baby constipated - medicate??

[MrsH]

I did a bit of a search in this forum and didn't quite find an answer to what I'm looking for her. My 7 month old dd had started cereal at 4.5 months (for a host of reasons) but got really constipated so we pulled her off it, and tried again when she was 6 months. All seemed to be ok, but now that we're a month into it we're realizing that she's totally constipated and it's a cycle that wreaks havoc on her sleep!

Her doctor's/nurse's advice has been to give her prunes or prune juice and a glycerin suppository if needed. At this point she eats pears, prunes, squash, sweet potato, and oatmeal (rice and bananas seem too binding? She's had them though). I nurse her, then feed a fruit or vegetable, followed by the oatmeal, and she usually has more of the first than of the cereal. So why still so constipated? I called the doc again today and the nurse will talk w/ her primary, but said that most likely they'll prescribe her something.

My feeling is that we can't possibly have tried everything, and she shouldn't need medicine at this point. I'd rather figure out what the problem is. So my question is, where do we start? And what do I tell the doctor? Thank you so much for any suggestions!

[kjbrown92]

You could try taking her off all grains. If it only started when you started solids, then I'd say she's "reacting" to one of the solids that you're feeding her. I'd go back to breastmilk at this point, since you haven't been doing solids for that long, and see if it clears. If it does, give her at least a week between foods to see what the culprit is. I would do that before putting my baby on meds would just mask the problem.

[blueridgewoman]

We've had great luck with warm bone broth over here. A tablespoon of honey also works INCREDIBLY well, but you'll have to decide if you feel comfortable with that since your kiddo is under the age of 1.

I would remove grains too. My daughter has had severe (I mean severe- no pooping for three weeks stretches sometimes) and it's been better since we removed grains (and cheese).

[Ola_]

I wonder if you tried to just breastfeed and maybe give some veggies with no cereals at all, would that clear up the issue? It would be worth a try and it's not like she needs the cereal from a nutrition standpoint. I definitely agree with you that I wouldn't do meds yet, as that's just a band-aid IMO and not solving the root cause.

Good luck mama!

[MrsH]

So with the grains thing, this is totally new to me. I thought cereal was the best first food? I guess there's disagreement about that

So, no grains for her, but I can still eat them right?

Should I also be giving her water? Thank you all so much!

[blueridgewoman]

Cereal is honestly pretty rough on a baby's digestive tract, especially when they're that young. There's mounting evidence that kids can't digest grains well until about two years or so, particularly when they're processed like cereal, etc.

I would stop all food but breastmilk if she'll tolerate it, and I would only give her water if she's not nursing well or seems to really want it.

You can probably still eat grains (though I think most people would benefit from eating fewer servings a day, but that's not relevant here), but if she is still contipated, you might have to consider that she has food sensitivities and at that point, you might consider eliminating dairy, then gluten, etc.

[chattyprincess]

Just thought I would offer my 2cents for what its worth.My dd's first food at around 5mths of age was shoving her hand into a bowl of homemade mashed sweet potatos and then putting it into her mouth. She refused I mean REFUSED to eat plain "baby" cereal. My doc said to try to mix a bit into her food, so I did but anything more than about a teaspoon into a jar of baby food and she would refuse to eat it. So I gave up. I just gave her pureed whatever we were eating or a jar of something. She also refused to eat fruit pureed. I have a weird child lol. Now however she is the BEST eater we know. When we sit down to meals with someone new for the first time they are generally SHOCKED at how well/much she eats, without prompting (she is 3).
The only reason my doc gave to have her eating the cereal was the iron. Because she was nursing I was NOT concerened in the least...but to each thier own. the doc would always just shurg and never said much about the whole cereal thing, and trust me I was all upset new mom worried I would kill my kid if she wasn't eating the stuff so my doc head a ton about it.
If it bugs your dd's stomach enough to cause constipation then its probably not that great for her kwim?? when something makes me constipated I avoid it or the the opposite if it gives me the runs I avoid it as well.

[GoodNamesGone]

I had something VERY similar happen to me and DD

Here is what I learned-

1- The 4-Day Rule: Feed baby the same food for 4 days (along with ample Breast Milk or Formula). This way you can have a clear picture of what causes/caused the issues for your baby.

2- When constipation happens, refer to BRAT- Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast. These are things that can constipate your baby. Toast, I believe, applies to all bread products.

