My 8-months-old son gets constipated very easily. What shall I do?

Question

Hello doctor,

My 8-month-old son is having eczema issues since he was around 2 months old. I presume because of allergies. We have tried many things to find what causes his issues, but still have not got it to go away long term. My main concern is that he has had issues with digestion for the past few months. He gets constipated very easily and has to eat things that help to keep him from getting too uncomfortable. He has breastfed up until this point but recently has self-weaned. He eats lots of solids and drinks diluted juice. I avoid giving him dairy since he seemed to have a bad reaction to formula very young. He had swelling in his lips when he tried yogurt for the first time. He is only 13 pounds in 8 months, which is very low. He eats well but is still so little. He is not crawling or scooting; he sits by himself and watches everything. He sleeps what seems like more than usual. He wants to be held most of the time. He listens to you and watches you closely; he grabs things and can switch them from one hand to the other. He can put his pacifier in himself and he likes to drop things on purpose. He does not babble much at all and does not play as much as I would expect.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

It is not unusual for infants to have constipation and milk protein allergies are also not that uncommon. You can try Similac has a product by the name of Similac Alimentum; they are broken down milk proteins. You can also try soy milk. You have to be very careful about food choices for solids; incorporate fruits and vegetables. Allow him to be more active, you have to remember that now his body is experiencing new and different type of food groups and he is not taking breast milk anymore which has lots of water and nutrients. I would also suggest that you see a pediatric gastroenterologist to get IgE panel for different foods and also to rule out eosinophilic gastroenteritis, which usually presents as diarrhea, but the opposite may happen. Regarding his milestone; they appears to be a little delayed, but every child is different. I would not worry about crawling, really some kids just does not crawl and start walking. However, I am concerned about the speech. He should at least try to babble. Please follow up with a gastroenterologist and speech therapist for further physical evaluation.