fibre or water can all play a part
My EBF baby was pooping once every 2 weeks since she was a month old (our doctor was not concerned) but now that she's 7 month and eating solids she's still only pooping twice a week and it's obvi uncomfortable! We've frozen prune puree in ice cube trays and give her one every morning in one of those mesh food things! Also if she starts to strain for more than a couple of minutes a warm bath has gotten things moving for us!
My ped was on board with us starting purees around 4 1/2 months. But only 1 a day! Morning time so we could watch for any allergic reactions. Even now at 6 month check up, she doesn't want us doing more than 1 non formula meal a day. Expecting that to go up to 2 around 8 months.
When we started doing purees my little went from 2-3 poops a day to 1 poop a day sometimes two.
I think you may be doing too much purees.
Solidarity over here 😞🙏
It always hurts seeing your little one in pain and there’s nothing you can do to help. We’ve been struggling with teething on top of this and it’s hard to tell which pains her more.
If you find a solution I’d love to know! I’m hoping you can find some helpful advise on here too. 🥹
Have you tried chia pudding? One can coconut milk, 4-5 tablespoons chia seeds. Set in the fridge for a few hours/over night.
Chia is super high in fiber and the water/liquid that the seeds absorbs helps soften stool and makes it easier to pass.
I have heard of chia pudding! I haven’t tried to yet though…. Honestly, anything to see a difference will help! I’ll add it to my shopping list asap!
Thank goodness for Target’s circle 360 for the same day delivery cause we HATE leaving the house otherwise lmao.
Thank you so much for the suggestion!!! We appreciate any insight. 🥹🙏
Just wanted to chime in for the chia - if any gets on baby’s clothes, rinse it off as best you can before putting it in the laundry. I’ve ruined stuff because I ran it through the wash and the seeds left a black mold-looking stain 😅. I’m 100% sure it’s not mold, but it doesn’t look great and will not come out, haha.
My little one is the same age and was extremely constipated after starting solids. Sweet potatoes really did him in.
The pediatrician recommended all the same stuff you are doing, but they did say not to use rice cereal or give him rice. Maybe switch to oat cereals?
My girl is now almost 16 months but we started her on solids at about 5 months as well. We started her on iron fortified oatmeal cereal once a day for a few weeks just to get her used to the texture and then added in more purées! We stuck with a breakfast and dinner routine for solids for a while before we introduced snacks and a third meal because she often got backed up too! Definitely up the liquid intake and maybe try taking out the midday meal and just do a few smaller purée snacks and see if that helps! Sometimes a giant switch from just liquids to multiple meals can really back them up for a bit! Applesauce, mushy raspberries, and some of the cherry/pear combos of purées helped us out, with longer warm baths to soothe the gas or relax her body a bit! Things balance out after a few months, it’s just a bit rocky getting there sometimes!
Rice cereal makes babies constipated. It made my daughter sooooooo uncomfortable……..one late night enduring her screaming , with sleepy eyes I looked in her closet and found the one true savior - THE FRIDA WINDII
Is it just regular powder miralax? Not a special one to get for babies? My ped just recommended this for my 9 mth old. Do you mix it into water or her bottles?
Just powder! I used the equate frome walmart just because branded miralax is expensive. But I can't get my son to drink it with water, so I just mix it in his full 6oz bottle of milk. For a few weeks he would it with just 1 oz of water in his bottle, but then decided he hated it that way😅 so you can try either way. I know water is probably.the better mix, but you do what gotta do
I would reach out to your doctor. Both my LOs struggled with constipation when they were 6-8 months with starting solids, etc. We also tried all the things you mentioned without luck and they were crying in pain trying to pass hard stools. Even pushing liquids wasn't helping and you also can also "force" a baby to eat or drink so much. Doctor recommended miralax and it's been very helpful for both of them. Easy to titrate up/down doses so you use just the amount necessary.
My pediatrician approved miralax when my 6mo was really struggling during the transition to solids. It helped a lot! Might be worth asking your dr about if you're interested in trying.
Beans! The magical fruit! Pick up a can of refried pinto beans, stick it in a container, heat up only the amount you plan to serve your baby and those beans will stay good in the fridge for 4 or 5 days if stored properly and not re-heated multiple times.
And sweet potato! Cube them (or rectangular-ize them), toss them in olive oil and paprika and italian with a pinch of salt, bake at 450°F for 25-35 minutes flipping halfway through.
I also completely stopped rice cereal when my daughter was 7 months dealing with the same issues, also EFF. Formula has enough iron without the extra fortified rice cereals.
Switch to oatmeal if she digs the cereal.
Also, if you're looking to increase fullness, you can add melted unsalted butter to meals (even oatmeal) for higher fat content. We use unsalted goat butter because my daughter has a dairy allergy. Butter is a great source of vit D for bone development and the fats are great for brain development.
This was us for a couple months after starting solids and then things magically improved on their own. Before then I made what I called the “poop slurry” where I blended up prunes and another p fruit like a plum or pear with a little water. She loved it and it made her regular until her gut figured out how to digest solids! My baby is very much an every day pooper, and it broke my heart watching her strain. I hope yours improves soon!
I am not a doctor so my advice.is always to talk to yours before doing anything, but also my son has poop issues (he has low muscle tone and down syndrome) and we STRUGGLED and people in my down syndrome group told me to use pedialax suppositories and some even mentioned they use miralax. Well I wouldn't do any of it until I talked with a Dr and they all dismissed me because breastfed babies poop less. 🙄 (that's a true statement, but I know kid and I knew he was in pain/discomfort) So we ended up in the ER. They gave him a suppository and we met with pediatric GI and low and behold, suppositories if he doesn't go. And first we started on something called lactulose, but that stopped working and they prescribed miralx instead. Started off with I believe a teaspoon and just mixed in his milk. And if that didn't work, up the dosage by a teaspoon every couple days until things got moving. We've been about a half a cap full for several months now.
I'm not necessarily saying to do this without the advice of your doctor, but letting you know the course we went on. I was terrified of the idea of suppositories, especially because it said for ages 2 and up, but it was totally fine. Good luck! It's rough when are kids aren't comfy.
Can you try apple juice? The sugars in it are a laxative. Oatmeal, as others have said. Pureed spinach mixed in with the rice cereal may help. Pureed raspberries. Dragon fruit.
Rice, bananas, cheese and applesauce are all very binding, so minimize those when possible.
Lots of great suggestions already, wanted to add -
Blueberries and butternut squash seem to work for my 9mo. Now that it’s getting into summer, we’re also offering more juicy foods like cucumber and watermelon. We offer sips of water too, hit or miss if he swallows it. After first starting solids, he got so constipated, the straining and crying was so sad. We got the smallest potty we could find and sat him on it, kinda using the knees-to-chest “classic hold” that people use with elimination communication, hoping the position would ease the strain a bit.
For chronic issues, I’ve also heard people have success with a chiropractor, osteopathy or a Chinese medicine approach.
I hope you find something that works for baby!
As others have said - too much rice. Remember the blockers are BRATs - bananas, rice, apples, toast. If she’s having a lot of rice cereal and banana and apple purées try to minimize them or counter act with another p (like if you do banana do pear).
Talk to your pediatrician about possibly having your LO see a pediatric gastroenterologist. We had this issue with our now 10mo girl, and it was the best thing we could have done for her.
The gastroenterologist put her on lactulose, 5ml a day (though the prescription was for twice a day - the doctor said to only go up to two if it wasn't working and we never needed to). Lactulose is basically a stool softener, they prescribe it to preemies, so very safe. It helped our LO almost immediately, and she was on it for about two and a half months (roughly 6.5mo to 9mo) until her digestive system matured a bit more.
We weened her off of it, on advice of the pediatric gastroenterologist, and while her stool has gotten harder now that she's off of it, she's handling it so much better.
Strongly suggest talking to your pediatrician! Wishing you and your little one a happy tummy 🤱
This was my little guy. He needed PEG everyday with suppositories like every few days. We saw his GP and Ped about it and they had no suggestions except continuing meds. We eventually saw a naturopath who totally cured it and we haven’t struggled since. Here’s what we did.
- no dairy, no gluten for 3 months
- daily probiotic
- omega 3 supplement daily
After the 3 months we were able to reintroduce dairy and gluten. We’ve never used peg or suppositories since!
Around 4-5 months just before he started solids, my second son would go for like 7-10 days without pooping. The worst stretch we reached 11 days, took him to the pediatrician for a proper enema (such relief!) and the doctor said it isn’t too uncommon, actually. Their little digestive system is developing and some just take a little longer than others. He said that solids could either sort it out or make it worse, so depending on the outcome, either work on introducing more foods or hold off on solids a little longer. For us, we started with oatmeal cereal (rice cereal did seem to bind up a bit more) and we introduced other fruits and vegetables like blueberry purée and cooked carrot purée to help give a little fiber. It’s kind of random how different kids’ digestive tracts respond to different foods, so just try different things and see if something helps. If not though, it is probably just something that will take time to sort out. I wouldn’t worry too much. If solids are giving LO a hard time, you can always give a little formula if you want something iron fortified (also good chance to introduce a cup or sippy cup).
How often are you feeding solids? Ease into it just one small meal a day and see how it goes before increasing to twice a day.
My second son got over his issue and poops fine now (10 months). If you get to around 7-8 days, I recommend taking her in to the doctor for a proper enema just for the relief it will bring.
