Looking for Advice on First Foods

I am an RN and I wouldn't advise starting him with apple juice...that would increase his diarrhea b/c the fruit/ sugar combo. If anything, start on some Rice cereal to try and bulk up his BM's...if you are going to start fruit, stick with bananas...they are the fruits that tend to bulk up stool and not give diarrhea...bananas, rice and toast are always recommended for adults with diarrhea. Hope this helps...

In my own experience and from what I've read about breastfeeding, it's totally normal for BF babies around 3 or 4 months old to have infrequent bowel movements. If you go as long as a week, you might try baby prunes Maybe if it's a problem, stop giving cereal for a week and try again later.

Breastfed babies do not have bowel movements every day and I'm surprised your pediatrician didn't tell you that. Breastmilk is the perfect food for babies therefore very little is not absorbed...thus fewer and less smelly bowel movements. My son was breastfed and only went every 7 days. It is not uncommon to hear of some breastfed babies going 10 days in between.
As far as starting juice, the American Academy of Pediatrics (and my pediatrician) said not to start juice until the baby is 9 months old.
If your son does not seem constipated, I don't see that there is a problem. Breastmilk has an ample supply of water to keep him hydrated without all the sugars of juice.
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding is a great resource book for nursing moms and does talk about breastfed babies having infrequent bowel movement. Also, think about attending a La Leche League meeting. You can get good, reliable information about nursing.

My daughter was doing the same thing--infrequent bowel movements and I was breast feeding also. As soon as I put her on rice cereal she started having more bowel movements. I would skip the apple juice--I'm not a big fan of juice. good luck.

I would start out out with rice cereal. That always works for my baby or cereal in a jar.

I've been a licensed child care provider for over 20 years, have raised two daughters and now have 4 wonderful grandchildren. I've had lots of experience in this area. :)

Start the baby on simple rice cereal, mixed with a little breast milk to the consistency that seems easiest for the baby to eat with a spoon. Anywhere from one teaspoon to three tablespoons will work. You may have to start low and slowly increase the amount until the baby becomes accustomed to the food. Next add pears in the first food size. You can do cereal in the morning and late in the evening and pears mid-day, if you like. Or you can mix the pears with the cereal two or three times a day...whatever works best for you and your child. Next food should be oatmeal. Give the baby three/four days to get used to each new food. If you like, you can add green beans or carrots once the eating pattern is established. You can continue this way until the baby has eventually tried all of the cereals, fruits and veggies in the first food section. No meats yet. Wait until a good pattern of bowel movements have been established before using bananas...they can tighten a child's bowels...and even applesauce will do this with some children. But once the bowels are regular and not too dry...the baby can have bananas and applesauce, too.

Juice is okay if you are careful. Too much juice and the baby might lose interest in the milk. We don't give juice very often in day care homes. We prefer that the children eat the fresh fruits and drink lots of water. You could put just enough juice in a bottle to flavor 4/6 ounces of water, if you like. And, if the baby's bowels are extremely hard to move you can use first or second food prunes to get them going good. Prunes work wonders. A small amount goes a long ways.

Now, another thing....when a baby has diarreah...we have what we call "the brat diet". B...bananas, R...rice cereal, A...applesauce, T...toast (dry toast). It works well and is usually given along with pedialyte to keep a child from dehydrating and getting back to regular bowel movements.

I hope this sheds a little light on things. Don't get frustrated if the baby doesn't seem to like the foods to start with. Take it slow and continue to offer it. They begin to get the hang of it after a bit. Be patient and consistent. It will work, I promise.

Let me know if I can be of more help. Good luck and God Bless.

Ms B.

