Because she was so constipated, it was horrible. So after about a week on bottles only, her bowels movements went back to normal. Now, she has never pooped every day, so she has gone 3 times the past week. The first 2 were great (only a mom!), but yesterday she had a little bit (normal color and consistency), and today a little bigger but still not the big one I am looking for. Also, lucky me, since she is off food we are back to the middle of the night bottle. She is still less than 16lbs, so she does need the bottle. My question is this: any of you moms dealt this and figured out a magic solution? LOL! :) I want to put her back on food and will start with one fruit for a week to 10 days, probaby pears.
When she very bound up, her bowel movements were hard and almost black, and she would vomit every time she pushed because she was straining so hard. It was awful. Any advice you may have on which foods to avoid or any home remedies to try will be appreciated!
My kids went straight to table food at a year old. They didn't care for baby food and since they did not need it nutritrionally it was fine with me they did not eat it.
61/2 months is so young and her digestive tract has already told you she can not handle it. IMO I think you should hold out on the food for now.
Are you giving her cereal? That is a culprit for constipation. I tend to hold off on solids for longer than you have. Sometimes, closer to a year before they really start eating solids. And, we skip the babyfood altogether and just give them smashed up versions of what we eat (minus the spices, etc.). Little bodies weren't really meant to have solids so young, I don't think. Yes, it is more difficult at night time, but it is better for them. Also, it appears that there might be a link between allergies and early food introduction, especially with grains.
Some people recommend waiting until babies are 1 to start eating. Maybe your child just isn't ready
both of my pediatricians recommended using a low-iron formula + + dark Karo syrup in each bottle. Check with your dr & see what's currently being recommended.
The BRAT diet is used for clearing up diarrhea. Bananas, rice, apples/applesauce, & toast. Avoid all of these foods. Try to stick with the other food choices, even an occasional jar of prunes will help!
Oh, & bathtime also helps ease muscles to aid in bms.
EDIT: both of my sons were put on food early. As in both were on cereal at 4 weeks on recommendation by their drs. Once we switched to low-iron formula, there was no need for Karo syrup. We were able to continue with all foods. Both of them were on vegies at 3 months, fruit at 4 months, & meats shortly thereafter. No stomach issues once the formula was switched. I realize both of my sons are older & this method is no longer used....BUT all of the children in our circle of family - all 20+ of them - followed the same method without stomach issues. :)
sounds to me like you need to take her to the doctor and not try to deal with this yourself....THIS IS NOT NORMAL
Fiber foods for older babies are bran cereals, graham crackers, whole-grain breads and crackers, and high-fiber vegetables such as peas, broccoli, and beans. You can get ground flax seed and add it to her rice cereal and formula, because that will really help.
Feed baby smaller amounts of formula more frequently, which gives the intestines a better chance to properly digest the formula. An easier rule of thumb is to feed half as much twice as often.
Delay introduction of solid foods, especially more constipating ones, such as rice and bananas. Instead of rice cereal, try barley cereal. Good starter high-fiber foods for constipated infants are pureed pears and prunes.
There are plenty more dietary guidelines and home remedies on how to help here:
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/childhood-illnesses/cons...
I really think that you could benefit from seeing a pediatric gastroenterologist. Your baby will need to eat eventually and you will need to find out what to do to help this along. You also need to know WHY food is making her constipated.
These specialists deal with this stuff in their practices, so avail yourself of their expertise.
Good luck!!
Dawn
look into baby cereals with probiotics. You can add your own probiotics too. I cannot remember the name of the one we used, but it was a line recommended by Dr. Sears. Buy on line.
Start her back on fruits and veggies (including prunes sometime every day) but do not include any kind of cereal.
She may just not be ready for it yet.
My son didn't take to solid foods till he was a year old.
I tried but his tongue just kept pushing the food from his mouth.
Maybe you could try some watered down prune juice and see if it helps with her constipation.
put dark kayro syrup in the bottle up to 2 times a day enough to fill the bottom of the bottle shake and give it. it will get things back to normal.
To much iron is a big constipator
I don't know if this will help, my dd would get bound up if we gave her cereal more than a couple times a week. The doctor said no biggie sometimes cereal does that to little ones due to the iron in it. As long has she was getting what she needed other ways not to worry. So if she was getting lots of cereal maybe cut back. Hope this helps
Being so young and having a harder time with adjusting I would take it slower than normal until you can identify which foods truly work for her and which foods do not. The first year is a practice period to get the child used to different textures, solids, hand feeding and so on. By the time a child is a year old and they switch to milk they should have already gone through most trials of everything, saving meats for last unless they're blended up at her young age.
First thing to start is cereal, rice cereal. One feeding a day for a week. When she's older give her the baby oatmeal as it tastes better and is more filling.
