Baby having hard stool, how to improve?

[shulyn]

Hi Mummies,

Care to share and advise me does your baby encounter hard stool? How to manage and solve this problem? I started feeding solid 'Cereal' when my boy approaching 6 mths and has stop after he got constipation. Its been a mth and his constipation and hard stool problem still havent solve yet. Last week my boy got constipation again, 6 days didnt poo. Its not normal for a baby who has started solid. Again i bring him back to the clinic to insert the medicine again. After inserting, he really poo alot, 3 times a day...My PD prescribe stool softener and i cant keep relying on this. I have stop giving him stool softener once his stool resume to normal. I just started back the stool softener yesterday, still observing again this week, see if i stop will the stool become softer.

I really dun know wats wrong. I feed him water after he start cereal, ensure he's having enough water. Offer at least one type of fruits (Papaya, apple, pear and avocado etc), On one meal of porridge with lots of veggie and fish etc..Even offer prune puree, apple juice etc every 3 days. Dilute the milk (Eg, 5-10ml more of water)...As for his milk formula, he's been drinking the same formula since birth...

Any advise from mummies with this problem? How you guys cope and will it help?

Many thanks!

 

[tika]

My dotter had the SAME problem when she started on cereal at 6 months. She use to not poo for 10 - 12 days. Imagine our horror. They hospitalised her but couldn't find anything wrong also. We gave her everything from fruits to fruit juice to glucose water. NOTHING worked. We didn't want to rely on lactulose and suppositories too. We just didn't understand why she constipated so bad. She constipated for another 6 months and most times there's blood in her hard stool too.

Then when she turned 1 year old, I gave her Yakult. By chance only. Wah..she poo soft lahhh. When she turned 14 months, I gave her 3 scoops of mango/peach yoghurt everyday. Even better. Her bowel has improved tremendously eversince.

But of course results vary with different child. On top of giving your child more liquid everyday, I think you gotta find that particular food/drink that makes your child poop.

All the best!

 

[shulyn]

My dotter had the SAME problem when she started on cereal at 6 months. She use to not poo for 10 - 12 days. Imagine our horror. They hospitalised her but couldn't find anything wrong also. We gave her everything from fruits to fruit juice to glucose water. NOTHING worked. We didn't want to rely on lactulose and suppositories too. We just didn't understand why she constipated so bad. She constipated for another 6 months and most times there's blood in her hard stool too.

Then when she turned 1 year old, I gave her Yakult. By chance only. Wah..she poo soft lahhh. When she turned 14 months, I gave her 3 scoops of mango/peach yoghurt everyday. Even better. Her bowel has improved tremendously eversince.

But of course results vary with different child. On top of giving your child more liquid everyday, I think you gotta find that particular food/drink that makes your child poop.

All the best!

Wow tika i really understand the kind of horror you are facing...When i didnt give my boy stool softener, he can dun poo for at least a week...Imagine it happen a mth and so far i have insert suppositories twice...PD also advise try not to rely on it, use it only when necessary...So far i only did it twice...

Btw when yr gal constipated, is she growing well? weight drop? Cos yours kind of long...The clinic nurse say my boy seems like got lazy gut, but i dun think so cos at times he got show discomfort, can see him struggling to push. As for the food, i only stick to giving him porridge with lots of veggie, add meat,fish, sweet potato etc..Really dun understand wats wrong???

 

[tika]

Btw when your gal constipated, is she growing well? weight drop?

She gained weight...but it was super slow. She's very active throughout her constipation phase. Only when she wanted to poop then she'll strain till she cries and her stool is very hard.

My PD said most parents get the definition of constipation wrong. Its not how rarely your child poops. Its how hard your child's poop is. If your child goes only ONCE in 3 days but his stool is SOFT, its not constipation. If your child poops once every 2 days but stool is hard, that's constipation.

As for the food, i only stick to giving him porridge with lots of veggie, add meat,fish, sweet potato etc..Really dont understand wats wrong???

Yup...you are giving him all the right things to eat. Keep giving him those. (And plenty of water im sure you know )

Just ask your PD whether he can take yoghurt yet. Maybe that might help him like how it helped my dotter.

I suspect the problem could be hereditary too. Does any of your family member suffer from constipation as well? I used to suffer from constipation when I was younger too.

 

[Ting]

drink more water, give more fruits with fibre.
also can go to your PD n ask for med.
pin was having very bad constipation problems.
each time i see her poo, so heart pain, she cries badly.
went to my doc, n he prescribed her some med for her constipation.
it is to soften her poo so she can poo easier.
quite effective for us, each time she hv difficulty poo-ing, we gave her one dose n she can poo alr.

