My Baby Poops Once a Week!!

My daughter did the same thing. Don't worry, if she isn't having any discomfort then just wait it out. My daughter did that for 3 months or so and then began going every couple of days and now about every day to every other day. Just wait and see how her system handles the new food! Good luck!

What worked for my little guy... pears and pear juice or apple juice. Applesauce is for stopping them up, but apple juice is good for loosening it up. Just remember to dilute the juice.... I did 50% water / 50% juice. I know it's scary for moms, as I was having the same trouble. But have peace of mind that she isn't in any discomfort... it is normal! :)

Suzanna, she may need more milk or water, all the food you give her has fiber in it and the fiber attracts the water to soften the poop and make it come out easy, so you shouldn't worry, just start her on a sippy cup of water and see how she does!

This is nothing to be alarmed about since you are breastfeeding. Breast milk is designed for baby humans, it is their perfect food, and because of that, there can be very little waste left over. I had four, and one of them was like this, going about once a week. Thankfully, he was my third so I simply did a bit of research, realized it was not an uncommon thing, and that was that. He is now 21 years old. Your doctor knows what he/she is talking about on this one... this must be your first child if you are counting poops! :0) No remedies are necessary because this is not a "problem" that needs to be fixed. Your daughter is not in pain, she is not uncomfortable, it is just the way her system utilizes her food at this stage in her life. If you must do something, try massage on her tummy or feet, or dilute some organic plum juice for her.

It's totally normal. So long as she's not in pain from it, you don't need to do anything. Just listen to your doctor.

There's nothing wrong with your baby.... every baby is different. Your doctor is right :) So you don't need a remedy - just be grateful you have to change less poop diapers.

Starting at about 2 weeks old, my son only pooped once every 6-10 days! I was a little concerned, but the doctor said that as long as it's soft and he's not trying really hard to push it out, then it's fine - the breastmilk was just being so well digested that there wasn't a whole lot left over!

My point is not to worry about it - if everything else is okay, then you shouldn't mess around. Giving her diarrhea (or really loose stools) for no reason will be more disruptive than helpful! If, however, she's having a really hard time pushing out her poop or it's really hard, then try something else - fresh fruits and veggies are the best bet. You can also try giving prunes as a food once a week (rather than a juice) - that's what I give my son now (there's a prunes & oatmeal by one of the organic companies, although the name is escaping me at the moment!) to keep him regular - they're a good iron source as well, so once or twice a week is good for them!

Good luck!

Suzanna,

Breastmilk is a natural laxative. You could try to increase the amount of breastmilk she's consuming. As long as she's not straining or uncomfortable, she's not constipated and as long as she's not showing any signs of dehydration or malnutrition, I really wouldn't worry about it.

T.
mommy to 2 boys who were breastfed past one year

T.

My lactation consultant said she has one breastfed baby that only goes once every 10 days. It's because breastmilk is so fully usable, there's no waste.

Don't worry about it if she's not in any discomfort.

Ask the dr. if there is any level of fiber you can give the child. Also look into giving her pieces of apple (I mean very small pieces that can be swallowed safely.)

Also, look into what type of fruits, juices, etc. have higher contents of fiber.

She is slowly becoming constipated so be very careful.

GET A 2nd opinion... doesn't seem right.

I'm going through the same thing and it's not that you shouldn't worry-just do some foods to help the system, it slows when solids are introduced. Add to the diet prunes (to cereal,not juice),apple sauce, sweet potato,pears,beans,plums.
lay off the carrots,bananas,and rice.
You can also get baby moving-giggling,jumping,crawling and plenty of liquids.
Call Dr. if baby is straining or in discomfort,they will give the ok for infant suppositories.

For my 7 month old, we avoided carrots, and apples. My doc. mentioned that these can also cause a little constipation. your little girl might not be constipated, but I know that by the 3rd or 4th day I get very nervous too. we also increase the prune puree and pear puree. We also switched from rice cereal to Oatmeal or barley cereal if she can handle it. and sometimes put a little pear juice in his oatmeal cereal. I also don't give oatmeal more than once a day..

My husband thinks I am obsessed with my babies poop frequency, but its truely one of the things I worry about.

Go to Henry's Market and pick up Chewable DHA by Carlson for Kids, it is wonderful and will give your daughter many benefits, including more regularity!! If you don't have a Henry's go to www.carlsonlabs.com

Suzanna
Yes- this is the same boat I was in and it drove me crazy! Dr wasn't worried and he did go once a week-you are bringing back the memories!

Sometimes when he was in the bath I would run his belly and it would create the urge to go. I did end up using prunes and only a few times used the stool softener that went up the rear.

