Too much too soon?

[JamieD2013]

Hi! I'm new to this board although I've been obsessively following the EASY board for a few weeks now!

I have a 6 month old DS who has been on solids off and on since he was about 4.5 months old. A brief history: He has never been a terrific eater. It has always been a struggle to get the daily recommended ounces in (he is formula fed). He is in the 90th percentile for both weight and height and meeting all milestones, so his pediatrician isn't concerned, but he does still get a dream feed at 10:30 AND wake up around 4 a.m. for a bottle, I'm assuming because he doesn't get enough during the day.

We started solids at 4.5 and noticed that his already gassy tummy was getting worse, so we held off until 5.5 months. We started him on sweet potatoes and moved to peas then squash. He really enjoyed the solids so I quickly incorporated them into his feedings. He now gets three solid meals a day. I moved to three meals a day with my oldest relatively quickly and never saw a problem, so I didn't think any thing of doing it early with my youngest.

However, I think I might be doing too much solids too quickly. He is very constipated (even after eliminating squash) and still not drinking enough formula. In hindsight, it seems like common since to hold off on too many solids until he ups his ounces in formula, but I guess I just assumed that he would never love the stuff and preferred solids. I was also hoping that three solid meals a day would help him sleep through the night.

My question is this: should I cut back on solids even though it's already a part of his routine. If so, what meals should I cut? Thank you in advance for your advice! I never had any feeding issues with my oldest, so all of this is very new to me!

Jamie

[scruffymax]

If constipated, how about including pears and prunes? Pears in his breakfast make a big difference to my 5.5 mo lo. My lo also prefers solids to milk, but he is maintaining his growth so other than trying to make sure he's not having excessive amounts of solids I can't do much. Have you tried reducing the amount of solids you give your lo at each meal and see if he increases his milk? It's verymuch aaccepted and recommended to introduce solids including allergens (eg egg, peanut butter) from 4 months here (Australia) and it has made an enormous difference to my lo's demeanor - I think he was constantly hungry on milk alone. I have spoken to the child health nurse about my son's lack of interest in milk but she is not concerned and says I can start giving him yoghurt, meat etc, and encouraged me to continue to add formula to his meals when possible. Good luck!

[Buntybear]

HI, I think you should cut back on solids but then I am in the camp of introducing solids nearer 6 months which is in line with the World Health Org's recommendations. I think cut back on the amount of solids at each meal but maybe change up what you are giving him? Olly was a bit bunged up with sw pot and squash so maybe add some more meat in? This helps with his iron levels too. He will be getting most of his nutrients through his milk for a while yet so you need to keep his milk intake up. Also it is worth considering that his milk contains more calories than solids.