Constipation is pretty common, but not for each infant. We started introducing solid foods very slowly and very carefully, just to avoid possible allergic reaction. First of all, we introduced cereals, mashed carrots, apples and bananas. It took 2 weeks until we introduced other foods low in allergens such as semi-mashed potatoes, broccoli, zucchini, pumpkin, etc.
The first reaction was 4 day long constipation which occurred 2 weeks after the initial solid food introduction. It was very painful for our 5 month old son. He woke up crying every couple of hours through the night. We read a lot about home made constipation remedies, and found a lot of useful information online. Also our pediatrician suggested us to try with more liquids. The help came from Prune baby juice just 2 feeds after. Plum or prune juice really helped us with constipation, so everything you read on the net about it is came to be true.
The main reason is that prunes contain natural laxative which helps babies to have smooth bowel movements.
Two weeks later bowel movements improved and continued to be more frequent (one or two per day), but still more consistent then just on breastfeeding. Of course, he still breastfeeds regularly even a month after first solid foods.
Anyways, we continued with prune juice on daily basis (once or twice a day between breastfeeds cca. 30-50 ml).
Along with breast milk and prune juice, we give him water. Basically, breast milk should be good enough but when you introduce solids additional fluids would help your baby with bowel movements, therefore it’s recommended to add water if needed and if your baby wants to accept it. It’s recommended to avoid diverse juice intake because they are high in sugar which is not that good for your baby in that early age.
I hope this will help other to make the right choice. I will keep you informed about introducing other foods.
No comments:
Post a Comment