Alimentum help with consitpation?UPDATE

[Anonymous]

Thais,

I’m so sorry that Matthew is having problems again. All because of a fall? I guess setbacks are really the norm though, and hopefully things will improve again soon.

No, Myles still does not drink anything from a cup/straw/sippy/bottle. Nothing except his nightime bottle. I really can’t figure out why but he’s just stubborn and not interested. He doesn’t eat anything at at all with fat or protein in it, but he probably could get buy on less formula and then maybe he’ll eat more solids. I could increase the flax seed oil and give him avacado. He didn’t it like it the first few times I tried, but maybe I can mix it into his purees and he won’t notice. DH would flip out if I suggested seeing a nutritionist for Myles, but I will talk to his doctor about his diet and see if she has any suggestions, and I’ll ask her how much formula she thinks he needs.

What is Matthew’s diet like?

Laura,

I guess I didn’t worry about my girls at this age because they were both still drinking two bottles per day (so about 12 ounces) plus some milk from a cup. I never gave them juice either and still don’t. I only give it to Myles because of his constipation. I’d really be fine with less formula if he was eating better. Do you have any ideas for fats besides avacado (he doesn’t like it) and flax oil (I already give it to him)?

Brandy,

I don’t think anyone will get mad at you. That’s what this forum is all about…sharing informaiton and experiences. I read in Laura’s MSPI links that mucous in the stool is a symptom of MSPI…that’s why I was concerned. He doesn’t seem to have any other symptoms, though..so maybe it’s just a fluke and he’ll be fine. His weight is fine, about 23 lbs. I probably will try Alimentum IF reducing his formula intake doesn’t help. Maybe it’s just too much milk for him. I get stuck in these ruts and hate to make changes. But, I am going to try it today or tomorrow. The boy certainly isn’t going hungry. I’ll ask his doctor next week about Alimentum. It sure is expensive. I hope he doesn’t need it.

Thanks again everyone.

[Anonymous]

im late responding but here is my 2 cents:
alimentum gave Trace very loose poops, and i know a few other moms have said the same. he tolerated it for a while until the proteins built up in his system and he is now on neocate.

[Anonymous]

Christine – after a year, 12-15 ounces/day of milk or formula is fine. We

actually limit Marisa to 16 so she’ll eat more solids (most days she doesn’t

want more than 13-14 anyway). Remember, the flax oil has a lot of fat in it

too!

Thais – I haven’t been on her much and this is the first I heard of Matthew

falling and going back to continuous feeds. I’m sorry to hear that but glad

that he’s at least happy again. We definitely need to catch up soon.

[Anonymous]

sorry to hijack Christine

Karen – yes i know… i owe you an invite… next few weeks… we are crazy trying to get ready for the 3 clinics (St Marys, KKI and St Josepsh (we will also discuss the day program)) in less than 3 weeks so has been a mess trying to get all record, finalising the paperwork etc!! And i do some feeding therapy everyday with Matthew which takes 20min and then i do PT stuff etc etc… and i go to bed exhausted!!! How is Marisa??? have not heard much from you guys lately – walking yet? i know you said a couple of weeks ago that she was almost there.. any words???

[Anonymous]

Thanks Natalia. I thought someone here said Alimentum caused loose stools. How’s Trace doing?

Thanks Karen. 19 ounces probably is too much. He wouldn’t care if I gave him less anyway, so I’ll cut it down. How’s Marisa?

[Anonymous]

Christine

If you are worried about protein, will he eat pureed lentils??? I think that a couple of ounces would satisfy the protein requirements for his whole day! What does he eat?? tofu has ton of protein and it is kind of tasteless and will take the flavor of whatever you blend it with??

[hellbennt]

yeah I was going to ask about beans too

how about nut butters? and, along those lines (I didn’t realize he wasn’t drinking anything) maybe try almond milk? yummmm

I guess if I was worried about liquid intake, I’d try all the ‘milks’ first bcse they have a sugary taste- there’s even vanilla soy milk & probably even vanilla rice milk…

does he eat yogurt? soy yogurt? there’s even rice dream that’s like ice cream made out of rice milk- anyway what I’m getting at here is to make some sort of smoothie? maybe he’d drink that? fruit, ‘milk’, juice, oil, the works

another thought is to have him watch/help you make a smoothie and then maybe he’d be interested in trying it from a cup?

also I’ve read that some prefer clear plastic so they can see what they’re drinking- like you can in a bottle? sorry, I bet you’ve tried everything but one more shot at it: put water (or juice) in a cup with an ice cube or 2 & make it fun- have him shake it to hear it clang?

as for fats- I guess try adding oil to everything? does he eat oatmeal? any other hot grain cereals? you can add to those…

[Anonymous]

Hi Christine,
You’re head is probably spinning with all the suggestions already, but I have a couple more

Since you are giving him juice anyway, have you tried pear juice? 100% pear juice is really good for constipation.

