what should my baby's poo be like now on solids?

[Moulesfrites]

My ds is 24 weeks and for the past week we just started weaning him this past week as he was showing the signs of readiness. He took to breakfast great and so for the past two days we have offer him lunch too, which he has taken (but was not a fan of parsnip or papaya today). We have just been giving him mashed fruit and veg, and we have tried to offer him water with every meal - he has sips of it from his doidy cup but has not got the hang of a sippy cup at all - just bites down on the teat thing.

He has been pooing a lot less since he started on solids (every three days as opposed to every 1 or 2), and today his poo was very hard, and um, solid - shaped like a proper adult poo, and I am worried that he is straining or it is causing him discomfort, but he seems perfectly happy. He is ebf, btw, and has not dropped any milk feeds yet. Should we be offering him more water throughout the day not just at meal times? I am worried about him filling up on it and therefore taking less milk.

Weaning is just a whole new ball game - I feel like I have just cracked the bf and another challenge comes along!

Yes, that's what parenthood is all about, cracking one problem just as the next one comes along!

It sounds like you are doing fine so far.
Keep offering him foods and don't worry if he refuses things. Just offer them again at a later date and he'll take them eventually.

It's good that you offer him water with meals, but don't be surprised that he doesn't drink much. Right now he probably gets plenty of liquid from his BFing and won't need much water other than that. It is good to get him into the habit of drinking water and practising with a cup, but don't push it, just let him experiment and drink what he wants.

It is to be expected that his poos will change as he starts to eat.
Once every three days isn't much, but is nothing to worry about. His guts have a lot to get used to with all this solid food coming in.
It is amazing how quickly the poo changes to resemble adult poo as the food that goes in starts to resemble adult food.
You will also notice that what comes out often looks remarkably similar to what went in! It can be quite interesting and comforting to see exactly what and how much they ate!
Again, don't worry. This is normal.

A great trick I was told is to get a hot flannel (obviously not too hot that it'll burn but toastie) and fold it up inside the front of baby's nappy (so it's on the lower abdomen). Keep if there as long as it stays warm.

I've had to do this 3 or 4 times recently as DS gets used to new foods. Works a treat and a poo usually appears in no more than an hour or so.