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My 7mo son was only on breast milk till 6 months. I then started introducing formula and after a week of no issues, started with fruit pulp.

After fruit pulp, he has difficulty defecating and needs to push a lot! The frequency is alright so no issues there. He just has to put in more effort.

Is this normal and how long will it go on?

Thanks.

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It's normal for him to be a little constipated; if you think about it he's had only liquids for 6 months and suddenly there's something solid in his digestive tract...

That said, pay attention to which fruits you're giving him; bananas will bind him up more, etc. If he's still having issues 'producing' then add in some breastmilk or formula to his mash to make it thinner for him and easier for him to digest.

Once he's used to having to pass solids, it should ease up for him. It could take two to three weeks, though.

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I think it's a bit crazy that people start off with rice, and other cereals first. Rice constipates. Carbs set up a person for carb addictions their entire life. Then they say bananas and apples. Good choices as far as them being not very likely for the child to be allergic to them, but gosh...they stop a person up. Remember the BRAT (Bananas, Rice, Apples, Toast) diet is what you eat when you have diahrhea to clog you up. So...I would suggest just try small amounts of veggies to concentrate on.

Here is a good website to find out what to give your kiddo and when: http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/

It is super easy to make babyfood. You can watch the quality, and cut the fillers.

I think one issue that you are dealing with is the timing of the switch to formula and starting food at the same time. Your baby went from the most perfectly, easily digested food in breastmilk. To something that is not as easy to digest that lacks some elements crucial for good absorbtion. On top of that starting food at the same time.

I would suggest taking a couple of days off and just have your baby on formula. It is a balanced meal and your child won't be lacking nutrients. Hydrating also helps push food through. Then just a wee bit of veggies 1 time per day and see if it is all easier to push on through. :)

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My baby suffered constipation early on, and our pediatrician suggested giving her a little prune juice. Alternatively, you can either make or buy pureed prune baby food (barring any allergies and of course, talk to your ped). I used formula in my baby's oatmeal and thinned applesauce/oatmeal mixes with formula as well. We also used a probiotic, which seemed to help with gas and uneven stools (too runny one time, too solid the next).

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I used to give my son fruit w/every meal. I found that it was super easy to make myself and had the proper fiber in it to help him go. :) The best anti-constipation fruit for him were pears. You peel and cut into cubes, steam in a bit of water in the microwave until soft and use a blender to puree it. The whole thing literally takes 7 min to do, and to store it you can put the purees in an ice cube tray, freeze it and pop out your fruit cubes into a zipper bag. Worked like a charm! Somehow the bottled fruit never made him go like my own fruit. I did all kinds of fruit, his favs were white peach and nectarine. You can use this same method for sweet potatoes which are pound for pound the most nutrient packed item in the produce section! :) Steam in some water, and add milk as you blend it to get it to the right smooth consistency.

Also yogurt really worked for him to go more regularly. I had to limit him to yogurt once every other day because it made him go so well. ;) I preferred to make my own yogurt since the baby yogurts had so much sugar in them, but YoBaby is a wonderful kiddie yogurt brand. My fav were their fruit/veggie blends.

Good luck, my son is now 27 mo and I just made him a batch of oatmeal cookies with 3/4 oatmeal and 1/4 milled flax seed. Man those things work to keep it easy for him to go! :)

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Our son is prone to constipation as well. We find that choosing at least one food item for the week that addresses constipation works well, and some weeks we choose two.

For vegetables, we make either butternut or acorn squash, and for fruit, prunes and pears work well.

We stay clear of Rice, Bananas, Apple and Toast, the BRAT diet. We have had to use glycerine suppositories three times, but in those cases we were not as careful about his diet.

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