Not pooping.. :(

[@llli*natga915]

Last Tuesday I gave my LO (he's 6 months) 1 TB or so of butternut squash with pear and breast milk.. I figured since the squash is mostly water and the pear would help with digestion, that all would be well, but LO hasn't pooped since! Anyone else experience lack of bowel movements after introducing a solid? I'm not trying to push solids on DS but I thought he'd be ready since he's showing all the signs of readiness. Is there a better way to start solids??

[@llli*mommal]

Babies often slow way down in the poop department when solids are introduced. You want to be kind of cautious- when he does poop, take a careful look at him. Does he seem to be in pain? Is he turning red, straining, crying, screaming? Is the poop hard when it emerges, hard enough to roll right off the diaper? Is he going more than a week without pooping? If so, he's constipated and you want to back off on solids.

I don't think the foods or amounts of solids you've introduced are likely to be a problem, but again, keep an eye on things and keep the quantities small for a while.

[@llli*natga915]

He's definitely constipated! Turned red, strained, and very little, dense poop came out this morning.. We'll be holding off on the solids for another month I think. I feel awful that he's constipated.. is there anything I can do to help him??

[@llli*toddlerandtwins]

Prunes are my go-to for constipation. My son had horrible constipation the first few months of solids (grunting and tensing during movements, red face, sometimes crying). We used to give a few ounces of prune juice, or pureed prunes. Now my girls are eating solids and we make sure to give them prunes each day.
When my son was constipated we would look for signs of a movement, and then remove his diaper and try to massage his belly (if he would let us). Also a warm bath helped.

[@llli*natga915]

Prunes, bath, and massage.. and poop! I think there's still more to go but DS is more content now. Good thing his 6 month appointment is on Monday. Has anyone tried avocado? I read that that was a good first food but I'm in no hurry to start up solids again! Thanks for the advice!

[@llli*toddlerandtwins]

avocado is a great first food.
I would not rush to start solids. I can't tell you which foods caused constipation/gas in my kids because they ate/eat a variety. But I can tell you that starting too much too soon will be difficult for them to digest. 6 months is still early for solids, take it slow, and follow your baby's lead.

[@llli*natga915]

lol.. I meant to say that I wasn't in a hurry to start solids again! DS had his check up, he gained only a pound in two months and has been dropping in the percentiles the last 3 appointments.. is that normal for BF baby? I nurse often but Dr suggested trying oatmeal if I'm comfortable trying solids again to up his caloric intake. DS did really well and loved eating solids, he just needs to poop! Again, I'm not in a hurry to start up the solid stuff but I'm okay with it if he's ready. Not sure what to do!

[@llli*mommal]

Once a breastfed baby gets into the middle of his first year, it's very normal for him to start dropping percentiles. All the calories that were put into fat when the baby was a relatively immobile newborn start going into motion, instead. It's totally normal, but also quite different from the weight gain pattern of formula-fed infants, whose weight gain often accelerates in the second half of the first year.

[@llli*natga915]

So I've been trying to figure out this whole starting solids thing. I've been obsessed with DS's poop since December.. long story short, I quit breastfeeding after 2 weeks then I was able to fully relactate by 3 months which also happened to be when the poop issues began. DS apparently got a tummy bug then (though I was thinking OS or imbalance) and lost 9 ounces. We've been trying to get him to gain weight since then. He went from pooping too much to now not at all! I'll admit my mom pressured me to start solids for the sheer novelty of it, well because "everyone in our family" was eating solids by 4 months. I was able to resist the pressure until almost 6 months when DS seemed super interested in food so I succumbed. Anyhoo, the point is he hasn't pooped without some form of assistance since March 6th. I will happily stop feeding the solids but I don't know if I've gone past the point of no return since DS is used to having them. I've been giving him P foods to help with the constipation and I've even added a pinch of ground flax seed as well (though I heard flax oil would be better). I just want to know what to do. I want to make sure he's getting enough nutrition without messing up his digestive tract. I'm at a loss!

[@llli*mommal]

Ever heard "until one, just for fun"? What it means is that until age one, solids are for fun with new tastes, textures, and motor skills, but they are not necessary for nutrition because breastmilk alone meets all baby's needs. So if you need to slow way down with solids, you still can. However, I am not sure I would recommend it at this point, if your LO loves his solids. I would continue to give him P fruits and the flax meal, and talk to your doc about how to proceed. What you're seeing may still be in the normal realm- it's hard to know with an older baby who is still mostly breastfed. But as your LO transitions more and more to solid foods, and especially as you begin potty training, you may need totreat this issue a bit more aggressively. That's where the doc comes in, since he/she can tell you what exactly to look for and when infrequent poops are crossing over from normal to problematic.

One thing you might want to start doing is keeping a poop journal. It can be hard to remember if your LO last pooped 3 days ago or 5 days ago. And data is your friend when discussing with the doc- many babies go through short phases of constipation but long-standing problems will become immediately obvious if you have the data to support your observations.