No, I am not giving it out. I have a question for those who have gone before me.
Baby boy and I are ready to start him on cereal. The doctor told me at his 4 month appointment that they recommend every child now be 6 months old before they start cereal. She said in his case it is even more important because he has had such constipation issues. From a very early age (2 weeks), baby boy (***I really need to give him a nick name, any suggestions**) has sometimes gone 5-6 days without pooping. And then when he does go it is much too hard for a little guy. When he was younger I would give him sugar water (at direction of doctor) twice a day to keep him regular and soft. At about 2 months I was able to stop that and since then have only had to give him the occasional sugar water when he seems to be struggling.
Having said all this, he won't be 6 months until November 31 but I don't think we can wait 2 more days for cereal let alone 2.5 more weeks. For the last several weeks he has become much more interested in our food. We usually put him in his high chair with toys while we are eating so we can interact with him but we have had to stop this because he wants our food so badly he gets frustrated. He follows it from the fork into our mouth and reaches for it, even though it is completely out of his reach. On the weekend I made pancakes for Rick and I and I thought the little boy was going to lose it. He was so agitated that I stopped eating until Rick was done and we switched off.
A friend of mine just started her son on rice cereal (a week before he turned 6 months) and he got really constipated. You can buy beginner oatmeal cereal, and I am wondering if any of you have had any experience with this.
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I hope they always stay this close!
13 comments:
I am not parenting yet, still working on getting there. But I remember my brother giving my nephew a bit of Karo syrup in his bottle, when he was having difficulties. What about watered down prune juice, or isn't there baby prune juice, that you could give him? Is it allowed at this stage? I just sound like cereal would plug up a baby initially too.
I say give it to him. Chicka didn't have any constipation issues at all. I tried Rice for a week than Oatmeal for a week. Just once a day. If you find it does constipate him perhaps you could mix a smidge of prunes or prune juice in with it. If he's interested I'd say give it a try. That's one of the major signs of them being ready for food.
Good luck and keep us posted.
What aboust sticking with Boo? I love that nickname.
I should add that you should follow your instincts. They're rarely wrong.:)
Well, since you asked...
The reason they say to start with rice cereal is because rice has a very low allergen potential. BUT if there's no family history of allergies, there's no reason to force your little guy to choke down that stuff (it's disgusting--try it!). You can actually start a baby on anything you like--fruits, vegetables, cereals, meats. If your son is having issues with constipation, maybe starting him on apples or pears or some other fruit (not bananas, as they can be constipating) would be a good idea. Rice cereal is definitely constipating because of the additional iron.
Just keep in mind that at this age, babies aren't getting much in the way of nutrition from food--it's really more practice than it is food. Baby foods don't have the same ratio of fats and all the other stuff that babies need for proper development. Up until he's a year, he should be getting most of his nutrients from formula. So it's a good idea to give him a bottle before you feed him solids, just to be sure that he's gotten enough of that into him before he tries to eat food. Otherwise, he might fill up on that without getting the good stuff he needs from his formula.
End of assvice...except to remember the camera because you'll want to capture his expressions as he tries it for the first time! I hope you'll share them :-)
I'm with Erin, with a caveat, don't give him anything sweet like prunes for awhile. Let him get used to other tastes like meat and veg first.
He doesn't really want to eat & swallow, he's just into mouthing things so he can learn about them.
As for why the change to 6 months when years ago the formula/cereal companies said 4? Because in a study they measured the iron levels of babies who had iron fortified cereals at 4 months vs. 6 months. Turns out that the early cereal babies had dramatically lower levels of iron, and higher levels of allergies and intestinal problems, probably due to the cereal causing microscopic tears and bleeds in the intestines of younger babies.
Your son was delivered a few weeks early already, so wait, heck, wait longer. This is not a race, there is no prize for whose kid eats solid food the earliest. If he's constipated, use baby glycerin suppositories, and practice baby massage to prevent his bowels from slowing.
And if he is really staring at your food, give him his bottle at the same time as your dinner, maybe he can hold it himself and drink it out of one of those two handled cups with the soft top nipple? Or give him a freezing cold teething ring.
I gave B baby cereal at 4 months...his doctors said he was ready. I never really understood why some doctors wait until 6 months(but now I know!!). We didn't have any allergy issues, but B is always constipated too! I told the doctor and he didn't seem concern. But I always wonder if this is good for him. Good luck and keep us posted!
Rice cereal is known to be constipating (although I don't think I remember mine having problems) - the main reason it is often recommended as a first food is because of the low potential for allergies.
Like others have said, you can start with various different foods; heck, I think it's in Australia or England where yogurt is generally the first food parents introduce!
I've been reading along for a long time, but forgot that our munchkins are so close in age - our little one will be six months Nov 28 and she is seriously interested in our food as well!
I think in this case, you are the mom. You make the decision. If he really wants it and you are comfortable giving it to him, let him have it! If not, then wait.
Sky girl is right, go with your gut.
I waited until one week before her 6 month birthday to start it because of rish of celiac disease when solids are introduced too early. Rice cereal was first on our list, followed by sweet potatoes. If he is constipated I might mix in some baby prune food after he's had plain cereal for a few days. I still feed her cereal for breakfast and I ALWAYS mix in fruit. I keep prunes in stock in case she becomes constipated. (She is 13 months old)
Lucky has been constipated from the very beginning as well. We tried everything to keep regular, but what finally worked in the end is Miralax. It's a stool softener. Laxatives are addictive, but softeners are not. Lucky also has reflux, so he's had rice cereal in his bottle forever.
To help with his constipation, the pediatric gastro said to feed him (since his reflexes were ready) prunes. The gastro said as long as a baby is ready and at least four months old that it would be fine. Lucky has been eating solids since then (4 months.) No bad side effects or anything.
Oh, and we only need the Miralax around once a week. It's mixed with water and you use the water to make a bottle.
Sky is right that diving for food is a big indicator that he's ready.
Good luck!
My son started on rice cereal and number 1 baby food at 4 months and at 6 months he started on number 2 baby foods and has never looked back. We had him on table food by 8 months and now he will eat mostly table food but some baby food.
I've heard for constipation you can put Kayro syrup in the bottle. That's what my friends doctor told them to do. So, perhaps you could go for the food and then use the Kayro if you need it... or the prunes, they seem to work too. (My doctor is kind of old school and so we didn't worry about friuts before veggies or any of that stuff and Zack has NEVER had a problem eating anything.)
I vote for mixing in some applesauce or prunes with the cereal so the two can cancel eachother out (or do just straight applesauce or fruit). There is no rule that you have to start with cereal and adding some taste to it would probably be a good thing.
I know everyone says to start with a veggie so they don't get a taste for the sweets, but breastmilk is sweet -- babies already have a taste for sweetness naturally. I think just start with a little fruit, which will ease his constipation. If he is on formula, he's getting all the iron he needs anyway (which is pretty much the only function of cereal anyway). Good luck with whatever you decide!
I always had great success with a thin cereal with a little applesauce or peaches mixed in. I first started with a bit of cereal in the bottle then worked my way up.
You might want to let him hold a spoon while you are eating too. My kids just liked chewing on that.
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