My Infant is Constipated - this is NOT normal!

Constipation

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.

· 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!

Walgreens pulls air fresheners

Our generation of kids are constantly getting sick. From flus and colds to severe disorders, allergies and ailments. I'm not saying chemicals cause these diseases, but the proof on the negative impact of chemicals in our lives just can't be ignored anymore!! Do chemicals cause these problems? I dont know the answer to that, but I do know that in 20 years - when the facts are common knowledge - I want to be on the side of caution. Company's want to make money, thats their right. But my job as a mom us to be an advocate for my amd my familys health and safety. And a clean smelling house is not worth our health.

My PINterest boards are full of "clean" fresh smelling alternatives. We have already cut out chemicals as cleaning agents, using only vinegar, lemon, and murphys soap for wood. Occasionally for extra tough water stains I use soft scrub - occasionally! When my older son was born I read lots about chemicals due to the rise of autism (in 2005 when he was born rates were a mere 1 in 56 kids) and the possible links. Accordingly I used detergent that was fragrance free and biodegradable. Vinegar goes in the rinse cycle of everything - amd if pooped, peeped and spaghetti sauce stained clothes needed a cleaning boost I use borax and feldspar or coconut based soap. Yes really!! Way pess expensive than oxy and pess toxic. Does it really make a difference? I wont get into my beliefs here, but Id rather err on the side of caution.

We do not use lysol, evah. In that regard, my last sin is coming off the shelves.

Back to fragrance ...

A day after a group of environmental organizations asked the federal government to start assessing the risk of air fresheners, Walgreens has pulled three of its products off store shelves, according to a story by Jane Kay in The San Francisco Chronicle.

An estimated 75 percent of households use air fresheners, a $1.72 billion industry in the U.S. But the scented sprays, gels and plug-ins used to mask odors aren't routinely tested for hazardous chemicals.

When the environmental group the Natural Resources Defense Council analyzed 14 common products, it found 12 contained hormone-disrupting chemicals known as phthalates, which can be dangerous to pregnant women or young children.

"This isn't really just about air fresheners, you know," wrote NRDC senior scientist Gina Solomon on her blog. The real issue here is that hazardous chemicals and endocrine disruptors can be in a wide range of consumer products, and the government has little authority or inclination to do anything about it."

Air fresheners have been linked to breathing difficulties, developmental problems in babies and cancer in laboratory animals, according to the petition to two federal agencies from the NRDC, the Sierra Club, Alliance for Healthy Homes and the National Center for Healthy Housing. The chemicals in the products can also cause problems for asthmatics.

Walgreens told the Chronicle that it plans to have the air fresheners tested independently and that one of its manufacturers was already in the process of reformulating for a non-phthalate air freshener.

Prenatal Iron Supplement helped me change my Life & Health

When I was pregnant with my first son I decided to stay home and be what we lovingly refer to as “family manager.” My method of learning is to read everything I can get my hands on and see where the opinions range from Left or Right, and then I decide where I stand. So I started reading about pregnancy tips, and symptoms of carrying a baby. I started to learn about the bodies natural way of dealing with illness and more importantly the natural remedies to helping some of my common troubles.

Of course I talked with my doctor about my concerns, but even in that instance there was a variety of opinions. My prenatal care and delivery doctors was a practice of five women OBGYN. The process was that you had an assigned primary doctor but then you also saw the other four women in the practice on a rotation, since we don’t know our delivery dates, anyone could be on call.

My first sons doctor said I was anemic and prescribed a prenatal iron supplement – which also caused constipation. So with that prescription I also received over the counter prenatal vitamins with a stool softener. A common issue in pregnancy apparently. Well as many moms know there are natural ways to relieve constipation for a baby. Prune juice, mixed with water is gentle enough or babies still developing intestines and is a great support for adults to. By my sons 2nd birthday I was learning even more about nutrition and things like the importance of Omega 3 fatty acids, and fiber in the diet or the lack there of as was in my case…

I was now pregnant with my 2nd son and had a different primary doctor in the same womens OBGYN practice. My anemia was significantly less of a problem (by now I had a new diet eating fairly healthy with lots of green leafy vegetables – a great source of natural iron). But here is the kicker. My doctor said "I could take a supplement for the iron but the way that iron was absorbed in pill form it wouldn’t make a significant difference for me. And it has not been proven to be an absolute necessity in pregnancy."

But do you notice what’s lacking in the information from both doctors? No discussion of nutrition or healthy eating. Granted the 2nd time around my doctor was more conservative in her "prescription" approach, but still didn’t mention overall the need for iron in my diet or during my pregnancy by encouraging specifics on healthy eating. But neither doctor (even though they were both great!) said eat more green leafy vegetables and broccoli! Wouldn’t that be the easiest solution. Yes it would.

I am not going to tackle if that’s the doctors main role in my pregnancy. An OBGYN is there to care for mom and the unborn baby within reason. Mostly looking for something wrong. If I wanted nutrition advice I should see a nutritionist right?

