i am so annoyed - what to do now?

[teezee]

well i took dd to the paed monday.  i was assured that if she could handle veg's and fruits that she can handle cereal and that she absolutely needs the iron in it, so i very RELUCTANTLY gave her some rice and pears last night and barley and pears this morning (was told to give her 3 meals a day again - cereal morning and night with fruit if i chose and a veg in the afternoon) and lo and behold - she isn't pooping again!!! i feel like i am going in circles!  the paed said that it was the brand of cereal i was using (milupa) and to go with heinz b/c milupa is better for formula fed babies and she is bf.  i have gone through this before with the cereals and now i feel like banging my head against the wall (ain't it true mommy knows best?!)  so they said if she stopped pooping again (which of course they said wasn't likely  :x ) to try mineral oil in her cereal to help it 'slide' out. has anyone ever heard of that?  i am at such a loss with this - she was doing so well on the veg's and fruits!  also, i am mixing her cereal with bmilk instead of water in hopes that she would be able to digest it easier.  until yesterday afternoon, after trying many times she started eating green beans and really liking them, i know they contain iron but is it enough for her in that alone??  and what about an iron supplement??  any other ideas to get iron into dd w/o constipating her and frusterating mommy? pls help...thanks

[Paulsmama]

Hi, would it be ok for you to mix the cereal with a bit of prune or apple juice to get things flowing?  Also have you tried oatmeal, it is not supposed to be constipating like rice.  I have also heard that sweet potato is rich in iron so maybe that will help get some in (believe it or not sweet potato seems to get things going in my DS so I always mix with rice!).  Good luck.

[kendallnangie]

I have heard of mineral oil...but I would make that my very last resort.
Try prune juice mixed with the cereal. I have found that the juices seem to work better than the real thing. I had this problem with my oldest DD she is now 5 and no problems whatsoever.
HTH, Angie

[teezee]

yeah, i have tried prunes and pears...from jars to juice...nothing seems to help or if it does she gets REALLY gassy from everything - that's why i am so stuck and frusterated now!  it's not like i even am giving her all that much, just a teaspoon!  and i did have her on oatmeal before and for a few weeks she did fine with it then, all of a sudden i had constant night wakings for a couple weeks and when i stopped with the cereal she started sleeping again and had no gas!  could she maybe have an intolerance for grains??...oh and she does love sweet potatos too...

[india's mum]

Have you tried stewed dried apricots? (the sulphite free ones from the health food store)  They are high in iron and help really well with the constipation (very similar to prunes).  My dd always got constipated from rice cereal, but did fine with the oatmeal.  Strained peas helped too.

Regarding the mineral oil, my naturopath recommended we use "Udo's Oil Blend" (again from the health food store).  It does help with keeping things moving, but our reason for using it was to help with her eczema and dry skin.  It is a mixture of flax oil, sunflower oil and a few other oils.  I just mix a half teaspoon into her cereal/fruit/veg at breakfast and again at dinner.

i'm pretty sure it would be unsafe to use any iron supplements for such a young baby (unless obviously your ped says to) and iron is very constipating anyway.   Also, don't worry so much about if your lo is getting enough iron... we had to cut out cereals altogether for about 2 months because of a sensitivity, and I was really worried about that (i read too much!!) but the doctor was not at all concerned.  As long as it isn't really long term and she is eating a few other things and getting enough bf, she'll be fine until you can sort her out.  Hang in there!!!

[teezee]

i wasn't stressed b.c of the iron - the paed stressed me out about it...anyway tried a tiny bit of mineral oil in her cereal tonight-but my mom has the udo's oil so i will try that tomorrow and see if it helps at all. i just read about the dried apricots - will go and get some this weekend.  dd is going to the family doctor tomorrow for shots as the paed we just saw it a 'specialist' and i will see what she says about the cereals and everything...just such a shame that after finally getting her bm's regular again - we are back to square one - and it can't be at all comfortable for her..and i don't want to resort to using suppositories every few days again - can't be good for her either.  anyway, thanks again for all the advice!..what would i do without everyone here??!

[julieb]

I think the iron scare is a big crock for BF babies.  I skipped the iron fortified cereal and made my own whole grain cereal, though he really didn't care for cereal period!  He was tested at 9 months and the iron levels were great.  The iron in breastmilk is still better absorbed than any other source, so there's no need to double up.  This is where I read my info and I'm so glad I did.
http://kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron.html

Anyway, all of the p foods help keep things moving, pears, prunes, peaches, peas.  Make sure you're balancing it out.  My DS eats a pear a day, as well as other stuff.  Don't do too much applesauce, bananas, or other carbs because they bulk up BMs.

[teezee]

thanks for the link julie - very helpful.  i actually saw the family dr and she said not to worry about it at all - so i am feeling quite a bit better...i know of ppl who didn't feed their lo's any solids until the were 9 months old - didn't those babies have iron problems if it is such a big deal..dd is still bf first and then i supplement with solids...i think i am ok with that now and don't want to go back to the paed again...i think the family dr will do 

[tylersmommy]

Mineral oil works like a charm, but we only use it as an absolute last resort. It can interfere with the body's ability to absorb several different vitamins and isn't recommended for daily use. Here's an article from Dr Spock that gives info on mineral oil in the last couple of paragraphs. Keep in mind that the article is geared toward treating constipation in toddlers, so the recommended amount of mineral oil is waaaaay too much for a baby!
http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,6103,00.html

[teezee]

i also had wondered how much any vitamins would actually be absorbed if it just went through her that fast using the mineral oil.  i did use it twice but, apparantly not enough b/c it didn't help any.  anyway, i stopped the cereal, and after a day she had two bm's!!  i did purchase the dried apricots and i made apricot/pear puree for her and she LOVES it - thank you for that tip...so now she'll have more iron AND poop again  all w/o cereal!