Rice Cereal causing constipation/gas

Lacey - posted on 04/24/2010

Ya I had the same problem but I give Lilian 2 oz of pear juice a day... I water it down with 2 oz of water... It works GREAT for her holpe this helps

Jennifer - posted on 04/23/2010

Rice is very binding and it often has added soy which is allergenic. You don't have to do it! See:
http://www.rapleyweaning.com/

Heather - posted on 04/23/2010

I have the same problem with my daughter.. I told the dr about it and he told me that it means she's not ready, and to wait till the end of April , so I'm going to try again soon but I'm only going to give her a small amount for a few days instead of the whole serving and see how she does..I Hope everything works out for you and your little one, good luck

Laura - posted on 04/06/2010

That’s normal don’t worry. Try oatmeal instead of cereal for a while.. Until she her tummy gets used to it, later on you can re-introduce her to cereal.
Also prune juice or prune Gerber baby foods help. Remember to give her the same type of food for 3 days (in case she has an allergic reaction you know what it is)

Megan - posted on 04/05/2010

I had this problem with my eldest, who is 2 now. A lot of the store bought baby foods gave her a tummy ache and constipation - not the case with my son 6 mo. I deduced that this was because I have an intolerance to supplimental Iron, that she may also have had... And all baby foods are reinforced with iron - even baby formula was a problem for her.
Make your own rice cereal by blending 1/2 - 1 cup of uncooked brown rice until it if fairly fine (shake it through the sieve you usually strain your rice with). It will keep stored in an airtight container in the fridge. It wont be instant like FAREX, but it will cook on the stove (like porriage) in about 5 minutes. Add formula, breast milk, water, fruit, veges, spice (cinamon, nutmeg)...
I would think your baby is definitely old enough (almost 6 mo yes?) for solids, but starting on steamed and pureed fruits and veges seems to work best as rice cereals and oats are harder to digest. Can I suggest though if your baby is gassy, keep bananas to a minimum because they can bind iron intolerant people up.
Just be patient and try lots of different things... I've been there and it does pass.

Manuela - posted on 04/02/2010

My son was born on the 19th. The best time to start feeding solids to a baby is when he/she is capable of sitting by her/himself or at least stays sit for more than 10 seconds. I started feeding rice cereal (2 spoons only) mixed with my milk when my son was 5 months and never had any problem. By now he has tried carrots, green beans, squash, applesauce, mango, peaches, pears, and bananas but his favorite food is still milk.

Jennifer - posted on 04/02/2010

I had the same problems, so I switch to the oatmeal...

Teigha - posted on 04/02/2010

Hey, My little boy started cereal on Feb 20. He was born Oct 17, 2009. He started out actually eating the ceral, but now he spits more out than he eats. Anyway, the ceral seemed to immediatly make him constipated; no more gas than usual though. My docotor told me to give him 1/2 oz of nursery water or baby pear juice up to twice a day and that helps with the cositpation a lot. He has no problem with sleeping. I would imagine if you little girl is consitpated and gassy, that could have a lot to do with the sleeping issues. I would also suggest Mylicon for the gas. Hope that helps!

Dana - posted on 04/01/2010

my son was born oct. 6, 2009. same prob with cereal. constipation & NOT sleeping, so i went straight to 1st foods, that has worked so far...

Krissy - posted on 04/01/2010

my daughter was having trouble having bm with just formula and my ped suggested giving her an oz of water to help. That worked great. I started her on rice cereal at 4 months and still did the same thing. After a couple of weeks I started her on oatmeal and that helps alot. I don't have to give that extra ounce anymore because she has no problem going. My daughter was born Oct. 30. Good luck

Trisha - posted on 04/01/2010

my baby was born on October 11 and I just started her on solids 2 days ago. Instead of starting with rice cereal I gave her avocado thinned with breastmilk. She loves it and has not had any constipation or uncomfortable gas. I know every baby is different but so many babies that I have seen have gotten constipated on rice cereal. To me it doesn't make sense that their first food is a processed food. I think that even if any adults went from fasting to rice cereal they would get constipated as well. Those are my thoughts, hope that helps.

Jenny - posted on 03/31/2010

I have James on oatmeal baby cereal and I mix it with his soy formula. He has no problems with gas and sleeps like a dream. For constipation my doctor recommended the dark karo syrup (must be dark) in the bottle. Or he also said I could do a bottle of 1/2 apple juice, 1/2 water and add karo syrup to that. Since I switch to soy formula I have not had to do either of these! He is a healthy happy boy!

