hi there, jst visted this brd today.so cldnt reply earlier...

with birth weight at 2.4kgs,current weight at 5.5months is 5.6kgs,,a healthy boy is expected to be around : 5.8kgs to 6.10kgs...however, your baby is 5.6grams,,i.e. 200grams less which is ok,,not bad, can be achvd...
so he is not underweight at first !!

now about,passing stools/bwels..infrequent bowels at 5.5months is the result of many things goin on with him..

let go the otherway,,,

at first, my ques is why was your baby given so many supplements,,ZINCOVIT C (correct me exact,, the name,, if i am wrong),,it is given to baby to provide him the richness and beneficial properties of vitamin c,zinc and propolis..all these are ideal supplements to provide enough growth,ensure proper metabolism,essential antioxidant,,body repairing and for overall growth..
why was this supplement given to your baby,,did he show ne delay in milestones or lack of responsivness or delay in recovery from illness ????

the other is SHELCAL,,its again for strong bones and has natural calciums derived from what i know is oyster shell..and the manufacturer claims that it has vitd3 whichout which calcium cant be absorbed..,,well,,this is manufacturers claim and no proof what so ever,,however this drug is pretty much doing well with a lions share in markets of india...are you from india ??????
But,, why was this given, did you child show ne signs of probs/symptms associated with osteoporosis or ne kind of bone density problem ????? because this thing helps in giving a good bone mass !! or your baby showed light bones or what we call fragile/weak bones ???? did your dr recommend giving it ???? or is it that your baby was shwing ne other problems related to bone or physical developments ?? then i see that it was right to give this suppment,,otherwise,,i think it wasnt needed !!!!

the third is bonisan,,which i assume is the gripe water by himalaya...why are you giving him 2 times daily,,without ne signs of uneasiness or indigestion..was he colic ? if he was colic and was having gastric reflux,,that was so severe, even gripe water will not work !! instead, you are not allowing your baby to mature by his own abilities to grow and become strong without the aids....
baby until 3months are sensitive to gas,refluxes,throwups and spitting...which is very normal for bf or formula baby...until your baby has ne of these severe,,giving gripe water is like givin a medicine to a healthy body for no reason.....gripe water even though recommended for certain dosage acc to written on the manufacturers pack,,does not mean that you have to keep giving that regularly..gone are the days of giving medicines for no reasons..or giving digestive aids, to healthy babies..its totally a myth that a gripe water makes a baby healthy !! even though ayurvedic, in the ayurvedaa itself its mentioned that ne remedy performed shows positive results only when the patient is showing the symptms of that particular problem !!! otherwise,its not recommended to give to healthy baby..
it doesnt matter if baby was born upto 15days early or later..what matters medically is he a full term baby????? if yes then your baby was born on time !!

now about NUTROLIN-B,, this is given for ne infantile diarrhoea,,or for correction of disturbed gastrointestinal functions/indigestion or stomach problems..,,and is also given to restore vit b complex deficiency...your dr gave you this thing,,i understand that because he feels that these runny stools is because of ne of these reasons,,,and if so, your medicne should work in 3-4 days,,and shouldnt take longer to recover...if it takes longer, please cnsult your dr..

i understand that he was given iron drops because of low hb,,but why zincovit and shelcal....and now about cosome...cosome to my knowledge is a Cough suppressant with additional nosal decongestant and has antihistaminic properties.this was given because of Lrti,,thats also understood...

but i still dont get it why shelcal and zincovit and bonnisan,,are given regularly !!!

now all this makes me ask you one more question,,,what are your baby developemnts,,were they laggin behind to the extent that your dr felt the need of so many supplemnts,,at such young age !!

now about number of bowels for 5.5months old...his passing stool that is 7-8times is yes more than expected out of 5.5mnths old..and i see only one reason,,with him,,giving too many supplemnts at the same time...

i would like to draw your attention to the following about supplements :

http(:)//www(.)indiaparenting(.)com/boards/showmessage(.)cgi?messageid=1582&table_name=dis_healthissues

also go thru this :
http(:)//www(.)indiaparenting(.)com/boards/showmessage(.)cgi?messageid=6202&table_name=dis_feeding

and finally :
http(:)//www(.)indiaparenting(.)com/boards/showmessage(.)cgi?messageid=1589&table_name=dis_healthissues

please look into these and you wil come to know about the real expernces from other mothers who have faced problems by giving supplemnts..also note that even though the results were different the conclusion derived is the same..many drs have not messed up with baby natural health and have asked parents to motivate the baby to grow showing his own potentials and capabilities !!!

see dear, you have to understand onething, that these supplemnts are given mostly to babies on the terms that they are lagging really behind and only when abs needed,,otherwise,giving these types of supplemnts is like messng with your baby natural ability to grow with his own potentials..

lemme know about his developments and it will be seen clearly whether or not he is lagging behind and whether or not he needs so many supplemnts at one time !!!!!!

about ghee, rice and dalwater..its ok to give at 6months,,you are not putting a big spoon of ghee,,just a lil dash,,thts all...also in india, its pretty old practise to give ghee from the day you start rice items to baby,,some cultures of india even give raagi in ghee and water or cows milk....it all depnds on how baby accepts it without ne other signs of allergies or intolerance !!!

but before you start other types of solids, i recommend you strongly to let his digestive system settle with normal bowels...dont make him take more drugs,,to digest solids then !! let him come out of this,,give him chance to grow naturally and let him settle with current issues...
also,,giving steamed apple gives good fibre but not to the extent that he passes bowels,7-8times all of sudden !!
i am still not worried, if passing 7-8times of bowels is his regular schedule of passing bowels since beginning of all these medicines were given..,,but i am shocked by the total number of supplemnts given !!!

a very good luck to you...