My Little Guy Wont Poop!

My son did this same thing. He was breast fed exclusively at that age. He only pooped 1 time a week until I started feeding him solid foods. I asked my pediatrician because I was worried about this as well. She said that it's perfectly normal, but if they go for more than 7-8 days without a BM then use a glycerin supp. Breast milk is just utilized well because it's a perfect food. :)

When Encountering the same problem with my daughter her doctor told us not to be alarmed and that Breastfed babys can go up to 14 days without BM and formula fed babys up to 7 days. Their body simply absorbs almost all milk/formula. Otherwise a little pearjuice can also do the trick :-)

Breast milk is almost completly absorbed by babies. Don't worry all healthy boob babies do this. It will change when you introduce other foods.My babywould only go every 7 days or more but as soon as she ate fruits and veggies it changed to every couple days.

I had this problem but my doctor said it was nothing to worry about unless she went longer than several weeks or seemed uncomfortable/in pain. Breast milk it very pure food and your baby is using so much of it for growth, that there just isn't enough left to poop out very often. My friends baby went 12 days between poops and was just fine. I'd say let your baby's body do it's thing and just relax. Best wishes. :)

Hi K.,

I have a now almost 3 yr old boy who was exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months. I remember there being a time where he was did not poop very often, like maybe once even over a week or so. Dawson did not seem uncomfortable, didn't have any other alarming symptoms other than not pooping. I was anxious about it, but didn't try to stimulate or give suppositories and he eventually pooped and became quite regular again. My theory on it was he was going through a growth spurt and was just using everything he was taking in(?). I have no other explanation that seems to make much sense, but everything was just fine. His doctor told me not to worry about it either...so perhaps you could let go on the stimuli and the suppositories and let his body do its thing. Obviously, you are his mother and do what you think is best and makes you the most comfortable. Mother's instincts are usually right on! :)
Good luck and I hope you both find relief soon!

Hi, we went through this with our son, as well. You want to know what EVERYONE, including the doc said? Be thankful. We only hated when he finally did poop, since it was a lot, and breastfed baby poo can be...explosive. Check it out online, talk with other mommies, but to be sure, it's normal, and all is well! I've heard theories like, breast milk is very nutritious, so there just isn't as much to eliminate.
I appreciate that you need to have all things be normal, but like you said, he's in no pain, passing gas no problem, and seems to be comfortable otherwise. If you were supplementing with formula, and he was pooping every few days, I think you would find his poop to be harder, and your baby in some discomfort.
Hope this helps, and yay not so many poopie diapers. Enjoy it while it lasts!
A.

Yes, I've had this experience also. My son was breastfed and sometimes he would go days without pooping. I too was concerned and asked the doc about it, he said it was normal and he's seen babies go 10 days without a BM. Unless your son seems to be in pain (which you say he's not) it's probably best to just let nature takes its course. He'll start pooping more soon - my son had irregular BM's like that off and on for a week or two at a time and then he was back to normal.

This is totally normal...especially for breastfed infants. I have three children, two of whom were in the NICU because they came earlier than expected, and I have it on good authority from lots of docs and lots of nurses that less frequent pooping in breastfed infants is not a big deal and completely normal as long as it's not due to constipation or some type of illness of course. That said, each time it happened to one of my kiddo's I chatted with our ped about it. It's all up to you of course, but unless your doctor specifically tells you to use some sort of stimulation to get your son to poop I'm not so sure I would continue with supositories, stimulation, etc. Good luck!

I have a three month old baby girl who poops about every five days, the doctor says as long as its not hard its fine. She does get really fussy about day four and day five but if she seems to bad a little bit of white paer juice or water ( i normaly dilute the juice with warm water and give her two oz before i brest feed her) Seems to do the trick. My uncle who is a pediatricion and father of six says they get more schedualed when you introduce soilds but brest milk is so healthy it doesnt produce awhole lot of waste. Good luck!

hi there, my son did the same thing at about 3.5 months. i just gave him about 1 oz of gerber baby prune juice and it helped him pass a bowel movement within 24 hours. prior to that, he actually went about 5 - 6 days between movements. i would be willing to bet that your little guys intestines are just going through a change and he will become regular again in a few months. my son went through a couple of changes like that and is now very regular. anyhow... the tiny bit of juice and tummy massage worked really well for us. good luck!

I understand your frustrations, My Daughter LilyAnne just turned 4 months the 3rd of April, she goes thru the same thing She has also gone as long as 4 days. I exclusively Breastfeed and assumed she wouldn't have this problem, her pediatricion also says it is fine, as long as he is not in any pain just let it run it course, ( I know easier said than done) my friends' ped recomended pear juice, you can always ask about that.
good luck
S.

You are breastfeeding? If so I agree with your pediatrician, it is normal for some babies to "with hold" their bowel momement for up to a week. It just means you'll get a bit of a blow out when they DO go! My 3-1/2 month old went from several times a day to less frequently and he is perfectly happy and healthy. As long as your baby's bowel movements are not hard or bloody, I wouldn't worry.

My son is a few days over 4mos., and rarely has a daily BM. Like your son, he used to have them on a daily basis, sometimes at every diaper change. He also can be very gassy, and at times I expect to find a mess in his diaper, only to find out it's not 'dirty'. This is my 4th child, and I can assure you that it is perfectly ok and safe for your little boy to go anywhere from 1 to 7 days without pooping. I believe that after 7 days, a supository is in order. I would stop using any form of stimulation, until 6 days has passed; just to make sure he doesn't become dependent on the stimulus. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

I had the same problem with my daughter. My doctor said that some kids only go once a week!! My concern was that she seemed uncomfortable in the effort to poop. He recommended not using rectal stim as she might become "addicted" to it and need it to poop. I went to my chiropractor with this and he suggested both getting her adjusted and using a little bit (1/2 tsp) of blackstrap molasses mixed into a bottle with some warm water. Sounds strange but those two treatments worked every time. Now if she gets stopped up, I take her in for an adjustment. If you live in south sound, WA, the BEST chiropractor for children is Dr Michael Long at Renaissance Chiropractic Center. He's on Tacoma Mall Blvd and the number is ###-###-####. He's seen my husband, me, and both our daughters since their births.

