Does Baby Food Cause Constipation?

I would drop the cereal down to breakfast only mixed with fruit and give him the Veggie and fruit for lunch and dinner. The oatmeal ceral more than the rice can bind a child up and they really don't need all the cereal in baby foods anyways.

And to touch on the other question you asked, yes it is normal for them to take less bottle when they are on baby food. One that fills them up so it takes the place of formula and two, ifyou had the choice between applesauce and formual, which would you pick! lol

You are doing fine!!
~S.

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No need to stress. If you believe he is constipated then ffer him some prunes or fruit..not to much though and it should clear right up.I didn't know this until my son was 4 and ate 3 banana's in a row that bananas can also cause constipation.But as long as he's having a stool then no need for concern.Only if the child goes more than 3 days without one should you have concern.

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He seems to be getting plenty of fluid during the day. I would only give cereal once a day in the morning. I had a problem with constipation too with my (now 8 month old). I talked to my doctor and she said, cereal in the morning, fruit and veggie at lunch, and fruit and veggie for dinner. Fruits seem to help them go. I also gave her some apple or prune juice diluted. I am with your friend, it is the cereal and oatmeal.

Good luck!

Make sure that he is getting a good bit of water.

Well, I can tell you that if it is getting better, it is because you have introduced more fiber and lessened the starch in his diet. Fruits and vegetables are a good way to provide more fiber. Try adding some pureed prunes, applesauce or yogurt. Good luck!

Hi A.,

My daughter had the same problem with constipation when she started solids. I started mixing prunes in with her rice cereal every morning and it's helped a lot. She also eats her cereal better now because it's sweeter. Straight prunes work even better if she's really stopped up, but I have to be careful how much I give her those or she has really loose stools.

Hi A.,

You didn't mention if you were giving him water. Make sure he gets plenty. When a baby is breastfeeding it is not as critical but as soon as food starts, water is essential. Constipation and hard stools can cause irritation and also toxification within the colon that can cause problems down the road.

If you are giving him enough water, straight prune juice is the route to go. It will stain his clothes but most babies love it and it has enough fiber and is healthy for him. Avoid corn syrup as it's as bad as honey. Corn Syrup and Honey can contain botulism spores that his digestive tract can't handle yet and can be fatal. After the age of 2, they should both be safe.

Don't worry. Keep asking questions. Trust your instincts and you'll be fine.

God bless,

M.

Yes, some foods can cause constipation. Rice, oatmeal and bananas (as well as other foods) can cause constipation. As other people said, applesauce and prunes are very good for helping. Prunes worked wonders for DD and we had to be careful how much and often she ate it.

This is normal, no need to worry or cut any foods out - just try to balance what you give him.

hey A.! when i started my children on baby food, their doctor advised me to give them plain water also. the water is to prevent consitpation. i give water during the meal usually a sip or two. it works, they were never constipated. hope this helped.

It can cause constipation, it's your first baby so u are going to freak on every little thing. First thing- Relax, enjoy this time with him! Give him a little juice, i use the gerber grape juice when they are that age and have a litte bit of a hard time pooping. My youngest is 6 weeks old and is my 4th. Make him do lots of bicycle kicks with him and rub his belly in a clockwise direction. These little things help. Sometimes its the oatmeai that plugs them up too but just relax just try and give him a bottle of juice in between meals here and there for when he gets thirsty. Also with the other question, mine did the same thing about the bottle, they became less interested in it cuz the food is so much better, and if u offer the juice in betweem meals then he'll have plenty of liquids. Also you should mix the juice half and half with water that way hes not getting too much sugar. When they are that age they do not know the difference from having regular juice and diluted juice yet.
Your doing a great job so relax! Keep it up with the routine cuz as they get older it makes life so much easier on you when there is a strict routine!

I agree with several of the previous responses.

1 water-maybe give some 1-2 oz after feeding or before is great because of the hunger he will drink it.

2 rice cereal and bananas do constipate, I would offer these less frequently than others (maybe tried mixed cereal too?)

3 Baby food I would be sure to keep that worked my children is prunes, )my dr says pears and pear juice).

I breastfed my babies but I have heard that sometimes with a combination of formula and baby food it might just take their little systems a minute to get used to everything. I say if it continues for too long just check with pediatrican because I'm sure that is uncomfortable for him.

I have a 7 month little girl. I think it normal when they start on food that their stools get hard. I typically will feed prunes or prune juice. I have a friend that even mixes a little prune juice in with milk in bottle when her son's stool gets hard. It seems to work for her. You can also try an infant suppository if he is uncomfortable. You can ask any pharmacist where to find them. I haven't gone that route yet because the prune juice works pretty well. I think bananas are also a culprit. I know some of the other moms said that also.

My 9mos old girl had the same problem. Her pediatrician told me that the rice was partly the culprit, but that cooked carrots and bananas are also constipating. She did not want me to stop the rice, she said that it was important. I manage the constipation by watching the combinations of food that I give my daughter every day. She has applesauce every day (it seemed to help better than prunes), and when she seems backed up I give her about 3oz of juice, monitor and if necessary give her some more 8hrs later. Plain apple juice seems to work for my daughter but the DR recommended apple-prune juice mix.

My daughter also gets constipated easily and your friend is right when saying it is the oatmeal and rice cereal. A little trick I've learned is added a baby spoon of karo syrup to the cereal when serving it. With that my daughter never gets constipated. Otherwise its a mess. She is 12 months.

I can't remember how much formula is needed at 7 months. Gosh, was it really that long ago? :-) I agree with PP that you should probably give water at meal times (great time to introduce a sippy cup of water). Also, I would take the cereal out of the bottle and only serve it as part of a meal. You definitely need to continue with the cereal as it is a very important component of iron for your baby. If you're doing cereal in the night time bottle for sleep, trust me on this...it's not the cereal keeping him asleep. (I tried the ol' cereal in the bottle trick with my kids and was petrified about stopping it, aka them not sleeping thru the night. This is an old wives tale.) If you're still seeing constipation, I would try prunes and/or a little bit of juice.

My osn had a reallt=y har time with Oatmeal in the begining (4-6 months). People thought I was crazy but he got constipatred whenever I fed him oatmeal. I stpped gining him oatmealand the constpation stopped. I asked the docotor about it and she said he may not have been readyf or that grain. We tried it again in a couipel minths and he does fiem with it now.

L.

I would just feed him veggies and fruits and give up on the refined carbs. He doesn't need the carbs. Also, if you are feeding him a regular milk formula, then that is also the culprit. Those two combined are awful!