Your baby's bowel movements may begin to change when he is 4 to 5 months old.
This can especially become an issue when your baby starts solid foods. Surprisingly to many parents, rice cereal, can be quite constipating.
What is Constipation?
Instead of how often a baby is going, constipation is often diagnosed based on how firm their bowel movements are.
So if a 4-month-old baby is having soft bowel movements every 2 or 3 days, then he likely isn't constipated. On the other hand, if he has a very large bowel movement twice a day that seems painful and hard, or are like hard little balls, then he is.
Simply straining or even crying when your baby has a bowel movement is not necessarily a sign of constipation though, especially if the bowel movement is soft.
Breastfeeding and Constipation
One of the most confusing things for parents is when their exclusively breastfed baby stops having bowel movements every day. These babies may go from having bowel movements 3 or 4 times a day to going once a week or even every other week. Again, if their bowel movements are soft when they finally have one and they don't seem to be bothered by any symptoms of constipation, such as fussiness, abdominal pain, or bloating, then this pattern is likely normal.
Infant Constipation Treatments
Initial treatments for infant constipation usually include switching from rice cereal to a single grain oatmeal, barley, or wheat cereal, which have more fiber than rice cereal.
Other treatments that you might discuss with your pediatrician can include giving your infant two to four ounces of water or diluted apple or prune juice (mixed half and half with water) once or twice a day.
A formula switch for babies drinking baby formula is also sometimes helpful for babies with persistent constipation, with the change usually from a milk-based one to a soy formula.
