Are some babies just not ready for solids at 6 months?

Question

I started my daughter on solids at 5.5 months of age. Before this, she was exclusively breastfed. The first food we tried was bananas. I wanted her to get used to eating solids before I gave her something that she wouldn't like, and risk turning her off to all solids. She worked up to eating one of those Gerber First Foods in the plastic pack things per day. After about a week, I noticed her stool changed- it was more solid, as was her food. But it seemed harder than with my first child, and they came less frequent. She was indeed straining, and sometimes wouldn't produce a bowel movement.

After a trip to the Dr. Sears website, I found that foods like bananas and applesauce can constipate babies. . It said that peaches, pears, prunes, or plums should help get things moving, so I fed her some prunes to empty her out. That worked, so I cut out the bananas and applesauce, and replaced them with peaches and pears, and gradually worked in peas.

She didn’t have another bowel movement for about a week, and then they became less frequent. She was straining all the time, even though the solids she ate were foods that induced BM’s. I fed her some prunes again, but it didn’t work this time. I completely cut her off all solids. It took about a week, but she finally passed what was blocking her up, and today, she had her first BM that was half solid, half breastmilk.

Are some babies just not ready for solids, or am I going about this wrong? How could she be constipated when all she ate was laxative-like solids and breastmilk? I didn’t have this problem with my first child. He had a BM everyday. She will be 8 months old next week and is not due for checkup until March. Should I schedule an appointment for this week or wait, or should I try again, maybe starting with peas or green beans?

j13- That's what I am feeding her. Pureed baby foods *are* solids. I'm not feeding her things like Cheerios, hot dogs, or other toddler foods, so I'm not worried about her choking on the Gerber First Foods that I mentioned in my question.

Answer 1

Update to your latest comments: Yes! You should call your doctor. She has wet diapers though, right?

Correct. Not all babies are ready.

Here are some signs your baby is ready for solids:
Baby can sit up well without support.
Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue.
Baby is ready and willing to chew.
Baby is developing a “pincer” grasp, where he picks up food or other objects between thumb and forefinger. Using the fingers and scraping the food into the palm of the hand (palmar grasp) does not substitute for pincer grasp development.
Baby is eager to participate in mealtime and may try to grab food and put it in his mouth.

Overall, remember YOU are your baby's Mom- you know what is best and when she is ready. Try not to let guides dictate when your child "should" be doing stuff. She's pretty smart- and she'll let you know when she is ready to take that extra step.

First give her rice cereal. Earth's Best makes a wonderful boxed version, but you can do the cheaper Gerber as well.

After a few months, we then tried oatmeal.

The first thing our little one tried after those two things was a banana. Try to keep things as simple as possible. Mash a bananna by adding some water or puree in a food processor. You can even add the banana later on to the rice cereal or oatmeal- or even add some apple sauce.

Now be sure to get your camera ready on hand!

Bravo to your for breast feeding. :) I don't think enough women get that pat on the back for doing one of the best things they can do for their children right from day one (though I understand that sometimes women have issues and don't produce milk).

Answer 2

It is usually recommended to start solids with small amounts of rice cereal mixed with breast milk once or twice a day. Once this is going well, start vegetables (squash, corn, carrots, peas, green beans) one at a time and feed once or twice a day for a few days to make sure each one "agrees" with her system. Once she is doing well on the veggies, do the same thing with fruits. Bananas especially can cause constipation. As she takes more foods, her stools will look and smell different. You can always offer her some water throughout the day or baby fruit juice if her stools are really hard or painful. Good luck!

Answer 3

Some babies do take longer to adjust to solid foods. Solid foods should be intruduced slowly so babies stomach can get use to them. Veggies are the best fodos to start with. Fruits should not be given to induce BMs...they are a food. Formula is #1, then cereal. It should take about a month and a half to go through all the first foods...ONE at a time. Bananas and apples can still be given but in moderation just like any other food. The baby needs to have a revolving variety of foods.

Answer 4

When my baby first started on the baby food she got constipated, too. The doc says this is normal especially for breastfed babies. We ended up holding off on the rice cereal for a while (that's what you are supposed to start with). We gave her fruits and veggies.

Start with introducing one thing a week. For example: First week only peaches. Then 2nd week peaches and pears, then third week peaches, pears, and peas... This gives the baby a chance to adjust to each food, and make sure she isn't allergic to any of the food.

The stool changes are normal. She is learning to poo real formed poo now. Some babies don't want to poo so they will hold it in for as long as they can, thus constipating themselves.

If she gets too constipated, she will need a prescription, as did my little girl.

Answer 5

it is not recommended to introduce solids in the previous 4 months simply by fact their intestinal lining and enzymes prefer time to mature. it may additionally reason foodstuff sensitivities. After 4 months they'd desire to in basic terms be presented if toddler is exhibiting indications of wanting extra foodstuff, including wanting extra feeds, waking and wanting a evening feed while they'd routinely sleep with the aid of or exhibiting an pastime in what others are ingesting. So in the adventure that your toddler is exhibiting indications then she is waiting. For infants decrease than 6 months milk would desire to nevertheless be the main serious element of a baby's foodstuff plan so in case you do initiate solids do no longer replace the milk feed for solids. supply the solids as quickly as an afternoon after a milk feed at lunch time or following an afternoon feed. initiate offering a million-2 teaspoons of pureed foodstuff from the 1st feed progressively increasing to a million/2 cup over a month. All infants are different. My son became a smaller toddler and mandatory solids from 4 months, while my daughter is 5 months and a extensive toddler and remains no longer involved, which shocked me. you realize whats ultimate on your baby.

Answer 6

I was told to start introducing cereal at 6 months. I didn't start solids until closer to one year. Her digestive system might just not be ready for the complexity of the foods you are giving her. Why not try cereal and you can even mix it with breastmilk. The cereal will have fiber in it to help her. Remember the BRAT diet for when your baby has diarrhea - bananas, rice, apple juice and toast. So bananas and applesauce might be binding her. Good luck!

Answer 7

I always started with rice cereal, then gradually adding bananas or applesauce (you could add peaches or whatever) Maybe the fruits are just too hard now.
Start with some vegetables after cereal (like green beans & peas)

Answer 8

before you start your baby on anything, you should consult your pediatrician. they know what is best for a baby. some babies stomachs can't take the acid and other ingredients in solid foods
and since she continually got constipated, she probably couldn't handle all the different things you were trying to give her right after breast feeding. try feeding her stage 1 baby food, its softer and easily digested and work your way to stages 2 and so on as she grows. but you should really talk to the pediatrician.

Answer 9

I was having a similar problem. My daughter is 6 1/2 months... To help alleviate the hard stools we now add 1 tsp of prune juice to each bottle. All is well now! I'd call your pediatrician just for peace of mind, though. Good luck!

Answer 10

i do know that not every baby starts solids at 6 months. one of my friend didnt start until 9 or 10 months. i really wouldnt worry that much about it but i would definetly call the doc and ask them some questions about whats goin on with the blocked stools when u did give it 2 her...