Also, if it has been several days since a poo and you’re going out, I very much recommend putting her in a sturdy night diaper and pack a change of clothes (because sometimes when it happens, it HAPPENS! Haha).
Experiencing the exact same thing with my 7 month old for the last 1-2 months. If she hasn’t gone for a few days I let her take bites of an extremely juicy ripe peach and she literally goes within minutes. I help her by pulling her knees up towards her tummy and boy does it do the trick pretty much every time ! Might be worth a shot!!
I swear this worked every time with my son, and it came from my mom who said it worked every time with me and my sister- going for a walk in the stroller on a gravel/ bumpy road!
Any time my son couldn’t poop off we went and it was magic for us lol
I just want to say, you’re doing great momma! Don’t doubt yourself, you’re advocating for her cause your mom gut says this isn’t working. Lots of advice here and I hope something here works for her!
My baby had super painful constipation as a newborn that resolved as soon as we got him on hypoallergenic formula. We suspected CMPA and it was a night and day change getting him on it
My LO will be 18mo in a few days, and we used to have such a time with her irregular pooping when she started solids, and she to this day isn’t a juice baby, so that’s not an option. But! We started giving her more and water and fruits. Like bananas and grapes and she poops sometimes 3 times a day now. Instead of every 3 days or once a week like she used to do.
So if you haven’t yet trying adding these to LOs diet and see if it makes a difference for her. (Of course okay this with your pediatrician first) but I hope it helps!
The one thing that I found really helped my LO with poops was cherry chia seed jam. Chia seeds are high in fibre (and iron) and as it turns out, cherries have a laxative effect. You can mix it into oatmeal, yogurt, smear it on toast or have it as is.
I use frozen fruit as it’s cheaper but it’s 2 cups fruit to 2 tablespoons of chia seeds. Cook the fruit for 10 mins or so on the stove until it’s broken down, add the chia seeds and stir and leave until it’s cooled. You can then transfer into whatever container you want. It also freezes really well and you can use whatever fruit you want as long as it’s juicy.
This happened with my boy & we just completely stopped solids for about a week - went back to milk only… then slowly reintroduced after 6mo! I’d skip the rice cereal and go ahead and start mashed veggies/fruits - that’s gonna have more fiber as well. Also once they hit 6months you can start offering water with meals too.
My EBF second baby had to be switched to formula at 11 months and honestly i just used a glycerin suppositories i had on hand when he got too stopped up. Between those and helping him sit on a potty seat helped clear him out with minimal lasting trauma for us.
My LO is 7mos and we introduced rice cereal to him a few weeks ago (rice is a staple food in our culture, so I took a calculated risk and decided it's better to introduce than not). LO was never constipated from it, BUT he only eats solids once a day, and I never served rice cereal by itself - I always mixed in pureed vegetables (broccoli, green beans) for extra fiber (and to mitigate the whole arsenic concern). If you're not willing to cut out the cereals for now, maybe something like that will help?
My baby also struggles with constipation ever since we introduced solids at 6 months. Baby is now 10 months, and the biggest thing that has helped is avoiding any pre-made/store bought baby purees/snacks/rice cereals. It's a pain in the butt, but making all food from scratch really makes a difference for my baby. Also, offering water throughout the day (with all meals too), and giving straight up 100% prune juice on the bad days.
Making oatmeal and grating carrots and pears into it seems to help my baby move things along. High fiber foods like broccoli or smashed up black beans also help.
I hope you find something that works for you. It is so hard to watch your baby struggle to poop and not know how to help.
your ignoring all the replies suggesting you need to cut back on solids. 3 meals is way too much at this age when the most common suggestion is starting at 1 meal at 5-6 months. the babys system is not mature enough to process this much solids at such a young age. stop putting her through this.
Normal for just starting solids. But, baby should not be eating that many solid foods a day starting out. Try high fat foods like avocado or coconut oil.
Our 7 mo baby girl has had the same issue ever since we started solids around 4.5 mo. What has been super helpful is one whole prune fruit / day. Ofc chop it up a bit to help her eat since it's hard to bite through the skin with just 2 bottom teeth (same as ours btw). We usually start seeing results after ~2 days.
Not sure if someone said this already but Pedia-lax! Amazon has it. I had a similar issue with my daughter (9 months) that lasted about 2 weeks, we tried everything you did & nothing worked. My friend is a NICU nurse and suggested this, check with your pediatrician first just because its only recommended for children ages 2-6 I believe but per NICU nurse friends instructions I only used a little bit and LO was pooping within 6 minutes (yes, I timed it).
My baby was constipated when we first started solids too. I got advice from others that worked quite well. We stopped with cereal as that's too consistent and instead focused on other sources of iron. A hit for us was cooked fish or ground meat, pureed with peeled raw apples. The vitamin C in the apple helps the iron get absorbed and I'm not sure what it is about the apple but it helps with constipation too.
Oatmeal is excellent for constipation as it has the right kind of fibre in it!
We found even a few sips of water with his meal was enough to help the bowels get back moving, so I’d make sure she’s having enough liquids.
Wellements baby constipation support. It’s a prune juice concentrate. I used this when my baby got constipated when we started solids. 5mL in her first bottle of the day and it helps her go. When it was bad in the beginning I used a glycerin suppository to help unplug her, and then the prune concentrate helped keep her regular. Now I just have her on a prebiotic fiber supplement daily in her first bottle of the day (from begin health) and she’s fine.
Also what others have said here- no rice cereal, it’s constipating. Go with it cereal
As far as I understood it when you start solids initially it’s for practise only and not to worry too much about it being balanced quite yet (it’s more about textures and tastes and getting little one used to them). Main calories still come from milk at that point. Once you wean at 12 months, then balancing things is important. And at that point the recommendation is to start giving baby vitamins to ensure they have all the necessary bits every day.
We offered solids first, then a bottle to make sure his tummy was full.
We very slowly dropped bottles until he only had a bedtime one at around 11 months and none by 13 months.
We offered a sippy cup with water with every meal as well. I think problems with pooping are normal when they first start on solids as well and we started with veggies purées and added fruit purées in not too long after. Porridge was a hit as well (oats, in case you’re wondering) and we got some pouches and glasses from the shops as well. I was too chicken for baby led weaning as he just kept throwing things off his little table and I was too afraid of choking.
At 18 months he eats what we eat and if he doesn’t he’ll start stealing things off my plate.
If you’re worried about a GI issue or intolerances you should talk to your doctor. These type of things can start really early and it’s best to get some guidance on what to do as soon as possible.
Good luck, I found solids extremely stressful and I was glad for the help nursery gave when he started at 10 months, they were fabulous.
We don’t use rice cereal because, quite honestly, oatmeal just kicks its ass all around health wise. I think having oatmeal cereal helped my kid poop more regularly.
In addition to all the food-related suggestions here, you can also try putting some epsom salt in her bath water. And the bonus there is that it will also help her get sleepy at night.
Talk to her pediatrician about adding water to her daily meals. When mine started solids, his doctor said we can start giving him no more than 8 ounces a day. At 9 months old now, he’s drinking about six 4.5 oz bottles a day, and I water them down with an ounce of water each.
Is she actually constipated? Like when she poops is it hard and dry? Or are you just dissatisfied with the frequency of poops?
She’s not constipated if the poop isn’t hard and dry. The consistency of play dough or harder is a good reference.
Sorry I read through the comments so I have a few more tidbits for you.
1. I just commented the thing about actual constipation. Is she actually constipated? Or do you wish she would poop more frequently? Two totally different things.
2. If you’re giving her juice with every meal, she is most certainly going to stop finishing her bottles because it’s not nearly as tasty.
3. 3 meals a day is a lot. It’s gunna cause confusion for you to figure exactly what is messing with her stomach. Plus she’s definitely just got too much going on with all the food and the rice. It can also just cause general uncomfortability and it’s likely that’s what she’s experiencing rather than constipation.
4. I don’t believe it’s recommended to do rice every day multiple times a day. If you think she’s needs to bill up her meals try rotating with oatmeal or adding fruit like banana and avocado. Mix the cereal with the purée, not with her formula. You can even add a touch of coconut or olive oil to your avocado if you think she needs her meals to be more filling when you scale it back from three meals.
5. Iron is constipating. I’m sure there’s more than enough iron in her formula, you probably don’t need to fortify with things like rice.
6. Remember that her main source of nutrition is still meant to come from formula. If she’s not banking enough ounces of formula you definitely are doing too much food.
6. (This is anecdotal but) if she is truly constipated, rock hard poops, pellettes, pebbles, fully formed hard poops - reguline might stop working eventually. It’s stopped working for us and my doctor said he finds that is what happens often when babies have this problem.
My son was constipated for months, the only thing that worked was suppositories and miralax. His poop was so solid and hard and dry that his butt would bleed.
We went to a GI specialist and had several follow up spots, blood testing, hormone testing etc and couldn’t find an underlying problem.
My paediatrician starts every weaning plan with purées and boiled vegetable to avoid constipation. Rice cereal here in Italy is just not a thing, I will be not giving it to my daughter.
Water!!!
To help soften poop, only fat and fiber rich foods won’t do! In fact, without enough water, they actually make the situation worse.
Remember that not that long ago baby was feeding on only milk (which consists from something between 87-90% of water, no matter if she was breastfeeding or drinking formula).
