Infrequent Stools

Believe it or not it is completely normal for breast feed babies to go a week without a bowl movement. As long as he is not uncomfortable don't worry.

G.

That is totally normal and happened to my breatfed son at about the same age. He would go up to 5 days. Then when he finally when it was an explosion! It lasted that way for a few months then he went back to his normal schedule of everyday. I wouldn't be concerned. You can give him an oz of water a day and that may help, I did that once and he went the next day. Or you can buy sipositories and he will go imediately but i wouldn't do it unless he goes past a week.

Hi M.,
My 10 month old son was breastfed till he was 6 months old, and his bowel movements were just about once a day, sometimes once every couple of days once he got to be about 2-3 months old. Apparently, some breastfed babies only have bowel movements once a week and that's considered normal!! Crazy...anyway, I had to see a lactation consultant regularly for awhile and she told me that. As long as he is feeding normally and is comfortable, he's probably fine!
A.

My daughter started to go a couple of days between bowel movements about 2 months. I would start to get worried, then she would go a couple of times, then stop for a couple of days. If I got too worried, I could put her in her swing and she would usually go almost immediately. However, if you are worried, you should call your pedi. Especially with twins. You know your babies best, and you know if something is wrong.
Good luck
R.

First of all, way to go on breastfeeding twins! So many think it can't be done, but it can. I breastfed my twins - without supplementing at all with formula - for 18 months :)

It is very common for their bm's to slow down after a coupld of months. It seems like babies go in cycles - for the first couple of months they have a bm pretty much every time they're fed, then it slows down to once every couple/three/four days . . . some might even go a week between. And then after a while, you'll find that they'll readjust yet again. It is extremely rare for a breastfed baby to be constipated, as breast milk is a natural laxative and is very easily digested, so as long as your baby isn't in any discomfort, I wouldn't worry about it.

Try uping your water intake. With it getting warmer the need for more H2O goes up for you and babies. After 2 or 3 days I would call the pediatrician if there are no BMs. You can also try inserting a very well lubed rectal thermometer if the baby appears to be pushing but not producing stool.

I had the same issue as you did when my daughter was 3 months, she did not go for 12 days and I was freaking out. I ended up giving her a stool softener and she finally went but she did not go again for another 10 days and I called her Ped and he said it is perfectly normal. Since you are exclusively breastfeeding, your baby does not get constipated, he is just holding his milk in longer. He's fine and will go soon. I know how you feel, I was paranoid and lost sleep over it because I thought my daughter was in pain but she was just fine.

Wait until you start them on solids, they will go about 3 times a day or more and will be regular. My daughter will be 6 months soon and I am always changing her poopy diaper.

I hope that helps.

My 2 year old did that when he was about 2 months old. He would go every 4 days. Doctor said not to worry about it unless he is in pain and straining.

My twins did the same thing. They start to digest the breast milk differently as they grow. Don't worry about one day. Watch for signs of strain and pain. That is what my Dr told me when I asked him.

breastfed babies at that age can go 7-10 days without a bowel. Enjoy it now becuase with 2 pretty soon when they start to eat solids you will be in a poopy world!!! My BF baby went clockwork about every 8 days. If you do supplement with formula at all check with your pedi.

Easy cure: Get your babies all dressed up to go to church or a wedding or something and you'll see they both POOP away just as you're leaving the house...KIDDING!

Both of my children stopped the constant pooping and began having once-a-week poops at about three months. This was GOOD because it was less constant for me but BAD because when they went it was a scary soft-serve mess and leaked out of the diaper! They always looked so pleased when they did that, too! Do not worry. Their pediatrician always said how efficient breastmilk-nourished systems were...I guess this is proof!

As solids get introduced, the poops become more frequent (about every other day) until they wean and become like us, and go every day.

Note: While they were breastfed, they NEVER had a constipation problem. That became an issue only after we started solids after age one year.

it is not unusual for a breastfed baby to go several days without a bowel movement. not to worry. I have boy/girl twins that I breastfed until they were 18 months. they also didn't have bowel movements everyday and they lived to be healthy 19 year olds! Good for you for breastfeeding twins. My hats off to you, what dedication!

Hi M.,

I have 5 month old twin girls (love having twins) and both my girls have the same issues, and my doctor told me to give them prune juice in their bottles. If you are able to substitute a little you might want to try that. It works wonders with both my girls. I also use a q-tip with vasaline to stimulate their bowels when they are trying to push out the stool,that made a world of difference when they are trying so hard and not getting anywhere. Good luck!!!!

A.

No, don't worry. This is normal. You can eat some foods that will help him. If you eat some prunes etc., it will go through your milk and give him a hand but don't worry, it is normal.

