My darling now on solids but constipated - not enough BF?

[@llli*tanpixie]

My LO has been on solids for a month now and has only done 3 'normal' poops that whole time.

I've read that BF babies have a harder time initially when you introdue solids due to BM being so easy to absorb.

I've read that maybe she is not getting enough BM.
She still has 5-6 wets a day.
Her poop is hard round and she looks in pain when she's trying to go.

Can I give her water?
I've gone back to simple foods twice now - starts out great but then once I start combining her constipation comes back!

Any help would be appreciated.
The Pedi just told me to stay away from binding foods.

[@llli*auderey]

how much solids is she eating? why the rush back to combining foods? isnt she only like 7 months?

[@llli*tanpixie]

yeah she's 7 months!
Well I bought a book that says to cook casseroles and make cauliflower cheese, etc etc, so I've been giving her quinoa and sweet potato, or beef and potato, breakfast is yoghurt, baby oats and peach and some coconut oil (a tiny amount) - I didn't think that was to bad but am I combing to soon?

She eats three times a day about 2 oz each time - I stop when she tells me she's no longer hungry - I've also been giving her cheerios too - am I giving her to much?

[@llli*filmmommy]

We let our DD start sipping water at the end of each meal once she started solids (around 6 months). I think it helps them wash down anything still in their mouth at the end of the meal. We also did the usual -- BFing before each meal (usually about 1/2 hour to an hour before). If she seemed constipated we'd dilute some apple juice and give it to her, and it usually did the trick, but we only had to do that once in a while. We did some purees and I think that helped keep some less-constipating foods in rotation. She LOVED beets, and those seemed to keep her regular (although with very scary-looking poop). We also made sure to have prunes and peas as a regular part of her diet. We also tried to keep binding foods more spread out -- like bananas one day, then carrots the next, etc. What kinds of things is your DD eating?

[@llli*auderey]

i think some babies are ready for that much solids at that age, but maybe not most. more important is that she gets constipated when you do it. to me that says she's not ready. DS LOVED his solids but he never ate anything close to that amount at that age. so again, what's the rush?

in this case i would NOT give her water as the solution, because i think what she needs is more breastmilk, less solids. once she's regular again then of course water is fine to offer. but again, my DS didn't discover water until 11 months (though we'd tried to offer earlier) when we went camping for 2 weeks somehwere hot.

the food sounds good though! making me hungry.

[@llli*tanpixie]

Thanks! I think you're right, I think I'm over feeding her, she always seems hungry but she is always constipated.
I'll try lay off binding foods as well and see how we go this week. I got so excited by solids, I think I may have jumped the gun so to speak! Rushed into it to quickly.

I also give her ice cubes with beetroot juice, apple juice or pear juice for teething through a mesh bag - I thought that would help? (they are diluted)

[@llli*tanpixie]

I'd also like to add that my pedi told me to feed her 3 times a day and whatever I like except nuts and honey ...... so I have!

Sometimes I wonder if they even listen?
I told them my daughters poop was hard and round and she said 'that's normal!'

[@llli*filmmommy]

Those foods do sound a little on the constipating end to me. Cheese has always been a problem if our DD eats much of it, and she didn't start on that until she was almost a year. If the ratio is pretty much equal cauliflower and cheese, that's probably too much cheese. Also, we found sweet potatoes to be a bit binding, as well, so that's another we'd only use once or twice a week. Try to keep things very simple and cooked very well. I consulted a nutritionist who recommended we delay grains until 8 months or so, but then to soak them first (which we do with all our grains) and cook them at least 2-3x as long as you normally would. Both those things help break down the grains. And we never went above 1 part grain and one part vegetable -- mostly green vegetables. So with quinoa, I would always cook it at least 45 minutes. Be careful with the cookbooks. I was horrified by some of things in the ones I bought and pretty much ditched them and used my common sense, other than consulting them for cooking times and such when necessary.

[@llli*tanpixie]

Great advice - great idea for soaking, I think I'll re visit my thinking on solids for her now. I give sweet potato as her staple - she probably feeds - BF0 about 6 times a day which I think is a good amount still.... I think I'll just take it slowly again.

[@llli*mommal]

6 nursing sessions per day for a 7 month old baby is okay, but you could definitely offer to nurse more often and cut back on the solids. There's no reason that a 7 month old needs solids 3 times a day- until around a year, solids are supposed to be for fun, for experimenting with new tastes and textures and new motor skills. But they're not supposed to replace breastmilk in a baby's diet, and a baby can remain well-nourished on breastmilk (or formula) alone until around the 1 year mark.