8 month old hasn't pooped in 5 days and I can't stop googling at midnight
okay so I know googling at midnight is never a good idea and yet here I am. my daughter is 8 months old and she has not pooped in 5 days. she's been on solids for about 6 weeks now, purees mostly, sweet potato, peas, some banana. she was totally regular before we started solids and now it's like everything just stopped. she doesn't seem to be in pain? like she's still smiling and playing and sleeping okay ish. but her belly feels a little firm to me and she's been a bit more fussy than usual in the evenings which could be anything. I called the nurse line this afternoon and they said watch and wait and call back if it gets to 7 days or she seems really uncomfortable. which I understand but also 5 days feels like SO long. I keep second guessing whether she's actually okay or if I'm just missing something. has anyone else gone through this with a young baby right when they started solids? I just need to know I'm not the only one because my partner is asleep and I'm sitting here alone at 11pm spiraling.
Replies · 15
oh the midnight google spiral. I know it so well. you are absolutely not the only one, I promise. when we started solids with my second at around 6 months the first thing that happened was a full week of nothing. I panicked way more than I should have. she's 2 now and fine, for what that's worth.
a full week?? okay that actually does make me feel slightly less like I'm losing my mind. how did you survive it lol
I put my phone on the other side of the room and watched old episodes of something terrible on TV. not a medical strategy but honestly it helped. what did NOT help was googling. every single time.
first, you are clearly a really attentive mom and I want you to sit with that for a second. the fact that you noticed, that you called the nurse, that you're paying attention to how she actually seems vs. just the number of days, that all matters. the transition to solids can completely throw off a baby's gut rhythm. it's genuinely a big adjustment for a tiny system that was just doing one thing for 8 months and now suddenly has to process sweet potato. banana in particular is one that slows things down for a lot of babies. you already talked to your care team which is exactly the right move. you have a number to watch for and a plan to call back. holding onto that is hard when you're tired and anxious at night but you did the right thing.
the banana thing. oh no. I gave her banana three days in a row because she loved it so much and it felt like a win that she was actually eating something with enthusiasm. I had no idea.
please don't feel bad about the banana. she loved it, you fed her something she loved, that is a good thing. you didn't do anything wrong. these bodies are just unpredictable and we're all learning in real time.
twin mom here and I went through this TWICE at the same time which I do not recommend. one of mine got backed up almost immediately when we started solids and the other one stayed regular no matter what she ate. same house, same purees, completely different reactions. bodies are weird. your girl's system is just figuring out the new program.
twins at the same time I cannot imagine. did the one who got backed up sort itself out eventually?
she did. took a couple weeks of adding more water sips between meals and swapping some of the thicker purees for things with more water in them, like pureed pear and zucchini. obviously check with your pediatrician before changing anything up but that's just what we ended up doing on their advice. she's 3 now and fine, just still pickier than her sister about everything.
late night worrying about your kid is one of the most exhausting things there is, and I say that as someone who has been doing it for a decade now with a lot more complicated stuff. the fact that she's playing and smiling is genuinely reassuring, not just something people say to calm you down. you'll learn over time to trust those cues. you've already done the right thing contacting the care team. keep that thread open with them. if anything shifts before day 7, call again. you don't have to wait out the full window if your gut tells you something changed. you know her.
also just want to say, with my first I thought I had everything figured out by 8 months. second baby came along and absolutely none of it applied. the books, the schedules, the foods that worked. I really thought I knew things. I knew nothing. so even if someone gives you advice and it doesn't match your daughter's situation, that's normal too.
updating because I know I would want an update if I'd commented on someone else's post at midnight. she pooped this morning. I genuinely teared up a little which is a sentence I never thought I'd type. still going to mention it at her next appointment and ask about solids strategy. thank you all so much. I felt so alone last night and this thread really helped. going to try very hard not to google anything tonight.
she pooped and you updated us. you are doing great. both of you.
the poop update is always the best update. welcome to this particular corner of parenting.
really glad to hear it. good call on bringing it up at the appointment anyway. you've got good instincts.