Well I did something about it. I continued reading and learning. I paid attention to specials on “alternative programs” on public television, snipits on evening news broadcasts about new studies, and even followed some celebrity authors on these subjects. No, I am not a celebrity junkie, but I do understand the power of the media. Celebrities use there fame to get onto talk shows to inform the public about serious issues facing us today.

How to change?

Mostly importantly I understand how hard it is to change our lifestyle. It is so much easier to pop in a frozen dinner or use a pre-made meal in a box for dinner. Who wants to cook when they get home from a high stress job, a long commute and still have homework and bath time all before 9 p.m. I realize not everyone has the benefit of staying home but for our healths sake we have to find the time to make small changes.

OK my fellow family manager moms your day is hard, I know, and you manage A LOT, I know. For all of us it is really a matter of priority in our lives. Do we want to live long or should we be made a part of this big chemical experiment?

How to change? Slowly, yes slowly. Nothing changes overnight.

1. My first goal was to start thinking about the issues and what I was putting n my mouth. Yeah, that’s right, if you just start thinking about the issues discussed here you will start to change because you will inherently know what’s right for your family. There is no one formula for everyone, but a small change, any change, is positive. (For example eating white hard cheese are healthier then orange cheese, there you just made a change.)

2. I simply acknowledged that some of these things talked about regarding health and packaged processed food did affect my life. "Maybe" is a common family illness so are some of those pre-made boxed products in your pantry.

3. And finally I started actively “paying attention.” Look I know your busy in the hustle and bustle of life, but take a moment to pay attention to what’s around you right now. That means if you hear about a study on the news and it sparks your interest, just pay attention. Think about the story and how it impacts your life. Maybe its an online article or newspaper article.

I have listed 3 examples below of what you can “pay attention” to in your life RIGHT NOW. Read the examples below, pick one, do it and then keep reading, and try the next perhaps.

For example:

Do you buy canned fruit – go to where you store them and read on the front label how many cans are with “light syrup, "heavy syrup” or “in natural juice.” When you cant buy fresh fruit, buy canned fruit in its own natural juice. It's cuts down on the excess sugars in the syrup version.

Did you recently spray your home with a disinfectant and you now have that “clean” smell? That's the smell of chemicals in your home. We Americans have been conditioned to think this smells are clean, meaning germ free and keeping us healthy. Not so!

What kind of laundry detergent do you use, what does it say on the Packaging? “Eco-Friendly,” key words like “Free” or “Clear,” or it just says it’ll clean your clothes?

This is my favorite tip::

Go to your medicine cabinet, take a look at your prescriptions, vitamins, lotions potions and get a mental picture – or jot down a few items on a pad of paper. Are you constantly taking mess to calm your stomach, anti acids, allergy relief, etc. maybe the problems what your eating CAUSING you these stomach issues.


Doing nothing and just continuing to do things like we have always done is no longer an option. Whatever it is to male you start to make a change, you'll be glass you did. Start somewhere now. It's not just about me or you anymore, we have babies to care for.

"The days are long, the years are short."

The Evolution of What’s Good for Your Baby and Good and Changing Advice

What we hear one day, changes on the next. Yes, new or updated information can get frustrating, but its so important as a parent to pay attention. And them there's your mother's advice and every stranger thinking they can give you great baby tips!

One day you will be reading that something (insert subject here) is good for your baby. Then you will read that same something is bad for your baby, or a variation of how much, when, or where is good, or bad, again, for your baby. UGH! Frustrated with the constant change in information, well me to! But you need to remember knowledge is evolution. We are on a journey through this thing called parenting.

Yes, advice from doctors and scientists is always changing because everyday are learning more. If you picked up the book that I recommend for everything baby and kids, Dr. Spock’s is a great example of how information, advice and science changes through the years. The book gives you current advice, and it highlights some things that haven't changed (like taking babies and kids outside everyday for at least 20 minutes of fresh air).

So when you hear advice, on TV, from your co-workers, fellow mom, or anywhere, remember to always think about what you are hearing and make a conscious decision about it.

Please, don't just ignore the latest information. Or be assuming that "it always changes and really doesn't matter" as a friend once said.

I like to consider new-er information like this:

· Is this a trend? (Like the 2006 movement to start potty training babies at birth, yes really! Or how baby signs are getting bigger in popularity and studies say better for baby and showing higher IQ scores.)

· Is this a health concern? Then listen up! (High intake of antioxidants has even touted for a few years, but recently on Dr. Oz they talked about how excess amounts of berries and other high antioxidants can actually be countering the benefits of moderation.)

· Is this a Consumer Issue? Is some company making money on selling you a new "must have item?" Well then listen with caution! (One of my favorite items in this category is masked as a "health" concern but I think it's mostly sales. Reflux in babies. Yes, I am certain there are cases where babies have legitimate reflux, but many times in my personal experience with family and friends it's been mom over feeding the baby formula!)

· Does this fit in my lifestyle?

Most importantly, take the new information in, think it over and decide IF it works for you. And make adjustments as needed.

"The days are long, the years are short."