Seeking Advice - Fairfield,CA

most people will tell you it is normal, she will have a blowout one of these days. if you would like to help her get on a normal daily pooping routine, you can try massaging her abdomen with castor oil daily. i did this with my son.
peace,
M.

no fun...poor baby. My son was the same way, I used to massage his belly and I would sometimes have to give him a rectal suppository. That really did the trick for him.

Good luck!

H.

We had the same problem, although my baby is EBF. The doctor said it is not uncommon for babies to go up to 7 days without a poop. However, if you want to get things moving, they recommended 1 tsp. of Karo Syrup mixed with a couple ounces of water, formula, or BM. Works like a charm - be ready for a blowout!

When my daughter quit nursing and went to formula, she became constipated during the transition. I used baby suppositories and once her little system got used to the change of food source, she did just fine. I didn't have to use them very long. Just enough to help her go. Some babies don't go as often as others and it doesn't really mean anything is wrong, especially if she's not screaming because her tummy hurts. My pediatrician told me about the suppositories and they worked really well. I never had to use them with my son, but they helped get my daughter goin'!

Hello my daughter went through the same thing when I started supplementing formula around the same age. My doctor had me get some saline suppositories from like CVS or Walgreens and give her a little less than half every 2-3 days to keep her from getting a tummy ache. I promise it works and just make sure your ready, she will be going a lot and it will feel like it'll never end.

Hi M.-
My sisters baby only pooped every 3 days. And it was massive and toxic- but that is his normal cycle whereas the other son poops at least once a day if not more.
If your doctor is concerned (call the advice nurse) see what you can give your daughter. My other sister gives her son a small bit of miralax in his bottle once a day if his poops are few and far between. I don't know how old the baby needs to be, but def. call an advice nurse or your pediatrician and see what's available for the baby. She may just be on a longer poop cycle than most.
Hope this helps!
-E. M

My three year old, in general, has major poop troubles. The doctor recommended Miralax, and we actually give him a small amount twice a day to keep him regular - on doctor's orders. I would check with your pediatrician to see if that's ok for you - but it works like a charm.

I had the same problem when mine was approx 3mo. We couldn't figure out why Max was so fussy. We went thru the checklist and realized that he hadn't pooped for almost a week. I called the Doc. and they told me that its pretty common and that a newborn could go up to ten days without pooping. They suggest diluted pear juice. Needless to say after that we keep a poop calendar so we can trac it.

I hear that is very normal with bottle fed babies up to something crazy like 10 days as long as there is pee it's all good

THis is totally normal at this age. The only thing you can do is hunker down and be ready for an EXPLOSION!

Have you tried a 1/2 teaspoon of dark caro syrup? That's what my Pediatrician recommended and it works like a charm. If your baby was a little older you may try glycerin suppositories. My baby just had a bad case of constipation that we brought her into the emergency room. She is almost a year old so I now make sure she gets lots of liquid and fruits in her diet. I hope this helps and good luck.

When mine did that it wasn't till the third day that he felt pain. he started crying and squiming so I called the doc and he told me to get an OTC glycerin sepository. I asked the pharmacist for the infant one, used it and he was happy and poopy again within an hour. I kept it around and actually used them one other time too. I would wait till he expresses some disscomfort though. this might be just a normal incident. Congrats on the new baby !! Have fun.

She is pretty young, I think I would call the Dr. just to make sure there are no problems, an advice Nurse can tell you if she needs to come in to see the dr.
good luck

Make sure you are mixing the formula exactly as it should, if you are using powder. I used glycerine suppositories each night before bed when my daughter was an infant until she would automatically go after her bath. She always had a hard time pooping and this really helped. Our pediatrician didn't recommend juice at this age.
Sincerely,
L.

My 1st child would go 3-4 days without pooping and the doctor said it is normal and not to worry unless the baby is in pain or has hard stools.

Around 2 or 3 months my son (now 11 months) suddenly went from 1 to 2 poops a day to 1 poop a week! Doctor said it was totally fine since he was breastfed, but have heard its different for formula-fed. The advice nurse recommended that we sometimes give him a bottle with 1 oz warm prune juice and 1 oz water to help move things along -- which really worked. (Give it a few hours but be ready for a blow out if its been a few days!)

Massage her tummy, warm bath, put her in the frog position and you can give her diluted apple/pear juice 1:1 to help move her bowels along. If that doesn't work, call her doctor.

Good luck,

Molly

Hi M.,

Sometimes the formula or breast milk is a little binding. My son did the same thing. His pediatrician recommended that I put a little plum juice mixed with water to give it to him and it worked. Consult the pediatrician first. Good luck!!!!

My daughter has always had tummy issues. When we first brought her home from the hospital she didn't poop for 4 days. The pedi said that it's fine, constipation is determined by the firmness of the stool, not how often they go. If you want to get your baby to poop a warm bath does wonders as well as a thermometer up the rear (I hear that is an eject button so be sure to have the baby on a towel or something), tummy time will help also. I would hesitate to do any juice unless your baby is showing signs of pain or being uncomfortable.
Best of luck,
C.

Many breast-fed or formula-fed infants may only have a bowel movement once every few days. As long as it passes easily and without too much discomfort, this is not considered constipation. One of the first things I recommend for babies over 2 months and older children with constipation is a probiotic supplement. These good bacteria are often lacking in the formula fed infant and are critical for proper bowel function. They make powdered probiotic supplements specifically for infants. Some other things you can try to gently get the bowels moving, are try one extra bottle (4oz) of water per day. If that doesn't help, you can try some prune juice or slippery elm bark powder mixed with water. Also, consider trying a different formula (some babies do really well on some formulas and not so well on others).

I hope this helps and your little one stays happy!

L. Vachani, BS, NC
Holistic Nutrition Consultant

oh honey, let me tell you the first time my son did that, it freaked me out. But don't worry, she's just using EVERY nutrient she's getting :) You might try uping her feeding an ounce, or maybe she's just about to sprout another inch or two. :) the longest my 3 year old went was 6 days and my 1.5 year old went 9 days once.

they're both fine, and it ended up they were just growing.

good luck
K.

Add a little prune juice in her formula. That will loosen her up. Or, you can add aloe vera juice which will also loosen the bowels. She may just be compacted and once the damn is broken it will "flow" again.
Good luck!

my son went 7 days without poop. i called the ped and she said call back if it lasts longer than 10 days! apparently it's normal for babies on an all formula/breastmilk diet to not poop for long stretches. sometimes they just absorb more nutrients.

he pooped 5 minutes later.
call the ped if in doubt.

If she's not showing outward signs of constipation or discomfort, then don't worry about it. My 1st son pooped ever 8 to 10 days for the first 6 mths of his life & he was on both breast & bottle. He's 3 yrs old now & still only poops every 3 to 4 days. It's just the way his sytem works. It doesn't do anyone any good to "force" something that isn't really a problem. You will learn that you can't make a child eat, sleep or poop! :)

If you're really concerned because she seems in pain or not herself, talk to your ped! Otherwise, enjoy this time with her - it will pass very quickly!

Good luck.

If she's not in pain it could be normal. I had to give my son infant glycerin suppositories at 3 months though. He was solely breadfeeding. He was crying a lot and wouldn't go poo. They were sold out at 2 stores. I think it's pretty common and probably not warrenting a Dr. visit just yet.
You can cut the supp. in quarters lengthwise so the diameter isn't so thick. They work pretty quick and were a "lifesaver" for us.

I would call your pediatrician and see what they have you do. It can be normal, but she is probably uncomfortable. You can try massaging her tummy and see if that helps.

Best of luck,
C.
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