I had the same issue with my oldest. It went on from 7 weeks old to 5 years old. I tried everthing but Miralax perscribed by the Dr. was what worked the best for us. When she was still little I did suppositories until she was old enough for the Miralax (i may have spelled it wrong)

My second son Joshua had a lot of problems in this area. He would sometimes go 10 days at a time w/o going! I nursed him until he was 5 months, then my milk dried up after a surgery. He didn't like any juice I gave him, so that didn't work for me. The one thing that ended up helping the most was mixing 2 Tblsp. of dark Kairo syrup with 2 Tblsp. of water. I think it's by the regular syrup at the grocery store. I would give him that 2-3 times per day and it helped. Now that he is on formula and solids, he is very regular. Thank goodness! because it is very frustrating for both you and the baby. Hope things get better. N.

I'm not a Dr and neither is my mother, but my mom has raised 10 children and has 24 grandchildren. She swears by putting just a little bit of dark karo syrup in a bottle of formula or breast milk, whatever you use. It's always worked like a charm for my two kids.

If you've already started feeding solid foods, you can also try some prunes, which comes in a first food. They're actually not as bad as they sound. They have kind of a sweet taste. My 3 year old loved them when she ate them as baby food, but you can't feed them very often because of the side effects.

Good luck!

T.

Hi C.,

Istead of adding things to your baby's diet, add some high fiber content to your diet since you are exclusively breastfeeding. I was able to easily change my children's BM patterns with what I ate. I ate a lot of strawberries one day (they have a lot of fiber) when my daughter was about 1 month old. She pooped the rest of the day!! I don't think introducing new foods to a baby is the solution to fixing digestive problems. Normally you would want to eliminate anything new to reduce constipation. Apple juice is just a easy out for the doctor. Anyway that is my advice. Good Luck with everything and kudos for breastfeeding.

My son now 6 months old had the same issue, but my doctor said this was normal and as long as he is going ever 2-3 days he is fine. He never suggested juice which is empty calories and sugar..but then again he is the expert. Once your baby starts eating solids and fiber foods like carrots, beans etc he should go more regularly.

I did have problems with my daughter and her bowel movements too. I would give her 2 ounces of prune juice daily. It kept her unconstipated and a little more regular. It really helped for us.

Let me know if you have any questions.

C.,

From my experience, you are supposed to started with rice cereal to determine that they are not allergic at first...so, my advice would be to start with a very small amount of that mixed with the milk/formula...and then I would add in veggies - such as, green beans, peas, carrots (do all the greens first and then do the oranges and yellows- this will ensure that the baby likes veggies and not just fruit). I would try the veggies first - before the fruit juice (diluted of course) because most babies that taste the sweet first don't ever really like the veggies. You can give a tablespoon of the cereal mixed with a tablespoon of the veggie and try that until you know that there isn't an allergy...that should help the pooping and make sure that the baby eats well!! If you have any other questions, let me know - especially if this wasn't clear!! :) Hope this helps!
G.

C.-

My son was bfed via bottle for about 10 months and his pediatrician told me that infequent bowel movements is normal for bfed babies- he had seen one child go 11 days without a bm.

We used mineral oil when our now 3 year old had bm problems. and boy did it work. I also used a suppository once and that worked also.

you may want to try rice cereal made with breast milk as a fist food- that is what we did.

good luck,
M.

Hi C.,

Infrequent bowel movements in BF babies is very common and nothing to worry about (unless he goes for a week or more w/out a BM). Before you begin introducing foods, you might seek the advice of a lactation consultant or your local La Leche League. I nursed both my kiddos, and found that the pediatricians really don't have any hands-on experience with breastfeeding and often don't know how to give advice to BF moms.

:-) H.

I would not give him solids right away. Try to monitor his fluid intake and your water intake. Give him some water in a bottle and breast feed him as much as possible. Baby massage on his belly helps too. Go in a clockwise circle.
If you still want to give him solids, stay away from bananas and apples. Green beans and other veggies will help soften stools better. I would give him prune juice before apple. Apple juice is binding.

Hi C.,

my little guy, now nine months old also went through that. He went to the bathroom once a week. I was told because I was bfeeding; most everything I was giving him was absorbed and only having a bm once a week was okay. I still have not introduced juice to my son and not until about 6months did I start jar food, just bmilk.
I do hope you find a solution and he is doing okay