5 month old Son With Diarrhoea & Constipation

[Astonsmummy]

My son has either got diarrhoea or constipation, there seems to be no middle ground. I have recently started to wean him and since then we have had this problem. He doesn't seem unwell, and is his usual happy little self, but the contents of his nappy seem to be a lottery. is this normal?

It sounds like he is not ready for food yet as his digestive system is sending out all the signals it can to say it isn't happy. What milk was/is he on and why did you start to wean him when you did?

I am brast feeding him, I started to introduce solids because he is a very big boy and didn't seem to be satisfied with just milk, I supplemented his feed at night with a stage 2 formula feed before we went on to solids. I kept him off solids for a couple of days to see if this would help, but it didn't

Lots of people on here will explain better than me, but basically there are more calories in milk than any food he could eat at this stage so it doesn't always make them less hungry.

What are you feeding him?

Is stage 2 formula the "follow on" milk? If so, it's got added iron, and often causes constipation.

I'd go back to just breastmilk and see if that helps. You may need to feed really often for a day or two, but your supply will sort itself out ...

I would do the same. Ds was (and is) pretty big but was ok on b/milk until he was 7 months. Hard work on us though, granted!

I've been giving him, pureed veg, potato, carrot, butternut squash, sweet potato, parsnip, etc.... and pureed fruit, apple, pear, plum etc..... also a little baby rice in the morning.

He has taken to it very well and gets really excited when he knows it's food time.

He is really big though, he's 18lb at the moment and gaining, he was 9lb 1oz when he was born.

But his weight doesn't mean his gut is ready for solids. The digestive tract really isn't ready for solids until 6 months, according to the latest research.

That being said, I think the formula may be the problem, too.

Not using formula any more, won't take a bottle any more (unless it has juice in). Should I just stop the solids then?

I would. Don't worry about his size, that's not the main issue. Ds was 10lb 5oz and we managed!! I would go back to b/f and try again in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for your advice, I'll give it a go. Perhaps I'll be able to get a nipple trasplant when it's all over and done with ~ lol

Waited 12 years to become a mum, now that I am one, seems that all I do is moan about it. I'm sure that I'm not aone in that respect!

Hi Astonsmummy, I would take him off the juice as well - this can also irrate his gut. Just milk for a couple more weeks (at least) & he should be fine.

All those foods you're giving him don't have as many calories/fat etc as milk.

Agree that a couple of days without solids will make no difference - it isn't long enough for the gut to recover. The one thing I would give him is probiotics to restore the balance of his gut. You can take them yourself if you prefer.

And no breastfed baby of this age needs water, let alone juice.