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About Tribal Baby

Guarding against constipation

About keeping baby regular!

Keeping baby regular is an important consideration for all parents, to avoid the pain and troubles of getting the binds. Particularly with EC, so the babies are not scared by the experience and transfer this into fearing and protesting toilet times!  Maven has never been constipated, his pattern is to go once each morning from three or four months old. There was never any issue until after he began eating family foods. From when he was one year old, if he skips more than one day I'll do something to help him be regular again, as it is easier for him to go once per day.

If baby isn't as regular as usual, there are many options I try out:

While he was a fully breastfed baby, and always:

I'd always drink plenty of water so we were both hydrated well.

I'd increase breast milk offerings, encourage longer feeds. Nap nursing helps this, as he is cue-fed anyway and has no scheduling of feeds. So if ever I thought there was any straining, I'd reduce the amounts he was eating to the level his developing muscles found easiest, and went from there. So, I used what was coming out to determine what was going in! We followed baby-led intro of solids, so his intro to food was correspondingly slow. See also Baby led solids page.

I increase or make sure I am having some of these things:

• including or increasing probiotics; yoghurt, keffir, yakult, yoghurt drinks, smoothies

• I have 1 tablespoon of cod liver oil per day in water or juices (link to info)

• I eat dried apricots, sultanas or prunes as the effect works through my breast milk.

• Eat some liquorice.

• Increasing fibre through vegies such as apples, cabbage (sauerkraut is good as it contains probiotics), broccoli.

• increased vitamin C seems to help - I'll have a few tablets before bed.

• Having more magnesium in my diet helps with muscle tone, and also sleep!

• Ground linseed. A teaspoon of seeds. I put it into soups, in smoothies, biscuits, pasta sauces, gravy, anything!

• I use 1 teaspoon of psyllium husks in yoghurt, smoothies, soups, anything! It is a natural source of fibre, and very gentle.

• Why it is helpful to have probiotics: "The digestive tract is populated by about 10,000 different kinds of microbes, which manufacture enzymes, vitamins and other substances that aid the digestive process. Except in very high fibre diets, the bulk of the faeces is made up not of fibre but dead bacteria." (reference to this information)

Once baby is over six months and family foods have been introduced, these things could be included in baby’s diet, or both Mum and baby’s diet. (I've found having some of these things before bed helps encourage a morning pattern in Maven)

• Encourage more breast milk feeding

• Decrease solids intake until it ‘clears’ then resume to ‘regularity’

• 1 mil per day of cod liver oil 

• Use probiotics; yoghurt, keffir, yakult, yoghurt drinks, smoothies

• Increase water intake (if drinking it yet)

• 1tsp per day of psyllium husks,  (really cheap to buy in health food sections)

• Eating dried apricots, sultanas or prunes. (Not the juices though for a breastfed baby - not good for their teeth)

There are acidophilus powders for babies at health food shops. (kept in the fridge usually) 

Ideas for using them:

• Put a paste on nipple or dip finger in powder, give to baby to suck off.

• Spread on food, mush into or sprinkle on foods, into smoothies.

Gentle physical massaging and touching I do with him:

Massage baby’s belly in a clockwise circle, gently.

Massage baby’s lower spine down the channels beside the spine. (relaxes digestion)

Massage baby's lower back between hips (relaxes nerves to stomach for belly ache troubles)

‘Bicycle’ baby’s legs gently.

A warm bath while doing these things.

The EC classic position definitely helps babies to ‘get it all out’.

Maven’s "regular moving" smoothie!

We have this often, sharing it, Maven having teaspoons through the day.

Various combinations of the following ingredients:

• 3 dried prunes, or dried apricots, sultanas etc

• 2 tsp LSA mix (ground linseeds, almonds and sunflower seeds)- post 1 year old

• 2t tsp dried coconut

• 1 or ˝ cup keffir

• ˝ cup of milk or yoghurt

• 1 tsp psyllium husks

• 1 T coconut oil

• ˝ Cup mineral or soda water

• ˝ cup apricot nectar or fruit juice

• 1 egg

• a couple of ice cubes

- buzz in blender, yummy.

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