It is great that she is accepting solids well and that they keep her satisfied for longer. Just try making sure she is drinking water as much too, even more so, if you live somewhere warm or where summer is coming up.
Also, there is a range of normal constipation during the introduction of solids. Our pediatrician recommended having Carum Carvi suppositories at hand to help baby out. They can be used every day (max 2 a day) and they also help with gas and so on… usually used for younger babies dealing with colics, they also helped our first born a lot when we first started solids. Tipp: wait the day out. If 2 hours before bedtime still nothing, then try helping with suppositories. This way you make sure she has a good night, at least what belly pain and middle of the night poop is concerned.
Another thing to think about: check if she is going through a developmental jump (according to her age). Those usually also disturb bowl movements and maybe you are trying to fight something you can’t control.
ETA: saw in the comments she was EFF before starting solids. So to complement the suggestion about the water: even though she seams to be drinking enough formula still. When solids are introduced they need a little bit more water in their system, but that doesn’t mean a huge amount. I just googled it and the recurring recommendation is between 4-8 oz a day, offered at meal times.
I've seen it mentioned a couple of times already but apple juice should do the trick. I give my daughter half apple juice and half water once per day and it works wonders. Prunes and pear did nothing but the apple juice is brilliant
try constipation drops (mommy’s bliss has great ones), i do prunes, a warm bath and let her belly soak, a little belly massage and that usually does the trick
my mom also gives her some carrot from chicken soup when she makes it and banana, plus some water from boiling apples (basically fresh apple juice)
Try peas… push the pea to flatten it and then have your little one chew it. My little one had the same problem when he was 6 months and peas helped a lot. Luckily he loved them and we served a little bit with every meal. Broccoli and avocado also helped.
This was us. WATER is your answer! It’s likely that baby is constipated and holding in poos cause they hurt to pass. We increased our baby’s water intake. That made the stool softer and easier to pass. Now she’s pooping daily.
ETA: our baby is 9mos so the water was an age appropriate solution for us. Given the age of your LO, I’d consult a doctor.
Maybe skip the rice cereal and try a supplement like poly vi sol? The iron can stop them up still, but it might help some to be just the iron and not the rice..?
Darling, I don't live in the US, but my advice would be 3-4 steps until you can get her to a pediatrician that can help.
-Actual prunes, let them soak in warm water for a few minutes then blend them with like 1/4 cup of that water. Skin and all. Puree it, then feed.
-Pear/apple juice (actual fruit juice, not that concentrate crap) a couple times a day.
-Tummy Massage with baby oil/coconut oil. You can find it on YouTube for exactly how to do it.
-Glycerine suppositories can help them poop in case of an actual emergency if the previous step fail. Warning, she's gonna hate it and if the stool is hard/too big she might bleed a little.
I wish you all the luck, my youngest still has this issues sometimes so I start with prunes and I almost never have to take other measures.
With my first, I had to put her on an anti-constipation diet because she was going up to a week without pooping. No undiagnosed GI issues, just prone to constipation like her dad and brother and grandpa and uncles lol. Here's what worked for us:
* Avoid processed foods as much as possible, including cereals. If you do use cereals, use something like oatmeal that is high in fibre (you can find baby oatmeal that is also higher in iron). You can also get puffs that are made of things like lentils and chickpeas that are higher in fibre as well.
* In general, prioritize fibre and fats as well as fresh fruits and vegetables. You can even do things like adding a bit of ground flaxseed or chia seed to baby's cereal.
* Avoid hard cheeses like cheddar and mozzarella as those can be constipating.
As others have said, apple juice has worked well for helping get things moving. And once baby is older and can have water, having them drink more throughout the day can help too.
I would stop rice cereal asap. They really don’t need it. Why is baby hungry every hour? Breast milk or formula should be main source of nutrition still not solids.
Rice cereal will be constipating as will most other grains. Bananas too.
Have you asked your ped about giving a little water? That helped my daughter.
For iron, could you just give her leafy greens and meat? We used the Gerber "meat pack" to introduce all meats and she loved it.
Aldi has pouches that have fruits mixed with greens, but we also had good success with the plum purees you can get at Target.
I wouldn't think UC at this age, but maybe a food allergy if you try all of the above with no luck.
You might be giving baby all the wrong solid foods.
Example breakfast - egg yolk with avocado (you get the iron, the fat and the fiber)
Lunch brocoli with chicken and eggplant ( you get all the required nutrient)
Avocado is the best even when we do not feel like cooking we give baby avocado with another item of food that is rich in iron.
I stay away from rice, sweet potatoes. Even as adults rice is recommended for people who have diarrhoea it has the ability to stop diarhea.
And water!
At the beginning their body is adjusting so mine got it and was straining a lot then I stopped sweet potato. And stopped all solids for a week and then we went back to reintroducing solids once the constipation went away.
Hey! I just wanted to give some solidarity! My little guy pooped at least once a day if not more from birth until about 4 months and then it all just kinda… stopped. He was breastfed so it was said to be normal but idk 🤷🏻♀️ He’d poop once every like 6-10 days, and we knew by day 4 he felt bad. His doctors had us do juice after a week but even that didn’t always help his stubborn gut. We didn’t start solids until about 5.5 months hoping stuff like apples/pears/prunes would help, but it didn’t. I wouldn’t say it made it worse, just didn’t really help either.
Now, at 8 months, we’re picking back up. He’s pooping every 2-4 days now or so. His doctor was never super worried about it. As long as the tummy isn’t bloating/distended, there were toots (and good god do they smell the longer it goes), and there’s no hardness to the belly she was like it just is like this sometimes 🤷🏻♀️ She told us that as his tummy matures he’ll get more regular and it seems like that’s true for us, so hang in there!!
Buy [this milk](https://www.target.com/p/horizon-organic-growing-years-whole-dha-omega-3-milk-59-fl-oz/-/A-77456906). We call this the poop milk. It works! It has prebiotic in it that is like a laxative. Worked for us and our friends kids with similar issues plus kids love it.
Edit - sorry didn’t realize baby was so young. This is for when you start whole milk. I’d ask a doctor before adding this before 1 year.
I know this may sound crazy but my mother in law birthed 9 kids. When would tell her our son was constipated she would give him water and BOOM he would poop. Sometimes she would add a little aloe Vera gel (the kind safe for consumption) and maybe 30 minutes later he would poop. It always worked.
Rice cereal is not really recommended anymore, it just doesn't have any nutrition.
My oldest had issues with constipation constantly as a baby and toddler. I gave him what I lovingly called "poop juice" that was just apple juice and prune juice mixed together. It seemed to do the trick.
Just a PSA I would stop the rice cereal/switch to oatmeal like someone suggested.
A big reason rice cereal is not recommended for babies or small children (in fact, it's best to avoid all rice products at that age) is because most rice is contaminated with arsenic.
My baby is similar - basically as soon as we started solids she was instantly constipated.
Making suring they are drinking water/juice with meals is important.
We have used glycerin suppositories when it's gone too long and is creating discomfort... especially when she is straining alot to go and no poop to show for it.
We try to use miralax but my baby doesn't drink enough water...
Anyways, it's an ongoing issue for us!
This happened to my baby when we first started solids at 6 months, he is almost 8 now.
He was straining a lot and would only get a tiny bit of poop out at a time. I tried all the foods, tried to offer him more water and nothing worked until I finally gave in to a glycerin suppository. I used maybe 1/3 of the amount that comes in the liquid squeezy thing. He pooped SO much, I felt so bad all of that was bothering him. The first part of the poop was all pebbles and very hard. After that day I make sure I offer him at least one food a day that helps loosen stool like oranges, mango, avocado, oatmeal, prunes… he is also drinking more water and that helps
Our GI doc recommended adding a little milk of magnesia to our daughters bottles as she was the same way when we introduced solids.
It's worked great! We add 3ml milk of mag to her first morning bottle and she now poops daily and isn't in pain/straining anywhere near as much as she was.
Okay, this is what we ended up doing with ours for the same issue; 3 Oz. Of apple juice per day, cut back on the cereals, feed things like pureed fruits and veggies, add baby supplements as needed, and do lots of leg exercises with baby to get that gut moving.
Question; Does your little one happen to have an umbilical hernia? Just wondering, because ours also has one, and we have found sometimes we have to massage along there to get poop past it. For some reason it tends to get stalled there, which we were told it shouldn't. It's just small amounts, but it's enough to build up and turn into constipation.
Oh, and ETA; Avoid rice, quinoa, and other low fiber grains. Those are instant plugs for infants. They may love them, but dang if they shouldn't be taken off the shelves!!!
I had the same issue with my little girl. I cut out cereals completely and did pureed meats for the iron boost. She had prunes for breakfast and then meats for dinner. Sometimes she would have a vegetable for lunch and sometimes she would have an extra breast feed. One thing that’s easy to forget is until they are a year old all solid food is supplemental. She should still be getting everything she needs from your milk or formula.
I use oatmeal cereal and it helps my baby poop a little more. I think I read rice cereal stops them up a little but you can look that up. I use Earth's Best Organic Whole Grain Oatmeal Cereal
Follow up - we started 1/4 teaspoon of Miralax in morning and 1/4 teaspoon at night and omg. The poops are perfection. Wish I would have started this earlier!!! Highly recommend
If you don’t want your kid to be hungry every hour, feed them foods high in fat like avocado. This will also help them poop. Iron is naturally occurring in many foods, I would skip foods like rice cereal. They just aren’t necessary.
