My little one is 5 months old and formula fed. About 4 weeks ago we started giving her cereal with a spoon, mixed with applesauce or bannanas or sweet potatoes. Unfortunately, I cant seem to get it right, and I do admit that I've given her some adult applesauce. If we just put a little(1tsp) cereal in her bottle, she's fine. When we feed her cereal from a bowl, then she get's constipated. I'll give her a little (1oz) prune juice to move things along and then, she'll get diarreah. I feel so guilty feeding her stringbeans and prunes because they taste so yuckie! Anyone have a clue how I can smoothe out this process. It pains me to see her uncomfortable.
After nearly 3 long weeks, my girl is back to normal. Our Doctor said that we should add MORE solids, which aggrivated me, but as a last ditch effort, I tried it. I gave her peas, carrots, squash, and oatmeal (nothing sweet, I thought she would not like the veggies, but she Loved them! - I under estimated her). I did not follow my usual schedule of waiting 3 days after a new food. I was in panic mode. And quess what? It worked. One day after adding peas, and squash. She was back to normal. Being connected to you ladies means so much to my sanity. It is difficult to do this alone. Thank you!!
Oh, I am so sorry to hear that.
Maybe it is just too soon to start the solids. If she is taking it in the bottle, then just work with that for now and then in a month or so, try it. Maybe try to give her solids in the middle of the day. Do the cereal in the bottle in the morning and then feed her the cereal by itself for lunch.
Hope that helps a little. Don't feel guilty. You are trying!!!
Are you using regular name brand commercial baby cereal? If so, you should strongly consider using an organic natural brand from the health food store. Those processed cereals are mostly turn into a sludge that can constipate particularly sensitive systems. Plus, they have no real nutritional value, except the processed vitamins that are added back in after the processing. Try a whole grain, truly natural cereal.
Kim
Mother of 4
I never started out with sweet fruits. And kids really don't have to have those refined carbs of cereals at all for starters. I wanted my kids to get used to veggies first so they wouldn't refuse them, so we never did fruits first. Starting out with avacado is a really good fat and of course sweet potatoes and butternut squash and sweet peas. I only had one kid that was a fan of green beans over the peas. I agree the jar green beans are horrible!
Another thing is to cook them yourself. What I did was pick a veggie...lets say carrots and cooked them and then used a hand mixer (the little one) and blended them and then put them in ice trays....waited for them to freeze and then popped them out in a gallon size freezer ziploc bag. I did this with several veggies. You can get the butternut squash at Publix (I couldn't find it anywhere else...in the frozen section that is.) So, whenever the baby needed something, I just popped one into a little bowl and the microwave. They tasted so much better, is better for the baby, and cheaper. Whenever you have to go somewhere...really easy, just put a cube or two in a bowl with a lid or baggy.
Constipation is pretty normal with those cereals. I would lay off the cereals for a while and just do veggies and fruits.
Hi Christina,
Because your baby is so young, I would pick two or three things that she will eat/drink and stick with that until her little tummy get used to them. If your going to give her the cereal, I would make the cereal extra runny (almost like a liquid) until you see that she is going potty just fine, then you can start to make the cereal with a little less formula (or whatever, whatever you are using). Applesause and bananas have a tendency to constipate little ones. If you want to give her juice, I would give her some applejuice, but dilute it with water.
Remember their systems are trying to get used to these new foods, so they will need a little bit of time in between introducing new foods.
Skip it! Baby cereals are so overly modified and about as far from a natural food source as you can get and then loaded with extra iron and other vitamins that a baby's body can't absorb anyway and actually sends their developing guts into overdrive. How is she fed normally breast or formula? I honestly with my 4 & 2 yo never even worried about feeding them at all until they actually started grabbing food. Food in the first year of life is really for exploration and fun rather than calories and nutrients. I just try with children especially to minimize the steps taken away from a food in its natural state, for instance would you prefer your baby to have a pear purred with nothing added or would you prefer that pear to be boiled then mashed and then a bunch of stuff added back to it to regain the nutrients lost during cooking? Baby cereals are the same way and not one of the first foods theoretically given to children before say 30 years ago. The intentional first food I gave my kids was pears as its a very low allergen food while baby cereals and bananas etc are actually very high allergen foods that baby's guts just are not ready to process. Good luck!
When I started my kids on cereal I would mix apple or white grape juice & baby cereal. (not formula) and they ate it cold. It didn't taste bad at all & the fruit juice kept them from getting constipated. The prune juice it too much for her system I'm sure. Also my cousin made her baby cereal with formula 7 a little Caro Syrup. If she didn't use the Caro , her babies would get "stopped up". Hope this helps!
I wanted to add my kids are now 4 yrs & 15 months and niether of them are juice drinkers! They just drink Milk or ice water.
I actually had this problem with my daughter when I introduced her to solid food.She is now 16 months and still if I give her the wrong thing she gets constipated.The only thing that I have found that works is apple juice I know that sounds a little crazy but it works it took a day or two to actually help but I give her Motts apple juice (do not dilute it)she drinks it with every meal and she is going potty just fine.I hope that helps you and your little one.
try down grading the juice. instead of prune give her apple or grape juice. its not as harsh. or cut back on the cereal you feed her , its a lot heavier when you give it to her in a bowl than putting a couple of spoon fulls in a bottle cause she's getting more liquid when shes getting it in the bottle.
I know what you mean! It is a hard balance. I would definitely lay off the prune juice and use a milder one or just give her water with her meal. The boxed baby cereals are overly processed but be carefull when making your own, babies under 6 months do not have a digestive system mature enough for whole grains. Try just plain mashed up banana or avacado, these are great first foods. I highly recommend "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron, it is an excellent book of information on feeding your baby with recipes, nutrient tables, etc.
I agree with the others that maybe your baby just isn't ready. Give her another month. I second reading Super Baby Food, great resource.
Have you tried mixing a little juice in with the cereal as you feed her. My son loved the extra flavor and we only added an ounce or two. Make sure she is still drinking plenty of liquids while eating because this helps to keep her stool nice and soft. As far as the constipation talk with her pediatrician if it continues. I work as an er nurse and find that sometimes that they will add a natural fiber supplement to the diet if the juice doesn't help. Best of luck.
