Why does my baby have dry stools after eating complementary foods?

To put it simply, dry stool means that during the defecation process, you can clearly feel that the stool is about to come out, but it is still blocked in the anus. The feeling is indescribable. There are many reasons for dry stool in life, which are often related to diet. Some parents have reported that their babies have dry stools since they started feeding them complementary foods. What is going on?

Experienced mothers say that if babies have problems such as dry stools and constipation after starting to eat complementary foods, the symptoms can be alleviated by drinking more water. If your baby doesn't like drinking plain water, you can boil fruit water. I mostly boil pear water and give your baby 40-60 ml of water between meals, twice a day. It's best to drink it during the day and drink less before going to bed at night. Don't eat too salty complementary food.

If you have enough time to take care of your baby, around 9 am every day is the time when your baby's gastrointestinal function is active. At this time, you can massage your baby's abdomen clockwise with gentle force. If your baby is in pain when defecating, you can help him by cutting off a small piece of transparent soap, softening it with boiling water, kneading it into a pointed shape, inserting it into the baby's anus for three seconds, and pulling it out. This can help lubricate the baby's anus. However, this method can easily make the baby dependent and should not be used frequently. You should still help your baby develop good bowel habits.

In addition, pay attention to the order when adding complementary foods to your baby, as this will help the baby's gastrointestinal absorption and prevent constipation. The principles for adding complementary foods are as follows:

1. Start with low-allergy, light-flavored foods.

2. Feed only one new food at a time, and start with small amounts. The concentration of the food should also go from thin to thick.

3. Start each meal with new food, and add the food you have already eaten when you don’t want to eat it anymore. Add one new food every 5-7 days.

Add rice noodles or rice soup at 4-6 months, add grains and root vegetables around 7-8 months, and start trying various leafy vegetables and fruit purees. After 8 months, you can start adding meat.