1 yr old constipated...(Warning VERY descriptive)

[C-Momma]

My youngest son (ebf) pooped multiple times a day as a newborn and never seemed to have any issues with his bowels. At roughly 3-6 months he gradually moved to once weekly poops...Sometimes after starting solids (We practice baby led solids, the first food he ever experimented with was puffed rice, bananas, raw veggies and fruits, etc) his poop became even less frequent and more difficult. In the past 3 months he suddenly had a VERY difficult time passing stools. (We also EC)...I noticed lots of straining and I rushed him to the potty shocked that I'd missed a cue only to find he was severely constipated. His poop was literally rock hard and immovable. I called his ped and they suggested I try some lube and "manual stimulation" so I did and it was successful but I was stunned. His poop was hard, dry and there was so much of it. We've been on and off of this constipation train for the past few months and it's making me crazy. I've tried everything...prunes, warm baths, massage, etc...all to no avail. His poop is occasionally blood streaked (bright red on the outside of the poop) and I'm beginning to think this has created a cycle (he may have a tear and so he's holding it in to avoid  the pain...just a thought)

He sometimes seems a bit uncomfortable and he def. rejects any attempts to coax him into trying (prolonging the "potty hold" for ec). He is otherwise happy and healthy, pees numerous times every day and has an enormous appetite (which is part of my concern, in addition to nursing on demand all day and night, and having a healthy supply of fresh food on a daily basis...he can go more than a week with NO poop...where could all that food/milk possibly be going?!)

We don't typically do well baby visits. (My son is unvaxed) and I hate to make a trip to the ped over this but I'm at a complete loss...Could this be normal for him?! It doesn't seem like it could be normal or healthy for anyone and I can see that he is obviously uncomfortable when he finally poops.

I have repeatedly stopped solids all together (which is HORRIBLE...he screams and cries when he sees his big brother eating and he is not offered something as well) just in an attempt to get his body straightened out but it seems to have little to no affect.

PLEASE help me.

(ETA: He is almost 13 months now)

[cyclamen]

We also did baby led solids.  We also and had a similar situation with the rock hard poops, blood, screaming, etc around 1 year.  A nurse in the family told me it was normal and suggested prune juice, but in my belief it was not normal for my daughter.  Her rock hard poops stopped the week that I cut wheat and dairy out of her (and my) diet.  She started going every day or every other day.  I've since added back in dairy in the form of pastured butter, and milk kefir, with no return to rock hard poops.  Not to be gross, but the poop just falls right out of her now.  It's an amazing difference.  I think the probiotics in the kefir help a great deal.

It may not be dairy or wheat for your son, but it might be some kind of food intolerance.  Maybe keep a food journal or try an elimination diet?

Also, fyi, bananas can be constipating, and so can cooked carrots.  My kid loves bananas, but if she eats alot, the bowels do slow down.

[C-Momma]

Thank you for your response! While my son may have a slower digestive tract, I don't feel like this is normal either.

I too questioned food intolerance. My older son had a nasty dairy sensitivity that he outgrew, but as a newborn he had lots of blood in his stool from dairy in my diet. I have to admit that I'm selfishly not looking forward to cutting out the dairy from my diet during the holiday season (I'm a vegetarian so that further limits me and and what food I can eat at our numerous family gatherings) but I'll gladly do it if it provides my boy with some relief or at least one step closer to an answer.

I know dairy (proteins) can take approx. 4 weeks to leave the system. what about wheat? Honestly, I first noticed the hard poops when he was having a lot of wheat intake (crackers, bread share by his bigger brother, etc).

[cyclamen]

Yeah, we were also giving her tons of bread and milk to fatten her up... but she wasn't gaining weight.

I believe it's a similar amount of time for gluten, but really, once I stopped bombarding DD's gut with the stuff... the changes happened fast.  I think babies heal so quickly.

I really sympathize with not wanting to cut dairy out of your diet.  I saw some signs of a sensitivity when she was younger, but I figured I was imagining it because I didn't want to have to stop eating dairy either... Honestly, if I didn't eat meat now, I don't know what we'd eat for energy around here.  Lots of peanut butter I guess.  I was vegan for a while a few years back and it wasn't a good fit for my body.

We don't have as much of a problem with sheep and goats milk either.  The very worst for her was shelf-stable milk like the Horizon boxes.  Supposedly, sourdough/lactic acid fermented bread breaks down the gluten sufficiently to be digested.  I don't think we're ready for that just yet, though.

There's a thread over in allergies that suggests that some food intolerances could be due to improper gut colonization.... the GAPS and SCD diets suggest that you can heal some kinds of food intolerances through diet.  So it might not be a forever thing.  That's what I am hoping.

[plantnerd]

Lots of fluids, especially juices (he even likes v8), seem to keep my boy regular.  They need more fluid in relation to the food they are eating, I would guess at this age bm is maybe not enough in all cases.  When the going get's rough around here I will buy a couple jars of strained prunes and spoon feed.  Does the trick.  I guess I would not withhold food.  I don't see how it could help, other than slowing his poor bowels down even more, and making him miserable and hungry to boot.

[tanyalynn]

In addition to the previous ideas--and I have read of a lot of kids whose food intolerances slowed down their bowels (for my kids it speeded things up)--consider chiropractic or someone who does cranial-sacral, and consider extra magnesium.  Some people need more, my DH and DD seem to need more than other people, and it was in the toddler age when DD was nursing less (and I think getting less mag because I was taking supps myself but not giving her any directly) that I saw things that were mag-related start in her.  Some folks also have good results increasing fat intake.