Also, I’ve heard that coconut milk has a lot of fat.

[Anonymous]

Heather….the boy gets Pear Juice everyday, plus fiber juice, plus prunes. He should be pooping up a storm!! Thanks for the suggestion, though.

Thais, I love the pureed Lentils idea. I never though of that. Have you tried it? Don’t they have skins? Do you have to peel them? I hope not because my three will be running circles around me while I’m peeling, and pureeing. I give my girls Lentil soup (but I buy the easy prepare kind…you just boil water and pour it in and let it cook). I wonder if that would do.

Laura, I love the almond milk idea. I’ll see if I can get some. Also the ice cube in a clear cup of water. If nothing else he’ll love playing with it. I haven’t tried yogurt yet because I’m still wondering if he has issues with milk or not. As for nut butters, I doubt he’d eat it but I could try it. I’m leery about soy….but if nothing else works I’ll consider it. Yes, he eats oatmeal. I usually mix 5 ounces of formula with 1/4 cup oatmeal and add 1/2 container of prunes, and 1 tbs of flax seed oil. He eats that twice a day. It’s quite a concoction but he doesn’t seem to mind it. Do you give Jonah Olive Oil? I’ve tried smoothies (I make them for the girls) and he hates them. Too cold I think. He hates ice cream, too.

Maybe he’s getting plenty of fat and protein even with the decrease in formula.

Thanks everybody for your wonderful suggestions.

[Anonymous]

Lentils – well there are so many ways to make them…. OK we eat this in Spain for lunch a lot but you can add and take stuff out as needed

– buy brown lentils (maybe around 1lb or so) – this will make more but maybe you other 2 will like it??. The night before, soak them in water (put a lot of water)

– following morning, put through strainer. Put in a pan and add a couple of cloves of garlic (this is not necessary), some carrots and some potatoes (small pieces). Cover with water (you need quite a lot, probably 3 times the amount of volume that you have in there), add some salt, bring to a boil, and then simmer for around 1 hour

– in a pan (and this is what varies greatly…. because for Matthew all i did was fry a little bit of meat, but you could also add some chicken to the above) you can add olive oil, some onions, some chorizo or some meat and maybe some tomatoes… refry and add it to the lentils when done. Puree (we do eat the puree in Spain!!)

So, you can probably just boil the lentils, potatoes, carrots… and maybe do a little bit of meat on the side?? Just for flavor

I would suggest making your own…. it is easy and you know what is in it!!

[Anonymous]

Thanks Thais. I bought some Lentils tonight. It doesn’t say that they are brown or green. They both brown and green to me. It’s the only kind they had so they will have to do. Thanks for the recipe…it sounds yummy and the girls would probably eat it. For Myles I’ll probably just boil with some carrots and puree.

You sound like a good cook!

[Anonymous]

not sure if he could/would eat these, but AIdan loves the meat sticks..nastiest thing I have ever seen!! But he loves them (so did Austin) and HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELIANA AND MYLES!!! He drinks way too much formula…think I need to cut his back like you are talking about doing with Myles. I hope things get back on track soon!!!, also, Austin used to love hummus when he was little!! (well “baby” hummus..smashed chickpeas)

[Anonymous]

That’s funny Jill, I just bought chick peas last night with the though of making hummus. I don’t know if he’ll eat it but I’m going to give it a try.

Thanks for the birthday wishes.

How’s Aidan doing?

[Anonymous]

I’d be really leary of the soy. Kaelyn tends to get constipated when she drinks a lot of soy milk or has a lot of soy yogurt.

They do have vanilla rice milk. I don’t think that the rice milk is as constipating as regular rice, but I’m really not sure.

[Anonymous]

We just talked to a dietician from ECI and she recommended silk soy milk that is fortified for kids, it has extra calories and more fat in it. It is sold at Walmart. But it is constipating. We have had to use Mirilax granuales a little bit to get things moving. She also reccommended adding oils like Laura mentioned. We add vegetable oil and soy oil to her bottles, pour over her noodles etc. Being constipated can make them so uncomfortable. I couldn’t figure out why her reflux was acting up again, but when things started moving… she was like a new kiddo. Good luck with the switch!

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