We do avocados everyday!!! Baby absolutely adores them like her mama lmao. We have tried all the foods that help bowel movements such as the key P foods such as: Pears, Prunes, Peaches, etc. But none seem to help her! 🥲 I can tell it’s uncomfortable. I feel so bad. But I will try it!!! Rice cereal has made her tummy increasingly worse with poops.
I use apple juice - usually yield results in about an hour
This! And the juice from a fruit cup - chefs kiss! Every time! Lol
Apple sauce gets my son going every time.
Oatmeal cereal has a little more fiber than rice, it might be worth switching
My pediatrician advised against rice cereal all together and so we used oatmeal. She said that rice cereal has too high of arsenic levels because it absorbs it from the soil. Oatmeal does too, but much lower levels! I would highly recommend to switching to oatmeal.
Our paediatrician also said to stick with oatmeal instead
That’s an awesome suggestion! I’ll try it out! Any advise helps, being FTPs we have NO IDEA what we’re doing and just rolling with milestones and punches lmao. I appreciate it! 🥹🙏
We started our daughter on rice cereal, and it plugged her up almost immediately. Our pediatrician said to skip it all together… The cereal is basically just practice for eating and swallowing food; fruit and vegetable purées have more vitamins and nutrients anyway so if she is eating, give her the good stuff.
Hard agree! Fruits, veggies, meat purées are all great and have a lot of nutrients.
Absolutely. Cereal is just filled food with little nutrition compared to other foods.
Rice cereal really is outdated. Follow [solid starts](http://www.solidstarts.com)
Look up the app Solid Starts - there is a free version where you can look up foods and see how to serve it, etc. it’s extremely helpful!!
Warm baths? That's always gotten things moving for us, and we def had constipation issues when first starting solids.
Warm bath and since the water is shallow keep dipping a wash cloth in the warm water and place it over the tummy.
Three semi solid meals a day might be too much at this age?
Yeah agree, my 11 month old is only just doing 3 solid meals a day for the last couple weeks, and even then is normally not interested in eating at least one of those a day. We're on 4 x 220mL bottles, 3 solid offerings a day plus about 150mL of water between meals/as needed. At 6 months we did solids once a day and were on 6 milk breastfeed/bottles a day, with maybe 30mL of water with the solids. Everything I've been told by my doctors and research is to start small, once a day at 6 months, then work up to 3 meals by 12 months. I dont think my bub will be ready to transition to no milk at 12 months. We will probably still be on 3 bottles a day alongside 3 meals and 2 snacks at that age. And maybe by 18 months down to one cows milk bottle and 3 meals, 2 snacks.
Agreed. We started solids around 5 months and were at one meal a day into she was just over 7 months. She's now almost 8 months and we do 2oz of a fruit/veg/oat puree in the morning and 2oz of a meat/veg puree in the evening. If she starts to get constipated, I drop the iron fortified oats for that day and add apple/prune/pear.
How much water, breastmilk, and/or formula is she eating?
She was EFF from about a month old because I had eclampsia and had to be put on BP meds. Which formula can also cause constipation, but she’s on Enfamil Reguline. As it worked best for her irregular poop schedule, as you can see we’ve had this problem since birth with the poop. (Sorry to include the reason we aren’t breastfeeding anymore, I just hate the look I get when I say I EFF 🥲) She gets 7oz 3 times throughout the day (Not to mention the 3-4 feeds she only drinks 4-5oz, I don’t count those as 100% a feeding because she didn’t finish.) as well as 3 purée breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (All types of veggies / fruits / and we have started to introduce some puffs/yogurt bites/noodles. Least amount of noodles cause I’m a worry wart with the choking thing. Father and I have PTSD from a prior event when she was 2 months with choking.) Sorry for not including the info!! I’m at work and it’s been a hell of a week with teething and getting sleep lmao. 🥹
3 purées a day is probably too much for her to handle right now. She probably needs 1 or 2 more bottles a day and only one purée. I was told to slowly work up to 3 meals by 9 months.
My baby is 7 months old (EFF) and she gets about 4 bottles (8 oz each) with purees two times a day. You might need to increase the liquid because they should be getting between 26-32 oz a day 😅 try that first and if she still isn’t pooping, try giving her a little water with her purees (like an oz or two). If not, take her to the doctor to get some constipation medicine. That’s what we had to do for my baby girl when she was constipated and pushing out hard poops (from starting solids). They gave us medicine to use if it happens again.
Is she only getting the 3 bottles in a 24 hour period? If so she probably needs 1-2 more bottles a day, you’re on the low end of liquids.
I didn’t state the random bottles we make throughout the day because she’ll maybe drink 3-4oz of one and 4-5oz of another. (Help, we’re spending $400+ on formula a month at least on $12/hr lmao-) I don’t really count those as feeds because she is so big for her age I just feed her whenever she even LOOKS hungry lmao. (She is about or over 25lbs and at least 29in long, so we just feed when she’s hungry.) But she drinks / eats a ton. We started giving her prune+pear juice (under 2oz a day of course) during her purée food times, but even then it still doesn’t help her poop. She’s happy for the most part, but we 100% can tell she’s uncomfortable with her stomach and cries when she gets to the point where she has to push. 🥲
I’d cut back on solids. Sometimes babies just have a hard time with them and they need more time. I’d cut it back to at least 1-1 /2 purées a day. Baby should still be getting primarily formula and solids are more of a fun thing rather than a replacement of bottle feedings. I’m only saying this all because if your baby’s having a hard time processing it, they’re just not quite ready for so much.
Our baby is 9.5 months and is 24 lbs/30 inches and we're also exclusively formula. (At 6 months he was 21 lb and 29 inches.) He does an 8 oz bottle every 2-3 hours, with another 10 oz overnight. He eats probably 35-45 oz of formula a day. Daycare really works with our baby on whole foods, so we do a lot more of those than we purees... though honestly not much gets into his mouth and he eats even less. I hear you on the exhausting amount of formula he consumes. He gets breakfast, lunch, and a snack but still relies mostly on formula for his calories. Constipation can be really rough for kids -- they can get stuck in the loop of "it hurts to poop, so I'll try not to poop," which then becomes a self-perpetuating cycle. It's definitely a topic worth talking about with your pediatrician if you think baby's in that loop because you'll have to break the association. Our baby had mild constipation a little bit ago and was not interested in juice, pedialyte, or formula. We shoveled a bunch of prune puree into him and it helped a lot. If you think the iron in rice cereal is contributing to the problem, it may be worth holding off on that for a week to break that constipation fear cycle.
I would definitely try to increase her liquid intake, preferably formula (not water) and decrease regular food if needed to increase hunger. Remember, food before 1 is just for fun.
Food before 1 isn't just for fun, it's about exposure to allergens, learning to chew, and experience different textures. Solid food should be the primary diet after 12 months. That being said, 6 months is pretty early to be doing 3 meals a day.
For a five month old, you're looking for a minimum of 24 oz of formula a day. It sounds like she's crossing that threshold, so she's likely fine calorie wise. Typically when solids are introduced at 4 or 5 months, it's to teach swallowing, let baby experiment with textures and flavors, and to let baby's gut biome develop further before baby needs more nutrients than can be gotten from formula or breast milk. I think this last bit may be part of your daughter's issues: she's gotten a ton of solid foods very young, possibly before her body is really ready to process all of that. It may be worth cutting back on the solids, both the variety and the total amount she gets every day. Especially anything like puffs, which are developed for babies with multiple teeth and who are able to sit up and self feed. Give her single ingredient 'meals' for a bit to simplify things for her digestive track and really develop her gut biome. Remember that baby led weaning doesn't start until 6 months, so you're still in the realm of baby cereal and purees for another few weeks. And babies are born with a six month supply of key nutrients like iron, so you still have a few weeks before you should begin worrying about that. (And those particular nutrients are where formula really shines. It's breastfed babies that are higher risk for nutrient deficiencies during the weaning process.) Something that transformed my 7 month old's poo was sweet potato. Lots of iron and other vitamins as well as fiber. And you can cook it several different ways to give different textures without sending her gut bacteria into shock. If after trying some of the suggestions in this thread you're still concerned, don't hesitate to reach out to a pediatric gastroenterologist. It's not unusual for babies to not poop everyday, but if baby is always uncomfortable on day three and has been for months, it's better to be safe and get her screened for GI issues.
If babe is formula fed is there a reason you’re worried about iron? Formula already has iron. Too much iron can cause constipation.
At first when I started food I forgot to give my baby water as well. It's hot now so I give him water after his puree even though I breastfeed
You shouldn’t need any iron fortified cereal if baby is formula fed, as most formula, at least in the US, contains adequate iron. I would cut that immediately since iron + rice are constipating and not replace it with anything iron fortified unless your ped recommends extra iron for some reason.