Good luck I hadn't met anyone else in this predicament before!
B

try mineral oil. my son was a little older when this became an issue for him. 1 tsp mineral oil in his juice every day kept him regular. for a 6 mo old i would begin with perhaps 1/8 tsp and see how that goes. mineral oil is ordorless, tasteless, and safe. but still run it by your pediatrician first. K.

Like everyone else said, if your doctor isn't too worried & your baby doesn't show signs of discomfort, then I would not worry too much. However, I know when my baby was backed up and clearly sowing signs of discomfort I gave her apples mixed with prunes. That worked like magic! Plus, she ate the prunes mixed with apples. Good luck!

just an idea. If it was my child I think I would get a second opinion from another doctor. If she is eatin solids one would think she would be having more then one b.m. per week. it couldn't hurt to ask another doctor.

Suzanna,
I had the same problem with my son. I gave him water he drank it as he wanted it and the problem went away!!!
M. Reynoso

Hello Suzanna,
I gave my babies prune baby food out of a Gerber baby food jar. It did the trick.
Push your finger down gently on the arm of her skin and look to see if the skin color returns quickly when the pressue is taken off. If the color comes back quickly she is not dehydrated. D.

Hi Suzanna. I have twin baby boys and one of them poops like a champ and the other one needs a little help. His stools seem a little clay like so in an effort to make sure he can pass them easy enough I give him the gerber prunes and apples stage 2. I also give him pears, peaches and sweet potatoes. You will want to avoid applesauce, carrots, green beans and BANANAS because they have a tendency to constipate. Also since your little girl is 6 months have you tried giving her access to water through a sippy? She might not be interested, but then again...she might love it and she might just need a little more water.

Looks to me like you got some pretty sound advice. Just make sure you give her water and don't give her anything that her body will grow to depend on to poop.

Stop worrying about her and don't change her diet. As long as she's getting lots of fruit and veggies she's fine. Don't assume that just because some kids go every day that there is something wrong with your kid. The doctor isn't worried and you shouldn't be either. Everybody's different.

For my kids, they go at least 2-3 times a day. Have been that way from the get go. So if there is a day that they haven't gone, I know they are constipated. I try to prevent that by giving lots of fruits and veggies like you are doing. I also give them organic yogurt with natural probiotics about 3 times a week. Then on the days that I don't give them yogurt, I add 1/4 tsp of either Jarro or Udo's Choice infants probiotic powder into their drink once a day. That combined with what they eat keeps their stools soft and going regularly.

And on the rare occasion that they have really hard stools, I give them 8 ounces of watered down pomegranate juice (half water half juice) and within an hour, they have a bowel movement.

I gave my daughter the probiotic powder from the time she was about 3 months old per recommendation from my nutritionist and review from our ped. But I didn't start yogurt with my kids until they were 12 months old. Started giving my son the probiotics after researching it when he was about 10 months old per recommendation from my nutritionist and review of our ped. It just helps to keep the natural probiotics in the body's digestive system healthy and in good number to battle the bad germs in the body.

I wouldn't try anything because it can cause your baby's body to depend on the med. My son would go up to 2 weeks without pooping and he was just fine it really doesnt bother them or their bodies but if you are really that concerned you could give your baby lots of applesauce

This happened with my baby, too. He was only drinking breastmilk at the time. It's no big deal, apparently they're just using up all of their calories and not needing to poop anything out. As far as juice went, I tried apple-prune or water and I would put it in a dropper like medicine. That worked for us when it had been a long time between dirty diapers:) Once mine started really eating solids, he became much more regular. I also read that sometimes it helps to make sure they're getting the hindmilk/fattier milk when breastfeeding because it helps lubricate the intestines and get things going.
No worries!

PB8 - you can take it if you are still BFing, but you can open a capusle and mix it on. It's just a probiotic and it helps a ton, as well as boosts her immune system.

www.nutritionnow.com - so you can look it up.

Also, with solid foods, they need a bunch of pure water.

Hi suzanna,
i worry about these things too. My daughter and daughter- in law have always given the children apple juice every day. In fact when they would come here they always asked grandma for apple juice. I recently talked to my daughter and she said it always kept them regular and from getting constipated she also drinks it and reccomeded it for me. Hope it works and the good thing is she will love it. Let me know, hope it works. They do say everyone is different some go twice a day and even up to 5 days is normal for some.

I do know when they were babies that they added some water to it. My 3 year old asked me not to put water in it, so they get a mind of there own what they like around this age.

Sandy

Try Chamoille Tea. Lightly brew tea. Add small amount of tea to baby bottle with bottled water. Works miracles.

