5th day w- no pooping for 6 and a 1/2 month old :(

[Snapdragon]

Gah. Today is day #5 that my sweet baby hasn't pooped. I am starting to get stressed about it. and today his belly feels super hard- and he has been really cranky and crying (which is not his norm). Poor li'l guy
I finally fed him some prune juice this morning. For the last 2 days he also had no solids-

It all started because at his 6 month appointment they said his weight was low and I needed to get him to gain weight- although the doctor agreed with me that he doesn't look too skinny at all and he nurses tons. But he was 15 lbs and 27 inches and so I started feeding him more solids- I guess too much.
So he went 4 days with no poop, then pooped. now it has been 5 days. (before this appointment I was feeding him small amounts of solid every few days and that was working for us- and he wasn't hungry, was calm and pooping fine. Just proves that I should have followed my instinct and not outside advice )

I really hope the prune juice works. I read on the dr Sears website about using some vegetable glycerin and putting a little up the baby's bottom- I am reluctant to try this and don't have any glycerin anyway. But I guess I would if the prune juice doesn't work.
Anyone have any suggestions? HOw long does the prune juice take to work?

Is it better to give him some solids to try to push things through or just stick w- breastmilk? My inclination is to lay off anything but breastmilk ( and some prune juice) untl he poops.
any baby constipation remedies you can advise? I feel so badly for him when he cries and his belly is hard and I don't know how to help him

[happysmileylady]

Originally Posted by Snapdragon

Gah. Today is day #5 that my sweet baby hasn't pooped. I am starting to get stressed about it. and today his belly feels super hard- and he has been really cranky and crying (which is not his norm). Poor li'l guy
I finally fed him some prune juice this morning. For the last 2 days he also had no solids-

It all started because at his 6 month appointment they said his weight was low and I needed to get him to gain weight- although the doctor agreed with me that he doesn't look too skinny at all and he nurses tons. But he was 15 lbs and 27 inches and so I started feeding him more solids- I guess too much.
So he went 4 days with no poop, then pooped. now it has been 5 days. (before this appointment I was feeding him small amounts of solid every few days and that was working for us- and he wasn't hungry, was calm and pooping fine. Just proves that I should have followed my instinct and not outside advice )

I really hope the prune juice works. I read on the dr Sears website about using some vegetable glycerin and putting a little up the baby's bottom- I am reluctant to try this and don't have any glycerin anyway. But I guess I would if the prune juice doesn't work.
Anyone have any suggestions? HOw long does the prune juice take to work?

Is it better to give him some solids to try to push things through or just stick w- breastmilk? My inclination is to lay off anything but breastmilk ( and some prune juice) untl he poops.
any baby constipation remedies you can advise? I feel so badly for him when he cries and his belly is hard and I don't know how to help him

Well, first I have to say that I am surprised they said anything about his weight if he was 15 lbs at 6 months. My dd was only 17 lbs at 1 year, and now at almost 2, she's only 22lbs. I am also surprised he suggested more solids to gain weight. With my itty bitty one, I was told that breastmilk was the best way to gain weight and only suggested I suppliment AFTER nursing, with BM if possible, when mine actually started losing weight.

But, there's nothing you can do about that now. One other thing though I will mention is that it's normal to go a few days like that without pooping, particularly since you have added solids. BUT, the fact that he has a hard little belly probably does indicate some constipation. To that end, I do think that going back to BM only is probably a good start. Or, you have already given him some prune juice, they also have prunes as a baby food, you could try that as his next solid. I am pretty sure that it's just straight prunes. I have heard that Pedia-lax can help too, but I would check with the doc before using it on someone so young.

[Super~Single~Mama]

The hard belly would concern me, but if the prune juice doesn't work I'd be shocked. It always works for my ds.

If you can, you can also blend up some actual prunes (I used to do them in the babycook - but steaming them in anything first and then blending them would work just as well), and those work way better than prune juice, and my ds LOVES them.

And, from now on, just nurse as much as possible, and continue with what you were doing before. BM is the best for weight gain, and letting baby lead the way with solids (even if you do puree's - let baby lead the way with how much), and he'll be fine. If you're really concerned about the weight thing, seek the advice of a nutritionist - not your ped.

[Knitting Mama]

My daughter is 6 months on Wednesday and weighs under 14 lbs. Seems weird that they would say your baby is too small.

[twobears]

My 8 mo DS was having similar problems. Tried prunes and they worked somewhat, also gave him some water, but what I have found that works best is powdered children's probiotics (I use Natures way primadophilus). I put an 1/8 of a teaspoon in whatever food I give him in the morning. Really works wonders for my son.

[Snapdragon]

I know- they were concerned because at his 4 month appointment he was something like 26 inches and 14 lbs 7 oz which is 75 % height and 30% weight.
At the 6 month he went down to 5% in weight percentage and 59th in height.
He has always looked perfect to me- not a fat little guy- but well proportioned tall and thin.
I don't know if they actually said specifically solids to gain weight- but the doc said I could ( or should?) feed him solids at least once a day.
I am not concerned about his weight at all. But they did have me make an appointment a month from the 6 month to re weigh him. Doctor said if weight isn't up they want to do bloodwork.
I will not have them do bloodwork for that! no way. Especially cause he seems fine.
But I guess I got a little scared that I wasn't feeding him enough.
Now I am totally over that whole thing- I will go to the appointment for the weight check but no blood work either way.
But now I just want him to poop! Sill no poop yet

[Snapdragon]

But he isn't constantly upset today- just when
I change his diaper or hold him over the toilet (We do EC but I am also giving him lots of time to relax with a diaper- I don't care at all if he goes in the toilet ir the diaper- I just want him to poop!) Right now he is in his "chill out swing" (we have a swing that helps him nap and another that just helps him relax, )and chewing in a toy and singing- so he is fine. Earlier I was walking w- him in the mei tei and he was fine. But when I changed his diaper he cried hard. sigh.

[Knitting Mama]

You could try a Vaseline lubricated thermometer; I have head that that works pretty well.

I honestly don't always trust doctors with food issues, I hate to say. My amazingly AP, pro-extended breastfeeding, happy with alternative and delayed vaccination schedules pediatrician still did the whole "4-6 months, start with rice cereal" recommendation for food, and we're definitely not following that.

[jenfl]

You can buy the glycerin suppositories for infants at the drug store. We've had to use them a couple times for DD when she was younger and once with DS. You just stick them up there and stand back, basically. DS was a bit trickier -- he managed to push it out too fast for it to work much -- but it did get him to poop a little and help him feel better. The bigger poop came a few hours later.

[Snapdragon]

update- he finally pooped! phew

[bizzylizzy]

I'd recommend reading BLW it's a great book, if you haven't already (sorry recent convert) about food and food introduction.

DS had some initial issues and probiotics worked wonders and I think avacado has done really well for his belly too.