My 5 mo. old did the same thing around 2 mos. The doc said constipation isnt until no bowel for 3 days. my baby was uncomfortable so our doc suggested 1 tsp of LIGHT Karyo syrup in a one ounce bottle or a pediatric suppository. If your little one isn't uncomfortable wait 3 days (72 hrs) before trying. Breastfed babies sometimes dont go for a few days and its normal. But be ready it. will come. And if they are backed up a little bit you may need a change of clothes for them. (wink wink)

hi there M.,
i had a similar concern when this happened to my daughter (now 17months) and her pediatrician told me that yes,it does slow down after a few months.its not uncommon for some babies to go a day or two without having a bowel movement.if he goes more than a third day without having one then i would call,just so he can clean out his pipes,poor little guy.but be prepared for a huge poo,after my daughter would go a day or more,id always have at least two changes of clothes if i went anywhere...she had explosive ones when she did go finally.
i hope this helps,and congrats on twins!!!!
A.

Hi- It is completely normal. My daughter is 5 mo. old and breastfed and frequently goes 1-2 days between bowel movements and has on occassion gone 4-6 day (when she was younger) What I have read and experienced, being a pediatric nurse myself, is that as long as their belly is soft, they are not uncomfortable and the stool (when they do have a bowel movement) is not hard......they are fine. Enjoy being a Mommy and let nature takes it's course. If you start stool softeners, suppositories, etc., you may "train" their body to require this in order to poop on a regular basis.

M.,

You should only be concerned if your baby appears to be uncomfortable and is straining a lot. Both of my kids were breastfed. And they pooped constantly for the first couple of months (like every time they ate). But around the 2-3 month mark both of them quit pooping so much and would sometimes go days without pooping. As long as they aren't uncomfortable, you don't need to do anything. I've heard that some babies will go more than a week without pooping after the initial pooping all day long stage because breastmilk is highly digestable and there isn't much waste to it.

T.

:-)T.

You don't ned to call your doctor. However a baby should take at least one bowel movement a day. If he doesn't go. you can get a suposatory (I know I miss-spelled that ) But, they have baby ones at the drug store: LOngs or WalGreen. You can also save yourslef and ask a pharmist. They are very smart in almost every simple health problem. Take them home and insert one into the rectem of your baby. It does not hurt and before you know it , he will be passing his BM.
Constipation is not a huge problem, just can be uncomfortable for the baby with gas from it. Since they are so yound, I would not give them any stool relaxers.
This is old school medicine and has worked of thousands of babies.
N.

HI there.
My kids all did that. I was told by my pedi that 3 days is ok for them not to poop. If they go over that then it would be time to call them.
I often used the gas drops and that helped to relax their tummy so they could go. I also massaged their tummys and bent their legs up to their belly.
I hope this helps.
:O)
B.

According to our pediatrician, it is not uncommon for breastfed babies to not have bowel movements for up to 7 days. The reason is that breast milk is easier to breakdown and it doesn't have any "fillers" like formula does. Babies use almost all of the nutrients/substances in breast milk.

Hi M.,

I don't think you have anything to worry about. My baby is now 7 months-old and her body is still trying to find it's rythm...When my baby was two weeks old, she started having very watery stools after two weeks of having the mustard colored, cottage cheese-like BM's. (She was exclusively breastfed until she turned 4 months and I started offering cereal and then fruits/veggies once she turned 6 months. She's now 7 months, she eats cooked, mashed veggies/fruits and though she has no teeth is even enjoying small chunks of soft, not mashed foods, such as cooked carrots, squash, and even raw avocado bits.) At that time she also stopped having regular bowel movements. She went from having 2-4 small-medium stools daily to only one over the weekend. I grew worried especially after seeing the change in consistency. I took her to her pediatrician, who sent us to the hospital to have more tests run. (When she saw the large amount of watery stool that she was producing, she chose the hospital because of her being so young and still small. She knows how quickly she could have dehydrated. Also, she figured if there really was someting wrong, at least we were already there as opposed to going to a lab and having to wait hours or even days to find out the results.) At the hospital, the staff seemed to think she was overreacting, but I appreciated her concern and didn't mind paying the $50 co-pay to have some peace of mind. They chose not to run any tests, because they said that it takes babies several months for their inner workings to figure out exactly how they're supposed to work and felt that running any tests would be unnecessary and even "mean". Also, because she was breastfed, they said watery stools were not a problem as long as she wasn't having them constantly enough to indicate diarrhea. She continued to have watery stools until she turned 4 months. When she started having some solids her stools became less watery. Also, she would usually go every-other-day. Slowly that has changed to once a day. Still once-in-a-while she'll go two days without a BM. When that happens, I know to be prapared for a blow-out! Your little guy's insides are probably still trying to pace themselves.

