How regular is 'regular'?

[~jaz~]

hi I'm Jaz and my DS Lucas is 6.5 month old now. We're new around here. We've started solids around 3 weeks ago now and we're doing BLS. DS eats a lot on days that he wants to. Most days, he is not really interested in food, only playing and having a taste here and there, but since he is still going well with his BF, I'm not worried.

Anyways, he was pooing (sorry maybe TMI) every 5 days before solids. He is now pooing every 3 days. Every time he is trying to poo, I can see that he is straining and making pushing noise . I have kept and eye on his poo and it is not pellets or anything like that. I know it has changed in textures. It is now more like fibery (?) paste in opposed to the watery ones before.

His regular meal times are breakfast (usually weet bix or fruit) and he will definitely have some yoghurt with fruit for dinner.
I thought that once he starts solids, he will poo more regularly, maybe every day? Is this normal? How regular is your LO? Thank you.

[briggsy's girl]

it took a few weeks for DD to become an "every day" regular after we started solids (maybe 8 weeks or more) - before that she was up to 10 or 12 days. it was very stressful for me so i know how you feel!

if the consistency is, as my health nurse put it, "like toothpaste" then he isn't constipated. the pushing noises are simply a progression from the simple BF poos to the more complex solids ones. offer a drinking cup of water with all solids - he may not take it for now, but he will get the idea. once he ups that fluid intake to counter the solids, things should get a whole lot more regular. DD is now at least once a day, sometimes twice. she will let us know she is going with the pushing/grunting, but it is nice and soft so i think it's more about the different sensation (plus i think they have to push a bit to get it to fit into the nappy - no sitting on a potty and letting gravity do it's thing yet!)

hope that has been a bit of reassurance - if things do start to get to the pellet/rabbit poo stage, check with your GP or health nurse what other options you have. you can add foods that will help things along (watered down prune juice helped here at your sons age - now we have prunes or sultanas for snacks most days)

good luck - and enjoy the BLS journey - it's great fun watching them discover new flavours and textures and an enjoyment of good food!

[sloane]

hi & welcome jaz!

i found my DS became more regular reasonable quickly but i did find that it took a couple of months before he did okay with weetbix. i found that on the days he had weetbix (even mixed with fruit), he wouldn't poo. i'd just try every so often & see how he went and then after a couple of months, he was fine. not sure if that could account for it? i did notice a definite transition period though when he moved to solids to become more 'regular'.

not sure if you're BFing but i also found an extra BF or two helped things along when needed.

[~jaz~]

Thank you for the replies!!!
It is very reassuring to hear others with the same experience...
I was a bit worried cause I don't want to clog him up

briggsy's girl - I do offer him a sippy cup filled with water with his every meal and he bites on the spout (it is one of those non spill spout). Not sure whether he gets much in...

sloane - yes, he is BF bubba and he has milk whenever he wants so I do hope that that helps with his regular... Maybe the weet bix does that to him too, I know that his poo gets really fibery when he has weet bix.

Problem is now he hasn't pooed for 5 days.... DH gave him some banana 3 days ago and I've read that it can constipate some babies... I hope he is not one of them but the sign is not good. He has been irritable the past couple of days and been lifting his legs and bum up and making this pushing noise. Most of the times he will pass wind but still nothing coming out. Haven't been giving him any solids since...