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Q&A: Did I Start Solids Too Early?

by Christine Wood, MD
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Q. My baby is four months old. He has been breastfed exclusively until I began introducing baby food a couple of weeks ago. He normally has one to two bowel movements per day. I fed him 3/4 jar of green beans and now he hasn't had a bowel movement in almost three days. He doesn't seem to be in any discomfort. Is he constipated? Did I start him on solids too early?

A.Usually we start solids around 4 to 6 months of age, depending on their readiness. If he is accepting it and interested it is fine. We do delay to 6 months if there is alot of family history of allergies. As far as the stools, it is very common for breastfed babies to have infrequent stools. If they are soft and infrequent and the baby does not seem uncomfortable, there is no problem. Some of the breastfed babies can have one stool every 5 or 6 days. It is soft and mushy and usually huge! If the stools are thick (like peanut butter) or the baby seems uncomfortable, you can add some prune juice or baby prunes. Constipating foods include: rice cereal, bananas, sweet potatoes. Loosening foods include: prunes, plums, apricots. Dr. Christine Wood is a practicing pediatrician in Southern California. She is the author of "How to Get Kids to Eat Great and Love It," a book that addresses the issues of why and how to feed kids healthy. You can visit her website at http://www.callyour

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