Time both moves so slowly and so quickly. Sacha will be 7 months old next week. And in 2 weeks I will be exhibiting at a trade show that will essentially launch me head-first back into the market for work full-er time.
But first things first... You know that if I am posting there must be a super-sonic reason, right? Ya, well. We have a problem.
Sacha hasn't pooped in 5 days. I need help.
Can we examine the situation in as brief a manner as possible? As an infant Sacha was a pooping super-star. When he reached a couple of months he was very regular- he pooped once a day and it was always in the morning. Then, almost 2 months ago we went to Portugal. And as soon as we arrived his regularity stopped. He popped maybe every second day, and some day not for 3 days. And the consistency changed. I wasn't that worried, for after all, who doesn't have bowel issues when travelling? I just attributed it to travel. And the fact that he was breastfed, and "they" say that breastfed babies may go up to 10 days without pooping. When we got home, though, this continued, but the ped told me not to be concerned. Also, Sacha didn't seem to struggle and he was still he happy self.
Then we introduced solids. We were ok for a bit (and Sacha loved eating real food, LOVED it!), until I started realizing that his pooping was increasingly infrequent. It became very thick and he seemed to be having some trouble. But he was still pooping every 2 days so I was trying to keep perspective.
A few days ago I was talking to my homeopath about something unrelated and decided just to seek her advice on this poo-tuation. She recommended that I stop all his solids and go back to just breast milk for a few days to reset his system. And then introduce fruits and veggies again, but no cereal. (I had already cut out cereal for 2 days as I was getting concerned). She also said that I should give him some water, but that is pretty much impossible as he doesn't take a bottle and has yet to master a sippy cup.
Yesterday I realized it had been 4 days. I have to honestly say that I have yet to have cause to worry about Sacha's health until now (save his jaundice in the first few days of his life.) I spent yesterday in an obsessive, diaper-checking panic. NO POO. Sacha's behaviour was definitely different. He was clingy and needy, and cried more than usual. And he really seemed to be struggling to push, especially when I was feeding him.
I put in another call to our homeopath. She recommended a remedy, and she also recommended that I stimulate his anus with a thermometer just in case he was a bit tight. (Has anyone heard of this? I hadn't but my good friend said he mom had done that.) I also bought some prunes, but have yet to use them.
Here we are, embarking on day 5 of no poop. Yesterdays' tricks did not work.
So I ask you: please help me.
What would you guys do? Should I feed him the prunes? What about suggestions for giving him water?
I just feel so helpless and lost. Mothering is so hard, I rarely know what to do. But I feel that now my baby really needs me. And I can't seem to help the poor little guy.
18 comments:
we have had this situation arise yet, but me close friend has. she was told about the thermometer stimulation and either baby apple juice or baby pear juice mixed with water.
good luck to you
Poor guy. I've also tried apple juice on friend's kids. Even if he won't take a bottle or sippy cup, he might very well be interested in drinking from your cup. Some babies at that age have already noticed that other people are getting stuff they can't - I'd try filling a real cup (not glass) with some 1/2 and 1/2 juice and water and seeing if he'll try to drink - of course it'll be a total mess, but you could do it right before bathtime.
We foster kittens and in one of our litters we had one poor little guy who would get so, so sadly constipated. He'd walk around the house crying with a little hard piece of poo sticking out of his butt.
Anyway, I don't see why the remedies we used on him wouldn't work on a baby so here they are:
-Pumpkin. Feed him some canned pumpkin. It's got lots of fiber to help get his bowels moving. It's also a little sweet so he should enjoy eating it.
-The thermometer trick. We added some vasoline to it to help ease the pressure on the anus from the thermometer going in and the poo trying to come out.
-This last one may be just a kitten thing, but I don't know: We had to stimulate his anus by rubbing a warm, wet washcloth on it. We also had to rub his tummy in a downward motion to help get things moving, so to speak.
The suggestions of water are definitly good ones too - part of the reason we get constipated is from not enough fluids. I do like adding apple juice or pear juice or prune juice to it though too - which would be add a little extra help to the whole process than just plain water.
Good luck!
This happened to us too. My advice would be to give him a bit of the prunes (a little bit goes a long way, so start small, you can always give him more). This will help things and probably give him relief in a matter of hours. Then, every few days, give him some of the fruit known to stimulate healthy bowel movements - like prunes, pear and peaches.
Then, start adding a bit of a good probiotic to his food once a day. This is something that made a huge difference for us in the longer run. After a couple of weeks of that, my baby became regular again and I was able to reintroduce cereal (which I also had to stop). Don't worry, it'll work out. Hope Sacha feels better soon!
Ok, I've had a chronically constipated child since birth. So, this situation, was a daily issue with us. Here's what's worked for us, feel free to take it or leave it. :-)
1. The prunes won't hurt the little one. They might actually do the trick. Lucky couldn't drink juice really well with his acid reflux, but looooved prunes. They often helped.
