Baby constipation - nothing working!

My DD now 9 months has suffered from extreme constipation for a few months now. We took her to the doc about 2 months ago and were given lactulose which seemed to be working for the first month. We were told to reduce the amount we gave her when she started going again normally with no problems. I did this a few weeks ago and she became constipated again almost instantly! Upped the lactulose but had no effect and I've been trying every other natural remedy available but so far she has gone nearly a week with out going and its causing her extreme pain, she was waking every hour last night screaming because she was trying to go but I think she was also trying to hold it in because the last time she managed to go it hurt her so much. I'm wondering if maybe there is some other underlying problem that may be causing her constipation and if anyone else has gone through all this only to find out there was something else wrong?

Raisins, kiwifruit, prune juice in the water, all bran mushed up with fruit. Increased fluids. All these things may help. I've found natural solutions to be more effective than the medication to be honest.

Raisins are very good and fun for a baby trying to learn to pick things up.

Tried the chiropractor?

Avoid like the plague, rice, banana, toast and stewed apple.

Prune juice works really well. Poor wee mite

Yup I learnt the hard way about the stewed apple! I didn't know about the toast though, and she had some today too, poor thing.  i've been keeping away from the rice and banana, and the stewed apples too now that I've experience first hand the bad effect they have on a babies bottom!

pears are good.. and something called a bael fruit? which it turns out is an indian fruit used for medicinal purposes.. maybe that might be something to look into to.

Has the Dr recommended Coloxyl drops? I hear they are good, and they aren't too rough.

I'm having the same issue with my boy which seems to be unrelated to his CF. He has been admitted twice now in 2 weeks for bowel obstructions Anyway, he too is on regular lactulose, and the trick with lactulose is that it has to be given regularly, usually twice a day (morning and night). It by no way causes the bowel to become more 'lazy' as some people think. It just assists in the bowel absorbing more water and therefore softening the stool. What dosage is your DD on?

Other things to consider are mobility...is your DD moving much yet and could you assist that. Gravity helps, i.e. to get her upright so that gravity pulls the BMs down, bicycle motions with the legs, bouncing up and down on a swiss ball...Also, (and I haven't researched this myself yet) but there are pressure points in the lower back that assist in getting the bowel to move.

Unfortunately, some people just have 'lazy' bowels - myself included! And for myself, exercise, water, fruit and veges and cut back on fatty foods etc. all help, therefore, with babies the same principles apply.

Hope that kind of helps...and good luck! We are still in the middle of trying to clear out a large blockage

My chiro has a whole theory about why babies get constipated. Something to do with meat consumption of previous generations and the way we pick up babies (she has some wild theories, but I kind of like that about her) but they can feel what is going on in there and help release any blockage or twisting. As the mother of a reluctant pooer myself I would highly recommend seeing one. 

And kiwi fruit. People often forget the diuretic abilities of the humble kiwi, and there should be plenty around in beautiful tauranga

Shellandbella funny you should mention about the distended tummy, I did notice last night that it was looking quite hard and round. I have been massaging her every day and doing the bicycle motions with the legs but nothing seems to be working. I just started giving her lactulose again too, she was prescribed 10 mls twice daily as well. It seemed to help in the beginning but when I reduced it a little she started having problems again. I'm thinking maybe she might have a bowel obstruction too. Funny thing is her older sister is the complete opposite to her when it comes to bowel movements and she absolutely loves prunes lol I have to hide them from her otherwise she would eat the whole packet, which has a pretty nasty effect on the bowels.   If only her little sister was the same (sigh). In saying that she does love kiwifruit though and it is extremely cheap here. I will ask my doctor about her seeing a chiropractor too as I have heard a lot of positive things about them lately.