Baby black poop

[Ris26]

My son is almost 8 months and he was exclusively breastfeeding until 5-6 months and then I started to give him cow and gate stage 1 milk. Since he started weaning he has problems with constipation and the doctor prescribed him some laxatives so he is doing well now but the problem is his stool are often dark black and hard. He has rarely yellow soft poop. One month ago I moved on stage 2 milk which is high in iron. Is it possible my son poop to be black due to stage 2 milk? Should I go back to stage 1 milk?

Stay on stage 2, he needs the extra iron when weaning.

Poops may vary depending on how much food vs milk baby is taking daily. If DD (6 months) has more milk then she'll do a yellow poop that is more watery. If she has a lot of food she'll do a smaller darker poop that is basically a smaller version of an adult poop but darker. If she's not pooped for a few days then I find offering a pouch with prunes in it or plums seems to do the trick. Also warm baths, tummy massage and leg cycling work well. Also offer water at each meal.

If he seems in pain or bloated then it may be worth a trip to the GP.

I'm no expert but have always heard that you can keep them on first milk all the way through and there's no need to swap.

Ask your health visitor.

I was also told by my HV that stage 1 milk was fine til you change to cows milk.

It's probably the extra iron. Adults also get black poop from iron supplements but ask your GP if you're worried.