hi everybody,
i have 4 months old baby girl.for 2 to 3 days she is having problem with her poop.she goes her poop but very hard and by this she feels very uncomfortable.she is on brestmilk and one time on bottle milk.doctor told us that we can give her solids so we gave her oatmeal cereal for only once n now we stopped giving the cereal n we r on breastmilk n bottle milk.by this hard poop she feels pain n always cries n sleeps most of the time.she was very active but now she is unactive.so please can anyone suggest any solution.i will be grateful to u.
thankz

Arpita replied. sugar,jaggery and cows milk is also not adviced by dr before 1 year.my dr told to give raagi with ghee and water only.please ask your dr. Bindu replied. Oatmeal is not recommended for babies atleast till the completion of 6months because it is a highly heavy cereal. You could try Ragi instead...it is very good for the children above 3months. Ragi is easy to digest, gives the child good strength, keeps the child active and also very easily digestible. It should be made like kheer but with water and add sugar or jaggery for taste. It should be accompanied with ghee/milk. Medium consistency.

Do try this as this is what i gave my baby and she had no probs with her stools. Hetal replied. dont add bm or formula when you are adding fruit or vegies to the cereals !
the feed of solids and feed of formula or bm should have a min decent gap of 1hours,in case of 4month old !
dont give more than 1 tablespoon of cereal..go slow, you at her 4th month,,go slow and watch for your baby acceptance to solids. Hetal replied. hi, even if you stopped oatmeal it was heavy for your baby and his digestives will take time to recover from the stomach upset it has made ! so watch a while.
and since your dr is okay giving apple or pear juice,go ahead, introduce apple pulp from gerber 1st foods,and once he is ok with it, add in 1pulp:3parts of water and give that.
about pear, introduce, watch for ne upset that these foods gives your baby,,and then only go ahead.
about gerber juices,they are 100% juices and 100% juices are not recommended for babies below 1 year,,so if you want to give that, its advisable give them diluted to the proportion of 1juice:6parts of water.

go ahead and mix 1 tsp of diluted juice(juice+water) with rice cereal instead of bm or formula.since your dr is willing to start solids, whenever your baby seems to be constipated, for an easy bowels, give fruits with cereal than just bm or formula..but first always introduce them seperately, watch for allergies or rashes, then only continue !

dont give double doses of ne food, when your baby is not feeling well. go slow and give one thing at a time to be on safe level.remember, slow & steady wins the race :)

if you are giving today diluted apple juice, give tommorrow diluted pear juice !

good luck !
anon replied. my baby will get constipated by formula milk.so check whther ur baby too....if itz stop feeding it n try cow's milk removing itz fat n diluting it.if u have enough bm dunt supplement anyhting .u can start solids like rice cereal(nestum) .i was also giving 2 formula's at night or the other time when i am busy n BM too .then she got contipated and i was afraid to introduce solid .but right after introducing nestum rice(2 scoops in 1/2 cup of boiled water) n supplementing cow's milk her contipation prob gone..give her musambi diluted to 1:3 proportion .and include loot of green leafy veggies n fibre containing veggies in ur diet.all the very best Hetal replied. hard bowels means your baby is constipated severely, i added word severely because she is crying while she passes it.

check for ne blood stains or blood or ne other colour seen is seen in their diaper..if so, contact your dr immmediately.

now about solids,
many drs recommend solids from 4months onwards, however aap(american academy of pediatrics) doesnt not recommend it before 6months, as their surveys says that babiees digestive system are not mature enough to accept solids successfully and absorb all the nutrients that they should be getting from solids before 6months,,resulting to various probs like stomach upsets,indigestion, constipation and hard bowels or ne other signs like rashes, allergies & skin probs.

however it also depends individually from each baby growth & his capacity to digest food.some infants were just fine at 4months with solids..

however, in your case, your dr recommended solids at 4months is 1.because his weight did not satisfy your dr and since your baby is exclusively on bm or formula, your baby is not getting enough as per his own growth from formula or bm,,so you were adviced to start solids..
introduce variety of healthy foods in your diet to try to give all goodies to your baby.

now, as far as starting solids are concerned, rice cereal with iron is the best food to start with.if not that, overcooked rice is also okay.
i am still wondering why oatmeal was started first ! its heavier than rice,which explains it gave your baby discomfort.
ask your dr if your baby is in real need of starting solids, if so, start with rice cereal or overcooked rice that too 1 tbsp with bm or formula. it might not discomfort him like in case of oatmeal.

diluted (1 juice :6water)Apple or prune juice (1tsp only) is good for infants between 2 and 4 months of age. but before giving this, talk to your dr if your baby really needs solids.

also note that, i would recommend you to introduce spinach, after you give rice cereal(only if he feels constipated otherwise not), instead of prunes or plums or apples,,as there is no possibility of ne problem with this source of fiber(spinach).with plumps,prunes many babies had shown relfuxes and often worsen their stomach problem than repairing it.
also always try increasing fluid intake like water or with juice of fruit or vegetable that you introduced, this will not make him constipated. if still so, then only give spinach or ne greens that contains high fiber.

if your dr says that he would not mind you to wait until 6months, the best,i would love to hear that,,introduce at 6months onwards with rice ceral and so on..

your baby is crying while she passes bowels, the second reason is lack of sufficient liquid. i understand that bm or formula contains enough liquids to satisfy baby thirst but not in summers.. baby needs 1 oz of water at 4months onwards. give that between feeds.

also, in your diet, since you are giving bm, reduce lentils like rajma, toor dal, and add in more of liquids,spinach, greens, and light foods.

you yourself can take prune juice or mango juice and its effects will be passed thru bm to your baby.

otherwise,i dont see neotherr reason for a 4month old to get such hard stools that makes her cry.
she will have this prob until all the oatmeal effect is out her digestive system !

constipation this severe also signs that your baby might not be either ready for solids or atleast not for oatmeal ! so either try with rice cereal or stop and continue bm or formula and then try again later !!!! ask your dr about it.
whatever decision you make, make sure you observe your baby with benefit of doubt and give your baby enough time to accept the solids irrespective of any recommendations !
good luck