Diarrhoea and fruit

[Raindancer411]

Just wondered if anyone else's little ones have had trouble with fruit and upset tummies. We started her at 6 months in Apple and porridge and ended up at Drs and off weaning until it settled. We are now 6 weeks behind so at 9 months she still has porridge and won't eat any savoury foods. But I am getting side tracked.

Today after a few weeks off porridge and showing to be firming up, I gave her 1/4 pouch of pear puree and now we have runny poop.

Do I just not give fruit purées anymore?

I give my DD pear purée when she’s constipated and it works a treat. Pear and prunes help babies go so I’d say it’s fairly normal.

Have you tried her on finger foods? Could give her real fruit instead of purée.

@Vicky1989x Yes she has some finger foods but has a really sensitive gag so any small lumps at the moment make her sick.

What about soups? risotto? baby pasta in broth, ....so foods that are liquid, creamy and more filling as well.

@Cormoran She clamps her mouth shut 🤨

So what does she eat ? Because if it is processed baby food, such as sweetened porridge, puffs, rusks, it might actually make things worse. Even pouches go through a pasteurised process which alters the taste of the pear.
Does she eat the porridge and pouches ftraight from pouches so sucking or transferred in a bowl/spoon?

@Cormoran She only eats porridge, fruit pouches (off a spoon), leek and tomato puffs, pea puffs, rusk. She won't eat all of it though, so half of each puff or the rusk.

I have tried home cooked carrots, cauli, potato mash, but mouth clamps. If I stop what she does eat, she will not have anything other than BM from me.

I have lots of jars we are trying. She has just found she likes kiddilious wafers. Her porridge is watered down a bit more so it doesn't taste as sweet either.

I need to call the main HVs as I messaged mine but was told she doesn't have that fone anymore

Oh she did have some crumbs off my pasty earlier and was after my sandwich (but I don't think bread is a good one at the moment as she cannot cope with lumps without gagging)

So she basically never had real food, only processed and ultra processed baby food and this is why she can't swallow, because she never was given the opportunity to learn to swallow.
All this puff, rusks and wafer and ultra processed melty-sort of food like substances.

Since she is interested in your food, maybe you should move from baby food all together . Prepare yourself a soup, and dip your bread into the soup to make it mushy and then give it to her.

It is important that you understand how swallowing, gagging and chewing are connected. Today, at your next meal, try the experiment on yourself, take a bite of your toast and try to swallow without chewing even once. IT will get stuck, because the chewing motion even without using your teeth will produce saliva and lubricate your food and also prepare the muscle in the throat to move the food. Food doesn't now down by gravity, it is muscular (you can even eat upside down) . She needs to learn to chew, so between wet and dry food, there is a whole range in between.

Processed food offers flavours that do no exist in real life. The puffs are nothing more than Cheetos with some veggies dry powder to pretend they are healthy, but they are corn flout and oil, like Doritos and we all love Doritos and Cheetos. And you hope to compete with Cheetos with mash cauliflower? You need to reaper food that is tasty and pleasant and doesn't look like baby food.

Move away fro the high chair, sit together at the dining table, and have the plate in front of you. Have a bowl with baby pasta in a broth, with parmiggiano cheese, and half a tea spoon of extra virgin olive oil. Have one spoonful; yourself , then a baby spoon for her.

Prepare yourself a risotto. Start with white, with just butter, parmiggiano, and leave it quite soupy so she will do both swallow and suck

Fructose gives a lot of people tummy troubles

@ZoobyZoobyDoo Thanks

@Cormoran She has had our food offered. As I said mash, carrots and then the pastry

Sorry hit send accidentally...

Then tried the cauli as that's lumpy and soft. She doesn't put the food to her mouth yet, and just plays with it. She is my second and just doesn't seem interested like my first was from the word go. Only difference is he was dairy free.

OP I had this with my first. He couldn't cope with lumps at all. I tried making all his food and he just refused to eat it. I eventually gave up and gave him jars. All babies a different and the very specific advice given above isn't going to work for all children. I did exactly the same with my second and he loved homemade, wouldn't touch jars or pouches. I'm also a childminder and have seen it all when it comes to babies eating.
Sometimes some fruits, the more acidic ones, can give them a bit of an upset tummy. Have you tried banana, mango, maybe some melon?

@Iminaglasscaseofemotion oh thank you so much, you understand me. Yes any lumps at all and she gags. I give her small piece a of wafer and rusk to move around her mouth, knowing that it will break down quickly but still teach her to move it.

First one loved jars and had the finger foods before graduating into our meals cut you small.

Tried it with her and she just doesn't want the jars. I have offers stuff on her tray but she still doesn't want to put it into her mouth. I have taken to putting small bits of the kiddilious wafer or broken up rusk into her mouth. She has a very sensitive gag reflux and chucks up sometimes but so far this has worked. We will continue to offer the veg at our meal times and hope it goes in her mouth eventually.

Any tips for me?

I haven't tried proper fruit and only the pouches so far. I have for some bananas coming today so was going to try mashing some up and offering some in tiny cubes on the tray.

Try poaching the banana first by slicing it into a small pot of simmering water and let it boil for a couple of minutes. It will be softer and also less dry.

Yup, I would mash any fruit up until it's basically puree. Maybe try one fruit at a time, just to see what works and what doesn't for her stomach.
What kind of veg have you tried?

@Iminaglasscaseofemotion Cauliflower, broccoli, carrots so far

I don’t think it’s totally baby dependant.

If the baby has only ever tasted blended food then thats normal to them.

I’m no expert: I didn’t use any purées at all in the beginning, just mashed our food or gave super overcooked veg that just mushed in the mouth. He has literally known no different, food is lumpy and you have to chew. Took him about 2 weeks to get the hang of moving stuff around his mouth.

If you’ve only ever given puréed fruit/veg then that’s what they think food is meant to taste/feel like and don’t learn that chewing is normal. They’re still getting nutrients so it’s not like you’re doing anything wrong but I think that’s why BLW is becoming a big thing. Cuts out a lot of effort when they’re older and more set in their likes/dislikes.

Pear/apple is great for constipation so totally normal what you’re experiencing there.

Have you jist tried them as finger foods or do you mash or puree them?

Will she eat yoghurt? Maybe try putting the pureed fruit through some yoghurt.

@FTEngineerM She has not had an jars at all so far. Any I have offered have been refused and mouth clamped and gone in the bin . She has had baby porridge and some fruit pouches, mashed up carrot, broccoli and potato from our meals. She won't put food on tray to her mouth on her own either. She is hooked on sweet flavours I think but it's getting her to try stuff.

@Iminaglasscaseofemotion she has had it both mashed and as finger foods. I brought yoghurt and one mouthful and no more. Yoghurt and baby porridge were in the list of first things to try as of my firsts allergy.

I could try the purée fruit in her porridge like I have chucks of it in mine

@Raindancer411 what’s baby porridge? Is it different to making it from oats at home?

Our DC liked bananas like the picture at first. Might not do much at first but it’s one of those foods that’s sweet and soft. So if it does find it’s way to her mouth it’ll be fine to chow down on.

It's the henzi porridge that only needs hot water adding to, similar to readybrek. As we were trying milk, and I breastfeed, it was ideal.