Almost 6 Month Old Not Digesting Solids, Help.

Updated on August 11, 2008
T.K. asks from Maynard, MA
13 answers

My baby girl will be 6 months this week and is having the hardest time digesting solid food. She has shown allergies to rice and oatmeal cereal, rash on her cheeks, so we have stopped those. She absolutely loves to eat the baby food but most of it is binding her up and she is going 3 days without a bm. We end up giving her prunes to help her digest. She is breastfed and has been very sensitive to everything I eat. I am not sure where to go from here. We have been giving her Baby Bliss Gripe Water since she was a few weeks old and it does help her get the gas bubbles out. My oldest was on formula and never had any of these issues. I have cut almost all dairy out of my diet. I am up for any suggestions. Thanks

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So What Happened?

Thanks for all the great info. I did infact give our pediatrician a call first thing this morning and they recommended sticking to pears, prunes and a very thin rice cereal for the next week and start from scratch after that. We have a scheduled appointment for next week anyways. I did give the prunes and rice cereal a shot this morning and my baby finally got a little relief with no rash. I am concerned about her not digesting her food as well as she should be but I will discuss it in more detail at her next appointment. Thanks for all the advise.

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A.G.

answers from Boston on

my daughter is 7 months old and had some of the same issues with her bowls expecailly at fist but she is now 7 months old and has a BM lik eevery other day but we have to give her 1 oz apple juice to 3 oz of water in a bottle to help her stay regular- it works for her so it may be worth a shot for you- they also say that you can mix 1 table spoon karo suyup to 2 oz of water and it should help slide the poop out.
we didn't have the allaergies but has to try both of these

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H.M.

answers from Lewiston on

T.,
Poor little one! I would stop all solids, go back to just nursing (the AAP recommends nursing exclusively for at least 6 months, and breastmilk is nutritionally complete for a year so she won't be losing out on anything) and try again in a couple of months. Sounds like her little body isn't ready, and you may do more harm than good introducing foods too early if she has so many sensitivities. Also, beware of giving her any food that you yourself have had to avoid for her. Good luck, and if you need more info, your local WIC office could be of great help to you!

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H.W.

answers from Providence on

T.,
You REALLY need to speak with both your pediatrician and your physician. My daughter went through something very similar when she was about 7 months old. At first I thought it was a food allergy - but to everything? I had brought her into the emergency room because my concern was that she was getting dehydrated. Well, they hooked her up to an i.v. and she had to restart solid foods: cereal, then graduate to fruits, then graduate to veggies, etc. I'm sure you get the picture. In any case where you and your child are not getting what you both need, you REALLY need to speak w/both your pediatrician and your physician.

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L.C.

answers from Portland on

I don't think this is a question for us mom's. It's a question for your Doctor. Don't wait around in hopes to have on of us give you our guess on what to do. For your daughters safety call the doctor and make an appointment please.

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B.R.

answers from Boston on

My son is now 10 months but I too had that problem when he was younger. He would go 3-4 days without a bm. He would seem like he had a stomach ache all the time. I took him to the DR. and she said that breast fed babies can go that long without a bm because they are not waisting anything they eat(breastmilk)She said that he fusses because he is sensitive when he passes gas. SO don't worry about her not having a bm for a few days it's normal in breastfed babies.

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L.B.

answers from Boston on

Don't bother with the cereal - there is no nutritional value in it at all. Concentrate on solids such as avacado, meats, banana. If you find she is getting bound up, try pears and prunes. Bananas will bind her up, pears and prunes will get things moving.

Keep with the breastfeeding - there is absolutely NO reason you should even consider switching to formula.

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S.S.

answers from Boston on

T., my younger son is now 18 mo. He was born w/ allergies to cow's milk protein and soy. He was breast fed for the first 3 wks. until his allergies were actually diagnosed. He had been hospitalized twice before turning 2 weeks old. The second time was at Boston Children's Hosp. where he was given an endoscopy. The endoscopy showed that he had severe colitis caused by the allergies. He had lost a lot of blood through rectal bleeding. I wanted to continue breastfeeding, so I went on an elimination diet to rid my system of dairy and soy. It was fairly easy to cut out dairy, but SOY is in nearly everything that "has a wrapper on it."

It turned out that his allergies were too severe for breastfeeding and he was put on Nutramigen. I introduced solids at 6 mo. and he did well. I was told to use Beechnut products, as they do not contain soy. At 12 mo. he was retested for allergies to dairy, soy and egg and he tested normal for all. I started him on cow's milk and he had no reaction, thankfully.

Is it possible for you to get your daughter a gastrointestinal evaluation? I LOVED the GI doctor at Children's. His name is Dr. Glenn T. Furuta. Maybe you could get a referral from your pediatrician.

Best of luck to you and your daughter,
S.

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M.A.

answers from Boston on

since your breastfeeding you really do not need to give solids at all for the first year. solids are for experimenting. when your baby gets bound up just breast feed only for 2-3 days then reintroduce solids again the next week. also since baby is having a hard time with foods you eat get a skin allergy testing done, and any other allergy tests that they can do. this will help you understand what she should not get. my ohter 3 bf babies were fine but my 4th he is 6 months old and i just started to give a few tastes here and there and all green veggies constipate him also if he is given solids everyday he gets constipated as well so i have just been bf and will start again with solids when he is 7 months old. bm is a natural laxative so solely bf for a week will help the digestive system get a break.

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S.D.

answers from Boston on

Hi T.,
I am in a similar situation. My 5 month old son will not have BM's unless I give him a supository. If he had a drop of anything other than breastmilk, it would bind him up and we would have to give him prune juice. Well, we started solids and prune juice is no longer strong enough to make him go. Our Pediatrician put him on miralax and we see a specialist next week. he can go up to 2weeks w/o a movement. I don't think it is an allergy for my son though. Good luck! you're not alone!

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C.O.

answers from Boston on

hi tiffany, as other have said call your pediatrican. talk with them about seeing a GI doctor. there are lots of great ones at childrens hospital in boston. my son will be 3 this april...boy how time flies. he is considered disabled. so he has alot of special needs. he got pumped breast milk to 3 or 4 mos old. best thing i could have done for him. the reason i stoped is b/c he has a feeding tube. half of what i pumped seemed to still be in his stu[id feeding pump. i was si discouraged. anyways he was on formula(nutramagin-its really broken down & easy to digest) now he's on a special formula made of solid foods & formula base. so hes on "solids". anyways solids can seem to bind them up. so try giving more fruits & juices. pears are the best choice to keep things moving....as ive notice & been told. i wouldnt be overly concerned if she only goes #2 every 3 days. but if she is having a hard time then i would be more concerned. make sure she gets pears at least once a day to keep things moving. still contact her primary as well though. they might have other suggestions to help you out. good luck. luv always C.

mom to cameron & baby #2 on the way

www.cameron42704.zoomshare.com

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S.W.

answers from Lewiston on

Hi T.,

I would talk to your family Dr. about this..The other thing you might want to try is switch from breat to powered formula very slow though so she can get used to it wait a few weeks.Then reinterduce solid foods again also you might want to try applesauce it may help her in not staying binded up..
I would really talk to your dr first though..Good Luck Please keep us informed as to what dr said??

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M.S.

answers from Boston on

Try giving her a small bottle with diluted pear juice until this clears up.

M.

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S.V.

answers from Bangor on

she may have a food allergy to something you are eating something similar happened to a friend of mine and it was some ingredient that her daughter was allergic to and i cant recall what it was but it was something in alot of foods but when she avoided it then she did good

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