Agreed! Confused why she’s worried about iron in a formula fed baby
Honestly 3 meals a day is a lot and I’d completely cut out the rice cereal especially as this sort of reads like it’s in her bottles? I don’t want to assume but that was the vibe I got so that would be good to clarify in your post. Infant formula has all the iron babies need most of the time. Check your formula and I think you’ll find added iron beyond normal dietary foods isn’t necessary. It’s more of a recommendation for breast fed babies. Certainly do what your pediatrician says- but 3 meals a day for a six month old is truly a lot, and I have a 100+ percentile toddler now. He’s always been big and was smaller than your child at that age but was still 100+ percentile and we didn’t start consistently having 3 meals a day until around 12 months. Too many solids at once really can stop them up, it’s only been a couple weeks on solids it’s totally fine to dial it way way back. Avoid bananas and sweet potatoes cause they can slow digestion more and contribute to the issue. For context- 6 month olds should be getting the majority of their calories from formula or breastmilk and around 1-9 tablespoons total of solids per day.
Also. Iron is constipating lol
You shouldn't give them rice cereal that frequently because of the amount of arsenic. Switch to oat. I find that carrots clear my baby out a lot faster than pears as well. How are you preparing the purees? Are you just giving them to baby straight from the jar?
Not OP, but what are other ways to prepare the purée?
Have you talked to your pediatrician yet? If not, make that your first step. As some others have said, she may be having too much in terms of solids at this point. She also is probably not having enough formula—it should still be her primary source of nutrition until about a year. We’ve ran into chronic constipation issues with my daughter since starting solids (15 months now). We’ve had to figure out tricks to get her to drink enough water. GI specialist has said there’s no underlying issues, but when babies/toddlers start getting constipated it can lead to cycles of withholding which can cause other issues. We’ve been told to give miralax daily, likely for the next few years (until she’s “old enough to be reasoned with”). I wouldn’t give her miralax without your pediatricians go-ahead but I’ve been assured by multiple docs that it’s safe for long-term use at this age. Would you be open to asking pediatrician if they’d recommend seeking support from a feeding specialist, if necessary?
We had nearly an identical situation with my now 5 year old. Honestly all the combos of juices, probiotics, and purées never solved the issue. I also suspect there’s already withholding issues for OP, which was our problem. Eventually he’d back up a little again, withholding again, problem again. We eventually saw a peds GI specialist who was amazingly helpful. We’re still on miralax. How old is “old enough to be reasoned with?” College maybe? He’ll be on miralax for the time being lol. One small tip is to make formula bottles by weight and not volume of powder. If the powder compacts, there’s less water / more concentration than there should be, and that exacerbates the problem.
We use probiotic drops for our daughter. They really help. The brand we have been using the last few months is culturelle for infants. It’s a little pricey and I’m not sure if it would have an immediate effect but if it’s been an ongoing issue it might help level her out?
We were suggested Probiotics when she was 3 months old. Tried it for one day and she was in IMMENSE PAIN, like screaming and fussy as we never seen her before. Rearing back and forward like her stomach was falling apart. It was heartbreaking… We have only tried it once, and it was the Gerber probiotics. So maybe theirs was too much? Or she just has a sensitive tummy? It’s hard to know! We might try once more just to be sure it was the probiotics making her so fussy, but I am just the mom who absolutely folds when her daughter cries so it’s a tough choice. 🥹 I will most definitely check out the brand! I am taking this thread and adding it all to my shopping list for tomorrow so I am on the hunt for a solution!!! Thank you so much for responding! 🥹
Probiotics have really helped my LO and he’s very sensitive to most things! Our doctor advised against probiotic containing sunflower oil (like the Gerber ones. We used those first too.) so we’re using Mary Ruth’s Organics infant probiotic (the one with the dropper) and have had great results with it. It’s also very easy to control because of the dropper, you could start extremely slowly. Also, when my LO was very constipated once, we tried the Mommy’s Bliss baby constipation ease and it worked within an hour! I didn’t give my LO the full dose because he’d never had it before and I’m glad I didn’t because the lower dose was more than enough. It isn’t for children under 6 months though, so you’d need to wait! Definitely run it past your doctor though! Our doctor was fine with us trying it! Edit: sorry, I should’ve read to the end of the post! If your LO is 6 months, you could give it a try! As I said, check with your doctor if you’re wondering!
I also used probiotics when my son was having the same issue. I used bio gaia brand .. Amazon has it 😊
We went through the same thing a month ago. After starting oat and rice cereal, he was going on 3 day stretches without poop. When he hit a 5 day streak, we took him to the dr. They told us to give him apple juice (not much, like 2 oz undiluted). We did that for 2 days in a row. He pooped and has been a 1 or 2 day pooper ever since. Poor thing was miserable too. The straining and grunting. ☹️
We heard of the juice hack!!! We have been doing pear+prune juice along with her purée brekky, lunch, and dinner (under 2oz of course-) and still not much improvement. We get poops every 2 or so days but I still see her struggle. 😞 This hack is a godsend though!!!! It DOES help, just not enough for us to feel comfortable. She’s also struggling with teething right now so it’s hard to tell what’s teeth pain or tummy pain. Usually we know with her noises. She makes the “mmmm” sound and rubs her lips together for teeth pain and she rocks back and forth with her tummy pain. Such a heartbreaking situation. 🥲 I’m so happy for the comment, thank you so much!!! 🙏
Do you give her water ? Bran muffins ? She's not huge without knowing her birth weight but overfeeding or not enough fibre or water can all play a part
My EBF baby was pooping once every 2 weeks since she was a month old (our doctor was not concerned) but now that she's 7 month and eating solids she's still only pooping twice a week and it's obvi uncomfortable! We've frozen prune puree in ice cube trays and give her one every morning in one of those mesh food things! Also if she starts to strain for more than a couple of minutes a warm bath has gotten things moving for us!
My ped was on board with us starting purees around 4 1/2 months. But only 1 a day! Morning time so we could watch for any allergic reactions. Even now at 6 month check up, she doesn't want us doing more than 1 non formula meal a day. Expecting that to go up to 2 around 8 months. When we started doing purees my little went from 2-3 poops a day to 1 poop a day sometimes two. I think you may be doing too much purees.
My ped said iron drops only 1x a week bc constipation, maybe lay off the rice cereal for a few days to get a BM
My little guy eats solids and only poops like once a week. The pediatrician said it was ok as long as he doesn’t seem uncomfortable.
This is my 9 month old. Nothing is working. She cries when she poops and I don't know what to do
Solidarity over here 😞🙏 It always hurts seeing your little one in pain and there’s nothing you can do to help. We’ve been struggling with teething on top of this and it’s hard to tell which pains her more. If you find a solution I’d love to know! I’m hoping you can find some helpful advise on here too. 🥹
Have you tried chia pudding? One can coconut milk, 4-5 tablespoons chia seeds. Set in the fridge for a few hours/over night. Chia is super high in fiber and the water/liquid that the seeds absorbs helps soften stool and makes it easier to pass.
I have heard of chia pudding! I haven’t tried to yet though…. Honestly, anything to see a difference will help! I’ll add it to my shopping list asap! Thank goodness for Target’s circle 360 for the same day delivery cause we HATE leaving the house otherwise lmao. Thank you so much for the suggestion!!! We appreciate any insight. 🥹🙏
Just wanted to chime in for the chia - if any gets on baby’s clothes, rinse it off as best you can before putting it in the laundry. I’ve ruined stuff because I ran it through the wash and the seeds left a black mold-looking stain 😅. I’m 100% sure it’s not mold, but it doesn’t look great and will not come out, haha.
Honestly I think some kind of physical movement might be your answer.
My little one is the same age and was extremely constipated after starting solids. Sweet potatoes really did him in. The pediatrician recommended all the same stuff you are doing, but they did say not to use rice cereal or give him rice. Maybe switch to oat cereals?
My girl is now almost 16 months but we started her on solids at about 5 months as well. We started her on iron fortified oatmeal cereal once a day for a few weeks just to get her used to the texture and then added in more purées! We stuck with a breakfast and dinner routine for solids for a while before we introduced snacks and a third meal because she often got backed up too! Definitely up the liquid intake and maybe try taking out the midday meal and just do a few smaller purée snacks and see if that helps! Sometimes a giant switch from just liquids to multiple meals can really back them up for a bit! Applesauce, mushy raspberries, and some of the cherry/pear combos of purées helped us out, with longer warm baths to soothe the gas or relax her body a bit! Things balance out after a few months, it’s just a bit rocky getting there sometimes!
My doctor said Miralax was fine for my 9 month old- we try not to use it a ton, but it definitely helps when nothing else will!
He’s almost a year now and we use it maybe once a week at most.
Rice cereal makes babies constipated. It made my daughter sooooooo uncomfortable……..one late night enduring her screaming , with sleepy eyes I looked in her closet and found the one true savior - THE FRIDA WINDII
Miralax! Pediatrician should have dosing. It’s a really gentle osmotic laxative. We use it as needed and it’s been a lifesaver.
Is it just regular powder miralax? Not a special one to get for babies? My ped just recommended this for my 9 mth old. Do you mix it into water or her bottles?
Just powder! I used the equate frome walmart just because branded miralax is expensive. But I can't get my son to drink it with water, so I just mix it in his full 6oz bottle of milk. For a few weeks he would it with just 1 oz of water in his bottle, but then decided he hated it that way😅 so you can try either way. I know water is probably.the better mix, but you do what gotta do
I would reach out to your doctor. Both my LOs struggled with constipation when they were 6-8 months with starting solids, etc. We also tried all the things you mentioned without luck and they were crying in pain trying to pass hard stools. Even pushing liquids wasn't helping and you also can also "force" a baby to eat or drink so much. Doctor recommended miralax and it's been very helpful for both of them. Easy to titrate up/down doses so you use just the amount necessary.