 

[SunShine07]

Hi Mummies,

Care to share and advise me does your baby encounter hard stool? How to manage and solve this problem? I started feeding solid 'Cereal' when my boy approaching 6 mths and has stop after he got constipation. Its been a month and his constipation and hard stool problem still havent solve yet. Last week my boy got constipation again, 6 days didnt poo. Its not normal for a baby who has started solid. Again i bring him back to the clinic to insert the medicine again. After inserting, he really poo alot, 3 times a day...My pediatrician prescribe stool softener and i cant keep relying on this. I have stop giving him stool softener once his stool resume to normal. I just started back the stool softener yesterday, still observing again this week, see if i stop will the stool become softer.

I really dont know wats wrong. I feed him water after he start cereal, ensure he's having enough water. Offer at least one type of fruits (Papaya, apple, pear and avocado etc), On one meal of porridge with lots of veggie and fish etc..Even offer prune puree, apple juice etc every 3 days. Dilute the milk (Eg, 5-10ml more of water)...As for his milk formula, he's been drinking the same formula since birth...

Any advise from mummies with this problem? How you guys cope and will it help?

Many thanks!

if u think it is the cereal, then stop giving him or change another brand....my son is also like that when feed on certain brand of cereal...what kind of cereal u feed him? cereal itself caused 'heatiness'

Preferably to feed on brown rice cereal, easily disgest. Also, boiled some barley water. Buy those china barley instead from the chinese medical store. Boiled for abt 20-30 mins boil till soft only becos boiled till the barley split lose the effectiveness.

if ur son dun like the taste of barley water alone, then mix with milk....actually mix with manuka honey(those with no activity) even better, but below 1yr cannot give honey.

hope this can help

 

[shulyn]

She gained weight...but it was super slow. She's very active throughout her constipation phase. Only when she wanted to poop then she'll strain till she cries and her stool is very hard.

>Sometimes my boy will struggle until the face is red...I have been observing, the stool is hard like rock when i stop giving him stool softener. Like i say i cant keep relying on all the medicine help...Lets see if its better, i will keep trying to give more water, fruits, veggie...

My pediatrician said most parents get the definition of constipation wrong. Its not how rarely your child poops. Its how hard your child's poop is. If your child goes only ONCE in 3 days but his stool is SOFT, its not constipation. If your child poops once every 2 days but stool is hard, that's constipation.

> Tika, truly agree. My mum told me its not so good for baby to poo every 2-4 days. I have check this with my pediatrician and he say its normal for baby to poo 2-4 days if the stool is normal. We should worried if the stool is hard.

Yup...you are giving him all the right things to eat. Keep giving him those. (And plenty of water im sure you know )

> May i check with you, how to you make your gal porridge? My mum taught me to boil the porridge, after 20mins, throw in all veggie, meat, fish etc and boil till the porridge texture is soft for baby. This morning i receive a call from nutrionist, i told her my boy constipation and she told me to offer more veggie and fruits. dont't cook the veggie with porridge for long time as it will lost all the nutrients. I should cook the veggie separetely, once cooked, using a sieve and spoon to scrap out the juice and parts, mix together with the porridge. May i know how do you prepare your gal porridge?

> All mummies, pls give me some comments regards to this...I been following my mum method and kind of new to this...

Just ask your pediatrician whether he can take yoghurt yet. Maybe that might help him like how it helped my dotter.

I suspect the problem could be hereditary too. Does any of your family member suffer from constipation as well? I used to suffer from constipation when I was younger too.

> As for this, i dont think so cos both myself and hubby doesnt have this problem...

 

[shulyn]

drink more water, give more fruits with fibre.
also can go to your pediatrician and ask for med.
pin was having very bad constipation problems.
each time i see her poo, so heart pain, she cries badly.
went to my doc, and he prescribed her some med for her constipation.
it is to soften her poo so she can poo easier.
quite effective for us, each time she have difficulty poo-ing, we gave her one dose and she can poo already.

Hi Ting,

I did wat you mention...Been giving him stool softener, once the poo is normal and i will stop...His stool is never normal once we stop the stool softener. I gave him enough water, veggie, fruits too, even bought prune puree and apple & prune juice. Who know, its either he take 3 days too poo out hard stool...Whenever he poo, we are so happy but so sad to see hard stool..When got hard stool, its really not good so i just strated to resume back the stool softener and observe one more weeks before i go back to PD again...

Once again, thanks for sharing All of the advice from mummies with child constipation really helps and give me the idea..

 

[shulyn]

if you think it is the cereal, then stop giving him or change another brand....my son is also like that when feed on certain brand of cereal...what kind of cereal you feed him? cereal itself caused 'heatiness'

Hi Liangjia,

When my boy approaching 6 mths, i started Nestle rice cereal, think i mix it too thick and tats when my boy started to have constipation problem. I stop cereal from there, PD say no problem with porridge so i continue giving him porridge with lots of veggie...