Start with fruit like pears and applesauce. She doesn't need it more than once a day, a few spoon fulls and see how she does. Do that for one week. Then try another fruit for a week. Remember, it's just a trial period at this age so she doesn't need more than one feeding of solids a day. Try different fruits every week but don't start veggies until she's been doing her fruits for a month. You can up her amount of daily feedings during the month as you see fit but do it slowly. Once you start veggies do it once a day again for a week for each one. Veggies can be more binding for some babies. Try sweet potatoes first. Buy one whole sweet potato at the grocery store, boil or bake it, and it should last the week. Remember, veggies are going to be more filling tha fruit. If any solids are taking away the amount of formula the baby is getting you need to cut back on solids because all the nutrients the baby will get their first year is from formula. Again, the first year is a practice year. By the time they reach their first year and go off formula the baby needs to be ready to replace the formula nutrients with food nutrients. Some babies get on board fast with solids and some take longer. You have many months to go so don't feel rushed and no need to hurry the process.
K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
Give her prunes. They are natural and will help with her bowel movements. Also, stay away from bananas cause they can bind her up.
id actually start back with a veggie like peas or green beans, OR OATMEAL CERAL NOT RICE ceral mixed with part of her morning bottle
start cereal and add in one new food a week. if she gets constipated give her little tummies.
My oldest did that when I was bulied into giving him rice cereal. I took him off of it completely. Went back to nursing him full time. The doctor recommended a small amount of pear juice to help break loose everything. I got those small Gerber bottles of pear juice (4oz). I put half of it with equal water in a sippy cup and had him drink that over the course of one day. It worked! Any time my kids would get constipated, or even myself or my husband, I go for the pear juice. It never takes more than 2 days at the worst to get everything back to normal.
When I did start solids again I skipped the cereals completely and went to the furits and veggies. My oldest was a much happier little boy. My other 2 the cereal never even came into the house, I waited until they were older and I went to the fruits and veggies first thing. Best thing I could have done!
I would take her to the pediatrician asap. This is not a normal reaction as far as I know and you shouldn't try to sort this out by yourself. Let us know how it goes! Good luck.
Apples and prunes. In fact mix apples and prunes into all her baby foods if you need to. It works.
we went through this with our son. he was a little older though (8 or 9 months I think) we had cut out so many foods that we were afraid would back him up, the ped eventually said that it was more important that he be getting the solid foods and a variety of foods, so we started giving him Miralax. Worked like a charm. 1 tsp dissolved in water, or the ped even said to give him another tsp if it didn't improve. We were giving him Miralax maybe 3x a week for about a month, now it seems to have worked itself out. We still use it if he has a really hard poo.
When my kids were older and constipated the doctor recommended Gerber pear juice as hot as they could take it and it seemed to do the trick for them. However, most doctors recommend starting not with a fruit but with rice cereal. My kids HATED the rice cereal so we quickly switched to oatmeal that they loved. You are supposed to stay with one thing for a few weeks to see if there any reactions, and then try another one for a while. Perhaps you can try it that way to see which one was binding her up. My kids started with breadsticks and zwieback for snacks they could hold themselves. Sucking on the end of a french bread while in the grocery cart is actually the first thing they did, which made me realize they might like some bread type snacks. Just observe while they snack since it is possible to wet an end of the bread and end up with a pretty large "chunk" that is wet and separate that could choke. Also make sure to offer watered fruit juices while they are eating solids, since they are getting less fluids from the food, and lack of fluids is very binding. For the midnight feeding once she does not need the nutrition and weight gain any more, you could slowly switch to more water and less formula until you are at all water, which I hear is an easier way to wean from that midnight feeding than cold turkey. Good luck.
Along with taking her off solids, you want to make sure your daughter is getting plenty of exercise, otherwise her poops are just sitting there and not moving along through her intestines, hence, the constipation.
At 6.5 months I don't know if she is crawling, scooting, rolling over and over, etc., to get to places she wants to go, but you have to encourage her to do so. Put her on her tummy on the ground, place toys 5 or so feet away from her where she can see them, to entice her to try and reach them. Once she starts moving place them a little farther away so she still has the incentive to move. Also sit on the floor sometimes about 5 or 6 feet away to try and get her to move towards you, moving a little as she gets closer so she'll keep moving. Help her exercise in 20-30 minute intervals several times a day.
Get her to like drinking water, too, as this will be very important in keeping her regular as well.
My guy was like your daughter at this age, and I have to tell you, he still tends to constipate at almost 3, lots of physical exercise is a daily must in keeping him regular, so be prepared to stay on top of this. Poop potty training was so fun....:-/