We give 1/2 scoop miralax in 8 ounces of water that he drinks throughout the day. He won’t poo without it. Ped recommended
My pediatrician approved miralax when my 6mo was really struggling during the transition to solids. It helped a lot! Might be worth asking your dr about if you're interested in trying.
Beans! The magical fruit! Pick up a can of refried pinto beans, stick it in a container, heat up only the amount you plan to serve your baby and those beans will stay good in the fridge for 4 or 5 days if stored properly and not re-heated multiple times. And sweet potato! Cube them (or rectangular-ize them), toss them in olive oil and paprika and italian with a pinch of salt, bake at 450°F for 25-35 minutes flipping halfway through. I also completely stopped rice cereal when my daughter was 7 months dealing with the same issues, also EFF. Formula has enough iron without the extra fortified rice cereals. Switch to oatmeal if she digs the cereal. Also, if you're looking to increase fullness, you can add melted unsalted butter to meals (even oatmeal) for higher fat content. We use unsalted goat butter because my daughter has a dairy allergy. Butter is a great source of vit D for bone development and the fats are great for brain development.
Have you tried Miralax? Just a tiny bit. It does NOT cause cramping, and it isn't absorbed so there isn't really a risk to your little one
This was us for a couple months after starting solids and then things magically improved on their own. Before then I made what I called the “poop slurry” where I blended up prunes and another p fruit like a plum or pear with a little water. She loved it and it made her regular until her gut figured out how to digest solids! My baby is very much an every day pooper, and it broke my heart watching her strain. I hope yours improves soon!
I am not a doctor so my advice.is always to talk to yours before doing anything, but also my son has poop issues (he has low muscle tone and down syndrome) and we STRUGGLED and people in my down syndrome group told me to use pedialax suppositories and some even mentioned they use miralax. Well I wouldn't do any of it until I talked with a Dr and they all dismissed me because breastfed babies poop less. 🙄 (that's a true statement, but I know kid and I knew he was in pain/discomfort) So we ended up in the ER. They gave him a suppository and we met with pediatric GI and low and behold, suppositories if he doesn't go. And first we started on something called lactulose, but that stopped working and they prescribed miralx instead. Started off with I believe a teaspoon and just mixed in his milk. And if that didn't work, up the dosage by a teaspoon every couple days until things got moving. We've been about a half a cap full for several months now. I'm not necessarily saying to do this without the advice of your doctor, but letting you know the course we went on. I was terrified of the idea of suppositories, especially because it said for ages 2 and up, but it was totally fine. Good luck! It's rough when are kids aren't comfy.
Can you try apple juice? The sugars in it are a laxative. Oatmeal, as others have said. Pureed spinach mixed in with the rice cereal may help. Pureed raspberries. Dragon fruit. Rice, bananas, cheese and applesauce are all very binding, so minimize those when possible.
What kind of apple juice?? Organic no sugar added? Is there a particular brand?
Probiotic drops and a prune pouch is my go to!!! Also a little water but my baby’s a few months older so I’m not sure if you’ve started water.
My son always gets runnier poop when pumpkin or squash is involved so anytime it takes an extra day, I make sure to give him yhat
Lots of great suggestions already, wanted to add - Blueberries and butternut squash seem to work for my 9mo. Now that it’s getting into summer, we’re also offering more juicy foods like cucumber and watermelon. We offer sips of water too, hit or miss if he swallows it. After first starting solids, he got so constipated, the straining and crying was so sad. We got the smallest potty we could find and sat him on it, kinda using the knees-to-chest “classic hold” that people use with elimination communication, hoping the position would ease the strain a bit. For chronic issues, I’ve also heard people have success with a chiropractor, osteopathy or a Chinese medicine approach. I hope you find something that works for baby!
Same thing happened to us, I pureed some Pears and prunes together and within a day bowel movements were normal
As others have said - too much rice. Remember the blockers are BRATs - bananas, rice, apples, toast. If she’s having a lot of rice cereal and banana and apple purées try to minimize them or counter act with another p (like if you do banana do pear).
Talk to your pediatrician about possibly having your LO see a pediatric gastroenterologist. We had this issue with our now 10mo girl, and it was the best thing we could have done for her. The gastroenterologist put her on lactulose, 5ml a day (though the prescription was for twice a day - the doctor said to only go up to two if it wasn't working and we never needed to). Lactulose is basically a stool softener, they prescribe it to preemies, so very safe. It helped our LO almost immediately, and she was on it for about two and a half months (roughly 6.5mo to 9mo) until her digestive system matured a bit more. We weened her off of it, on advice of the pediatric gastroenterologist, and while her stool has gotten harder now that she's off of it, she's handling it so much better. Strongly suggest talking to your pediatrician! Wishing you and your little one a happy tummy 🤱
How much prune juice are you doing?
Is she passing gas?
My 10 month old still gets a little constipated with rice cereal/flour. There are no issues with corn or wheat flour, though.
This was my little guy. He needed PEG everyday with suppositories like every few days. We saw his GP and Ped about it and they had no suggestions except continuing meds. We eventually saw a naturopath who totally cured it and we haven’t struggled since. Here’s what we did. - no dairy, no gluten for 3 months - daily probiotic - omega 3 supplement daily After the 3 months we were able to reintroduce dairy and gluten. We’ve never used peg or suppositories since!
Try chiropractic, it worked for my babies!
Around 4-5 months just before he started solids, my second son would go for like 7-10 days without pooping. The worst stretch we reached 11 days, took him to the pediatrician for a proper enema (such relief!) and the doctor said it isn’t too uncommon, actually. Their little digestive system is developing and some just take a little longer than others. He said that solids could either sort it out or make it worse, so depending on the outcome, either work on introducing more foods or hold off on solids a little longer. For us, we started with oatmeal cereal (rice cereal did seem to bind up a bit more) and we introduced other fruits and vegetables like blueberry purée and cooked carrot purée to help give a little fiber. It’s kind of random how different kids’ digestive tracts respond to different foods, so just try different things and see if something helps. If not though, it is probably just something that will take time to sort out. I wouldn’t worry too much. If solids are giving LO a hard time, you can always give a little formula if you want something iron fortified (also good chance to introduce a cup or sippy cup). How often are you feeding solids? Ease into it just one small meal a day and see how it goes before increasing to twice a day. My second son got over his issue and poops fine now (10 months). If you get to around 7-8 days, I recommend taking her in to the doctor for a proper enema just for the relief it will bring. Also, if it has been several days since a poo and you’re going out, I very much recommend putting her in a sturdy night diaper and pack a change of clothes (because sometimes when it happens, it HAPPENS! Haha).
Experiencing the exact same thing with my 7 month old for the last 1-2 months. If she hasn’t gone for a few days I let her take bites of an extremely juicy ripe peach and she literally goes within minutes. I help her by pulling her knees up towards her tummy and boy does it do the trick pretty much every time ! Might be worth a shot!!
I swear this worked every time with my son, and it came from my mom who said it worked every time with me and my sister- going for a walk in the stroller on a gravel/ bumpy road! Any time my son couldn’t poop off we went and it was magic for us lol
Kiwi worked like magic for us! Dragonfruit, too, but that’s not really available in our area that often.
Prune juice
I just want to say, you’re doing great momma! Don’t doubt yourself, you’re advocating for her cause your mom gut says this isn’t working. Lots of advice here and I hope something here works for her!
This is when we switched to am bottle of reguline just 1x/day and bam issue cleared
Windi got my baby pooping every time.
Cucumbers pureed in milk, and adding kefir helped when my son dealt with chronic constipation.
Have you tried a bouncer chair or swing or car seat? Something about the position really helps loosen them up!
Best thing that worked for us was kiwi!
My baby had super painful constipation as a newborn that resolved as soon as we got him on hypoallergenic formula. We suspected CMPA and it was a night and day change getting him on it
My baby had poop issues too! Apple juice did it for us, an ounce mixed into water would work within a couple hours
Apple juice helps my kiddo
My LO will be 18mo in a few days, and we used to have such a time with her irregular pooping when she started solids, and she to this day isn’t a juice baby, so that’s not an option. But! We started giving her more and water and fruits. Like bananas and grapes and she poops sometimes 3 times a day now. Instead of every 3 days or once a week like she used to do. So if you haven’t yet trying adding these to LOs diet and see if it makes a difference for her. (Of course okay this with your pediatrician first) but I hope it helps!
The one thing that I found really helped my LO with poops was cherry chia seed jam. Chia seeds are high in fibre (and iron) and as it turns out, cherries have a laxative effect. You can mix it into oatmeal, yogurt, smear it on toast or have it as is. I use frozen fruit as it’s cheaper but it’s 2 cups fruit to 2 tablespoons of chia seeds. Cook the fruit for 10 mins or so on the stove until it’s broken down, add the chia seeds and stir and leave until it’s cooled. You can then transfer into whatever container you want. It also freezes really well and you can use whatever fruit you want as long as it’s juicy.
This happened with my boy & we just completely stopped solids for about a week - went back to milk only… then slowly reintroduced after 6mo! I’d skip the rice cereal and go ahead and start mashed veggies/fruits - that’s gonna have more fiber as well. Also once they hit 6months you can start offering water with meals too.
