Breastfed 3-Month Old Not Pooping (3 Days Now)

My baby is 11 months now but I remember being concerned about her not pooping for a few days when her poop was changing types into more normal consistancy. I can't remember how many days it was. I would call the Dr. though especially if it is any more than 3 days because I have heard of a baby having blocked bowels and the baby had a really hard time and it did long term damage to the baby and the parents did not know it was so serious at the time.
Try rubbing his anus with a warm washcloth. I have tried this when she is constipated and sometimes it gets things going.

35 year old 2nd time mom

hello K., my midwife in NZ told us "normal" ranges anywhere from once in 10 days, to 10 in one day!!!!!!!!!!!! not sure how helpful this is to you,but it might be one more piece of advice to add to your toolbox of suggestions. my daughter had bowel movements pretty regularly, so i am not much help other than my midwife's comment. good luck, A.

My son did the same thing at that age. Are you breastfeeding? If so, their bowels can change after 8 weeks. According to the LaLeche League website, they can go up to 10 days without a bowel movement. My son went 5 days and exploded. I called my pediatrician on several occasions because I was worried. They said as long as the stools that are being passed are not hard, they are not constipated. Also if the stomach isn't hard and they are passing gas, he should be fine. The pediatrician said that I could try and give him 1-2 oz of water after I breastfed him as that could help, I didn't notice a difference with that.

Good Luck and make sure to keep an extra outfit and lots of wipes with you because when it happens it will be messy. Congrats on your new little boy!

I dealt with the same thing and was told that aroudn that time they tend to absorb everything from the milk so there is nothing left to get rid of. I wouldn't worry too much about it if the diapers are still wet.
Take Care,
L

Your sweet baby is fine. My son went 9 days and I was told by the ped. and from information on line that breast fed babies can go 7-10 days. Its a great sign that he passing gas and is in good spirits. Get ready for it when it comes, my son screamed pretty loud on that ninth day just before he finally pooped. All the best.

Hi K.
Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful baby!
Your baby is going through a period of gut maturation - he is taking more out of the milk as it moves through and it will cause him to not poop for a few days. Anything between 8+ times a day and once every 8 days is totally normal.
They do have some stinky gas in the mean time and you really hope you are home when he finally goes because it will be one for the record books!
I had a mom and baby in a support group recently and the baby had not pooped in 8 days, he finally went during group and it was so impressive it shot out the top and arms of his onsie! needless to say mom and baby needed some serious help with the cleanup. Sometimes a bit of rectal stimulation (take his temperature rectally) will stimulate him enough to poop. They are not constipated unless when the poop finally happens it is dry and hard - pellet like. If it is still soft, there is no worry what so ever. Congratulations on your baby taking another step forward in maturity!
J. Subasic-Marks
supportgroupformothers.com
____@____.com

Try a little diluted Prune juice and water say 1oz.prune/3 oz water. That helped our little boy at that age.

Hi K., I have two children that I nursed and my first son was born a month early as well. He is now 4 and my daughter just turned 1 in March. Anyhow, the same thing happened with my daughter only she would sometimes go 5-6 days with no poop. My pediatrician advised me that they actually go from their bowl movements being a natural reflex to something they actually have to think about and do on there own. It sound like your little one going thru that now.
Anyhow I hope that brings some comfort to you until you can get to your pediatrician. One other thing I remember her telling me was that if you do see him straining or seems to be in pain than take them in and they might have to take a suppository to help out but not to let him go more than the 6 days without pooing.
Good luck and congratulations on your new baby.

N.

Yes, it's normal! As long as he has wet diapers and his behavior seems normal, don't worry.

Your post made me remember my own kids and I had a good laugh. My older daughter went through this shift very subtly - her poops changed very gradually over a week or two. So when my second daughter went through this all in one day, and I realized she had not pooped in 3 days, I called the pediatrician in a panic. The on-call doctor called me back and the first thing out of his mouth was, "Is this your first child?" When I told him no, he said, "Then why are you calling?? You know every baby goes through this!" LOL. Anyhow, yes, it's normal, don't worry! =)

Congrats on your new baby boy. It sounds like he's doing fine. I was concerned about the same thing, but my pediatrician assured me that breastfed babies ususally don't develop constipation. We also saw another pediatrician in the practice a couple times and he would remind me that "breastfed babies can go for a week without a bowel movement." It's true. My son's record was 10 days! I was freaking out but he was fine. Breastmilk just doesn't have a lot of solid waste to be eliminated from the baby's GI system.

At this same age, both my boys did this. With our first son, I freaked & took him to the ped who told me it's a common occurrence. With our second, son, he happened to have an appt about the time this was going on so I didn't have to make an extra trip. Sure enough, the same advice from our ped....it's common at this age for changes in their pooping schedule. Call your advice nurse & see what they have to say. I think w/in the 4th day or so, both my boys finally pooped. It was a normal one & there was no straining or pain involved for them. Hope this helps & good luck!

Give her a bottle with breastmilk and some Karo Syrup. Should work after two bottles. My twins did the same. It is no big deal. . .not harmful to them or anything. It will come out eventually.

I hope your baby is doing better ... that happened with my little girl (she's 19 months now) ... and she was in pain so I diluted some baby prune juice and that helped losen her up. She was much better after that.

Hi,
I too have a newborn, now 4 months old and his stools have changed colors about two weeks ago, they are a dark green as opposed to a yellowish before. I asked the dr, and they said that breast fed babies stools do change in the first couple months. If your son seems to be gasy and not even farting be sure to give him some Mylicon Gas Drops, these save us!! No worries about his color of stoools, just hang in there!! :)

Good luck