>        Ok, here's the situation: Mom has a 6 month old who has been doing
>fine until they started trying solids a few weeks ago. Only gave baby about
>1 Tbsp each day (rice cereal or pears) but baby's stooling pattern went
>from 1/day to nothing for 5-6 days, with stool very hard and difficult to
>pass (mom had to resort to enema to give baby relief). This has occured
>twice now; each time, mom has stopped the cereal or fruit by day 3 and
>baby still had no stool by day 5 or 6. My immediate thought was that baby
>just isn't ready for solids yet and that's fine with mom, she just thought
>it was time to start solid foods.

If baby is gaining well and is healthy, I believe that there is no problem
with her milk even if her diet is not at good as it should be.  I have
worked with so many babies who have experienced constipation with even a
tiny bit of solids, that I consider that their digestive system is not
prepared for other than mother's milk at this time. They always grow into
eating solids later.  Most of these mothers have exemplary diets and there
is nothing wrong with either mom or baby.

In the most recent case, the ped wanted the baby to continue on solids even
though she had gone from a contented thriving baby to one who was obviously
experiencing intestinal discomfort.  The doc suggested suppositories or
prunes or such.  Each time mom returned to all breasmilk the baby returned
to a healthy digestive tract. A baby who is constipated is not getting
nutrition benefit from whatever foods she is consuming. This baby has
returned to exclusive breastfeeding and once again, all is well.

So, I think your initial assumption was correct.  There is no reason to
begin solids at 6 months or any set time for all babies.  My second child
was almost a year before she began to be interested in solid foods (always
self-fed), and the transition to these foods was gentle and non-intrusive to
her nutrition.

There was a good discussion on starting solid foods ( when, what, if, and
long-term effects) sometime within the past year.  If you have any trouble
accessing the Archives to retrieve these posts, e-mail me privatly and I
will assist you.  The Archives are one of my favorite parts of this terrific
list and I would love to help you experience it.

Welcome to Lactnet.

Patricia Gima, IBCLC
Milwaukee
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