Just Started Baby Food

Yes it is normal for them to hold on to the waste just a bit. What you will need to do is add more water to his diet or add fruit to help balance it out a bit. Doctors usually say if it a couple of day between #2 then it's ok, but no longer then a week.

Are you giving him water yet? If not, try giving him about
4 oz. of water to drink in a trainer sippy cup. That should help with the constipation. We didn't have that problem with my son, but we were giving him water also.

Both mine were constipated when starting solids, too. I think it is normal.

You may want to do the yellow and orange veggies first. They don't seem to have that kind of effect on babies as much. Those were the ones that were recommended to start first for both of mine.

You can contact your local WIC office for a list of recommendations (even if you are not on WIC).

Good luck!

P. <><

Hi H.,

When I started my daughter out on baby food she would get constipated all the time. So, I started giving her apple juice or apple prune juice every other day, throughout the day... (no more than 2 oz a day) It worked...

Another old school remedy: 1tsp of Karo Syrup (White) in at least 2 bottles a day. Works like a charm and is no harm to the baby. Hope that helps!

When I first started my older son on solid foods, he got constipated too. I did two things to help him. First, I made sure that I wasn't doing too much rice cereal with the veggies because I knew that added to the constipation. Second, I introduced prunes to his diet. Both things helped. Another option that my sister's pediatrician recommended was mixing in a teaspoon of brown sugar into a bottle. It worked well for her son. I didn't have that option as I was breastfeeding. Good luck. As your son's body gets used to the solid foods, it should get better. It did with my son.

I had the same thing when my son started on foods. Usually it just takes a few days to get them on track. A tiny bit of apple or prune juice can help (just a sm. amt in a syringe) if the constipation gets too bad. Hope that helps.

I agree that this is normal to some extent. Any changes in his food can affect his tummy. We have always used prunes when our son has gotten constipated. That might be a good food to try next. Babies tend to like it because it is sweet, plus it is good at getting things moving again. I would hold off on bananas for a bit, since those can be constipating as well.

If you have started him on rice ceral, that could be what is constipating him also. Try giving some oatmeal baby cereal along with the solids...like at breakfast time. It is a natural remedy to help "things move a long".

Much Luck!

My second daughter (11mos.now) has had similar problems. She would often go 5 days without pooping. This made her really not want to eat anything. When I mentioned it to the pediatrician, she said that it was common for breastfed babies. I stopped giving her store bought food and started making my own baby food in the blender or food processor mixing a fruit or veggie with apple or pear juice. It was really easy to do and helped increase her b.m.s. We seem to be skipping baby cereal all together, because she now eats some cheerios and teething biscuits. I'm thinking that she hasn't had constipation issues with these, because she produces more saliva than she would with cereal.

Here's one more tip on solid foods that I learned from experience. Do not overdo on the orange foods..sweet potatoes, carrots and whatever else is in that color. Give a variety of color at each meal. My son and my friends daughter both loved sweet potatoes. They ate them a lot. Kid you not, their skin turned orangelike and they looked jaundice. We spread out the orange food to one every couple of days and presto...back to normal peachy skintones!

H.,

We also just started solids 2 mos ago and it totally chaged my sons poop. If you give him apple sauce or prunes it helps keep from the constipation. We also make his rice cereal with Apple juice and we give him apple juice in a bottle. If he has had a BM the day prior we do 1/2 apple juice and 1/2 water kin the bottle. Also babies are suppose to et 4 oz a day of water if possible and at 8 mos they are suppose to get 8 ozs of water a day. We have made it through all of stage one veggies and fruits and now have started trying the meats and due to the meats not having flavor our son doesn't like them so we actually have to make our our ham and he liked it. Also, if your son was breastfeed and you are used to being able to hear when your son pooped you no longer will and his poop will smell bad and will be thick and dark. If he ate something green the BM is green if he ate something orange his BM is orange. Good luck with all the foods and remember to let him drink apple juice with his meals.

My kiddo had all kinds of odd tummy things with different baby foods. banans made things blue, peas made him runny. I would give it a little bit and see if it resolves itself. That is a big change for him to dry to adjust too

Yes it is natural. Do you breastfeed? My best friend breastfeeds and her 9 month old is always constipated since starting solids. She drinks about 2oz of pear or prune juice a day in a sippy cup and that takes care of it! You can also use prune/pear juice instead of water/formula/breastmilk while making his morning oatmeal. I've done that when my 9 month old is constipated and it sure gets things moving! Oh, and you might want to lay off of bananas for a bit. You also might want to see what his pediatrician suggests as far as his juice intake, all doctors have different ideas as to what's necessary. Hope this helps!

Hi! Any change in diet can upset their little digestive systems. That's normal. Just make sure he's getting enough fluids, maybe even a little extra to counter the constipation. He'll be fine, just has to get use to the new, solid food.

What fun! Well, my babies would get constipated as well. It is the rice cereal. I did a couple of things: my dr. suggested to mix about 1-2 TBSP of Karo syrup in their cereal when I made it. This really helped. Also, since I nursed my children, I did not make their cereal with formula, I made their cereal with juice. Since they were constipated, I made it with prune juice. One more thing, I also started giving them the oatmeal cereal 1x a day. Rice in the morning, and oatmeal at night. Unfortunately, my kiddos could not drink apple juice in cups. I think the acidity of it really gave them bad diaper rashes. So, I stuck with white grape juice and sometimes mixed in some prune juice. Have fun and hope these ideas help your little one.

My belief- everything in moderation- Some people gives babies bananas to make them poop- others say its to help constipate. How old is he? I had a tble top hand grinder that I took to the restaurant and whatever I ate- I mushed some up for my son- it was great- and I knew exactly what he ate and he is an amazing eater to this day--17 ah! You can do it with everything at home as well.

Go with your mom instinct- you're doing fine--- just everything a little at a time so that you can see what works and then all the colorful poops start too! yeah!

D. S
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