Help please - 6 mo needs more solids?/When?, Crazy poop changes/discomfort...

[momtoelise]

My ebf LO, who is almost 6.5 mos, is currently having solids once/day (oatmeal mixed with something - have tried pears, sweet potatoes, and applesauce so far).

His typical day:
7/7:30 E
A
9:30ish S
11/11:30 E
A
1:30ish S
3/3:15 E, followed by solids
A
5:30ish S
A
7:00ish E
8/8:30 S
10:00 DF

My questions are:
* when do babies typically go to twice/day with solids? (I can't remember from my other kiddos, but question sometimes if he wants more.)
* when that happens, I'll do them after the 11ish feeding I'm guessing, but I'm not sure how to best do that, as it's right when I'm making lunch...  Any ideas for fitting this in?

Also, yesterday he had his first poop that was different than his normal bf poops ( )... It was more pasty, darker, and stinky.  Today, he had a huge poop and was VERY agitated while going - kicking his legs around and crying.   This makes me wonder if I should even give him more solids, kwim?  Will that make the pooping even worse?  Anything I can do to help this?  Or, is it just an adjustment thing and will get better?

Thanks for any help/input!

[<Catherine>]

Hi there,

These posts may be useful to you:-

Solids for 6-12months very useful Information
Routines for Solids and Bottles/BF's 6-12months

[~inbalance~]

I honestly don't think there are any hard and fast rules as to when you gave to give solids, or when you should be on 2 meals a day.  It's up to you and your baby really.  I feed my DD whenever the rest of us eat, not according to the clock.  That way she gets a sense for joining in the family meals.  These days she isn't interested much in solids but is so happy to have finger foods given to her so that she can eat with us. 

With regards to the poos, they do change colour/consistency/smell with solids introduction for sure.  When my DD had her first 'solid foods' poop I felt sad that the says of EBF baby poop were over!  LOL  I wonder if your LO is getting a little constipated and that is why he is upset when he has to poop.  Cereal can be hard to digest, and apples can be constipating.  What if you stopped the oatmeal and just stuck to fruits and veg?  I noticed my DD gets a bit constipated with bananas and sweet potato, so I try not to give those too often or close together, and when I do I often mix them with pear (or these days I am just giving her pieces of pear). 

We have had very similar behaviour though, and I don't think it's abnormal iykwim but maybe just proceed slowly and keep an eye on things while his tummy adjusts.

[momtoelise]

Thanks, Catherine... I checked them out.

~in balance~, thanks for he response!  I've wondered about constipation...  The poo seems pretty thick and pasty, but not hard, so I'm not sure if he really is, or if he's just adjusting.  I'm giving him a small amount of oatmeal, mixed with fruit, at this point.  And then for the second meal of solids, just veggies.

[creations]

We went to 3 meals per day almost immediately after starting solids as my DS acted like I'd starved him for the first 6 months of his life.  Whatever seems right for you and your LO is fine so long as the milk intake is good and they are learning some new flavours and textures.

You could always offer a finger food from your own plate at lunch time for him to have a play with and taste of, that way you can eat your meal and he gets to experience a family meal together.

wrt the poop, I think it does take time to adjust, they have quite a bit of work to do to learn to push it out even when not constipated because the solids poo is different from the milk poo.  There's a great thread on laxative foods which taught me a few things about constipating foods too, worth a read if you have time.  I learned that carrots make my LO's poo firm up, too much carrot and he will start to become constipated.  Prunes as finger food he loved and work as a laxative food for him.  I found I could naturally control his poo through giving one or other of these foods.

[momtoelise]

Thanks so much!