My son from birth has had an immature digestive system (slightly colicky in the beginning) he is 4 months in a few short days and I nurse him only. About 2 wks ago he was FINALLY starting to have bowel movements regularly actually after every feeding instead of every 2-3 day blow outs. My husband recognized that I had changed 2 dietary things 1) I increased my protein intake thru a whey protein shake and protein bars 2) I had run out of my prenatals so I wasn't taking a multi vitamin. Well today is day 3 that he hasn't gone (but boy is his gas rancid!), but I'm not sure what is contipating him - the vitamins(which I am taking again) or the protein? I've heard its ok for them not to go for a few days, but I don't think so, not a nursing baby. Especially the smell of his gas - holy cow - can't be good to have all that stool bound up in the intestines!! My other 2 were so scheduled with there bowel movements - after every feeding. Which he was doing a week ago. Not sure what I should add or take away from my diet! Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Hi ~ With him having an immature digestive system you really have to be careful w/the whey protein shake because whey protein is a derivative of dairy & therefore really hard on his little tummy. I would really suggest on cutting the dairy out of your system (usually takes about 2 wks before you will notice any change) while you are nursing. I had to w/both of mine & it really made a huge difference. HTH! Good luck!
OK, it's NORMAL for breast fed babies to go DAYS and DAYS between BMs-- my son would save it up and go once a week or so-- usually a nice big blowout when he had on an especially cute outfit AND we were late getting out the door. BUT when they DO go it should be SOFT and mushy, and they should have NO problems passing gas in between!
If they're going days between AND then it's HARD that's when there's a problem, but to ME it sounds like you have a normal breast fed baby. If you're still concernec call a lactation consultant or La Leche League leader-- someone who's familair and specially trained with breast fed babies
MANY nursing babies do not have daily bm's... my daughter could go 4-5 days without one. As long as the poop he DOES have isn't hard/firm and is like normal consistency for a breastfed baby, don't worry. The blow outs LOL my son has them too, but it's not due to a back up or constipation of stool... just taking it's time to give all the nutrients back to the body. Breastmilk is so efficiently metabolized, that daily bm's are rare because their isn't much waste. My son is now 6 months and still has a blow out at least once a week - we are switching to cloth diapers since I've been told they absorb more and less likely to have blowouts.
It's normal for a breastfed baby to go up to 2 weeks between bowel movements. Constipation has nothing to do with the frequency of bowel movements, it's about the consistency. As long as they are not hard and pellet-like when he goes, he is not constipated and there is no problem. Breastmilk is almost completely digestable, meaning that there is little left behind to poop out.
What you eat is what he eats. Make sure you are eating the things that will help him have BMs.
Raw veggies, raw fruit.
Bran
Raisins
Spinach
Cut back on dairy except yogurt
Lay him on his back and help him make some bicycle peddling with his legs close to his body. ]
Let him have some tummy time whle he is awake and you are next to him..
When I was nursing my son, the dr told me they could go 10 days without pooping. I know that's freaky, but that's what he said.
I completely agree with Michelle. Constipation in BF babies is often a sign that you are consuming too much milk. I think you should cut back on those shakes and also milk in general. You can also give him a little prune juice with some probiotics sprinkled in. Definetly sounds like he needs some help to poop!