Nicole - posted on 03/31/2010

I gave my little one cereal bottles with karo in them...and occasional gas drops. She has slept all night and been regular since she was around 2 months. :) hope this helps.

Andrea - posted on 03/31/2010

I have taken my son off rice cereal completely for that reason, he was constipated for 4 1/2 days and since I have just been giving him his fruit puree and his vege puree so he has 2 meals a day now but no rice ceral and he is so much better and regularly goes for a poo daily again. He was born 6 Oct so close to your daughter. Hope this helps.
I give him his fruit puree at lunch time after breast feeding him, then he gets his veges about 5:30 after breastfeeding then has his bath eventually then a top up of milk again before he goes to bed. I still give him a dream feed (while he sleeps usually) between 9:30-10pm which helps stimulate my milk making and then he sleeps right through the night and wakes around 7am. I have missed this last feed sometimes if he doesn't go down till 8ish and he still sleeps right through, those bulky veges seem to keep him happy and full through the night. Good luck with your daughter.

Kelsey - posted on 03/31/2010

i asked my dr about giving solids to my 5 month old and he said to do cereal but to avoid the rice because it can constipate them. He said to try a mix of wheat and oat. I did that and Nate's been great!

Arianne - posted on 03/31/2010

My pediatrician suggested that I give him baby prune juice twice a day. The only one I've been able to find around my town is Apple Prune juice by Gerber. It works REALLY well. It keeps him regular. I was forced to start solids because my son had really bad reflux and I didn't want to give him medication for it. Besides the constipation in the beginning, he's been absolutely perfect.

Victoria - posted on 03/31/2010

that is how my baby was i started him on rice at about four months and just kept taking him off of it because he would stay constipated and then i started giving him cereal with a little bit of apple juice in it plus just giving him apple juice in a bottle or a sippy cup and that fixed the constipation problem...just make sure it is 100% juice

Danielle - posted on 03/31/2010

My baby was born on October 30. We have a similar problem. The Pediatrician told us to feed him rice cereal 3 times a day! I've only been feeding it to him once a day because I don't want him to get constipated. He hasn't seemed to be constipated but he IS gassy & won't sleep for long. I think it's giving him tummy trouble. Thanks for posting this question. I'm going to try the oat cereal as suggested by some.

Lisa - posted on 03/31/2010

We had that problem too and called her pediatrician. We were told that our daughter would have to get used to using the restroom after eating solid foods. They said to give her prunes mixed in with her cereal. They also said to not give her so much starchy baby food in the afternoon because that could cause an issue as well. They said that we could mix a little miralax in her bottle that would help loosen things up for her. I hope this helps!

Debbie - posted on 03/31/2010

my baby was born on the 23rd....we tried rice cereal with fruit mixed in it...she didn't like it plain. She is now eating green beans, peas, sweet potatoes she likes those a whole lot better. I know they say to wait until she is 6 months old but she was ready and she loves it. Don't mix any bananas or applesauce with your cereal because those two things will definitely constipate him.

Amber - posted on 03/30/2010

my son was born 29th october he too gets the same i give him colic drops or wind drops and a tummy massage and it works well

Lindsay - posted on 03/30/2010

switch between oats, rice and barley.. I agree with adding a bit of prunes into it.. It taste great and helps out a bit as well.
My daughter was also born Oct 12 :)

Jacey - posted on 03/30/2010

my W.i.c class said not to sart them on solids until they can sit supported and a few other things, hmmm i cant remember its a free online interactive class that's only like 10 mins long. here is how you do it:: go to texaswic.org, click English, and click wic classes. then its pretty self explanatory. you dont have to have wic to do them, but there is a lot of cool, informational classes

Crystal - posted on 03/30/2010

With every baby being different I would suggest that maybe you make the rice cereal a bit more runny. I add an extra tablesppon of water to my son's( born october 29) rice cereal. I wouldn't suggest switching to oats they contain gluten and babies have a hard time passing that through their systems. And gluten is a very common allergy!! Adding juice is a good idea but most pedia say to not introduce juices and fruits until they have a well established eating habits. We started on Veggies recently too. I do rice ceral in the am and a half a jar of a veggie at dinner with half the amount of cereal i give him in the am. But we still BF every 3 to 4 hour regardless of the solids he's eating. Hope you get through it!!! Good Luck!

