Let me start by saying it doesn't look like he is constipated. I strictly breastfed my son until almost 6 month old before starting solids. He had no problems up to that point with having a BM, but of course after starting solids he would not go as often like once every 6 or 7 days!! Which I know can be normal when starting solids, but the thing is now he cries and screams when he has one, they do not appear to be hard or clay-like they seem to be soft, but of course are more solid than the breastfed runny BM he is used to. This is my third son and the other two did not have this much difficulty but I also started them at 4 months with the solids and fed baby jar food with this one I waited longer and I am making my own baby food. I now am using prune juice as the liquid in his cereal and he has had a BM for two days in a row, but is still crying pretty hard when it happens. Does anyone have any experience with this? The doctor leaned toward the fact that it was his system getting used to the solids is why it was not as often, but really didn't address the crying when it happens.
I am happy to report that with continued use of the prune juice my little one has now gone 4 days in a row and today he did not cry at all when he went!! I think his system was having problems with the solids and now the prune juice has really seemed to help.
If it is constipation, my doctor recommended Benefiber in the bottles and/or cereal. It has worked wonders for my little one once he was on solid foods. We still use it and notice problems if we back off. Adjust the "dose" as necessary. They recommend this over Karo syrup these days.
If he's had some constipation, but now is having a regular BM, he could have small anal tears caused by the harder stools and it would still hurt as he's passing even the regular stuff.
Also, the bowel muscles could be cramped, just like any other muscle, so it might take a few days of regular stool to feel normal again.
Our son did the same thing when we started solids, and it kept up until he was a toddler. Literally screaming to pass a BM that didn't really look all that problematic. It became a less frequent problem after he was 16 months or so. Now, at 27 months, we haven't had a problem with it in a long, long time.
We did learn to avoid bananas and cheese though. One nibble of either would stop BMs for days and days. And we added 3 or 4 ounces of straight apple juice to his diet daily, which seemed to help a lot.
It seems to me that perhaps his system just isn't ready for solids yet. I would definately lay off the solids for a while, and just continue to nurse. Maybe try again in a month or two. Solids at this point are for practice only (until 12 months), not nutrition, so it's not going to hurt anything to have a break :)
I have never heard of it being normal for a 7 month old to not have a BM for 6 or 7 days when starting solid food. I was told by my doctor to not let my baby go without a bowel movement for more than 1 or 2 days at the most. He suggested I use a saline sapository cut in half long ways if my baby didn't have one on his own. I also gave my son a daily dose of prune juice and the problem seemed to get much better. I know that once a baby has a painful BM...sometimes they hold it for fear of the pain. Just stick with the prune juice and watch that he goes daily and I think he will be fine. Good luck!
Contact your doctor. Babies on solids should go no more than three days without a BM and it should not hurt. The doctor will suggest something like kyro syrup with his milk.
This was one of the biggest signs my neice had as an infant when they found out she had Cystic Fibrosis.
Ask your doctor to have your son checked so you can be on the safe side. CF causes them to be constipated and when they go it hurts very bad. If I remember correctly, she started showing signs of painful BM around 6 or 7 mths.
I will pray this is not the problem your son has but it's a disease alot of docs look over when their infants but you should definitely request to have him tested.
Good luck and hope everything's ok with your baby.
~N.~
I'm not one to automatically go to the doctor, but I think maybe I would call the dr about it and see if they want to see him. It sounds like there's something there that's hurting him. It may even be gas that hurts, but I think checking it out couldn't hurt.
Hi J.,
I doubt this is his issue, but thought I would put it out there. Could he be low tone? Kids who are low tone sometimes cry and look very uncomfortable when they have a BM. Not because it hurts, but it is hard work and frustrating for them because it is hard work for their bodies to move the BM through their intestinal track. I don't really know how to describe low tone and it might be hard for you to identify, but your doctor should know what that means. For the GI track it would mean that those muscles are lose and don't contract like most so it is hard to move the BM through. Just a thought. You can probably find more info on the internet on how to see if he is low tone.
T.
I would call the doctor ASAP. This certainly doesn't sound normal to me.
I do not know about this but at first thought hard stool. You said that was not the problem. I commend you for making your own food. I did that too. Years ago they had issues with additives in baby food. I could never get the meat just right and did baby food there but every thing else was cooked and blended. My daughter did not have teeth until she was 15 months old. She gummed even the meat and everything so I am convinced the baby food companies just want our money. Good luck in your endeaver. G. W
