Liquids, Solids, and Gas = Poop!

Since I've had James I've had a fascination with his poop. I always want to see it, check the color, texture, smell (well I don't always have a choice on this one), just to make sure that it's normal. 

Here's a timeline of what his pooped looked like:

0-6 months:

I pretty much exclusively nursed James, therefore his poop was mostly yellow. Texture was runny, hence we had a lot of blowouts! Not an offensive smell.

4-5 months:

At one point he had green poop, this meant that he was not getting enough hind milk. That's the milk that is at the end which contains more fat and nutrients than the more water-like initial milk. I had such a large supply that I didn't think it mattered where he got the milk, but it does. After we corrected this issue his poop was back to normal.

6 - 7 months:

Ok here's where it gets interesting, we started solid food. James started with cereals, ie Oatmeal, Rice, Barley, and Wheat. I suggest you try Wheat much later as it's more difficult to digest. A great brand that we love is Healthy Times Organic Cereal. The flakes are larger than PC (note there is a recall on this brand), Heinz, etc hence less processing. To start we would mix about 4 tablespoons to 2 ounces of water. You want it to be more watery so it is easier for the babies to swallow and digest. Babies have a strong gag reflex so you don't want to test it. :) Here his poop become more solid and didn't smell very good.

7 months+:

Now the fun part, trying baby food. Intro foods are: sweet potato, squash, avocado, bananas, carrots, etc. For a more comprehensive list visit Wholesome Baby Food. My friend Deepa referred this site to me and it has been a great resource when it comes to deciphering what we can feed our babies and when. This is the stage where the poop has an offensive odor! I think the smelliest are meats and the most visually interesting ones where banana and carrots! I won't spoil the surprise, so you either know what I'm referring to, or if you are a new mom just wait and see! At this point the texture of poop is more adult like which is surprisingly cute. Lol! (Yes, I'm nuts!) 

Funny Story: My niece likes to share how many "lumps" she had when she pooped, so now when my husband and I change James we tell each other how many lumps he had as a joke!

Constipation Alert: Upon trying new foods your baby is likely to be constipated, especially from bananas, rice cereal, and apples. Remember that babies don't necessarily poop everyday and as long as their poop is soft they aren't constipated. If your baby does go past 3 days, I would say it's time to give them prunes or mango. That'll help resolve this issue. You can also try baby massage, you can gently pump their legs into their bellies, give them water, and massage their tummy as though you were writing "I", "L", and "U" which stands for I Love You. :) (I Love You was a great tip from Deepa!)

Where to get food:

Homemade: If you are making it, kudos to you! Just try to use organic as much as possible!

Store Brands: If you aren't making all your foods (I make and also purchase) here are some brands that we love: Note all these brands are organic!

PC Organics: Great starter purees, prunes, pears, etc.

Baby Gourmet: This is my favorite brand because they have so much selection and convenient pouches that won't break like glass jars. I recently discovered that they also have new "Protein Purees" like Chicken Minestrone, Beef with Barley, Turkey with Vegetables, Dahl, etc. I highly recommend you trying these, they can be found at Walmart! James loves them all except the Dahl one. 

Sweet Pea Baby Food: I tried this food at the Toronto Baby Show and loved it. They make homemade baby food that is frozen in one ounce cubes. They are very easy to pop out, heat, and serve. It's so yummy that I would  finish whatever is leftover from James' meal. I suggest the Chicken and Beef ones. They are expensive so I wouldn't recommend getting the fruit when you can get a pureed version instead. 

Mother Hen: This company makes the best Mango sorbet, please get some if you live in Canada! As for baby food, they make homemade purees of mango, peaches, mixed vegetables, lamb, chicken, beef, etc. They have many choices and all are great! They are pricey so I try to limit how much of this we use and substitute my own food when possible. 

Heinz Organics: Here I buy the typical pears, apples, prunes, etc. These are great for travel since they come in a resealable plastic container. Therefore less baggage weight or chance of breakage!

Happy reading!

Rachel


PS: We want to know food made the smelliest poop for your child and what food brands are your favorites! Leave a comment below to share with everyone!