Monica - posted on 03/30/2010

my baby was born on oct 29th My Dr started him on solids too and he is also had problems with constipation; As indicated previously I added prunes to his diet and it helped alot and I also found where beech nut offers Oatmeal pre-mixed with peaches & Bananas in a jar with extra fiber it works even better; I'm not comfortable with giving juices right now he's too young and as prev suggested adding sugar to formula I would not add sugar to anything I feed my baby keeping food natural is best

Courtney - posted on 03/30/2010

My doctor had me feed my son oat cereal for his constipation, and everything is great! He is a little gassy, but it doesnt hurt him.

Rachael - posted on 03/30/2010

Mix in fruit that you have already tried him on. You should also shake the box or bag of cereal, apparently the flakes of iron can stuck at the bottom as they are heavier so you may go a few days without any issues then run into them b/c the cereal at the bottom of the box is loaded with iron.

I would also agree with the previous posts that she may not be ready for solids.

Amanda - posted on 03/30/2010

Mix in a little fruit, it helps!

Alisa - posted on 03/30/2010

My daughter was born on Oct 19th....she started rice cereal about three weeks ago. My pediatrician suggested mixing the cereal with part formula and part water to keep her from getting constipated and gassy and it seems to work. She is doing well on her cereal. They wanted her to wait until she was six months old but she was taking too many ounces of formula a day so we had to start her on cereal.

Tammie - posted on 03/30/2010

My daughter had the same problem. My doctor recommended that I switch to oat or barley cereal. She is on oatmeal now and she is doing better with it.

Rhiannon - posted on 03/30/2010

We went to our doctor for the same thing. They suggested oatmeal instead of rice cereal. also they said it is fine to start foods and to start with "p" foods. "P" foods cause poop. Peaches, pears, peas....mixed into the oatmeal. Also she suggested 1oz pear or prune juice. My son was born the 11th of oct. I would not add sugar to anything like the post earlier said.

Trudi - posted on 03/29/2010

I would listen to your daughter and stop it. I have read many places that before 6 months there digestive system does not have the enzymes needed to digest solids.

Julie - posted on 03/29/2010

i would suggest you to change the rice cereal for barley cereal... and while you are feeding her, for every 2 spoons you give her, prepare a bottle with warm water and add a teaspoon of sugar in it and make her drink at every 2 spoons you give her... that will help a lot...

Tanya - posted on 03/29/2010

My LO also got constipated after rice cereal so I switched to oatmeal, just mixing it with breastmilk or formula and he is pretty happy :)

Kendra - posted on 03/29/2010

I'm having the same issue. He eats the rice cereal very well, but then has the constipation/gas issue. I've heard that the oatmeal cereal makes them less constipated so I'm hoping to try that soon.

Jessica - posted on 03/29/2010

A friend of mine recommended oat because rice constipated her kids, and i started with oats and hes fine. Maybe try no cereal for a few days till shes back to normal then introduce oat cereal

Elizabeth - posted on 03/29/2010

My ped suggested we start with oat cereal- it went well for about 6 weeks then he got constipated. A friend of mine with 7 kids suggested mixing it with juice (apple or prune). That worked well. So in the morning I mix it with juice and in the evening with formula.

Leigh - posted on 03/29/2010

Try adding a little bit of prunes ( the baby food kind) to her cereal. Probably start with 1/2 a teaspoon, then if that doesn't work add a bit more next time...
But i've also heard the Rice cereal helps with diarrhea, making their poop more solid, (Although it's not the case my my daughter) try switching her over to an oat cereal, if the prunes don't work.
Good Luck.

Katie - posted on 03/29/2010

All I know is when you start solids to offer water as well, as they need more liquid to go with the water... as for gas, apart from gripe water, or another dropper solution for gas from the chemist/pharmacist... I am not sure.



My 5.5 m/o has only had plain rice cereal for 4 days and seems no worries.

she only slept through for 8-10 hours at month 2-3 and is waking again 1-2 times, so sometimes that happens, too.

You could try a few days without giving it to her, and see if the gas reduces.

I was having baked beans for a quick protein meal for me in the mornings, but it made both of us really gassy and was so not worth it!!



Good luck.

Alisha - posted on 03/29/2010

I think I am having the same problem with my son born on the 10th and we started introducing rice cereal a few weeks as well. He is also really off his bottle but happy to eat some solids. I make sure that his fluid levels are maintained however I am starting to think it is due to teething.

Marcella - posted on 03/29/2010

Most probably, she's not ready for solid. My son's pedia advices to start solid food when he's 6 mths old (at least). but I've started it when he was 5 mths, not really a good move n have same problem like you. You may try to give him Gripe Water after night meal. But as for my eldest one, she had her solid since 4 mths old n no problem at all. Anyway, check w your pedia n try Gripe Water.