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ddigiacomo
Raw Newbie
My friend's infant is having infrequent bowel movements since she has stopped breast feeding. I told her she needs to give the baby probiotics with the formula because she is very gassy and not digesting correctly. I did a little research and there are probiotics specifically targeted at infants. Does it make a difference and has anyone used probiotics for their babies? I would appreciate any advice.
Comments
my mom started giving me probiotics when I was 5 or 6. Garden of Life makes a banana-flavored Primal Defense powder, a kids version of their regular probiotic.
Probiotics are safe for children (if taken in small amounts), and can be very effective in combatting symptoms of compromised digestion. However, the infrequent bowel movements could be attributed to issues other than compromised intestinal flora, and I would be wary to advise probiotics without first ruling out other, more serious, health conditions. Also, formula fed babies are more constipated than breast fed - that's just nature! If she is formula feeding, she may want to try adding more water to the formula (and feeding the baby more often), or giving the baby small amounts of water to help her feces pass. Also, the constipation could be a virus or other health condition and if it persists, the baby should receive medical attention.
There are lots of brands of probiotics for kids/infants, with pre-determined dosages. The ones that come in powdered form are easiest to administer, as the mother can put a bit on her finger or nipple and the baby will suck it off.
I have given my 13 month old probiotics since she was about 3 months old. She has been breastfed only (no formula), so I can't tell you if it would help with what your friends little one is experiences. But, probiotics are not contra-indicated for any age group. The best probiotic that I have found is made for infants and young children and is from Sedona Labs. It comes in a powder form and can easily be mixed in breastmilk, formula, juice, water, etc. I would suggest ruling out if the baby is having a reaction to something in the formula, such as dairy or soy...both very common allergens.
Thanks for the advice. She has taken her to the doctor and she also has switched the fomula to soy to see if it was a dairy thing and nothing. The doctor didnt say much except she should be going at least two times a day. I will also check my book by Donna Gates, she is pretty savy when it comes to probiotics. Thanks so much for your help!
if dairy is not the issue, you should look into supplementing the baby's diet with raw cow's milk or goats milk. There is a raw dairy pickup where I live and numerous people who cannot produce breastmilk give their babies raw cows milk. if you can find a source of fresh, truly clean grass fed raw milk you should look into it. raw colostrum is excellent for boosting the baby's immunity as well. lots of info on the internet, check this out
http://www.raw-milk-facts.com/babyformula_T3.html
Hi there,
you can give probiotics to your baby. First I would try to find out what exactly causes the problems. Our daughter for example couldn't process cow milk based formula so we had a look at different possibilities and we tried to give her the Hipp goat milk formula you can find on myorganicformula.com/collections/hipp-organic-formula and we could very soon see how she was doing better. There are also special hypoallergenic formulas produced by Hipp. I generally decided to just use organic formula for my baby girl so I give her the best possible instead of breast milk.
I hope your baby is doing better soon!
Love,
Susan
I started giving probiotics to my son since he is 1,5 years old.