My 2 month old has basically been exclusively breastfed and has always pooped 5-10 times a day, then hasn't pooped at all for four days...he is fussy, but is a fussy baby anyway, so it's a little tough to differentiate a behavior change. Any ideas on what I can do or why this would be, also, he is on a probiotic and has been since birth. Thx!
Thanks for your input mama's! This baby is number five for me and I have been nursing for over eight years straight...and I don't remember anyone backing up like this while not on food, so I appreciated hearing the "it happened to my baby" stories! I did end up giving him a little prune juice on day 6, he wasn't napping more tha 5-10 minutes he was so uncomfortable (and I was dealing with my second round of masitis!) and it took another 24 hrs before he pooped, and then about 18 more hrs before he had a few bm's in a row. He slept the best he has after that :), but I don't think he is still quite back to normal...his poop is really liquidy, there is no consistency to it. As for the probiotic, I mentioned it b/c I figured that would be what a lot of you would suggest. As for the notion that breast milk is perfect, it's fantastic (I have exclusively nursed all my babies for years!) but babies still require vitamin d, it comes from the sun, not mama! And I have had 5 colic babies and the last two have benefited incredibly from biogaia, a probiotic, check out the data online...the results were unbelievable! 95% of the colic infants had a 74% reduction in their crying as opposed to the babies who given mylecon had zero response. Data suggests that what we know as colic may be due to immature GI systems and probiotics help that, they are just the good bacteria that is suppose to be in your oh so very important gut!
Totally normal. As long as his behavior isn't too different and as long as when he does go it's soft he's ok. My son used to poop every 7-10 days. I SWEAR he used to wait until he had a new or really cute outfit on and we were late getting out the door then he would have a MAJOR blow out!
Sounds normal! ; ) My daughter was exclusively breastfed as well, and had several runny poops (that usually ended up on me) a day until about 2 months of age, then stopped going, I thought. I was frantic by day 4, but when I called her ped i was told she was normal, something about the baby's body adjusting itself to now taking in breast milk and regulating itself. And she pooped a day or so later.
Congrats and enjoy him❤
Perfectly normal for a breastfed baby. Congratuations.
Same thing happened with my son. I was terrified! He hadn't pooped in 5 days!! I went in and the nurse practitioner said exclusively breastfed babies will usually slow way down at that point because their digestive systems start absorbing everything. His digestive system is USING all the breastmilk instead of passing most of it. If you think it may be gas, lay him on his back and do 'bicycle ride' with his legs.
CONGRATULATIONS, MAMA!!!!!!!
PS: I agree with Cheryl. Ask why the probotic. Babies that are exclusively breastfed should need NOTHING else!! Mother Nature has made sure of that. (Yes, there are always exceptions to every rule. Still.....why??)
It seems that this is pretty normal for breast fed babies. Both of my kids, who were exclusively breast fed, went through this same thing. When my son was around 3 or 4 months went about 10 days without pooping!! I was frantic, but the pediatricians weren't worried. He eventually went and was fine. A L. while after I started my kids on solids, they went through this again. During that time though, I gave them prunes. I would still talk with your pediatrician anyway, just in case. I agree with the others, why is he on a probiotic?
Our little guy started going once or twice a week about that time. Check with your doctor to be sure though.
It's normal. For the first 8 weeks or so they are pooping machines. Then they back WAY off. Breastfed babies can go up to 11 days without pooping and it's totally normal. My son did that once. Usually it was every 3-5 days. It's REALLY normal. Don't worry about it.
As for the probiotic, that's not a medicine (commenting to those who mentioned that it was). It adds back the correct bacterias, which could be missing even due to the momma having a c-section or something (not sure if you have B.). If the mom has a c-section, they give her antibiotics, and probiotics would help to rebalance that. When I had baby #4, I had to have my first c-section (previa) and it gave me a yeast infection. I actually didn't know I had had any antibiotics. My baby ended up with belly issues too - pooping blood - and it was probiotics that rebalanced her. There is NOTHING harmful about probiotics unless I've missed something... But if your baby has had no issues at all, then there really is no reason for them, but they won't be harmful.
