Juice questions

[Jacksonvol]

We went for DD's 9 month check-up yesterday and she recomended juice to help with constipation (Apple/Prune). DD has never had juice before. I bought a 4 oz. bottle of the Gerber juice to start. Do I need to cut the juice with water and if so what ratio? Can I make juice a snack or should I offer it with a snack?

I am not wild about juice as I do not want her to cut back on her milk in favor of the juice. Any tips on how to prevent this?

Thanks!
Lisa

[Imperia]

I have heard if you offer juice at all to mix it 1/2 and 1/2 with water to dilute it.

Does your DD eat solids at all yet? If so you might mix some juice in with her food (cereal or whatever) so she doesn't get used to actually drinking it, but will get some of the benefits. Also, what about fruits in place of juice? Eating fruit is much different than drinking juice because it is packaged with the natural fibers and it's a slow release sugar vs juice in which the bonds are broken and it becomes a fast release sugar.

I am sure someone else might be more help, but I just thought I would throw these ideas out there.

Imperia

[chlobo]

My doctor also recommended prune juice to help with constipation. We put about an ounce in her bottle at night with EBM. We also feed her pureed prunes.

[lmintzer]

We started having constipation problems when we started solids at 6 months. We cut out rice cereal and now use oatmeal (somewhat better) and mix in prune juice every other day. He makes a terrible "sour face" but will usually eat it.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

if you got the Gerber juice then it is already watered down for babies. It's cheaper to buy regular juice and water it down yourself.

I worry about the juice replacing milk too. So I try to think of the juice as "medicine" rather than a beverage. It doesn't make a difference to her, but it makes me feel better. :)

We only give juice if we have a constipation issue. Plus I try to make sure she is getting plenty of water.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[AugBaby]

Avocados, pears, plums and peaches are great for relieving constipation and are more nutrient-dense than juice. Many moms find these work well and don't need to offer there little ones juice. As someone else mentioned, the fruits aren't only more nutritious, but they also contain the fiber that juice doesn't.

Chrys

[pritchettzoo]

We use prune juice (regular Sunsweet) in DD's cereal daily. Also, are you feeding her anything constipating? We use oatmeal or multi grain to avoid the constipating quality of rice cereal--it's still iron fortified though since she's otherwise BF. I like mixing the juice with the cereal (it improves the taste IMO) instead of letting her drink it straight and instead give her water to drink with meals. So far, she adores water! :)

Anna

[heidi_timms]

Earth's best makes a baby cereal mixed with prunes in a jar. That was really helpful. My DD didn't like juice at all when we had this problem. Also, you can mix prune juice with cereal yourself. Also, Gerber makes prune baby food and prune/apple baby food. My DD really liked it.

~Heidi
Mom to Kailey
4/03

[mamicka]

We've had good results with the juice as others have described. What's more convenient for me is chamomile tea so if you're a tea-drinker yourself it might be worth a try.. I drink a lot of tea anyway so I always seem to have some around. I just make a weak cup of chamomile tea with no sweetener. I give it to DS with droppers or just mix it in with something else that he's eating/drinking. A couple teaspoons for my 1 year-old does the trick.