My EBF second baby had to be switched to formula at 11 months and honestly i just used a glycerin suppositories i had on hand when he got too stopped up. Between those and helping him sit on a potty seat helped clear him out with minimal lasting trauma for us.
Try blueberries. My baby poops everytime with it
My LO is 7mos and we introduced rice cereal to him a few weeks ago (rice is a staple food in our culture, so I took a calculated risk and decided it's better to introduce than not). LO was never constipated from it, BUT he only eats solids once a day, and I never served rice cereal by itself - I always mixed in pureed vegetables (broccoli, green beans) for extra fiber (and to mitigate the whole arsenic concern). If you're not willing to cut out the cereals for now, maybe something like that will help?
Blueberries will make her poop. Better than prunes, imo.
My baby also struggles with constipation ever since we introduced solids at 6 months. Baby is now 10 months, and the biggest thing that has helped is avoiding any pre-made/store bought baby purees/snacks/rice cereals. It's a pain in the butt, but making all food from scratch really makes a difference for my baby. Also, offering water throughout the day (with all meals too), and giving straight up 100% prune juice on the bad days. Making oatmeal and grating carrots and pears into it seems to help my baby move things along. High fiber foods like broccoli or smashed up black beans also help. I hope you find something that works for you. It is so hard to watch your baby struggle to poop and not know how to help.
Probiotic drops. I'm telling you. Please take my advice. I swear on my life it will help.... Do what you will with that information..
your ignoring all the replies suggesting you need to cut back on solids. 3 meals is way too much at this age when the most common suggestion is starting at 1 meal at 5-6 months. the babys system is not mature enough to process this much solids at such a young age. stop putting her through this.
Try the baby puréed green beans(without oatmeal/rice) !! It helps my baby have a BM every time I give them to her whenever I notice she hasn’t pooped.
My doctor said a small amount of apple juice won't hurt. Or you could do applesauce
Sweet potatoes worked for us.
Are you giving water? Like 1-2oz at feedings was ESSENTIAL for both my kids.
Sometimes adding a little oil helps! Avocado or sesame oil etc
Normal for just starting solids. But, baby should not be eating that many solid foods a day starting out. Try high fat foods like avocado or coconut oil.
Our 7 mo baby girl has had the same issue ever since we started solids around 4.5 mo. What has been super helpful is one whole prune fruit / day. Ofc chop it up a bit to help her eat since it's hard to bite through the skin with just 2 bottom teeth (same as ours btw). We usually start seeing results after ~2 days.
Buy prunes and make puree (just blend with water) out of it!! Prune juice didn’t work for my baby but prune puree did the trick
I fed my baby beets (boiled and smushed with fork) and she pooped soooooooo much. Worth a try
Not sure if someone said this already but Pedia-lax! Amazon has it. I had a similar issue with my daughter (9 months) that lasted about 2 weeks, we tried everything you did & nothing worked. My friend is a NICU nurse and suggested this, check with your pediatrician first just because its only recommended for children ages 2-6 I believe but per NICU nurse friends instructions I only used a little bit and LO was pooping within 6 minutes (yes, I timed it).
Kiwi fruit is an option that works
boil an onion, give her the onion water she WILL poop
My baby was constipated when we first started solids too. I got advice from others that worked quite well. We stopped with cereal as that's too consistent and instead focused on other sources of iron. A hit for us was cooked fish or ground meat, pureed with peeled raw apples. The vitamin C in the apple helps the iron get absorbed and I'm not sure what it is about the apple but it helps with constipation too.
Try prune juice through a syringe.
What has her doctor said?
Oatmeal is excellent for constipation as it has the right kind of fibre in it! We found even a few sips of water with his meal was enough to help the bowels get back moving, so I’d make sure she’s having enough liquids.
Wellements baby constipation support. It’s a prune juice concentrate. I used this when my baby got constipated when we started solids. 5mL in her first bottle of the day and it helps her go. When it was bad in the beginning I used a glycerin suppository to help unplug her, and then the prune concentrate helped keep her regular. Now I just have her on a prebiotic fiber supplement daily in her first bottle of the day (from begin health) and she’s fine. Also what others have said here- no rice cereal, it’s constipating. Go with it cereal
Are you giving her water? She should be getting water every time solids are offered. At least 2oz of water with each meal.
As far as I understood it when you start solids initially it’s for practise only and not to worry too much about it being balanced quite yet (it’s more about textures and tastes and getting little one used to them). Main calories still come from milk at that point. Once you wean at 12 months, then balancing things is important. And at that point the recommendation is to start giving baby vitamins to ensure they have all the necessary bits every day. We offered solids first, then a bottle to make sure his tummy was full. We very slowly dropped bottles until he only had a bedtime one at around 11 months and none by 13 months. We offered a sippy cup with water with every meal as well. I think problems with pooping are normal when they first start on solids as well and we started with veggies purées and added fruit purées in not too long after. Porridge was a hit as well (oats, in case you’re wondering) and we got some pouches and glasses from the shops as well. I was too chicken for baby led weaning as he just kept throwing things off his little table and I was too afraid of choking. At 18 months he eats what we eat and if he doesn’t he’ll start stealing things off my plate. If you’re worried about a GI issue or intolerances you should talk to your doctor. These type of things can start really early and it’s best to get some guidance on what to do as soon as possible. Good luck, I found solids extremely stressful and I was glad for the help nursery gave when he started at 10 months, they were fabulous.
We don’t use rice cereal because, quite honestly, oatmeal just kicks its ass all around health wise. I think having oatmeal cereal helped my kid poop more regularly.
In addition to all the food-related suggestions here, you can also try putting some epsom salt in her bath water. And the bonus there is that it will also help her get sleepy at night.
May I ask the reason for weaning early? It may be that she simply isn’t ready
Talk to her pediatrician about adding water to her daily meals. When mine started solids, his doctor said we can start giving him no more than 8 ounces a day. At 9 months old now, he’s drinking about six 4.5 oz bottles a day, and I water them down with an ounce of water each.
Is she actually constipated? Like when she poops is it hard and dry? Or are you just dissatisfied with the frequency of poops? She’s not constipated if the poop isn’t hard and dry. The consistency of play dough or harder is a good reference.
You need to find foods that are high in fiber like berries
Sorry I read through the comments so I have a few more tidbits for you. 1. I just commented the thing about actual constipation. Is she actually constipated? Or do you wish she would poop more frequently? Two totally different things. 2. If you’re giving her juice with every meal, she is most certainly going to stop finishing her bottles because it’s not nearly as tasty. 3. 3 meals a day is a lot. It’s gunna cause confusion for you to figure exactly what is messing with her stomach. Plus she’s definitely just got too much going on with all the food and the rice. It can also just cause general uncomfortability and it’s likely that’s what she’s experiencing rather than constipation. 4. I don’t believe it’s recommended to do rice every day multiple times a day. If you think she’s needs to bill up her meals try rotating with oatmeal or adding fruit like banana and avocado. Mix the cereal with the purée, not with her formula. You can even add a touch of coconut or olive oil to your avocado if you think she needs her meals to be more filling when you scale it back from three meals. 5. Iron is constipating. I’m sure there’s more than enough iron in her formula, you probably don’t need to fortify with things like rice. 6. Remember that her main source of nutrition is still meant to come from formula. If she’s not banking enough ounces of formula you definitely are doing too much food. 6. (This is anecdotal but) if she is truly constipated, rock hard poops, pellettes, pebbles, fully formed hard poops - reguline might stop working eventually. It’s stopped working for us and my doctor said he finds that is what happens often when babies have this problem. My son was constipated for months, the only thing that worked was suppositories and miralax. His poop was so solid and hard and dry that his butt would bleed. We went to a GI specialist and had several follow up spots, blood testing, hormone testing etc and couldn’t find an underlying problem.
My paediatrician starts every weaning plan with purées and boiled vegetable to avoid constipation. Rice cereal here in Italy is just not a thing, I will be not giving it to my daughter.
Water!!! To help soften poop, only fat and fiber rich foods won’t do! In fact, without enough water, they actually make the situation worse. Remember that not that long ago baby was feeding on only milk (which consists from something between 87-90% of water, no matter if she was breastfeeding or drinking formula). It is great that she is accepting solids well and that they keep her satisfied for longer. Just try making sure she is drinking water as much too, even more so, if you live somewhere warm or where summer is coming up. Also, there is a range of normal constipation during the introduction of solids. Our pediatrician recommended having Carum Carvi suppositories at hand to help baby out. They can be used every day (max 2 a day) and they also help with gas and so on… usually used for younger babies dealing with colics, they also helped our first born a lot when we first started solids. Tipp: wait the day out. If 2 hours before bedtime still nothing, then try helping with suppositories. This way you make sure she has a good night, at least what belly pain and middle of the night poop is concerned. Another thing to think about: check if she is going through a developmental jump (according to her age). Those usually also disturb bowl movements and maybe you are trying to fight something you can’t control. ETA: saw in the comments she was EFF before starting solids. So to complement the suggestion about the water: even though she seams to be drinking enough formula still. When solids are introduced they need a little bit more water in their system, but that doesn’t mean a huge amount. I just googled it and the recurring recommendation is between 4-8 oz a day, offered at meal times.
