kids and enemas

[spiceyqueen]

i have had lots of exp as a babysitter and aunty but not in paeds.

i just got one question, is it safe to give babies enemas/suppositories from a paeds nurses point of view.

here is the scenario

One of my nephews is like 6 months old, he's been breastfeeding till recently when sis introduced solids(pumpkin, peas, carrots,apples, banana, blended chiken liver, weetbix) wich he is tolerating. but he has pooing issues( like 3-4 days no poo, and really has issues getting it out, and sometimes its hard) and the community nurse suggested supps/enemas... well she didnt tell me this until this morning when i called her(she lives in toronto) and her baby was crying wich he normally doesnt do. and she said she had just given him a supp, as adviced by her nurse three weeks ago..my advice to her was to keep breastfeeding him, try and intro. foods with a bit of fibre a wee bit of water, maybe fresh juice or something.

so my question is what is the most common thing done to babies that have such isssues, and do you recomend supps? or what would be an "ideal" way to deal with this.i have asked her to go see a paeds nurse/paediatrician, (no disrespect to the comm. nurse involved)and give some feedback

[dansamy]

Oh dear. She introduced all these different foods to a digestive tract that was exclusively getting very easy to digest breastmilk? She needs to slow down.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

Intriduce only one food a week so his digestive system can get used to it, and if there are problems you know what food it was. Breastmilk results in many more BM's than even formula, so it makes sense that he wouldn't poop as often. Although suppositories won't hurt once in a while it is easy for a child to get used to them. Increase fibre instead, lots of fruit and vegetables. Personally I would limit juice.

[dansamy]

You should only introduce one new food per week. Hold off on the juice, it's pretty nutritionally void. Soild food will decrease the frequency of the baby's BM's, but they should be soft, even if they are formed. Start with infant cereals. My pediatrician always had me start with rice cereal mixed with expressed breastmilk.