Solid food and tons of poop.

[Astraia]

Is it normal for a baby (who used to only poo once every 3 days or so) to suddenly start pooing 5+ times a day once they start solid food?

We started DS on solids I guess last-week-ish (minus a few instances where relatives/ church people/ DD poked stuff into his mouth). Since he's been eating, he's pooing all the time. Big, explosive, leaky diapers. He's been up at night pooping, and he didn't even do that as a newborn!

He's eating tiny amounts- 2-3 sweet potato "fries," a couple spears of steamed veg cooked to near mash, 1/4 cup of banana chunks, etc, and that one food item is it for the day.

Is this amount of poo a sign that his body isn't handling it well? He puts it in his own mouth, chews, swallows/spits some out and seems thrilled to death to be getting anything at all to eat but that doesn't mean he's "ready"

[kismetbaby]

I'm no expert, but this sounds to me like the food is irritating his system. Has he been EBF till now?

You might need to only give one food item for 4 days to be sure you can tell which food is bothering him. One a day and it makes it hard to tell if it was todays food or yesterdays food that did it.

You might also try getting him some probiotics (Jarro makes a babydophilus for infants) it could help his system regulate. If he is BF you can take probiotics as well.

[Addie]

It does seem like he's pooping a lot. You say the diapers are explosive and leaky, do you think he's having diarrhea? I agree with the PP that you might want to slow down and try one food at a time.

Just wanted to add my $.02 about the night pooping - my DS started doing this on solids, too. He hadn't pooped at night since he was a newborn, either. He is 8 months old and eats solids with us at breakfast and dinner now, and I'd say 4-5 mornings a week he wakes up with poop. My hunch is that he's pooping early in the morning, as he'll often wake up between 4 and 5, babble for a bit and go back to sleep.

[wombatclay]

On the one hand, some kiddos poop more when starting solids because there is more "pressure/weight" in the bowels. It's one reason why a few infants are constipated while EBF... there isn't enough "pressure" to cue their system. So, on it's own, more frequent poop in the early days of solid food isn't necessarily a problem.

However, if the poop is foul smelling or sets off your mama-sense then it makes sense to slow down on solids and give your little one more time to adapt. Perhaps offer some brown rice or slow cook oatmeal (both low on the list of allergens, both gentle on bellies and bums) or some softened apple or pear (again, gentle and little allergy risk though some prefer to avoid apple) for a few days and see what happens?

[zmom2010]

My DS started pooping 2-3x/day once he started solid foods. However, they were normal consistency. I agree that you should remove the foods and re-introduce them one at a time at least 4 days apart to see if you can determine what may be causing the problem.

[Astraia]

Thank you for your replies.

Yes, my mama-senses are tingling, and I'm thinking we need to stop solids for a few days until his system recovers and reintroduce things more slowly.

It didn't occur to me until after I'd posted that most people start with very select solid foods and wait for a reaction. We did a bit of that with my daughter (more accidentally than anything) but she never had a reaction to anything so we moved into mixed table foods pretty quickly.

I think I forget how to deal with a baby sometimes now that I have a toddler


Kismetbaby- yes, he's been EBF until now.

Addie- I am wondering about diarrhea. No diaper can contain it and it's very watery and he's CRANKY. I really do think it's just a food reaction I feel bad, making him feel lousy just because I wasn't thinking.

Wombatclay- I'll try your food suggestions. He WANTS to eat, but now I'm scared to give him anything!

[wombatclay]

You know, given that your lo is still getting 98% breastmilk... do check your diet too. it could be that the solids are a red herring and really he is reacting to something new in your diet.

[Astraia]

Originally Posted by wombatclay

You know, given that your lo is still getting 98% breastmilk... do check your diet too. it could be that the solids are a red herring and really he is reacting to something new in your diet.

I am eating a TON of green beans. We have a farmshare that started recently. We got green beans and more green beans and even MORE green beans and just when we thought we couldn't choke down one more green bean.... we got yellow beans.

Hmm, maybe this is an excuse to give the next batch of beans to my hubby? Lol.

[wombatclay]

I think green beans are sometimes suggested as a way of increasing milk production. And nasty frothy (usually green) poo is one sign of a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. It's most likely not the case here but if you want to get out of eating that next pile of beans... I think you've got an excuse!

And seriously, if your diet has shifted significantly it's just as likely a culprit as a 1/4 of a banana! It's one reason tracking down an allergy can be so tough...

Good luck!