Preferably to feed on brown rice cereal, easily disgest. Also, boiled some barley water. Buy those china barley instead from the chinese medical store. Boiled for about 20-30 mins boil till soft only becos boiled till the barley split lose the effectiveness.

May i check with you, how to you make your gal porridge? My mum taught me to boil the porridge, after 20mins, throw in all veggie, meat, fish etc and boil till the porridge texture is soft for baby. This morning i receive a call from nutrionist, i told her my boy constipation and she told me to offer more veggie and fruits. dont't cook the veggie with porridge for long time as it will lost all the nutrients. I should cook the veggie separetely, once cooked, using a sieve and spoon to scrap out the juice and parts, mix together with the porridge. May i know how do you prepare your gal porridge?

 

[SunShine07]

if you think it is the cereal, then stop giving him or change another brand....my son is also like that when feed on certain brand of cereal...what kind of cereal you feed him? cereal itself caused 'heatiness'

Hi Liangjia,

When my boy approaching 6 mths, i started Nestle rice cereal, think i mix it too thick and tats when my boy started to have constipation problem. I stop cereal from there, pediatrician say no problem with porridge so i continue giving him porridge with lots of veggie...

Preferably to feed on brown rice cereal, easily disgest. Also, boiled some barley water. Buy those china barley instead from the chinese medical store. Boiled for about 20-30 mins boil till soft only becos boiled till the barley split lose the effectiveness.

May i check with you, how to you make your gal porridge? My mum taught me to boil the porridge, after 20mins, throw in all veggie, meat, fish etc and boil till the porridge texture is soft for baby. This morning i receive a call from nutrionist, i told her my boy constipation and she told me to offer more veggie and fruits. dont't cook the veggie with porridge for long time as it will lost all the nutrients. I should cook the veggie separetely, once cooked, using a sieve and spoon to scrap out the juice and parts, mix together with the porridge. May i know how do you prepare your gal porridge?

mine is a boy :tlaugh:hehehe.....

Ok, for me, i use brown rice can't remember what brand (got an elephant picture cost about $4per pack for small pkt, $8per pack for big ptk) actually ur nutrionist advice is good.....cook vege too long will lost the nutrient. cook the brown rice for about 15mins then i add in carrot and cook till soft. Buy carrot from australia. It is sweet and taste better. then add in spinach/vege together with fish and cook for another about 10-15mins till a bit soft.....

acutally there is many methods....

 

[SunShine07]

actually i give my son brown rive cereal also instead of those nestle....yes too think also cos constipation, like my son too....my son take nestle also got constipation problem....but brown rice cereal ok....maybe somtimes, u can also dilute ur milk powder...

 

[Ting]

actually, maybe his digestive system not tt good.
pin also had this problem.
she was constipated ever since so long ago i can rmb!
it was only in recent months that she poo everyday with normal stools.
my doc said her digestive system is not very good thus got this prob, plus pin keep eating alot, so i always wonder where the food goes.
n she has a very hard time pooing.
so i gave her yakult, n fruits n any possible way to let her pass motion.
i relied pretty much on the medication to soften her stools.
yeah, dun wanna make it a habit n dependent on it, but it wasnt a choice, cos i rather her to poo easily than constipate n cant poo out.
seeing her pass motion each time in the past is a dread, cos she really curl up n cry badly.

 

[tika]

I usually will cook the porridge in a very small rice cooker. The size is just nice for 2 - 3 portions. I find making porridge by boiling rice in a pot super leceh. I cook the soup separately. I'll boil the meat first and when its soft, I'll add carrots and potatoes. Then I'll add the leafy veges last. Yes its true if you boil veges too long all nutrients will be lost. My porridge is usually soft but not watery, so when I add the soup, the texture becomes just nice for my girl.

Hope that helps!

 

[snowbear]

May i check with you, how to you make your gal porridge? My mum taught me to boil the porridge, after 20mins, throw in all veggie, meat, fish etc and boil till the porridge texture is soft for baby. This morning i receive a call from nutrionist, i told her my boy constipation and she told me to offer more veggie and fruits. dont't cook the veggie with porridge for long time as it will lost all the nutrients. I should cook the veggie separetely, once cooked, using a sieve and spoon to scrap out the juice and parts, mix together with the porridge. May i know how do you prepare your gal porridge?

I cook the porridge in a small slow cooker. I put 1T of brown rice grains and about 3 ladles of stock (made from pork ribs, chicken breast bones, corn, carrot). I let it cook for about 2 hours. I cook the rest of the food separately so only the porridge gets cooked in the slow cooker. I steam the veg then stir-fry with a bit of garlic then let it simmer in a bit in stock. She eats her veggie on its own and doesn't like me to mix it in the porridge. When alicia was younger, i used to steam the veg then puree it then mix it into the porridge instead of cooking it together. Hope this helps.

 

[shulyn]

mine is a boy :tlaugh:hehehe.....

