BF/Solids -- Poop question

[jenny0505]

My DS is 8 months old and has been eating solids for about 1.5 mos. I'm still BF'ing about 5-6 times daily.

He gets 2 meals a day (cereal/fruit for breakfast, veggies for dinner) and a snack of Gerber puffs/cheerios as well. I usually give him a sippy cup with water during his meals, although he probably only takes about 1 oz. at each sitting, if that.

His poop has obviously changed since starting solids, but I'm concerned that he might be having trouble passing his stools. He goes ~2x a week and they are formed, solid stools. He seems to struggle a little bit while pooping too. Sorry if TMI, but I'm not sure how else to describe it. I'm not really in favor of giving him juice, although my ped. said it's fine to dilute 1 oz. juice to 2 oz. water.

Is this normal? Any suggestions? TIA!

[magdesilver]

My DD has had a big change in her poops too. Have you thought about adding some stage 1 prunes to his meals? You could stir a little in and he probably wouldn't notice (or he'd like it more because it would be sweeter!). That should help soften things up a bit.

[kimthebride]

I *JUST* had this conversation with my ped last week!

My DS is 7 months and has been eating solids for a month now. He also seemed to have trouble pooping, so my Ped suggested the following:
- Ensure to feed him whole grain cereals
- Add a fiber-rich food into his diet daily, to balance out the binding fruits & veggies he eats
- Make sure he's drinking water
- Don't give him prunes, which can cause other tummy troubles
- Don't give him juice

So what I did was
1. Add a 2.5oz jar of apples to his breakfast every day
2. His breakfast cereal is Earth's Best Whole Grain Multi-Grain Cereal (1TBS per oz. of liquid)
3. Give him water from the sippy cup as often as he'll take it

He's already doing soooo much better after doing this for about 4-5 days, and he's even pooping on his own at night without waking up (me or him).

Oh....and don't know if this is an option for you, but I also have been pumping BM in 1oz quantities and freezing it. I add it to his morning and evening cereal feedings. I hope to be able to freeze enough stash to be able to do this even after he's totally weaned, not just because it's BM but also because of the laxative-type properties of it.

[Franni]

Well, let's get into the nature of poop.

A formed poop is not a bad thing, as long as it does not look like little pebbles that are stuck together. If it just looks like really firm toothpaste then that's perfectly alright.

When it is the pebble formation, that's when you have problem.

Contrary to what kimthebride's ped said, my ped said prunes were ok. He had also said that since jar apples would not have been processed with the skin, the fiber content on that would be negligible. I guess even doctors don't have a uniform opinion on this.

What helps dd are the jar prunes, sweet potato, pre-masticated dried apricots, raisin (I sliver this to really small pieces and mix it with her oatmeal) and spinach (I think though your DC is too young for this).

Also when she goes for most of the day without a poop, I would quit giving her "binding" foods like banana, white stuff (rice, pasta).

[Marisa]

... and don't forget that it's entirely normal for older babies to go longer stretches without pooping. My son has gone through stages where he'll go every day, then switches to a twice a week schedule, then back to every other day.

The struggling while pooping -- is it possible that he's just not entirely used to the texture of the poop now? As a PP said, as long as it's not dry and pellet-y, it's probably not truly constipation -- the poop can be the consistency of peanut butter or toothpaste, or even close to a formed 'adult' poop.

I know that once my toddler really started eating more solids, we grew to recognize the 'poop face', something he never did before when his poops were more liquidy. I chalk it up to pooping being something of a different experience for him now. :)


... and that's all I want to talk about poop for this afternoon! :D

[alienhost]

Another question to add: DD has been having the same poop "texture" but sometimes it is really dark brown - like a molassas color. Is this OK?

[BTB]

By really dark, do you mean dark brown? Or black, like the ink of a black pen?

[alienhost]

I think it is almost black. Really dark brown to black I guess. It's mixed in with more regular looking poop, not entirely that color. I'm thinking I should call the ped office. I tried researching it but didn't come up with much. Do you think it is blood? It really doesn't look like it.

[BTB]

Digested blood doesn't look much like undigested blood. It's black, tarry, and sticky. Whether or not it's all mixed in or just in spots doesn't matter. Without viewing the poo firsthand I can't tell you whether it warrants a call or not, but if you're worried about it, then it does. They can give you a hemoccult card to test the poo at home for hemoglobin, or do it in the office. It's fast, easy, and cheap.

