Hi Hetal I have son who is 61/2 months old now.I started giving him solids since last 2 weeks.I started him with homecooked rice & since sat on oatmeal ,mixes with BM.Otther then that I am nursing him 5-6 times a day.I am also giving him water which he doesnt like much.My problem is he had bowel movement 3 times on sat but since that hr didnt go to potty,is it something I should be worried about.I am trying to contact his doc also but since it is holidays time his reg doc is on vacation.Suggest something which I can do maeawhile some home remedies or is it normal.Thanks a ton. Hetal replied. we have discussed about nitrates before,,check this out :

http://www.indiaparenting.com/boards/showmessage.cgi?messageid=6357&table_name=dis_feeding

see if you get some ideas in that about nitrates ! also, if you are not comfortable about givng them homemade,,you can easily get them in baby food aisle,,these are baby first foods and so 100% strained puree is available !

the order about giving foods,,and such details you will get in the links/posts itself...

when i said slow, i meant that after starting one grain, start your child with a fruit or vegetable and not with grains only ! this will allow your child to aid the digestion and will help him start with vegies and fruits,,which by 9months,,he should be able to complte the whole range of them !
since your child is sensitive to berries,dairies and nuts,,when you give apple,,cross check for allergies !

about karo syrup,,if your dr is comfortable,,no prob,,but make sure to offer fibr diet first and make sure his diet contains enough juices and liquids,,and thn look for medicinal alternatives..
mostly when it comes to solids,,most kids get mild constipation which is for 3-4days,,by then if the child does not recover by himself,,thn he needs aid/medicine to help the bowels pass on..
for upto 1 week, is way too much for ne child below 9months,,, !

neways,,m glad that you got to meet your dr and you got the timely instructions from him,,atleast you wont be worried next time.....
look for gerber dot com as well for other baby first foods,,,
take care,,good luck ! Komal replied. thanks hetal but he had bowel movement on his own yest eve.it was fully formed till now he used to do liquid so his doc said maybe that was the reason,also his doc said that i should give him karo syrup diluted in water if he doesnt go for 3 days but if he is not in discomfort then he can go for 1 week.u r right i am starting slow with him on solids bcoz he had dairy,nuts & berries intolreance since he was 2 weeks old,so i am off these things.also u mentioned about giving spinach but his ped said that carrots & spinach have some nitrates which even though we wash & boil at home will not go so dont give these homemade rest everything homemade is good.i will go thru your other posts also for feeing plan.i am thinking of starting him on apple today just as u said bolied,peeled & mashed then i will go for veggies.is there any order that i should follow.thanks a ton for your help. Hetal replied. after rice,, you started her oatmeal and i dont see ne vegies or fruits,,which explains why your son passd continuous bowels and thn all of sudden constipation.
now it dpends how many times you are offerng him solids.
can you do onething :
1. at first offer him whole moong water(boil whole moong, mash it well acc to consistency desired by your child,do tadka of crushed jeera, hing, curry leaves, some cumin coriander pwder, some salt/if you want to give,,once tadka is done, add water make sure to boil it well ! offer this once or more..
2.offer it once with his solid feed//ok to give alongwith oatmeal as well,,just replace the bm but m not sure how far he will accept the taste ! so you can offer it diff like a spoon every 1hour or so/.bfore offering, strain the tadka thru
mesh/strainer to avoid choking !

3. i want you to go thru 6months onward diet plans that i have already suggested before :
http://www.indiaparenting.com/boards/showmessage.cgi?messageid=6593&table_name=dis_feeding

http://www.indiaparenting.com/boards/showmessage.cgi?messageid=6452&table_name=dis_feeding

http://www.indiaparenting.com/boards/showmessage.cgi?messageid=1866&table_name=dis_healthissues

i want you to follow the tips..esp the intake part/serving sizes of all types of food and not only grains !!!! which means your child is ready for juices,,soups and single grais, vegies and fruits...with a good combo of all these in proper proportion,,its unlikely that your child will ever have ne constipation probs or bowels probs.
start all this only after his bowels are back to normal and not during constipation.
apart from whole moong water, i want you to offer him, boiled spinach along with oatmeal serving.boil it/pressure cook it, strain it//make sure the hard fibrs are out, puree it well,,and add in the same tadka..the tadka has to be strained and do this tadka practice only until he is constipated,,once his bowels are regular, you can offer direct cooked strained spinach puree.plan his diet by moving the foods in whole day,,like moong water goes best in later afternoon,,or if you are giving oatmeal,offer moongwater with oatmeal,, if you are giving spinach, offer moong water only after say 3-4hours ! dont overdo 2 fibrs,,your son might go in loose motions..
balance it well.
secondly..try this for 2 days,,if it does not work, go ahead with below :

if with these 2, your child still seems to be constipated,,i want you to start with apple juice...boil/pressure cook the apple with skin, strain it, puree it,add water,, and offer with morning serving instead of bm ! if your child does not like the taste,,see if mashed ripe banana is acceptable to him along with the apple puree juice.

as and when you introduce these things,,,you know how much time it takes for your child to react to foods,,so go accordingly..it is not necesry for you to wait until 1 week to check for allergies,,3days is mostly enough !!!

if still the constipation continues,after 4 days,,,,continue with moong water, and replace the spinach and apple serving..let the moong water serving be the juice/late afternoon time ! offer in sippy...start him with sippy..
these wontt spoil your child health, and is healthy,,you can continue,,
i want you to offer him ripe mashed banana as a sep serving,,and not with oatmeal or rice ! you can take the serving amts from the diet charts above and it should help,,

still it does not help after 5days,,,add in apricots puree(mostly available in baby aisle section) the gerber is good...or you can like wise, pressure cook dried apricots(with skin),,strain it, and puree it well, offer with solids and you can add ripe banana to it,
dont offer more than 1 tablespoon per serving ! offer with banana so that your child accepts it well..

all these should help,,if not,,your child needs an immediate attention,as by then i assume,,it will be next 4-5days,,

finally last but not the least after 4-5days or in these 4-5 days, he DOES NOT PASS A SINGLE BOWEL,,THN AND THN ONLY,,,,offer prune puree(if not readymade gerber,,just cook them like you will do with apricots i mentioned above,,get the dried ones if fresh are not available) with ripe banana puree,,,that is the last thing you will do on the list,,offer with solid and dont offer it alone ! and when you are ready to give prune, dont offer apricots,apple or spinach on that day or after that day...it will give him loose mottion,,1tablspoon goes along way along with serving of solid !

dont try prune or apricots first,,the reason being your child is new to solids and i dont want him to end up in loose motion situation,,,your baby is sufferng from mild cnstipatn which is often caused when solids are introduced,,esp when grains are introduced first without fruits or vegies,,so now start on vegies or fruits and it should help !

rest all is ok !
take care,