Constipation in an older breastfed baby

Constipation in the early months of weaning isn’t uncommon.

It can happen for several reasons:

1) Constipation can happen if a baby isn’t drinking enough water during meals.

It’s important to start offering water with meals as soon as solids are introduced. If your baby is reluctant to drink water, it can help if you model drinking water while your baby is having their meal. ⁣

Open cups such as: Baby Cups https://babycup.com/ , Doidy Cups https://www.bickiepegs.com/product/doidy-cup/ or a weighted straw cup are recommended.

Feed Eat Speak has detailed information about cups.

Babies often enjoy drinking out of whatever receptacles their parents are using, so you could occasionally try offering water from your own cup to encourage your baby’s interest in drinking water, but please be careful of glass as your baby might try to bite it.⁣

2) Constipation can happen if a baby is eating too much solid food too soon.⁣

To make sure your baby isn’t filling up too much on solid food before their digestive system can cope, it helps to offer the breast or breastmilk immediately before meals up until babies are approaching 12 months, or until they make it clear they want to have solids first. Babies should be getting the majority of their calories from breastmilk until around 12 months.

What to do if your baby becomes constipated:

• All the fresh fruits that start with the letter ‘p’ will help get things going: pears, plums, peaches, pawpaw; also kiwi and above all watermelon, (though that might be hard to find in the winter months).⁣

• Depending on your baby’s age, consider reducing the number of meals a day you’re offering. In the first month or so of introducing solids, one meal a day is sufficient; babies don’t need 3 meals a day until 9 to 12 months.⁣⁣

• Avoid giving too many bananas are these can be very constipating.⁣

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N.B. It is not recommended to introduce solids until a baby is at least 6 months old and showing all the developmental signs of readiness.⁣