Solid foods and smelly diapers

We've officially been feeding Evan solid foods now for a few weeks, but just recently we've made it more of a routine and are introducing new foods every 3-5 days.  So far he eats rice cereal every evening while we have our dinner and he's tried avocado now and seems to like it.  Today I've spent some time making pureed peas for him to have in the upcoming weeks.  I'd also like to start him on sweet potatoes soon too, but don't have any on hand today to make.  I had read to maybe start fruits later than veggies, but after today's diaper I'm wondering if he could use some fruits that are non-constipating in his diet sooner than later.   We did also start him on a sippy cup with water, but he seems to spit out more water than he probably consumes.  I think at this point he thinks the cup is just another toy to put in his mouth, but he hasn't realized this one dispenses liquid that should be swallowed.

Evan checking out that peculiar-looking green stuff (avocado) on his spoon...

"Is this how I do it?"

"What's inside this thing that keeps getting all over my face?"

We'd been warned that the non-smelly diapers from being breastfed would soon change once he started solids.  Well, after a few weeks of having cereal (which really was mostly breastmilk initially anyway) I hadn't noticed much of a change.  Then the past few days Evan's gas started to really stink!  I mean both John and I realized that a tiny innocent little toot was enough to release something pretty toxic!  Luckily they would usually dissipate as quickly as they came, but it wasn't anything to be messing with for sure!

Then, today I was filming Evan jumping in his jumperoo (which he has gotten so much better at already), and he started grunting (nothing out of the ordinary there) and straining his face.  This combination was something I had never witnessed from my son, and it made me wonder if he was working on a poop.  Sure enough, after some jumperoo time it was diaper changing time and I found the answer: I found the stickiest, thickest, smelliest, and largest quantity of poop he's had yet to bless us with.  What's more, is that I put him down for his nap after this diaper change, only to find him practically screaming 10 minutes later and definitely not sleeping.  When I went to check on him, he seemed to be straining a bit again, and then let out another toot.  Thus, I took him to be changed a second time and again found the exact same thing (and even pretty much the same amount!) and, to my horror, he even continued to go more while I was wiping and changing him!  How much poo can a baby boy contain!?!  I can definitely declare that he's into more of the solid poop phase now!

The fact that he was really crying during this second poop has really prompted me to try him on prunes (or something to help him go more easily) tomorrow instead of another veggie.  But no matter what, our lives will never be the same now!

Check out the video for yourself (pay attention for his strained facial expressions!)

 "Jumperoo and a poo"

Addendum: I wrote this as Evan took that nap that I had tried to put him down for (after the second poopy diaper change).  Evan slept for about 30 minutes (so a short nap), woke up crying and then after I fed him was screaming in pain again.  So I held him upright and tried to comfort him, just as he let out another toot.  This poor boy must be having such bad gas pains!  I went to change him again only to find more sticky, thick poo (3rd time in a row now)!  And, again to my displeasure, he tooted and then poo'd more while I was changing him.  What is going on?  I really don't like knowing that it's hurting him so much just to poop!  I'm starting to think a call to the doctor is in order, because this seems so out of the ordinary and I hope it's not related to the avocado (it's day three of avocado, so I thought he was handling it fine up until this point).  Any insights from moms of babies who've already gone through introductions to solid foods?