So I went to Grandma for this one! Babies on formula need to drink a little extra water to help wit the constipation. When I talked to my pediatrician, he gave me a nice range of options. “There is western medicine that can help with constipation, and there are many natural remedies.” That is what you want from your pediatrician! Options. A range of them so you can pick what you want to do as a parent! You should know the variety of solutions available and fit the one that meets your lifestyle and is safe for baby!
If your baby has constipation review the following possible causes and solutions.
We breastfeed and formula fed our son. I only produced 1 ounces or so of breast milk but I was determined to breastfeed. So up until 5 months I breastfed first, and then I gave the formula bottle (before I discovered the SNS, supplemental nursing system). But our older baby son still had really bad constipation in the first few weeks.
The human body naturally processes waste. And when a bowl movement happens it shouldn’t be hard to do. Common Sense, right? Well the foods we eat – mom and baby, affect our stomachs ability to process food and then the waste by product, bowl movements.
Formula AND Breast Fed Baby
If you are breastfeeding and your baby is constipated, you should try adding more fiber to your diet. Yes, mom you! Since breast milk is processed in mom’s body, if mom eats more fiber, baby gets more fiber.
For Mom:
Eat more high fiber food, including:
· 3 servings of fruits and vegetables a day (A serving of fruit is 1 apple, or 1 banana, or 1 pear. Or you can have a ¼ grapefruit, mellow or cantelope.
· drink 8 8 ounce glasses of fluid a day (but not 8 glasses of soda, coffee or caffeine tea! This causes constipation too! As does milk.)
For Baby:
After each feeding I'd mix 2 ounces of baby water (store bought, but I just boiled our city tap water and let it cool in a pitcher. That was my baby water for the day) I'd add 1 teaspoon of light karo corn syrup. It helped tremendously!! But don't add too much syrup, that cause discomfort in those newly formed baby intestines too.
For Mom:
Eat more high fiber food, including:
· 3 servings of fruits and vegetables a day (A serving of fruit is 1 apple, or 1 banana, or 1 pear. Or you can have a ¼ grapefruit, mellow or cantelope.
· drink 8 8 ounce glasses of fluid a day (but not 8 glasses of soda, coffee or caffeine tea! This causes constipation too! As does milk.)
For Baby:
After each feeding I'd mix 2 ounces of baby water (store bought, but I just boiled our city tap water and let it cool in a pitcher. That was my baby water for the day) I'd add 1 teaspoon of light karo corn syrup. It helped tremendously!! But don't add too much syrup, that cause discomfort in those newly formed baby intestines too.
· Dill tea: in Europe, women give a light, not full strength, dill tea. It helps ease gassyness and passing gas, an constipation. This too helped. And through the years I've continued to rely on dill tea for gut/ intestinal issues. And I give chamomile tea to help us relax at night, coughs, colds and sniffles.
Do your best ... As a new mom that's all we can ask of you. And ask other moms how they help there babies. Use caution with any advice you get.
The days are long, especially in the first year, but the years are short - and our babies grew up fast!
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