Questions about frequency and consistency of BM

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Hi
My 7.5 mo DS is currently having 3 "meals" a day. Usually fruits with or without oatmeal for breakfast, veggies and some oatmeal (bigger portion, usually around 2oz) for lunch and fruit snack for dinner. Since starting solids, his BM has been more unpredictable. He used to go once a day. Now he would sometimes go 2-4 times a day. But each time, his BM would be more solid and not as much as before. Is this considered constipation? He does use some effort to push but not much more then before. Am I feeding him too much?

The food he has had are: oatmeal, pears, apple, banana, sweet potato, avocado and papaya. I have only given him apples and bananas a couple times as I heard that they could constipate.

[~inbalance~]

That sounds normal to me. 

You will know if your LO is constipated.  If he is really straining but then there is nothing, or only 'rabbit pellets', then he is likely constipated.  Keep offering lots of fluids if you are worried, otherwise I think he is ok.

BMs can become more unpredictable and will definitely change in consistency with solid foods. 

There is a link here with lots of good poop information and also a bit on constipation too:  http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=157413.0

HTH

[Chicane]

Agree with Martina - constipation is not about the frequency of BMs but about the consistency, so really hard core straining, pain and rabbit pellets is a sure sign of constipation. If that happens increase the fruits and decrease the oatmeal, you can also consider adding prune juice to a few of the meals or to his milk feed (if you use bottles). At this age he should still be getting the same amount of milk feeds too. Obviously, if you are really worried or think its gone on too long you should talk to your doc/health visitor.

hth
x