3- When constipated - Apple sauce = bad, apple juice = good!
There is a difference in the amount of sugars and pectin in apple juice and applesauce:

Apple juice contains more sugars and liquids so it helps relieve constipation.

Applesauce is the whole of the fruit. It contains a higher level of pectin - which firms up stools and may thus lead to constipation.
-Wholesome Baby Food's article on Constipation

Giving baby diluted applejuice does work pretty well in our experiance so far.

4- The best first baby food is Avacado, NOT rice cereal. Avacados have everything we (humans) need nutritionally AND you don't have to cook them to give them to a baby ^_^ Mash and serve! Second best are Yams/Sweet Potatoes, they are also a super-food, and easily prepared for little tummies.

5- 1 bottle of cold water is recomended by some to help keep babies regular while trying out solids. You don't want to end up replacing a breastfeeding with water, so best to just stick to 1.

Thought I would share what I have learned. Check out wholesomebabyfood.com it's a great site and making your own baby food is SOOOOO much cheaper, and better (my LO prefers homemade).

[MrsH]

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and experiences. We'll try doing all breastmilk till she's regular again, then introducing one food at a time, making sure she stays regular through it. We'll see what to tell the doc... Right now she's got a glycerin suppository in her b/c she's throwing up and not nursing well, the poor thing. Anyway, sounds like we have to do some regrouping before continuing with this foods thing. Thank you all so much! Oh and we do make our own foods, it's just what to make that's so confusing! Thanks for the website though, I've been looking for a reliable source.

[blueridgewoman]

The suppository should work within about an hour-- I had to do two on my daughter once when the constipation was really bad, but if it's not working and she's vomiting, I would call your pediatrician immediately- that could be something serious. We never got to the vomiting phase, so....

[babygrant]

Originally Posted by blueridgewoman

The suppository should work within about an hour-- I had to do two on my daughter once when the constipation was really bad, but if it's not working and she's vomiting, I would call your pediatrician immediately- that could be something serious. We never got to the vomiting phase, so....

My son once went 15 days without a BM and was to the point of vomitting. That's bad. Personally I would skip the supp's and bring her into urgent care/emergency. That is a sign of a blockage. If your comofortable giving your dd an enema, that could work. I have no problems giving enemas at work to the elderly residents....but could not give my child one.

[Brigio]

Get off the grains! Especially the baby cereals- they are extremely processed. And I would wait a while before introducing them again. Food under a year is mostly experience vs. nutrition. My DD didn't really eat until after a year and she is a fantastic eater at 2!

[MrsH]

Off grains - she's off and hasn't in fact had any solids since Wed. We did give her miralax yesterday and today, which is producing some bm but I feel like there's probably much more in there. She's def feeling better though - sleep stretches are longer and she's nursing vigorously. Once she seems to be having normal bm we'll reduce the miralax, or if they're watery. I'm hoping we can get her meds free in the next week and then reintroduce veggies/fruits.

It's tricky b/c when our bodies work they're so amazing, but then when something gets messed up it's so hard to find reliable advice to get it back into balance. My pedi recommends continuing w/ foods (incl. cereal) and just keeping her on miralax for a few months, but that sounds all messed up to me. Anyway, I'm feeling pretty good about the above plan (get off miralax then do fruits/veggies slowly). Let me know if you would think we still need to tweak it!

[blueridgewoman]

Here's the thing- honestly, cereal provides really no benefits. There's no point continuing the cereal or any other food for that matter as long as she's satisfied by nursing. Any food you give her detracts from the breastmilk and means she'll get that much less. One food can make a HUGE difference-- my daughter poops every day when she doesn't eat cheese. When she does, she struggles to go once every few weeks. It matters.

Your doctor is pushing the Miralax because he's being aggressive about making sure she doesn't develop problematic long term bowel habits (and perhaps because she was vomiting). You did the right thing, IMO, by giving her the Miralax to relieve the immediate issue.

But you're right, keeping her on the Miralax and not addressing the underlying cause is a bit ridiculous. You know that there is a potential issue with the cereal, so listen to your gut. Cut out the cereal completely and see what happens. You can always revisit the Miralax issue later if there seems to be an issue, but your doctor's advice right now is ridiculous.

And as for what to tell the doctor? Something like, "While I respect your advice, I really had the sense that the cereal was constipating her. So we're going to try eliminating that from her diet for a while. I'm sure you can agree that solving the problem while keeping her off medication is the best case scenario. If we continue to have issues, we can revisit the medication at that time."