EC and constipation

[Darwiniacat]

Hi, I'm helping to IPT my 11 month old niece and have a question. Daddy potties right after she wakes up and that is when she tends to poop. Could she be associating pooping with waking up in the morning and not go at other times even if she needs to. Despite trying to get as much fluids as possible into her, avoiding the BRAT diet, feeding fiber rich fruits and veggies, she still gets terribly constipated. Her Mommy still BF her but she does get some Earth's Best formula now as well. Her constipation problems don't seem to be associated with whether or not she has had formula, but they did start after she started to transition to solids.

So, am I right in wondering if she is not pooping at other times during the day because she associates it with her first morning potty time, or are we doing something wrong? Could we be doing something different?

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

[pixiepunk]

She poops every morning? Or only poops in the morning if she does poop?

all my EC'd kids preferred to poo i the morning, and also to poo at home (which really, most of us do). but it never caused any constipation issues. i think it's much more likely to be food-related.

[Darwiniacat]

She generally poops every morning if she's not constipated. And by constipated, we don't mean her poop habits have changed, we mean that it's hard as a rock when she finally gets it out.

And yes, she only poops in the morning unless she is constipated. But even then, it tends to be the next morning that she poops instead of some time later in the day. And by then she's really constipated, which is why I think she's holding it for the morning. If that makes sense.

[pixiepunk]

i definitely think it's related to food/digestion. my kids don't necessarily poo every day, but when they skip a day it doesn't look any different than when they have 3 poos in the same day. i've had times when i've had a baby or toddler not poop for 2 or 3 days and not be constipated - and i know that they do hold it till they get home or till their "morning constitutional" often times, i've had older toddlers tell me so. and EC'd babies tend to figure that out a lot earlier on than diapered babies. but retaining it for a relatively short period of time shouldn't cause that kind of constipation.

it sounds to me like her gut is having trouble adjusting to the introduction of solid foods. i think the best place to start would be to give her either yogurt or kefir if you are ready to try cultured dairy, or else a dairy-free powdered probiotic to see if that helps. it can't hurt to get probiotics in her, and that will help get her gut well-populated with the good bacteria it needs. whenever anyone in my family is feeling a little "off" whether it's constipation or diarrhea or indigestion, probiotics always help to get things in balance.

[Darwiniacat]

We were giving her yogurt but we stopped when we read that it might be contributing to her constipation. I think we are going to try flax oil for a while to see if that helps. Thanks!

[Carlyle]

Lay off the bananas...they were sure fire poop pellet producers for dd...