[Ehill]

So I thought i would post on here as many of you may have recently been through this. So DS will be 6mo next week, he is big and healthy and has thrived as a bf bub since birth. I have plenty of milk and bf my DD until 12mo.

Since about 12 weeks i have been giving him a bottle of formula at night which has been brilliant, instantly settled more easily and slept really well (he was always a good sleeper). He is such a pig and he loves the stuff. At around 4mo i did have to trial and error as he was getting really constipated from it though (by this stage the bottle was 150ml!). Other than that, just bmilk all day.

I started my DD early on solids and her stomach and bowels didnt cope that well so i have held off starting DS as late as possible BUT he is hungry now. Really damm hungry!! I can tell. He is just constantly bfeeding and i am exhausted and sick of it. I started the solids this week, just 2 small meals per day. It has instantly made him constipated and the last poo 2 days ago he was crying as he did it. So i am just sticking to the fruit (know no rice cereal, banana) etc and have given some coloxol drops......we eagerly await a poo!

Sooooooo here is my dilemna, i dont really know which direction i now go and though some mums may have had similar experiences recently.

Do I persevere with the solids and just keep it basic and his stomach will adjust, am I just being impatient to eect his stomach to instantly cope with it. Is is normal for it to upset the system in the first week?
Do i exclusively bf longer (except for formula at night) BUT i am knackered. Is it normal to be bfing 12 times a 6mo in a 24hr period?? He is 9kgs, my back is aching, we cant go anywherre or do anything as he just whinges all morning from hunger. Yesterday in the supermarker, i cant leave him at the gym creche as they have to come and get me. I cant do anything!!!! My DH is hopeless with him, if i get a babysitter then i have to express which quite frankly, isnt exactly reducung the workload. How do you express when you just fed!!!! I cant express in the late evenings as there is no milk at all by then. I have a 3yo toddler who is a nightmare at the moment not helped by her mum always feeding the baby or settling the baby (which seems to be all i do), she is climbing the walls with boredom and needs to be out. I have no support as we are interstate at the moment.
Do i say, bugger bfeeding, it isnt going to work this time and start giving more formula. Maybe try a bottle at 9am to see if he is happier in the mornings.

Sorry, long post but i love any advice or just your experiences. I know you shouldnt compare babies but i just remember 6mo being such a turning point with DD......3 meals per day, 5 bfeeds, weaned off nightfeeding, 3 set naps, 12hrs at night.....bliss.....no light at the end of this tunnel though!!!

[Xiola]

Just have to be quick as I have to pick my boys up from school but have you tried offering a little water with his meals to help with the constipation?

[Natttmumm]

I found 6 months a really hard age. Can you start with veges like pumpkin etc. I found rice cereal And banana really bad for constipation. Try the other things though as they should be ok. I would stick with the solids and sounds like he will get the hang of it. If formula upset his tummy stay away from that and things like yogurt for now. Both my girls loved veges with a bit of fruit mixed in. They both had sensitive tummies too. Bu about 8 months they were great. Hang in there he does sound hungry so once you sort that out it should all settle down. We also gave wheat bix at 6 mths as the doc told us too. This was fine too.

[Mummzy]

Hi,
I know how you feel, my hubs is 16 months and I am still feeding him all day long but not because he's hungry but because he wants to be comforted all the time and he uses BFing to comfort. He also wakes in the middle of the night to feed.
Anyway we started around 6months with solids, just normal Heinz baby jar food and he didn't poop for 2 days and on the 3rd night he cried as he was pushing as it was his first solid poo. So I think its normal.
I would continue with solids it will get easier and his body will adjust, there is nothing worse than a hungry baby. If he starts to squeeze like he wants to do a poo, maybe try a little tummy massage pushing his legs up to is stomach these can help.

[Riotproof]

At this stage of the game, solids are for tastes only not filling up. S, I'd back up on those and introduce more slowly. I think if you ride out the increased feeding, you'll find your supply increases which is what he's trying to do. There is a spurt around 6 months http://kellymom.com/bf/normal/growth-spurts/

[opethmum]

If your mental health and body can no longer stand the thought of breastfeeding your little one, I would close up shop and switch exclusively to formula if he is happy drinking that.
I know it won't be popular with some people here but you have to do what is right for you and formula is just as effective in delivering nutrients to your bubba.
With rice cereal and banana I would mix in some apricot which is a natural way to promote bowel movements.
Also follow up with water in a bottle and also as PP said perhaps get some vegies in there as well to help things along.
Good luck and I hope your little one settles down is more content and that you have some peace and contentment too!

[Tesseract]

I can hear the exasperation in your voice OP! And I remember it well! I too was breastfeeding a big baby 12 times a day at 6 months, it was seriously hard work. But there is light at the end of the tunnel!

Basically I don't think you can rush the solids, it's too difficult on their tummies. But it sounds like he's a hungry bub and will take to it quickly, so hopefully things will settle for you soon, but I would bank on it taking at least another month.

We did BLW. For the first month or so DD just mainly played with it, didn't actually eat all that much. However it was still a relief for me because it was such a wonderful distraction for her! At about 7.5 months she really started scoffing it down and has been going great ever since. Her breastfeeding dropped right off at about the same time, to about 5 feeds a day which was fine (more comfort sucking at night, but that's a different story lol).

Might I suggest that you look into BLW. It would mean you could just pop your DS in the high chair to eat whenever you feed your DD. because baby feeds himself you have time to eat as well (which is important since you're breastfeeding so much)! And it certainly sounds like you don't need more to do! He will eat what he wants, and if he is hungry it sounds like he will take to it well!

Besides all that, a lot of babies cry the first couple of times they do a solid poo. If its a healthy looking poo (ie not hard pellets) then he should be fine. I also introduced a little water at meal times from about 6 months, and that did help.

All the best. Tess.

[leita]

Just quickly, yes, DS also was a little distressed the first few times he tried to poop a "solid" poo, well, more solid than before ;-) and he also went a few weeks where he would go a few days between poos. As he is fully bfed apart from one small feed per day (about 2-3 tablespoons of food) I didn't worry about this overmuch, and he seems to have righted himself. It actually took a few weeks for DS to get the hang of eating solids, so I wouldn't hold back personally, just keep the meals small, and don't introduce too many different things to quickly so you can get some kind of idea what does and doesn't work for his tummy :-). Tough isn't it? My little fella is 10kg at 6 months, I've been seeing a physio for my back, though fortunatley my DH is an angel and carries him when he can :-)


This post has been edited by leita: 31/05/2012, 03:51 PM

[Ehill]

Thank you everyone for your replies. Sometimes it just helps knowing you are not the only one who this has happened to.

I think i just need to be patient and lower the expectations from my experience with DD who was, quite frankly, the worlds easiest baby.

I think i can take some good advice from everyone with regards to what to feed and introduce water although his food is always watered down a bit.

I will stick with the bfeeding, pray it is a growth spurt but if it keeps going at this crazy level i will think about weaning but give it a few weeks. I am not the worlds most organised person hence why bfeeding has always worked for me, the thought of washing and preparing bottles, remembering to buy formula let alone take it with me fills me with horror. I am the mum that is always asking if anyone has a wipe or a tissue for my kids as i have forgotten them.......

Big plus on the sleepless night.....DS woke up DD so she has collapsed in a heap for an afternoon nap (a rarity these days) and DS is just starting to whinge......pray for dual nap please god, i really deserve it today.....

[meggs1]

Just wanted to add that puréed pears are great for getting things moving.

Apple is actually bad, I was surprised to learn.