Someone replied to vina on other message board, suggested her to not to give honey and oils.

My baby is 5m old and was feeding on bm+formula 3rd month onwards. The doc suggested me to give water as baby might get constipated due to formula. And sometimes when baby had severe constipation, Doc suggested me to give 2 drops honey mixed in water. I still do that when constipated.

I bf baby morning and eve. I myself drink lukewarm water+honey+lemon first thing in morning.

I want to know, is honey not good for babies? What are the reasons?
And is it ok if i consume honey?

If someone can tell me, it will help me talk to my doc with these Qs.

thanks
p

about honey :
honey is not recmnded for infants under 12mnths,as it may carry botulism spores,,the digestive system of children(above 1 year) and adults are able to destroy it well but babies below 1 year cannt destroy them.the spores may remain active and may produce deadly toxin name botulinum...even baking or mixing will NOT destroy these spores.....

also note that NOT all honey contains botulism sprores,,but because babies DO NOT NEED honey, there is no reason to take the risk...

also note that when these botulism spores produce botulinum toxin it is considered as the most poisonous natural substance known to man...just the amt of this substance,,thats invisible to naked eye in blood stream can cause death within minutes thru paralysis of muscles used in breathng..

honey is often a traditional remedy for stomach upset and it has been proven to prevent growth of organism that is responsible for discomforts in stomach and drinking honey reduces gastritis caused by ne particular food..which is why mostly drs in india recmnd it...

but the fact is normal constipation like babies not goin for bowels for upto 3 days,,or feelng constipated due to formula is quite normal part of the routines from the day baby starts formula or even without starting formula...and such normal constipatn problems dont require strong sedatives like honey....it can be easily treated with lots of fibr foods like spinach, diluted prune juice, or apple or pear juice,,or apricots with ripe banana or good intake of diluted juices or water..
hence better to avoid honey.

honey with lemon and water reduces obesity and weight,,and breastfeeding moms require fat in order to produce good hindmilk(fat milk that comes in the last couple mins after the foremilk during pumping or breastfeeding) of bm..

when you are into ne kind of wght loss remdy you are actually reducing your fat in speedier way which means your baby will be loosing those fats in his milk,,thereby reducing the quality of breastmilk atleast on the context of fat..and as we know BM is the best source of fat for babies until thr first 6months of life..if you are takng that from your baby,,you might be compromisng with your health and your baby health which is now upto you.
also note that most breastfeeding moms like me,,were able to reduce wght by the time we weand our babies..thats how its said that breastfeeding leans your body ! worked for me,,reduced 35lbs in 13months of bf/bm with excellent fat bm...

so breastfeeding moms and infants below 1 year are not recmnded honey..even in ayurveda or allopath..

vina about what all foods you can give to 6months old, you can view the below post and thn letme know if you have ne ques :
http://www.indiaparenting.com/boards/showmessage.cgi?messageid=6593&table_name=dis_feeding

http://www.indiaparenting.com/boards/showmessage.cgi?messageid=6452&table_name=dis_feeding

thats the normal diet,,now that your baby is constipatn problem,,offer her fruits at least one serving of boiled pears or very ripe pears or boiled apple or ripe banana,,boiled pureed and strained apricot pulp/paste or puree to his cereals.
boiled apple/fruit: in cooker,chop the apple/fruit(with skin),add in some water,the water to the level all pieces are nicely soaked,,whistle upto 5-6 and let it rest,,once cool, puree it fine,,strain it(only if you see that the fibrs are very hard and you can feel them in your fingers),,and offer the strained pulp...
or just put the pan, boil water, throw in chopped apples and thn likewise..
avoid giving ne oils for constipations...you give ripe banana, you give ripe or boiled pear, offer spinach puree in his cereals or prunes pulp(1tsp) in his daily serving,,and you will not complain of ne constipation prob watso ever...
after all recmndations if your baby is still constipated,,its better to ask your dr about the cure..

please note that the above diet charts are just to give tentative idea and its not expected from all babies to complte the feeds mentioned in them..

respect your baby apetite, acceptance as well as textures so that you can introduce your baby all the solids with ease...

hope this helps you and you have a wonderful time...