Hi there,
just like everyone else, my daughter had the same issue. I was worried & kept asking everyone. It is normal, and as everyone has said, as long as he continues to have an appetite & his BM's are not hard when he finally does go, just leave him be. Don't stimulate or force him, just relax. My daughter's BM's didn't become a daily thing until she was 1 and a half. She moved up to every other day or every second once she started eating solids at around 6 months but I still nursed her too. She is now an every day pooping child closing in on two and fine. I bet he is just growing & using up all the good nutrients. Don't worry so much, by breast feeding him you are helping his body to be as naturally healthy as possible, no need to add or change anything....but I know how weird it is :) hang in there.

I have a 3 year old daughter and she doesn't have a bm alot either. Her doctor also told me that i shouldn't worry. Maybe its somthing in her diet. I started giving my daughter foods with fiber to help her out. She has a bm every few days but she seems fine.Well i hope i helped some. wish u two the best.

Hi there- I realize that you are a nurse- and I am not, but I am the mommy to a son who was born with a birth defect concerning his bowel and colon etc so let's just say poop has become my area of expertise. If your baby is strictly breastfeed and he isn't fussy and his BMs are still soft when they do occur on their own then he is fine. Purely Breastfed babies can skip 1-3 days with out a BM and it is completely normal. If he is constipated then his little tummy will feel hard and distended- the 1st thing I would try before rectal stimuli would be a warm bath and a tummy rub if it's been more than 3 days. If the DR isn't thinking he has a problem and he seems comfortable and his BMs are soft when they happen I would quit giving him the glycerin suppositories which he can become dependent upon.

If you little one does seem to get constipated or seems really uncomfortable, especaily when trying to pass a BM then I would suspect a narrow Anal open, which can be fixed by doing dialations over time.

Hope that helps,
K.

I had this same problem with my daugther, she is now 6 months old and pooping regularly again, around the same time as your son's age, my daughter would not have a BM unless I stimulated her. I spoke to my pediatrician about it and he said that this was normal because the more she grew the more of her food she would digest and the milk she was getting was not putting enough pressure to make her feel like she needed to have a BM. If I stimulated her then she would push just enough to force the urge. I am happy to say that once I put her on baby foods she found the urge again and now goes regularly without stimulation. I hope this helps.

I'm sure you've already heard that breastfed babies can go for awhile without pooping.

My little guy started out getting really constipated. I ended up having to switch him to Enfamil Gentlease formula and he hasn't been constipated since then.

My son would poop out ROCK hard pellets... and seemed genuinely in pain, poor thing. That's how you can tell if he's truly constipated. At that point, we had to put a cotton swab with lube on it and "help" him poop. I also had to give baby 2 ounces of prune juice. If your pediatrician isn't concerned and baby doesn't seem to be in any pain, I would just wait it out.

Constipation has a lot more to do with the consistancy of the poop than the frequency. Breast fed babies poop much less for a while once they reach a certain age because so much of the nutrients are being absorbed. They start pooping a lot again once they start on solid food. Let the poor little guy do his own thing! A lot of doctors don't worry about it until its been about a week. Talk to your pediatrition. I believe your son is way to young to be holding it for psycological reasons. Just enjoy changing less poopy diapers for a while, it is a luxury that doesn't last long.

Well, My son (and myself) only "go" about once a week, and that's perfectly normal for us. I wouldn't worry about making him go unless it's been over a week and he hasn't gone. It also might be a change in diet (yours or his if you are breastfeeding). Good luck to you and I hope you find the "culprit".

i remember worrying about the same thing when mine was little lol. i would be so excited when he pooped that i'd tell people i hardly knew about it lol. i did a little bit of apple juice or prune juice every day and that helped. and my aunt had the same problem and she had to stimulate for probably 2 wks or so, but eventually the baby got the hang of it. yeah, as long as he's not in pain he should be fine. i hope it gets better!

Contact the Encopresis Center in Edmonds, Washington. I don't know where you live so I don't know if this is feasible for you. My daughter had the same problem. They have wonderful nurses there who deal with this problem every day. Their number is ###-###-####. Sometimes children hold in their bowels for various reasons - psychological and it causes this, sometimes it's just diet. I would go to this center if I were you.

Good luck.

Hi,

I had the same "problem" with my baby girl, Emma, when she was your son's age.Around 3 months she was having a BM every 4-5 days. I remember I called my pediatrician and the nurse told me not to worry because being breast fed "she's taking all in" and in the breast milk there is not to much residue that she puts out in the BM. I'm also an RN and plus I work with elderly and BM is a big deal around here. One BM Q 4-5 days was not satisfying for me so I gave to Emma 1oz. of baby prune juice mixed with 1oz. of watter, this is if you give your baby anything else than breast milk.I gave her this cocktail once per day, after 3 days without BM until she had one. Usually she had it after the first or second day. It never happened to wait more then 6 days. If no, don't worry, he'll be back to"normal" after the 3 month growth spurt. My daughter is 6 1/2 months and she's only on formula for 3 weeks when i didn't have milk anymore, and she has BM almost qd. So,be patient, is OK to worry and always follow your instincts, call your doctor every time you feel that something is not the way it should be.
Success,

Dora