Constipation Crisis Resolved

Little Bear was constipated last week due to too many bananas! She gobbled them up so joyously I kept giving her more of them ... only to discover that too much banana can cause constipation in babies! I felt terrible. It took her a few days, and some uncomfortable poops, but we finally got past the worst of it.

As mentioned in my previous post, I decided to take a natural route in dealing with the constipation. It was obvious she was uncomfortable while pooping, yet it had only been a few days since her last poop - so I figured I'd let a few more pass before I got overly concerned. I cut out all solids from her diet and went back to the basics: exclusive breastfeeding. We nursed a lot the past few days. I had been feeding Little Bear solids both morning and evening, so cutting out both meals meant more time at the breast. It also meant waking up at night more often (at least, I think that is why she woke up three times last night and twice the night before).

The first day of exclusive breastfeeding ended in her finally pooping! It was painful for her, though, and the stool was harder than I liked. So we exclusively nursed again yesterday. This morning her stool was much softer and didn't appear painful. Today we exclusively nursed, also. Tomorrow I will begin adding solids into her diet again, but will definitely avoid too many bananas! For now we will stick with peas, pears, sweet potatoes, and other non-constipating foods! That was one lesson we learned the hard way!