Baby constipated after starting solids

[Imtootired]

My baby boy is 5 and a half months old and I started solids around a week ago. I’ve been mostly giving him rice cereal mixed with boiled water and sometimes a spoon of pear and banana baby food mixed in. He’s still breast fed throughout the day. I also give him a few centimetres of water from a little kids cup. He’s only done one poo since he started solids and that was about 4-5 days ago. He’s been a bit fussy today and was arching his back and crying before bed. I gave him some apple baby food and some water as I read that can help. I might stop the rice cereal for a bit, I was just mixing that so the fruit purée wouldn’t be too sweet. I also gave him some baby probiotic drops. Has this happened to anyone else? What helped? He’s very big for his age but I’m not sure how much water he can have

Anyone?

Prune puree

Thanks I might go get some tomorrow. How long is too long to go between bowel movements?

Is he having any cows milk in his diet?

I think it might be what you are feeding him.

I'd forget the cereal for a few days, it's got little nutritional value anyway, especially as you're mixing it with water.

I'd either not give him solids for at least 2 days or just give them once a day only and give something like a peeled piece of pear for him to feed himself. If he can't manage to pick foods up and eat them, he's probably not ready for weaning.

Drop the rice- he doesn't need it, it's just filler. Just give veg, and his normal milk.

Both mine got constipated when starting solids. I took a very stop-start approach so if he's not pooed for a while then do a couple of days of just breastmilk (it's natural a bit of a laxative) then reintroduce food again slowly. I read once weaning isn't linear so don't be worried if you have to stop-start or reduce solids at any time - it's normal and you're letting them adjust. Also prunes, pears and peaches are good to help keep things moving. If he's uncomfortable try a warm bath and massaging his tummy / cycling his legs. You may need to speak to a GP if you're worried or he's in a lot of pain, they may be able to prescribe something to help him go.

Baby massage helps them poo and relaxes them for a long nap. Win win

Also you should try giving vegetables and less fruit like sweet potato mashed carrots etc etc

What is 'apple baby food'? Is it only pureed apple, or is it like an apple porridge?
Do you have a steamer that fits on a saucepan, or a microwave? Just steam some peeled, washed veg or fruit, mash it with a fork, then let it cool.
That way you won't need to spend money on extra food for him- he can have things you're eating for your meals, like carrot, parsnip, spinach etc.(though you would need to blend spinach, not mash it I think).

Thank you all so much. Yes the Apple food was just Apple purée. I’ll mostly stick to breastmilk for a few days, with maybe a bit of apple or pear purée. I’ll try the baby massage and bath. Poor little guy. His bowel movements had already slowed down to every few days but I think it’s starting to become a problem now. If he doesn’t go tomorrow or the day after I’ll make a drs appointment

Only pooing every few days is normal for a lot of BF babies before they start solids.

Even when they do start solids, it's normal to have a change in bowel movements.

You only need to see the GP if the baby is clearly in distress with the constipation. If they're just a little uncomfortable, maybe offer another BF?

@2020hello he doesn’t have any cows milk. I will make some veg purées soon I just thought I’d start on the rice cereal because it’s so plain for the first few days. With my older son I fed him a veggie mix purée that included carrots so much he ended up turning orange

He’s only done one poo since starting solids and that was definitely firmer than before so I’m worried that now at least 5 days after that it will be very hard and painful for him to get out

Is he distressed though? Five days isn't unusual at all for a BF baby, I think my DD's record was 12.

BFing him really is a good well of helping him too. Not only will it give him plenty of liquid to help the constipation but it will comfort him too.

I've just read your comments about your DC1 turning orange, if you eat to avoid that happening again, there's some good suggestions of what to feed him [] https://cwt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/CHEW-1stYearLifePracticalGuide.pdf in this guide]] but as lots of PPs have stated, I'd lay off the rice for a while

Sorry about the appalling link and typos. The guide is here.

Some babies just arent ready for solids that early. Mine wasnt, but thrived on solids after 9mo. There really is no need to rush into it and put our babies through constipation and tummy ache before they are ready.

Thanks for the link @JiltedJohnsJulie
Yes @pixiefringe he might not need it yet. He was putting on so much weight breastfeeding then I tried to space it out more because I thought it was most likely an oversupply of milk and then he hardly put on weight for three weeks and he seemed very interested in food and drinks. He really loves water and will grab the cup as soon as he sees it. Luckily he’s pretty healthy and still on 97/98 percentile for weight and height so I don’t need to be too concerned

I second mashed prunes. Either the ready to eat kind in a pouch or from a can. Or a stewed plum.

I think banana can often bung people up as well as baby rice so avoid those

If he's on those centiles I really wouldn't be trying to space out feeds or giving him solids before 6 months.

I'd just stick with the BGing fit the next couple of weeks and try offering it every 2 hours in the day and see how he gets on.

Spacing out feeding and giving cereal made with water and fruit/veg is effectively putting him on a diet at a time he needs every calorie he can get.

I wasn’t exactly spacing out feeding but up until he was around 4 months I would feed him to sleep so he was overtired and fussy and therefore would be on the breast too much. Since I’ve started putting him in his cot to sleep his weight gain has slowed down and we are both much happier. Last time he was weighed he was 9.5 kg