Ok, for me, i use brown rice can't remember what brand (got an elephant picture cost about $4per pack for small pkt, $8per pack for big ptk) actually your nutrionist advice is good.....cook vege too long will lost the nutrient. cook the brown rice for about 15mins then i add in carrot and cook till soft. Buy carrot from australia. It is sweet and taste better. then add in spinach/vege together with fish and cook for another about 10-15mins till a bit soft.....

acutally there is many methods....

Hi Liangjia..

Yap, i know yours is a boy..Typo error cos i just paste from previous post and forgot to change gal to boy...Sorry!

Thanks for your sharing! now i have a better idea how to prepare food for my baby...

 

[Jane Chow]

My dotter had the SAME problem when she started on cereal at 6 months. She use to not poo for 10 - 12 days. Imagine our horror. They hospitalised her but couldn't find anything wrong also. We gave her everything from fruits to fruit juice to glucose water. NOTHING worked. We didn't want to rely on lactulose and suppositories too. We just didn't understand why she constipated so bad. She constipated for another 6 months and most times there's blood in her hard stool too.

Then when she turned 1 year old, I gave her Yakult. By chance only. Wah..she poo soft lahhh. When she turned 14 months, I gave her 3 scoops of mango/peach yoghurt everyday. Even better. Her bowel has improved tremendously eversince.

But of course results vary with different child. On top of giving your child more liquid everyday, I think you gotta find that particular food/drink that makes your child poop.

All the best!

Hi...my gal is 15mth old and recently is also hvg conspitation problem. sometimes her stool is so hard that there is blood in it...she cry after pooing...must be very painful...:embarrassed:..

I wish to try method which are not using medication...

Yakult-will it be too sweet for a 1 yr old toddler cos i heard sweet stuffs are not gd for their development?

mango/peach yoghurt - which brand did you buy?

 

[tika]

Hi...my gal is 15mth old and recently is also hvg conspitation problem. sometimes her stool is so hard that there is blood in it...she cry after pooing...must be very painful...:embarrassed:..

I wish to try method which are not using medication...

Yakult-will it be too sweet for a 1 your old toddler cos i heard sweet stuffs are not good for their development?

mango/peach yoghurt - which brand did you buy?

Hi Jane,

When I asked my pediatrician whether Yakult is fine to give my 1 year old, he said its alright as long as we give her in moderation. Yes you are right, sweet stuffs not so good. But we dont't give her ANY sweet stuff other than Yakult. No chocolates, lollipops, that sort of junk. So pediatrician said its ok. Of cos its not wise to depend on only Yakult to make your child poop often, on top of that we must also give them PLENTY of water the older they get and fibre rich food/fruits. I personally think the key is to have a balance diet.


Any yoghurt brand is ok for toddlers. You can even buy the plain ones and mix your own fruits in them. You dont't necessarily have to buy yoghurt marketed for kids. The contents are the same, just packaging is different.

How often does your girl drink water aside from her usual milk intake?

 

[Jane Chow]

She drink 210ml milk 3 times a day and about 3 bottle of water (i refill around 150ml each time)....is that enough??
I also give her apple, orange, kiwi and dragonfruit on regular basis...is there any fruits that they cant take now?

 

[tika]

She drink 210ml milk 3 times a day and about 3 bottle of water (i refill around 150ml each time)....is that enough??
I also give her apple, orange, kiwi and dragonfruit on regular basis...is there any fruits that they cant take now?

She drinks more water than my girl, but my girl drinks more milk. Is your girl very energetic and sweats alot? If she is then it may not be enough. 1 year olds shd be drinking at least 1.5litres of liquid (from milk, water and porridge, juices optional) per day especially if they are very energetic and sweat alot. Again, requirements vary with individuals, that's just a rough guide given to us by our PD.

My girl is on 180ml milk 4 times a day and only about 200ml water. And she sweats like a pig. So her liquid intake as of now is still insufficient.

Fruit wise, too much apple sauce (pureed apple) may cause constipation. You can find a list of encouraged fruits at the website below. They all start with the letter P!
Read - Constipation in Baby | Infant Constipation & Baby Constipation Remedies and Advice - Constipated Baby Infant - Constipation Information from wholesomebabyfood.com
I find their information useful. They say to cut down on toast (bread), But my girl is super addicted to bread. Too much starch makes anyone's tummy sluggish. So if you think about it, my girl will need plenty more water because of that.

 

[Ting]

She drink 210ml milk 3 times a day and about 3 bottle of water (i refill around 150ml each time)....is that enough??
I also give her apple, orange, kiwi and dragonfruit on regular basis...is there any fruits that they cant take now?

try not to give too much citrus fruits.
can give papaya and dragonfruit.
these 2 help pin poo much easier when she was having problems.
you can give your girl some yakult every 2-3 days once.

is your girl active?
excerising can help in bowel movement too.