4 Month Old - Bm's and Rice Cereal

For your next food, start apples, pears or even sweet potatoes. Oatmeal is also a great alternative.

We went through the same thing! My daughter went through the hard BM's even when mixing cereal in her formula for her feedings before bedtime. I switched her over to oatmeal and it has been so much better! Her BM's are different than when she was exclusively on formula but they are by no means "hard". Try the oatmeal and see how it works... Remember to get just plain oatmeal though. I haven't tried the oatmeal with bananas, but I have heard that bananas are binding too and that may create harder BM's again.

More fluids. The movements will definitely be more formed now that she's eating, but she still needs lots of fluids. My suggestion is to continue trying out the cereals instead of jumping to veggies right away. It worked with all 3 of mine, and the only saving grace for more firm BM's is a little easier clean-up!

D.,
We had the same issue with my son when he was an infant. Switch to oatmeal, less binding and yes, she can handle it and her digestive system can handle it too! Try mixing applesauce and pears in with the cereal too, natural fiber in those.
Christina

Babies' tummies aren't really ready to digest food until closer to 6 months. I wouldn't start cereal until at least 5 1/2 months. and when you introduce cereal, any cereal, it will be harder to digest than milk or formula. You should also be prepared to introduce fruit, to help the intestines process the thicker food. I liked bananas, mushed up, to go with cereal, then sampled other kinds of fruits, and settled on what the baby liked best. It is fun to eat new food, and it probably tastes good, but at 4 months, it is questionable whether your baby is getting any benefit from the cereal. So I'd quit, then try again in 6 weeks. :-)

D.,
Has she had any foods yet? If not, maybe check with your doctor and see if you can start. I know that prunes are really good for keeping the going, so to speak! Prunes sound kind of nasty, but give it a try. My two girls love them! Or at least maybe try a couple ounces of diluted prune juice. Maybe that's all she needs. If not, then maybe the oatmeal is something to try too. Good luck!

Solid foods in general cause a more binding affect than formula. I didn't discontinue the cereal. I started giving my kids fruit juices. The will help to counteract the effects of solid foods on the bowels. The type of juice that you choose will depend on your child. My middle child is extremely sensitive to juices. So, I could give him a cup of apple juice and his BMs were almost immediately soft. However, my youngest isn't affected much by apple juice, I had to go to prune juice for her. But now that she is 20 months old, I also give her a lot more fruit to eat.

You've got some great advice already. I would like to add that my son was put on rice cereal in his bottles at 2mos because of reflux (needed to weigh down the food). They recommended 1 tablespoon for every 2oz, and this gave him too many tummy problems (discomfort, gas, constipation, lots of gurgling). I went to 1 teaspoon for every 2oz and that worked much better.

So, maybe if you tweaked your 'recipe' a little, less cereal/more water, etc??

Go to the oatmeal! I did this with my daughter. Ask your ped first though.

I have three little boys and they all had the same issue. Put a little bit of pear juice in the cereal. Gerber makes it in 2 oz bottkes so you can use it up before the expiration! Poor little thing...

Yes, I was also going to say that I switched to oatmeal. And also, it's not extremely important at 4 months to have the cereal. Her formula is fortified with vitamin and minerals. Also, my kids had the same problem so I also gave veggies and then fruit, but I started a little closer to 6 months. It is very heartbreaking to watch your little baby scream and cry while trying to go to the bathroom. Also, you may want to mix the cereal with water or juice. There is iron in the formula and it may be too much with the iron in the cereal. I used diluted fruit juice or water. Good luck! You'll figure out what works best.

I just was having the same constipation issue with our almost 3 mo old son. We were considering changing his formula to soy; however, at is 2 mo check up the doctor said I could start giving him pear juice diluted 50/50 with water. It has helped alot. I give him about 4 oz daily. He likes it and has soft bowel movements. Goood luck.

Both of my kids had that same problem. Instead of mixing it with formula my doctor told me to mix it with baby juice. It solved my problem. Anytime it got really hard I would use prune juice, just be ready for a messy one!!! Good luck and hope this helps!

My son had BM problems from the time he was born so when it came time to start cereal my ped put him right on oatmeal. I would not use the rice if it is giving her problems.

We always mix my son's cereal (rice or oatmeal) with real fruit or veggie juice. It makes it sweet, colorful, and adds more nutrients to the meal. Most importantly it really balances out his bowels. The fiber in veggies and fruit helped to prevent him from getting constipated.

And I'm very strict with juice because I'm always watching how much unneeded sugar he might be eating. We don't let him drink it really any other time. He only drinks milk or water, but for this purpose it really helped!

Basically just repeating the same advice you've already received, but rice is definitely more constipating than oatmeal or apparently barley (though mine would never eat barley). Oatmeal also seems to taste better, at least judging from my three kids.

Jarred prunes can help (just a small jar should do it). If you're not ready for other foods yet, I would probably go with a little prune juice. All of my kiddos had issues with constipation even before starting cereal, and our ped always recommended a little prune juice in the bottle. You have to experiment to see what's right in your case, but we usually did about 1/2 - 1 tablespoon per 8 oz. bottle.

Hope that helps!

Rice cereal binds most babies! Oatmeal is better. As far as diluted juice, if she's allowed it, pear and white grape are the best for "loosening things up" a bit! She will adjust to these new foods shortly! It's all new to her insides.

when my son was young my pediatrician said if they get bound up from startng solids you can give them baby apple juice (I used Gerber). I mixed it half and half with water when he was really little. It seemed to help. Check with you doc and see what he says.

Definitely try oatmeal cereal. It should work. I had to use oatmeal instead of rice cereal.

She can sip some water from a spoon at mealtimes to help keep her hydrated. Prepare the water by boiling and cooling it in advance and put it on a tablespoon for her to slurp. I have read that this also helps her kidneys transition to the solid food diet. 1-2 tablespoons is all that is needed.

I had the same problem when my son was that age. We switched over to the baby oatmeal and that helped a lot. Our pediatrician also told us to make sure he took in plenty of fluid.

Good luck!

introduce some prune juice - worked great on my now 9 month old who had the same issue =O}

Rice cereal really bound up my youngest child. My sister-in-law had the same problem with my nephew. The doctor's advice (2 different doctors) to us both was to try mixing his cereal with a little clear juice instead. Preferable 100% pear juice (found in the baby section) or 100% white grape juice.

We, also, switched to Barley and then Oatmeal cereal a lot sooner as well. That made a difference as well.

It really made a difference for us. But you should check with your doctor first. I don't know your medical history and if there are allergies in your family, they may tell you to hold off.

Anyhow, I hope this helps.