Wheetabix issues when weaning - anyone else?

[Butritobaby]

Am genuinely at a loss so wanted to post here as my GP is being useless (which is odd as he is usually great)

baby is nearly 7 months, at 6 months I tried her with wheetabix for the first time, she loved it but it led to serious constipation, I spoke to the GP who said it was unlikely the wheetabix was causing it as usually it actually helps alleviate constipation.

I gave up and went back to baby porridge and she was fine. Last week I tried it again but a smaller amount, so am now using 1/3 of a biscuit instead of 1/2 and doing ‘overnight wheetabix’ with Greek yogurt. However after 2 days of having this for her main meal she is back to being constipated and seems to be in a fair amount of pain too (crying if put down, which is unlike her, crying if sleeping on her tummy, which she usually loves)

does anyone else have this issue with wheetabix? As I’ve done a google and everything I see agrees with the GP that it should help her go, not stop it

Shes still so little and this is all new to her system which takes time to adjust. I would stop giving her Weetabix for a while and try something else and then try again. You could keep a food diary to see if there are any other triggers?

I would start her onto veg. Even if you don't want to do baby led start with purées. Carrot, broccoli, potato, turnip, absolutely all the veg.

Keep a diary as PP suggested.

I would suspect it's more just tiny tummy and a heavy food than anything else.

Lots of little bits.

Toast fingers, soup, scrambled eggs.

Ah she has veg and we have done BLW from the start.

Brunch is her main meal though hence why it’s causing an issue I think.

I’ll go back onto porridge, but just wanted to see if anyone else had this with wheetabix in particular, as it’s the only food this occurs with but it seems to go against logic

Both my dc got constipated when we started weaning - it’s just a lot for their little bodies to get used to. A little warm diluted apple juice sorted things out.

Thank you for this, will get some today as the prune purée hadn’t touched it!

Annecdotal, but my little boy is 18 months and has had constipation issues since birth so obviously not the same but he can't tolerate Weetabix even on his meds. I'm a member of a FB group for kids with constipation and it's really common, because it's insoluble fibre and so in kids with slow transit (like mine) it basically turns to cement. He's fine with all other forms of wheat, just can't get on with Weetabix!

Not saying that's the same here but it may just be a bit too sticky for the gut while she's adjusting to solids! If you want something akin to weetabix oatibix works well as a substitute as it's soluble fibre.

GPs like to say fibre helps constipation (and if does!) But for some who are prone/sensitive too much of it (particularly insoluble) can make things hard to pass

Sorry was thrown by the main meal.

That makes sense.

Ok so my two year old suffers from constipation. Never got to bottom of it. Takes lactolose daily now.

Thank you, this makes sense

Before starting solids she would go 4 days between bowl movements so might also have slow transit!

she also ate a load of sand last week at the beach so that can’t be helping this time either me thinks

Ooh weetabix for 7m old? It's incredibly dense: surely a fraction of one is sufficient

Stick to baby porridge for now

Mine didnt have weetabix until they were quite a bit older. Surely if it is in greek yogurt it must be really solid?

Not one whole weetabix

Not really, it’s like a mush, similar consistency to her stage 2 pouches.

Random but tinned pears in their juice always help me (not the syrup ones)

My son was really constipated at the start of weaning too. Can't remember if I fed him weetabix then but months later he was no longer constipated. As PP said, it takes time for their bodies to adjust. My boy has weetabix every morning, has done for months and he never gets constipated.

I think it has added iron in it but not sure. Iron can cause constipation.

My first was always constipated and I never worked out why. She did not at a lot of weetabix though.

My son (almost 10 months old) suffered from constipation really badly similar to your baby. We tried everything we could think of. For him it was banana, sweet potato and too much of his formula. There’s more iron in the follow on milk which can cause constipation so it could be a combination of things for your baby. We ended up giving him laxatives twice a day for a week, once a day for a week, every other day for a week and then as needed. We also increased his fibre (lead to a few explosions whilst we tried to get the balance right). Things like prune purée (when he was really blocked up had around 2 pouches for a few days), pears, peas. When we increased his food intake he dropped from 5 bottles to 3 which helped but you have to be careful in making sure your baby gets enough milk at 7 months. But every baby is different. It may just be something which happens until your baby gets more used to having solids. It should pass but if you are still worried ask for a second opinion with another gp.

Id skip the wheatabix / bread / biscuits / pasta in case its the wheat or gluten that’s upsetting her system. Stick to fruit and veg purées and safer things like rice, oats and potatoes.

Fibre can cause constipation if it's not taken with plenty of fluids, so milk would be better than yogurt, and plenty of water to drink too

Does she react like this to other wheat based foods?

She may have a gluten allergy.