It's a major milestone to start offering your baby solid foods. After months or breast or formula feeding, adding diversity to your baby's diet is exciting as you explore what she likes. Unfortunately, along with solid foods can come constipation as your baby's digestive system works to process the new type of nutrition. By adjusting the type of food you offer and helping to resolve constipation, you can increase your baby's comfort and success when eating solid foods.
Starting Solids
When you begin to offer solids to your baby, his immature digestive system needs to learn to process the foods efficiently, which includes removing the water and nutrients from the food as it passes through the digestive tract. When foods don't have as much water or fiber, they can become dry, which results in hard, difficult-to-pass stools that cause discomfort and constipation. Offering the right type of solids can help to remedy the problem.
Symptoms
Your baby's rate of elimination might be different than other babies. As long as your baby is having regular stools and no signs of discomfort, she is processing and passing her waste efficiently. It's when your baby becomes fussy, cramped or gassy that a problem is evident. Constipation is painful and your baby will show that pain by crying or pulling her legs to her abdomen. Her belly might also feel hard to the touch.
Best Foods
Rice cereal is often the first choice for offering solids. Unfortunately, it's low in fiber and can result in constipation. If your baby seems constipated after eating rice cereal, switch to barley-based infant cereal, which is higher in fiber. Then, offer fruits and vegetables in different varieties to help keep your baby regular. They are high in fiber to restore a more natural rhythm to the digestive tract.
Treatment
If your baby becomes constipated after eating solid food for the first time, talk to your doctor about your baby's feeding schedule. If your baby is younger than four months, it's best to wait until the digestive system has time to mature before offering more solids. You might offer your baby prune juice as a mild laxative. Try 1 oz. of juice mixed with 1 oz. of water once per day. If your baby is severely constipated, talk to your pediatrician about using a glycerin suppository to help relieve your baby's symptoms. Glycerin suppositories should be used sparingly and are not a long-term solution, but can help relieve constipation for a more positive experience with solid foods.
