BLW, anemia, and constipation

MagsMayMommy · February 2013

DD has been EBF (minus brief formula supplementing early on) until she started BLW at 6 months. The last couple of months she's had trouble off and on with constipation (hard poop and a couple of times she's cried while going). I've been giving her prunes, pears, and peaches while avoiding bananas, applesauce, and bread, but she still has hard poops. At her 9 month appointment the other day she tested anemic (though not terribly low iron level). The pedi prescribed iron supplements. He also recommended giving her Mirilax for the constipation. I'm not really a fan of giving her meds and would like to improve this with her diet if possible. At the same time DD has decided to develop discerning taste buds (i.e. suddenly picky) and seems opposed to all vegetables. Any great recipes for tackling these issues?

tokenhoser · February 2013

Has she reduced her breastmilk intake? Is there any way to add another nursing session? More milk will help with the constipation and the iron (bm is not high in iron, but what it has is very bioavailable).

I wouldn't worry about the vegetables; just keep offering and the wind will blow in a new direction and one day she'll eat them.

RE: iron, there are some ideas here: https://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/Iron.htm#.UR5FlWfe_DA You can also roll finger foods in baby cereal to get some iron-fortified cereal into her that way without spoon feeding it. If she won't eat things like meat and eggs, though, you should probably reconsider the supplement.

nosoup4u · February 2013

DS2 had a lot more trouble going poop when he was starting solids than DS1, I think some babies just aren't as easy poopers.

Make sure she's drinking enough water. I made stewed prunes for awhile for DS2 (simmer prunes in water w some sliced lemon or orange until they are falling apart, and then you can blend them in a food processor), and he'd eat them mixed with yogurt. Probiotics might help with her tummy troubles, too.

How many other carbs does she eat besides bread? I would look at her diet before giving her Miralax. Iron supplements are going to constipate her more.

MagsMayMommy · February 2013

I can't tell that she drinks any less breast milk. I'm a SAHM so we don't have much of a schedule when it comes to nursing (she eats off and on all day). We bedshare and she nurses a lot still throughout the night too. We actually have not tried meats yet and have only given her eggs when they've been cooked inside other dishes. We will have to start on those! Thank you for your helpful suggestions!

MagsMayMommy · February 2013

nosoup4u:
How many other carbs does she eat besides bread? I would look at her diet before giving her Miralax. Iron supplements are going to constipate her more.

She's mostly been eating fruits lately - pears, nectarines, oranges, peaches, plums, strawberries... A month or so ago I was making oat bars for her with prunes, dates, and raisins in them, but I started worrying the oats were making things worse so I haven't made those lately. Sometimes she eats Cheerios but not many. She would eat any type of bread, but rarely do we share our crusts any more (and only a bite if we do). Could her constipation be caused by what I eat (I'm sure DH and I eat more bread, pasta, and cheese than we should)?

nosoup4u · February 2013

MagsMayMommy:
nosoup4u:
How many other carbs does she eat besides bread? I would look at her diet before giving her Miralax. Iron supplements are going to constipate her more.
She's mostly been eating fruits lately - pears, nectarines, oranges, peaches, plums, strawberries... A month or so ago I was making oat bars for her with prunes, dates, and raisins in them, but I started worrying the oats were making things worse so I haven't made those lately. Sometimes she eats Cheerios but not many. She would eat any type of bread, but rarely do we share our crusts any more (and only a bite if we do). Could her constipation be caused by what I eat (I'm sure DH and I eat more bread, pasta, and cheese than we should)?

Nah, your breastmilk wouldn't constipate her. I'd guess that her body is still figuring out how to digest solid foods. Seriously, my younger son had a much harder time with it (poop-wise) than my older son until he was about 1.5.

Are her poops hard and little? Like, is it actually going poop that's the problem, but it's normal, or she's really constipated (she has dry hard poops consistently)? My son was the former, and his doctor was never worried about it.

MagsMayMommy · February 2013

nosoup4u:
Are her poops hard and little? Like, is it actually going poop that's the problem, but it's normal, or she's really constipated (she has dry hard poops consistently)? My son was the former, and his doctor was never worried about it.

Most of the time it's hard and little. We EC and when it lands in her potty it almost makes a ping sound (sorry if TMI)! She doesn't always seem bothered by it, but sometimes she definitely is. She poops about every other day (before solids she only went once a week, but it wasn't hard then).

pepomntpat · February 2013

Have you considered adding veggies and meat to her diet? DD was eating meatballs (broken up) and shredded chicken, pork and beef at that age. Also eggs are a good source of iron. BLW really should include a more well rounded variety of foods. Spinach and kale are also good iron sources. More veggies will help with the constipation as well.

ETA: Missed the recipe request. www.weelicous.com has some wonderful puree recipes, smoothie recipes and finger food recipes.