Will breastfeeding help avoid constipation with cereal??

[littlegrasshopper]

This seems silly to ask. I gave my ds his first few bites of rice cereal and he was LOVING it. I gave it to him three days in a row at breakfast time. Well now it's been 5 or 6 days since he's had a BM. He's not straining or anything. There have been times he's gone like four days without going but this is a lot. Is it cause the cereal? I hear it can be consitpating. Should I take action or wait? AND... I was wondering if breastmilk  would help keep him from getting constipated. Thanks.

[littlegrasshopper]

So he was grunting and looking like he was pushing.. I looked and  he just had a kinda bowel movement. Real thick stuff.. and very little, and he's really tootie.  I think he's trying..... I'm thinking of giving him a little prune??? Darn it!!!!!!!!!!!

[teezee]

well if your lo is constipated AND gassy from cereal - the prunes MAY just make the gassy part worse (if he is anything like my lo that is..).  u might want to try oatmeal or barley as they will help things move along (with most lo's anyway..can't give ANY cereal to my lo without her getting constipated and gassy  )

[littlegrasshopper]

Well I tried the prunes last night and I wish I'd read the reply cause i think it just made him feel worse and gassy. A lot of crying happened last night. This a.m. at 5 I went ahead and gave him a suppository. There was tons of stuff. I felt sooo bad for him. I did it in the tub so it would hopefully be most comfy. It really only turned out to be me starting to put it in and the reflex was enuf. Poor guy. So... now what. I don't want it to happen again and yet I know he wants more subsantial food. Last night he was eating like crazyand i think it's cause i stpped doing the cereal!!!!!!

[teezee]

awwww poor lo...give him a {{{{{{{{{{{big hug}}}}}}}}}}} for me!  i hope he is feeling better today.  i had HORRIBLE cereal problems - but i think it is b/c she has reflux, is on zantac and doesn't have enough stomach acid to digest it properly - that's our problem though. u could keep trying the cereal just maybe not as often.  and have u tried giving juice diluted with water...usually helps too. pears, peaches, peas...all the 'p' names work well but sometimes have the same effect as prunes with different lo's.  i have heard recently (haven't had a chance to try it yet) that white grape juice diluted works great and doesn't leave lo's gassy and is much easier on the belly. if u continue with the cereal and have the same problems maybe u just want to skip it altogether?! to make sure my lo gets enough iron, i just make homemade baby food and make sure i give her iron rich foods like spinach, dried fruits, etc. although my dr says it's not imperative to give iron at this point as some lo's are strictly bf for the first year and have no probs with iron levels as long as bm/fomula is the main source of nutrition.  i do give prunes usually once or twice a week and definately not much to my lo to keep her somewhat regular but i really have to watch the amount.  if u have any other questions feel free to ask! 

[teezee]

stacy i would start with oatmeal or barley probably, the rice is very constipating.  like i have said - my dd gets gassy no matter what brand, type of cereal i give her - it's a lost cause for us.  just start slow, small amounts and watch closely as it may take a week or two if it's having any 'bad effects' for it to actually show. goodl luck - let me know if you need anything else!

[teezee]

oh and if he is already gassy - is formula or bf?? if bf u may  want to look at your diet and cut out some things. for me i had to completely eliminate anything with caffeine (grrrr....) and that helped tremedously (of course i didn't realize this until after we had started solids and had a HUGE problem on our hands  ) sometimes dairy is the culprit, sometimes gassy foods/veggies you eat.  if formula fed maybe try a different formula??  since he is gassy and that isn't resolved yet u might want to wait longer than not to start solids that way u are only dealing with one problem at a time.

[teezee]

it all depends on your lo...try prunes...if it's too much he will let u know - u can be sure of that  just things that could make him gassy start off slow.  ah yes a food mill ... i have looked everywhere for one of those things and no success in finding one.  all dd's food i steam or boil and then puree the heck out of the stuff you are supposed to put through the mill!  maybe not the best thing as she has a bad tummy already - but really she seems to do fine with it. i am pretty sure (don't quote me though) that the rice cereal u buy is white rice...i think the brown rice would be good too.