Bowel Movements in My 3 Month Old

The tummy massage really does work - give it a try. Also, if you want something a little more gentle than a suppository, try diluted chamomile tea. We had some success with that. If she's not taking it, it's even OK to add a tiny bit of sugar to make it more palatable. Maybe something you're eating makes her uncomfortable? cabbagey type things?

I agree with AJ C. I used to massage my infant almost nightly, and like clockwork, it always got his bowels moving! :) Good luck.

Perhaps she is lactose intolerant. Cut out all your milk products and see if her gas is reduced. If you want you can buy rice, almond or soy milk. There is vegan cheese and delicious vegan ice cream (Tofutti cuties, Soy dream.) It is easy and healthy to live dairy free these days. Good luck.

You can put up to 1 TBS Karo syrup in her formula bottle. I would start with a teaspoon and increase it if necessary. My granddaughter used to only go once every three or four days. The dr. said that breastmilk is like liquid gold and her body just uses it all for growth.

If she seems uncomfortable, I would call doc again. Better to be safe
than sorry.

try to massage her tummy and bicycle her legs. it is apparently normal, but i know it feels scary. good luck!

I know that your daughter finally pooped... so glad! Just a tip that helped for my 2 boys. MASSAGE YOUR BABY'S BELL CLOCKWISE IN A WARM BATH... it's gross, but if you want it out, it's the best way to get it. My husband would fill a the baby bath outside with warm water in the summer and massage away, then the mess could just make it's way into the compost with the dog poop.

I had the exact same issue. There is not much you can do other than rub her tummy, give her chamomile tea in a bottle (weak) and give her mylicon prior to the formula. Baths can help a bit, but some babies are just more gassy than others. Our baby would go a week without having a bowel movement. She would inconsolably cry and then, a loud vibration and silence. She'd have an enormous poop, leaking out the sides and be fine until the next time.

Babies absorb a lot of the nutrients in breastmilk, so it's normal they don't produce much waste or that often. Unless the bowel movement is hard or dry, I wouldn't worry too much. Their systems are so new and they aren't able to pass a bowel movement as easily as we are.

Finally, you can try and cut out gassy items from your diet, broccoli, brussel sprouts. Babies are sensitive to Cow's milk so perhaps cut out dairy or switch to Goat's Milk products.

Hi J.,

The two may be unrelated. My son is almost 3 (born at the end of March). During his first month of July (so, about 3 months), he pooped a total of twice. The pediatrician had warned be ahead of time that this usually happens around 3-4 months. He was always a very gassy baby, which, at least for him, was unrelated to the "non-poop July." One of the things we did for the gas was to lie him on his back and push his legs up from underneath and make him do sort of bicycle kicks. Or just gently pushed his legs up toward his shoulders (actually, sometimes when he's really gassy I still do that for him).

Good luck!
B.

When my daughter started attending daycare at 4 months we needed to supplement my breastmilk with some formula because I wasn't pumping enough. We tried a bunch of formulas and they gave her such constipation. To relieve the constipation I placed a warm hot water bottle on her belly when we nursed. I also sang songs and worked her legs back and forth like she was riding a bicycle. In addition, the women at the daycare recommended Gerber's Good Start formula. It is really sensitive and turns out to be the only formula that agreed with her tummy. Once we started her on that, along with the other techniques, the constipation went away!

Since your daughter is mainly breastfed you should look at your diet first. Whatever you eat will get into your breastmilk and affect your baby. Cut out any gas causing foods like broccoli, cauliflower, beans, etc. Do this for at least a week and see if it helps. If that doesn't work then try cutting out dairy products like milk and cheese. It's possible that she could have a problem with lactose. Try that for at least a week also. The last thing would be the formula. You could try one of the special ones for babies with a sensitive stomach (not soy). I think the formula is causing the smell. Once babies are on formula, even just a little, their bowl movements will get harder and smellier. Cut out these things one at a time so you can figure out what it is, and give it a week or so to see if there is a difference. My daughter was gassy also and we found out years later that she was lactose intolerant. That means she doesn't have enough of the enzyme that breaks down lactose in regular milk. But she had frequent messy movements. I don't know why your doctor is saying it is normal for her not to have frequent bowel movements. Breastfed babies usually have frequent soft movements that can even occur after every feeding. Only formula causes constipation. Maybe it has been improved since I used it because my baby just turned 8 :-) But breast is always best!

glad everything came out all right! and hey, if you don't have to change a poopy diaper for 8 days, it can't be all bad!

I've also heard that breastfed babies shouldn't get constipated but trying telling that to my son. If he didn't go by the third day I was in trouble. My always happy baby would cry and scream. My ped told me to give him juice and it helped. Don't dilute it and start off an oz or two. When he started solids I gave him prunes and pears instead of cereal since they are more binding. As their digestive tract matures they will grow out of it. My son is almost 20 months old and he has regular bowel movements. Good luck!

You can try to decreased her discomfort through massage (there is a massage technique for constipation - here is a video on it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-ECcq_Ul5Y

Good luck!

Hi J.:

It sounds as if there is a digestive upset going on, which is out of the realm of "normal". Please trust your gut and what your daughter and her body's telling you. I suspect that the bowel issue started in-utero. It would be best to explore a health consultation in which areas such as diet, emotional stress and other key points are addressed. Please take care of this as soon as.

Feel free to consult with my office, via in-person or over the telephone. Visit my site and learn more about the service.

All the best,
N.
www.wholecreations.com/wombfull.html
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my daughter first got constipated at about 6 weeks, also breastfed. She didnt have a BM for about 3 days and she was very uncomfortable and her belly hurt pretty bad too. Our ped told us to get an infant suppository and stick a little of the end in until she has a BM. This helped tremendously and she went back to her happy self. I would give that a try, it can get VERY messy so be sure to lay her on a plastic sheet.
Good luck!

i believe they say you can't get constipated if breast fed but my dear little girl was upset and they told me to give her 1/2 of a baby suppository.
and yes. it worked. but it really wasn't necessary i guess, its normal for her.
do you give her gass meds? smell bad? not sure what that means...
possible allergy to something you're eating?

It is perfectly normal. My first would only poop at that age every 2-3 days and sometimes longer. I figured he was getting exactly enough food and that his body was using it all up. He was average weight and eating what I assumed to be around 25 oz of breastmilk a day.
What worked for me was to drink the prune juice myself and then nurse him. It always cleared us both up. After my second son I discovered pear nectar which has a similar effect but I think it was a little gentler on me and tastes better. I was always too nervous to give him water, he had enough troubles eating enough I didn't want to fill him up with water.
Also massage her tummy and legs like you would to get her to release gas.
Good Luck!

I am certainly not going to advise you not to listen to the doctor...However...GIVE THE BABY SOME WATER... My goodness, can you imagine how you'd feel after 6 days without a bowel movement? even 10 days is CRAZY... Start adding water in the feeding schedule...and you should increase your water intake as well... Please keep in touch, I'd love to hear from you and how that precious little girl is doing! C. ____@____.com