Hope this helps...

Hi M. - I too have twins and mine are just over 4 months old now. I have found that my one boy is regular as can be...he will go one to two times a day. My other boy though used to be very regular and now he sometimes goes once a day and sometimes goes every other day. I dont know what changed, but he seems to be happy and the consistency of the poop is fine so I dont worry about it too much. I try to be very careful not to compare the two as I do realize they are very separate and different people. When your baby does finally poop make sure it isnt too firm...that is a sign on constipation. However...if you continue to worry you can try to help things along by yourself...the most effective method we have found was giving the baby a warm bath and doing a tummy massage in the water and then if that didnt move things we would take a q-tip and put vasaline on one end and gently push it in his butt...give it a couple of minutes and gently move it around and stimulate...you should hear some gas and most of the time get a nice surprise. Of course you can always call your pedi...but my guess is that he/she will just tell you it can be normal to go a couple of days and to make sure that the baby is hydrated. Good luck...twins is very challenging and we are still coping....feel free to message me anytime.

Totally normal from my experience and what I've read. Don't worry. Babies absorb most of everythng in the breastmilk with little or nothing left over for a stool. Sometimes my son goes a few days without one. However, watch out when that day comes.....we call it diaper blowout. Not fun and very messy.

My son went through the same thing... he was totally regular for the first few months, then it slowed to about once a day, then all of a sudden it practically stopped to where he was going only every four or five days! Same thing as you described: he seemed fine otherwise. When I called my pediatrician, she basically said if he didn't seem uncomfortable, not to worry about it. But when he'd go for five days without making a dirty diaper, she said I could use a glycerin suppository. I didn't want it to become a regular thing, like he'd need the help all the time, so I only actually used it twice. But it did open him up... just not in the 15 minutes to an hour as the bottle said. It was more like three to four hours. Anyway, point is that if it worries you, you can always call your doctor for reassurance. I think it bothered me more than it bothered him! Now he's seven months old and since we started solids last month, he couldn't be more regular. Good luck with your twins... wow, I couldn't imagine two of these little guys!

Congrats on your twins. After viewing all the reasponses about this being normal I'm hoping your worries have decreased. All 3 of my breasefed only children did the same thing at about 2-3 mts. It is normal however, I would notice their little faces straining at times and noticed they would be so much happier after a good b.movement. If they went too long and looked unhappy I would use a little vaseline on a q-tip and slide it in their bum just a tiny bit. This usally gave them a reason to push. Just be quick at putting that nappy back on as they can be quick and explosive.

Totally normal, but it does freak you out, right? --especially when they used to go all the time
Don't waste your time going to the pediatrician unless they are showing distress signs.
good luck

My son had a similar experience when he was about 3 months old. When he had gone for five days without a bowel movement I took him to the pediatrician. I was told that it is virtually impossible for a breastfed baby to be constipated. As long as your baby is still pooping, there is nothing to worry about. Constipation has to do with the consistency of the stool, not the frequency. The pediatrician said I could give him an ounce of pear, apple or white grape juice diluted with some water if it would make me feel better. And not to worry unless it was 10 days without a movement.

My son would go once every three days. it is normal for some kids. I would watch your son closly and write it down to see if there is a pattern or if he starts to become uncomfortable then I would call the Dr.

Same thing happened with my son. He was generally like clockwork and then several days went by without any movement. It's amazing how you can get so wrapped up in bowel movements (who knew?) - anyway, they do slow down and a couple of days in between with an otherwise healthy, happy baby shouldn't worry you. You know your babies best - they would definitely be fussy and acting up if something was wrong. However, if it would give you peace of mind to go to the doctor - I say go for it. My son has seen the doctor many a time when in the end nothing was wrong.

Unless he shows signs of discomfort from not going, I wouldn't take him in just yet. Give it another day or so, if he feels fine, his body is probably just using everything. Don't worry. God Bless!

Hi M. - It is normal for breastfed babies to not have bowel movements for many days at a time - I think I've heard up to 7 days. They just absorb almost everything and nothing is left to make stool.

Hi M.,

I am a grandmother of one and have one daughter. I went with her on my grandson's doctor appointment when he was 2 months old. He told us that he may not have a bowel movement for two or three days and it is normal, don't freak out about it, he too had some in every diaper change for the first two months or so. He is now 4 months old. Well Waylon has gone through it and when he did have one it was a big one. He had no ill effects from it. I wouldn't worry unless it goes on for more thatn 4 days or so. Being a grandma is wonderuful and I thought nothing could be better that being mom.