Lunch ideas for constipated baby?

[BoyMummy789]

My 7 month old has struggled with constipation since weaning and is on a maintenance dose of Movicol. He loves food so I’m about to introduce a 3rd meal at lunch but I’m so stuck for lunch ideas that won’t cause more issues with constipation. All I can think of is something on toast or egg muffins but I’ve read both of those things can be bad for constipation (I haven’t found any trends yet).

Anyone have any experience or ideas?

Prunes for pudding, or prune juice to drink. Whisk the prunes into some yoghurt or custard - works like a dream.

Ella’s kitchen do a prune pouch. Give some with breakfast every day to keep them regular

Chia pudding is really good for constipation - you can add in some prune purée or some puréed pears (I read somewhere they are good for constipation and I give them to my DD regularly). Kiwi also good for helping with constipation. All of that is high fibre though so don’t give too much too start with because if they are not used to a lot of fibre it can make things worse before making it better.

Prunes never worked for dd but what did seem to was almond butter so she used to have that on brown toast or mixed into porridge. Also adding chia seeds to yogurt or porridge used to help her.
However you don't need to stick to 'lunch food' necessarily. The most common lunch here (dd is 1 now) is leftovers from the night before.

Oh and baked beans really seem to help her too so them on toast is also a frequent lunch

Stewed dried apricots.

I echo what PP have advised. If your little one is good with eating fruit then try cutting up a prune into small pieces. The pouches are quite expensive and you'd need to use them regularly if they're really constipated.

What do you give for breakfast? Weetabix are high in fibre so if you've not given them already, try giving half or one (depending on appetite) every other day. It keeps my 10 month old very regular!! x

He’s been living off of prunes with breakfast for weeks but they haven’t helped much unfortunately!

Are there any foods you avoided because they caused constipation?

Try pears,helped my son. Could also have some beans with his eggs?

Yes weetabix seems to help us too

The other thing that makes a big difference for us is the amount of water she has drunk. I can really tell the difference the next day if she hasn't drunk much.

My son has always loved soup, albeit messy in the early weaning stages, it's good for getting loads of veg into him! He's 18 months now and has soup every day. So easy to make and it's a great way to use up odds and ends of veg!!

Our faves are
Chicken and rice soup
Lentil soup
Leek, ham and potato
Vegetable soup with grains of some kind

Just based on my mumming experience…

To get rid of constipation:

• lots of sultanas
• spinach (raw or cooked)
• prunes

Foods that cause constipation:

• eggs
• nuts
• carrots

Lentil bolognese is a favourite with my little one and great for getting things going. It freezes really well. Sainsbury’s sell star pasta shapes which are appropriate at this age.

organix.com/recipes/7-months/baby-spaghetti-bolognese

Lentils!!! My son loves lentil omelettes.

Try pears with live yogurt for dessert - they always caused a poop explosion!

Sweet potato and butternut squash soup?

Kiwi fruits seem to get things moving - the riper the better!

And of course plenty of water.

When my sister was working with children with special needs she used to swear by cauliflower

Lots of P fruits can help with constipation

Pears
Peaches
Pineapple
Prunes
Plums
Papaya

You can also make a chia jam to spread on toast or stir through yoghurt out of one of the fruits which will help even more.

100g fruit
1 tbsp water
1 tsp chia seeds
squeeze of lemon juice

Add the fruit and the water to a pan and cook until soft. Mash (I use a potato masher) and add the chia seeds. Cook and stir until a jam like consistency is reached. Squeeze in the lemon juice. It thickens as it cools so you don't want it to be too thick. Store in the fridge in a jar/tuppaware for up to two weeks