Should i change formula?? - Constipation.

[sandilion]

My LO has been generally going really well on his current formula, but all of a sudden in the past 2-3 weeks he has started having hard pebble poo. He is straining to get it out... I am really concerned!

I am trying to get him to have more water, giving him plenty of fruits and have even now started giving him stool softener drops which has never failed me but this time NOTHING is working!!

Should i change his formula? or is there something else i can try?? I hate to imagine how he must be feeling... all blocked up etc.

 

[Arisa]

it could be caused by introduction of solids, u have to keep up the water intake, my little girl likes to drink her water out of an adult cup lol she wont have it from her beaker or sippy bottle we also found that earlier on when she was around five and a half months and her constipation reached a really bad stage that changing her formula to a colic and constipation releif one was a god send, we now use aptamil or milupa its called, available in the UK/IRE and i am sure the rest of europe. Its changed my daughters tummy troubles although now she is on porridge and baby rice she needs a bit more water to stop the constipation but its nothing like it was before and if your wee boy is on solids he will have some pebble like poos in the early days we were told as they're systems are adjusting. but yeah it would not hurt to change formulas to a softer gentler one, it may cost a couple of pounds more but it was worth it for us, our wee girl only has one feed in the night then sleeps right through until morning now and no horrible wind or crying until she is blue in the face poor love

 

[socitycourty]

changing the formula may make it worse. my lo has constipation frequently just due to her system and i give her prune, pear or apple juice mixed with water daily and it keeps her from getting seriously plugged up

 

[Saphira]

If the formula has been tolerated well for a good amount of time I'd lean more towards solids being the cause. My daughter went through some constipation a couple months after starting solids, luckily not often, but when it happened pumpkin puree always did the trick! Nestle Alete, Hipp and Alnatura are brands I know that sell it suitable for babies 4m+. Hope it gets sorted very soon!

 

[sandilion]

I figured it out this morning!! It suddenly came to me that LO has been having this issue since i started giving him Vitamin D supps. A few weeks ago when i was buying his usual multi vitamins the lady in the chemist strongly advised me to also give him Vid D. And it hit me that it could be the cause, so i researched it and yep - over dosing on Vid D can cause constipation (and also other much more serious issues)

basically he doesn't need any additional vit D supps so i should never have let some random woman tell me what to do!! And believe it or not, i didnt give it to him today and with his cereal have him smashed apples and he did 3 hard poo's then finally a BIG soft pastey poo!! apparently babies are only ever to be given vit D supps if they are Vid D deficient and its to only be under the orders of the paed. I am annoyed with that woman now and myself for listening to her. I didn't know any better

I can't believe it! This is why people that don't know what they are on about should keep their opinions to themselves!!

I am so relieved i found the issue though. LO seems like a new baby now too, poor little bugger.

 

[Saphira]

Glad you've found the cause! It's interesting though because we were strongly advised to give our daughter Vit. D since she was born. We were given a tablet that dissolves in water version when leaving the hospital but she spit most of that out. At her first appointment with her pediatrician at around 3 weeks old we brought up that it was quite difficult giving her the Vit. D and should we actually continue with it. She told us most definitely and wrote a presciption for the drop form, which has been given to her easily once a day since then. Maybe it depends on where you live whether or not Vit. D supplementing is important. I've heard it has to do with whether or not a baby is having breastmilk or formula but that can't be the case, here anyway, because it's advised to all parents regardless of feeding. I think it has to do with a lack of sunlight for some months of the year but can't see that being a problem in Australia.

 

[sandilion]

Hmm i think i was wrong again - he went back to pooing out pebbles today so its not the Vit D!

I ended up making him fresh apple and pear juice, he loved it and drank a fair bit of it and my god did he have a clean out after that!!

So i have realised that the cooked fruits i am giving him with his breakfast are not doing the trick. He needs them fresh. Doh! Silly me. :\

 

[mellyboo]

I was told to not give my baby any supplements that she doesnt need them..

 

[socitycourty]

yes if he is on formula no need for vitamins unless dr. recommends them

 

[CoffeePuffin]

If you do decide to change formula, Hipp Organic is the only one my LO doesn't have constipation with.