2. Try a warm bath, and afterwards massage his stomach in a circular motion. Just be prepared for mess.
3. Yes, we've used the thermometer before with success. Remember to wear some gloves, because it gets messy. Also be sure to use a thermometer cover and use some petroleum jelly. We put a clean diaper beneath him while doing this. Dont' do this too often though.
4. If things are getting pretty rough and the above don't work. You can use either a glyceran suppository or a Fleet enema for infants (found at Wal-Mart by the pharmacy.) We liked the enema better. It's lubricated and works within 30 seconds. It was like a system reset, but only used as a last resort. It seemed like a giant relief to Lucky afterwards as well. Just get that diaper back on QUICK.
5. The apple/prune juice also works, and Rachel's idea of a big kid cup is a good one. Lucky used an adult cup before a sippy cup.
I think that about covers it. Oh, and the cereal is extremely binding. It might be best to hold off on it for a bit.
Oh, and all of these suggestions came from a pediatric gastroenterologist. :-)
I've been told that instead of using a thermometer you can just coat a qtip with vaseline and just barely insert the tip... kinda run it just inside the rim. Just enough to stimulate the rectum.
We've never had a problem that prunes couldn't fix but my friend used glycerine suppositories with great success. Went in easy and stimulated poop within minutes.
Good luck!
Just dropping by. Yes, we had pooping issues with our breastfed baby, especially when starting solids. Suprisingly, the thermometer thing worked. yeah...gross but it worked. we eliminated bananas for quite some time as those seem to really stop our daughter up. Besides that, diluted apple juice worked wonders...you would be suprised that they tak ea bottle if there is something sweeter in there.
When all else fails....pureed prunes as mentioned before.
Baby O hates prunes so I've been giving him pears and pear juice to help him go. It works.
Also, add more water and/or diluted apple/pear juice to his solids when you know he's stopped up - even the stage one foods. I've been doing that, since Baby O's had a few hard stools since starting solids.
Stay away from bananas and rice cereal - oatmeal is much better for Baby O than the rice cereal was.
We did the stopping solid foods and only BFing him, and it did work. Once. I couldn't keep up with his feeding needs, but it worked for us. He pooped a SIGNIFICANT amount three days after stopping the solids.
Also - sippy cup-wise - it's probably helpful to start Sacha on a sippy cup now. We've had good luck with the Nuby soft one - it's got a silicone top which doesn't leak when he turns it upside down and he loves to chew on it. He's still not a big fan of water - he makes a mess with it, but he gets HOW to use a sippy cup. It's only a matter of time before he drinks the water. *I hope anyway!*
Good luck... hopefully he goes soon. I know what it's like to worry over a diaper.
*hug*
We are in the same situation. We tried the thermometer for a few times, but it started not working. We give our baby 1 oz of white grape juice a day and it seems to help. She has harder poop still some days, but at least it is moving. Good luck!
Caden had constipation issues from the time I had to give up breast feeding (about 3 weeks) until he was about 10 months old. Our doctor suggested prune and pear juice, apricots, prunes and pear baby food. When things got really desparate, when he had gone more than 7 days and was upset, we added prune juice to his bottle (.3prune juice 2/3 milk) or used "Lansoyl" laxative jelly. It's raspberry flavored and Caden loved it (it was his second solid food after prunes - he never got to have cereal until much older). I was told to give him a 1/2 tsp three times a day until he started pooping but I never had to do more than 2. It's at the drugstores and you don't need a prescription.
prunes, like magic...I only give them as an emergency. I would say that you should give cereal etc again but maybe in smaller amounts?
Thermometers must have vaseline btw, otherwise, it hurts the little babes!
What I did with my youngest is put three fingers horizontal starting right under the belly button. Your fingers should point left to right not up and down (sorry if that is obvious I was having a moment). Where your third finger lands press gently but firmly in a massaging manner. It loosens up things real good.
Oh, I feel your pain. Kali was terribly constipated when we were in Vancouver. I wanted to cry, she was in so much pain. In sheer desperation for instant results, we tried a suppository. It worked beautifully, and she seemed so relieved... just, she kept pooping it out so we had to keep popping one back in.
Good luck!
If you want to go the traditional medicine approach- parachoc (liquid paraffin- acts as a stool lubricant) and/or coloxyl drops.
Personally, I try not ot put things up babies bottoms unless I reall really have to. I'd hate it so I figure they must.
But good luck with your mission to find poo :)
J
Warm water and Dark Corn syrup. Just a spoonfull into a bottle of warm water....does the trick every time! Good luck... poop issues are not fun.
I have no advice - just sending love and hope things are moving soon and regularly for sweet sacha!
peace
shlomit
dry prunes and appricots! That works for us all the time.
I know I'm way late on this - but the prunes should work. However, I will say that 5 days is not a tragedy, as most doctors will tell you. Even up to a week isn't a big deal. You've gotten some good advice here, and go ahead and use it (particularly the prunes - think of it as just another fruit - it will work well and it's yummy, so he'll probably love it). But mostly? Try not to worry.
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