[Marisa]

alien - have you been supplementing with iron drops, or offering many iron-supplemented foods? Not saying that you shouldn't get it tested, that's the ultimate peace of mind. :) But just offering another less scary possibility. :)

[BTB]

I'm not trying to be scary. Dark poop was mentioned, I asked what kind of dark, and the reply to me was the one that mentioned blood. Once it was out there, I discussed it.

Even if iron drops are being given (or purple fruit loops, or beets, or whatever other poo-changing food) I think it'd be a mistake to assume they/it's the cause without at least mentioning it to the attending physician. Not that I'm saying anyone's advocating that. :)

[alienhost]

Thanks BTB, I called the ped's office and spoke to a nurse. It's not sticky or tarry though, it is very dry. She isn't concerned and just thinks she is constipated and passing the iron from the cereal. She said to stay away from the binding fruits and veggies and give water to get her flowing again. Does that sound right?

Thanks for your quick reply.

[alienhost]

BTB and Marisa looks like we cross posted. Thanks for all the info and sorry to the OP for hijacking your thread.

[BTB]

Anytime. :) But the quickness was just luck of the draw - DD happens to be napping right now, and I'm hanging around here instead of "doing stuff."

You've got a simple way to test the hypothesis that the color is related to constipation - offer water and less binding foods, as was suggested, and see if it goes away. Sounds fine to me. Non-sticky and non-tarry is good. :)

[Marisa]

I'm not trying to be scary.

Oh no! I absolutely know that. I hope it didn't sound like I was criticizing you. After all, you're the one with the medical credentials. ;)

I just meant to say that it's always nice to have a couple of possibilities rattling around in your head, esp. if your ped's office is the type to make you wait for a call back. :)

[jenny0505]

Thanks for all of the tips/reassurance. DS's stools seem to be, as Franni mentioned, more of a formed, soft texture, i.e. thick toothpaste. I'm going to give the prunes/whole grain cereals a try and see if that helps. It could be, however, that he's just getting used to his new poop, like the rest of us. ;) I sure do miss those EBF diapers! He's my first, so every new stage of development seems to yield a whole new set of questions, worries, etc.

Does anyone have a source (or know off the top of your head) which fruits/veggies are binding? I try to make most of DS's baby food, and thus far, we've tried sweet potatoes, peas, apples, pears, avocado, squash and bananas. I had heard bananas could cause constipation, but thought apples/pears had a fair amount of fiber and might actually aid in the whole pooping issue.

Thanks again for your help! I can't believe how many conversations I have about poop these days. :p

[dana b]

i always added a spoon of flaxseed oil to one of dd's meals when she between 9-12 mos old. she got constipated very easily when she first started solids and the flaxseed oil always prevented it. i stopped doing it at 12 mos, she rarely gets constipated now.

[alienhost]

Does anyone have a source (or know off the top of your head) which fruits/veggies are binding? I try to make most of DS's baby food, and thus far, we've tried sweet potatoes, peas, apples, pears, avocado, squash and bananas. I had heard bananas could cause constipation, but thought apples/pears had a fair amount of fiber and might actually aid in the whole pooping issue.

The nurse said to stop giving the following until she is more regular (I'm doing the jarred purees):

applesauce (which surprised me)
carrot
banana
sweet potato

She said generally "p" fruits and veggies are non-binding - pear, peas, prunes obviously etc.

I guess it is peas and pears for tonight...again, sorry for taking over your thread about my own issue. :D

[BTB]

Oh no! I absolutely know that. I hope it didn't sound like I was criticizing you.

No worries - no criticism felt. :) Just sayin' I'm not trying to be gloom and doom, freaking moms out by jumping to one of the worst possible explanations. When dark poo was mentioned, I wondered, how dark? It's so much easier when you can just see the poo yourself and not subject people to your thought process. :D

[Franni]

Just wanted to share...

DD's constipation has been getting worst and worst. She had bleeding twice. So I was at the supermarket and tried to look for things that were very high in fiber. I found this cereal.

http://www.kashi.com/images/GF_Original.jpg

Most cereals at a full servings provides 16% of daily fiber intake. This cereal provides 47% at a smaller serving. So I tried it with DD.

For DD, I would pound the cereal into a powder and mix with her oatmeal, yogurt, soups, baby food or even microwave with milk and serve as hot cereal. It doesn't taste bad. It's sort of like blank and gritty graham crackers. Unpounded, it would be too much for DD to chew. I give her about a handful at a time and that's all it takes.

Well, since then, poop was no problem. DD goes at least once, sometimes twice a day. The texture is nice and soft and she doesn't cry out when she goes anymore.

For more nutritional information - http://www.kashi.com/good_friends_cereal.aspx?SID=1&Category_ID=55&Link_ID=25&