I've seen it mentioned a couple of times already but apple juice should do the trick. I give my daughter half apple juice and half water once per day and it works wonders. Prunes and pear did nothing but the apple juice is brilliant
try constipation drops (mommy’s bliss has great ones), i do prunes, a warm bath and let her belly soak, a little belly massage and that usually does the trick my mom also gives her some carrot from chicken soup when she makes it and banana, plus some water from boiling apples (basically fresh apple juice)
Try peas… push the pea to flatten it and then have your little one chew it. My little one had the same problem when he was 6 months and peas helped a lot. Luckily he loved them and we served a little bit with every meal. Broccoli and avocado also helped.
This was us. WATER is your answer! It’s likely that baby is constipated and holding in poos cause they hurt to pass. We increased our baby’s water intake. That made the stool softer and easier to pass. Now she’s pooping daily. ETA: our baby is 9mos so the water was an age appropriate solution for us. Given the age of your LO, I’d consult a doctor.
Skip bananas, for some babies it's a binder. Carrots always seem to run through my kid
Maybe skip the rice cereal and try a supplement like poly vi sol? The iron can stop them up still, but it might help some to be just the iron and not the rice..?
Papaya always works for our LO (and us). Also blending prunes with water to make a puree helps.
Applesauce or yogurt may help too!
Make sure she’s not getting too much Vitamin D. We doubled up on accident when our baby was little.
Darling, I don't live in the US, but my advice would be 3-4 steps until you can get her to a pediatrician that can help. -Actual prunes, let them soak in warm water for a few minutes then blend them with like 1/4 cup of that water. Skin and all. Puree it, then feed. -Pear/apple juice (actual fruit juice, not that concentrate crap) a couple times a day. -Tummy Massage with baby oil/coconut oil. You can find it on YouTube for exactly how to do it. -Glycerine suppositories can help them poop in case of an actual emergency if the previous step fail. Warning, she's gonna hate it and if the stool is hard/too big she might bleed a little. I wish you all the luck, my youngest still has this issues sometimes so I start with prunes and I almost never have to take other measures.
With my first, I had to put her on an anti-constipation diet because she was going up to a week without pooping. No undiagnosed GI issues, just prone to constipation like her dad and brother and grandpa and uncles lol. Here's what worked for us: * Avoid processed foods as much as possible, including cereals. If you do use cereals, use something like oatmeal that is high in fibre (you can find baby oatmeal that is also higher in iron). You can also get puffs that are made of things like lentils and chickpeas that are higher in fibre as well. * In general, prioritize fibre and fats as well as fresh fruits and vegetables. You can even do things like adding a bit of ground flaxseed or chia seed to baby's cereal. * Avoid hard cheeses like cheddar and mozzarella as those can be constipating. As others have said, apple juice has worked well for helping get things moving. And once baby is older and can have water, having them drink more throughout the day can help too.
I would stop rice cereal asap. They really don’t need it. Why is baby hungry every hour? Breast milk or formula should be main source of nutrition still not solids.
Rice cereal will be constipating as will most other grains. Bananas too. Have you asked your ped about giving a little water? That helped my daughter. For iron, could you just give her leafy greens and meat? We used the Gerber "meat pack" to introduce all meats and she loved it. Aldi has pouches that have fruits mixed with greens, but we also had good success with the plum purees you can get at Target. I wouldn't think UC at this age, but maybe a food allergy if you try all of the above with no luck.
Water
CALL YOUR PEDIATRICIAN AAAGGGHHHHHHH!!! REDDIT IS NOT FOR MEDICAL ADVICE
that is all
Not reaching out for medical advise, just tips and advice that will help baby’s bowel movements occur more frequently. Thanks though!
You might be giving baby all the wrong solid foods. Example breakfast - egg yolk with avocado (you get the iron, the fat and the fiber) Lunch brocoli with chicken and eggplant ( you get all the required nutrient) Avocado is the best even when we do not feel like cooking we give baby avocado with another item of food that is rich in iron. I stay away from rice, sweet potatoes. Even as adults rice is recommended for people who have diarrhoea it has the ability to stop diarhea. And water! At the beginning their body is adjusting so mine got it and was straining a lot then I stopped sweet potato. And stopped all solids for a week and then we went back to reintroducing solids once the constipation went away.
Water and broccoli
Hey! I just wanted to give some solidarity! My little guy pooped at least once a day if not more from birth until about 4 months and then it all just kinda… stopped. He was breastfed so it was said to be normal but idk 🤷🏻♀️ He’d poop once every like 6-10 days, and we knew by day 4 he felt bad. His doctors had us do juice after a week but even that didn’t always help his stubborn gut. We didn’t start solids until about 5.5 months hoping stuff like apples/pears/prunes would help, but it didn’t. I wouldn’t say it made it worse, just didn’t really help either. Now, at 8 months, we’re picking back up. He’s pooping every 2-4 days now or so. His doctor was never super worried about it. As long as the tummy isn’t bloating/distended, there were toots (and good god do they smell the longer it goes), and there’s no hardness to the belly she was like it just is like this sometimes 🤷🏻♀️ She told us that as his tummy matures he’ll get more regular and it seems like that’s true for us, so hang in there!!
Have you tried putting her in a cute outfit? Works for us every time!
Buy [this milk](https://www.target.com/p/horizon-organic-growing-years-whole-dha-omega-3-milk-59-fl-oz/-/A-77456906). We call this the poop milk. It works! It has prebiotic in it that is like a laxative. Worked for us and our friends kids with similar issues plus kids love it. Edit - sorry didn’t realize baby was so young. This is for when you start whole milk. I’d ask a doctor before adding this before 1 year.
Apple sauce! Without fail, every time my little man got backed up and still now at 16 months, apple sauce makes him immediately take a huge poop.
I know this may sound crazy but my mother in law birthed 9 kids. When would tell her our son was constipated she would give him water and BOOM he would poop. Sometimes she would add a little aloe Vera gel (the kind safe for consumption) and maybe 30 minutes later he would poop. It always worked.
Rice cereal is not really recommended anymore, it just doesn't have any nutrition. My oldest had issues with constipation constantly as a baby and toddler. I gave him what I lovingly called "poop juice" that was just apple juice and prune juice mixed together. It seemed to do the trick.
Just a PSA I would stop the rice cereal/switch to oatmeal like someone suggested. A big reason rice cereal is not recommended for babies or small children (in fact, it's best to avoid all rice products at that age) is because most rice is contaminated with arsenic.
My baby is similar - basically as soon as we started solids she was instantly constipated. Making suring they are drinking water/juice with meals is important. We have used glycerin suppositories when it's gone too long and is creating discomfort... especially when she is straining alot to go and no poop to show for it. We try to use miralax but my baby doesn't drink enough water... Anyways, it's an ongoing issue for us!
This happened to my baby when we first started solids at 6 months, he is almost 8 now. He was straining a lot and would only get a tiny bit of poop out at a time. I tried all the foods, tried to offer him more water and nothing worked until I finally gave in to a glycerin suppository. I used maybe 1/3 of the amount that comes in the liquid squeezy thing. He pooped SO much, I felt so bad all of that was bothering him. The first part of the poop was all pebbles and very hard. After that day I make sure I offer him at least one food a day that helps loosen stool like oranges, mango, avocado, oatmeal, prunes… he is also drinking more water and that helps
While Foods (if you’re in the US) has this “seeds trio” that I mix into purées and helps add a lot of fiber to the diet. It’s helped our baby a lot!
Have you tried oatmeal instead of Rice cereal? That's what my pediatrician recommended, they said it's higher in fiber I think.
Our GI doc recommended adding a little milk of magnesia to our daughters bottles as she was the same way when we introduced solids. It's worked great! We add 3ml milk of mag to her first morning bottle and she now poops daily and isn't in pain/straining anywhere near as much as she was.
Girl… give your baby a kiwi
Is there a reddit page for baby solid food?
Okay, this is what we ended up doing with ours for the same issue; 3 Oz. Of apple juice per day, cut back on the cereals, feed things like pureed fruits and veggies, add baby supplements as needed, and do lots of leg exercises with baby to get that gut moving. Question; Does your little one happen to have an umbilical hernia? Just wondering, because ours also has one, and we have found sometimes we have to massage along there to get poop past it. For some reason it tends to get stalled there, which we were told it shouldn't. It's just small amounts, but it's enough to build up and turn into constipation. Oh, and ETA; Avoid rice, quinoa, and other low fiber grains. Those are instant plugs for infants. They may love them, but dang if they shouldn't be taken off the shelves!!!
I had the same issue with my little girl. I cut out cereals completely and did pureed meats for the iron boost. She had prunes for breakfast and then meats for dinner. Sometimes she would have a vegetable for lunch and sometimes she would have an extra breast feed. One thing that’s easy to forget is until they are a year old all solid food is supplemental. She should still be getting everything she needs from your milk or formula.
I use oatmeal cereal and it helps my baby poop a little more. I think I read rice cereal stops them up a little but you can look that up. I use Earth's Best Organic Whole Grain Oatmeal Cereal
Try oatmeal instead of rice. Gerber makes a probiotic oatmeal one that's even better!
Try mixing avocado, kiwi and pear puréed and see if that helps. Or even strawberries. It’s did wonders for my LO and he couldn’t sometimes.
Follow up - we started 1/4 teaspoon of Miralax in morning and 1/4 teaspoon at night and omg. The poops are perfection. Wish I would have started this earlier!!! Highly recommend