Your baby is fine! I have had 4 and this last one I had didn't poop for 5 days and I finally started to panic. I called the docs office and they said it was totally normal. Evidently babies at that age go through periods where they use all of the food going in to grow. After several days they will have a massive blow out and indeed she did. I say don't worry and just wait for the blow out. = )
Enjoy!
I would not worry at all unless his next poop is hard... if it's normal consistency (semi soft) then you'll know for sure it's just his gastrointestinal tract being more efficient in absorbing the breastmilk.
B.:
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Okay- 5 to 10x a day - is a tad excessive - mine were pooping 3x a day...then would go for 5 days with out pooping...
My mother in law told me the old wives tale - take his temperature rectally - it will stimulate the bowel and within an hour - he should be pooping...
Make sure your diet is consistent - if you are changing things up and trying new things yourself - then it could be messing with his system...
I don't know why an infant would be on a probiotic....so as to that - I can't help you...I would definitely question WHY my child is on a medicine/probiotic....find out what I can do to help my child get off of it and be medicine free!!
Good luck!
Very normal. Just wait and it will happen. No need for home remedies that many will suggest. If your baby goes more than a week without a bowel movement, give pediatrician a call. My exclusively breastfed babies went as long as 10 days each between bowel movements then started on an every other day schedule at about 3 months. The body at this stage is very efficient at using every part of breastmilk so it makes little waste. My pediatrician says the longest he has known of a breastfed baby going between bowel movements is 3 weeks. Sounds like a nightmare of a wait to a mom like me. Congrats on your baby and so happy to hear you are breastfeeding. Midwife Mom
Breastfed babies poop less because there is less to excrete (they are absorbing everything because it's a perfect food!)
Don't worry about the baby log/sleep training stuff either- as long as you are spending time with your baby (which if you're exclusively BF, then surely you are!) and paying attention to him, there is no need to write down every detail- just ENJOY it! :)
The fussiness might be a dairy sensitivity- try cutting out dairy (read all labels!) for a week or so (sometimes it can take up to 4 weeks to see a difference, but I could tell a slight change right away! Dairy can be listed as whey, casein and a bunch of other names (do a Google search to get a complete list.) It's also in rotisserie chicken and often in breads from fast food restaurants.
Congrats! I breast-fed both of my daughters until they self-weaned at 3.5 yrs and have been through a lot. Joining La Leche League was a life-saver for me during nursing strikes, biting, and other questions that pop up along the way. You may want to look for a local chapter. I made a lot of like-minded mama friends through meetings, even if I didn't always love the group dynamic or leader, etc. Worth a try!
-M.
Totally normal. At about 3-4 wks my BFed DD started pooping about once a week. Your milk is the perfect food with so little to get rid of it takes longer to build up enough to get out. Good for you mama!
That's pretty normal at that age, it also works to give new mommies a panic attack! *laugh* It is always strange when they go from pooping ALL THE TIME, to not for several days. If it goes on for 7-12 days, go to the doctor, but for 4 days, there may not be much to worry about. Don't be surprised if he explodes right after you call the doctor to set up an appointment! (That's what my kids always did.)
Hi B.! This sounds normal. If you are not already you should keep a detailed baby log everyday. When you go to the pediatrician you will be able to review with the doctor. Also, it's important as you will be able to sleep train your baby. Here is an article about baby logs, http://www.madisonstaffingcorp.com/blog/2011/06/27/a-happ...
Have a great day!
Totally normal. At that age BF babies can go 7-12 days with out pooping. If it goes longer or the baby seems to be in pain, I would call the Dr. Until then, it's fine cause at this point the baby is using all the nutrients from the breast milk and doesn't have any waste to get rid of.