My baby never went this long, but whenever I think it's been too long since he pooped, I massage his feet. There is a pressure point in the bottom of the feet that corisponds to the bowels. My son always goes within 5-30 minutes of his feet being rubbed. My mom told me this she was a midwive and has lots of these cool tricks, it really works. I also did it for my friend's baby when she hadn't pooped in 3 days and within 10 minutes she had a nice full poopy diaper. Good luck.

Give her diluted pear juice.

Hi Suzanna:

Ah, I remember the days of constipation with my kids (they are now 7 and 10 and very regular). My doctor recommended a natural rememdy called Kid-E-Reg. It is a Dr. Christopher herbal formula which contains Slippery Elm Bark, Licorice Root, Fennel Seed, Anise Seed and Fig Syrup. It has a sweet taste to it. My younger one took it straight but my older one liked it in apple sauce or juice. I would give it to them before they went to bed so they would have a nice BM in the morning. You can buy it online. I think I bought it at the Herb Connection or Herb Shop, something like that. Anywoay, I still keep a bottle for isolated situations when they need it. I also give both of them a good probiotic every night for good bowel health. Good Luck!

anything that would make you poop will help your little on as well. Also you can massage her tummy in a circular motion and also her lower back. You can also "pump" her legs (bending her knees and pushing them up to her tummy). I did both of these with my son. He has poop issues as well however we just celebrated his First birthday and has been pooping like a champ for about 3 months. When you daughter is up and walking around that will help her be regular as well (with all the bending and such). Once a week freaked me out as well however I can tell you from experience that it will get better!

Hi Suzanna, Since you are still breast feeding - I think it would be helpful if you add more fruits, veggies and grains to your diet as well. Please take a look at www.JPNutrition4you.com - the juice plus product can help you achieve that in addition to what you eat every day. There is published Gold Standard research behind the product that I highly recommend it (all natural). I would be happy to talk with you in greater detail about health and diet - please call me ###-###-####. -M., (i'm a health educator)

Well Suzanna, I thought my daughter was the only one too. My daughter would not poop for a week to ten days at a time. I FREAKED out! I took her to the doctor, and he too told me not to worry until it had been 10 days. At the ten day point, he told me to give her a glycerin suppository (natural & organic). Well, I could never let her not go for this long, so after one week, I would give her the glycerin suppository, and she would go within 5 minutes or less! She never seemed uncomfortable, I was the one who was uncomfortable. Well, my daughter is now 11 years old and she generally goes everyday, and is very healthy.

I don't really remember how long I had to help her go, but I know it was only a few months. It seems endless when they are your daughters age, but this too shall pass. Anyway, I hope that helps!

M.

I wouldn't worry about it. But if you want to help her system be a little more regular, try: prune or plum puree, apricot and pear puree work well too.

Watermelon or pears, both excellent for poo-ing and healthy too! But the others may be right, you might not need a remedy. Either way, it's not a terrible idea to give her pears or watermelon, but it would be more for your peace of mind than her bowel discomfort.

Good luck!

Same thing happened to my daughter. She went for about ten days! Drove me crazy. I tried it all: apple juice, prune juice, pear juice, etc. Mashed up watermelon really worked. She only started doing better for good when we intrduced yogurt. 6 months may be too young, ask your doctor.

Kern's apricot nectar.
It is actually kind of gross, with fructose corn syrup and what not in it, but my pediatrician recommended it when my son was having blood in his stool from pushing out poop that was too hard, and it worked like a charm.

This is really not normal at this age. I would get a second opinion as well.

You can put about 1/2 cup to start of epson salts (big bag at Costco cost around $3 here). This is good for relaxing muscles (anyone and everyone can use this) hence the bowels as well.

J.

Dear Suzanna:

This is NORMAL for breastfed babies. I always considered it a bonus! Unless your child is struggling to go or producing something hard, please don't interfere with her brand-new little system!

Lots of Mamas who breastfed exclusively (or introduced foods slowly) gave you great input: Laura A, Maggie J, Tera, Erin B, Lindsey H, Crystal O, and Diedre. Also, the fact that your doctor didn't immediately recommend trying medications, concoctions or taking her off the breast (there's lots of them out there!) tells me you have a TERRIFIC and knowledgeable doctor!

The best natural remedy is your milk! Good job, Mama!

Best wishes,

M.

Oatmeal and beans. I know they don't make baby beans but I used organic vegiterian refried beans because they were the same consistancy as baby food. Also avoid banannas and apples. My son has ended up with a lot of eating issues as result of chronic constipation so it is good that you are being proactive.

My little guy had this problem (and it did hurt him--he used to scream!) & it started when he began eating fruits and veggies. Blueberries helped, peaches helped a bit, I did the gerber prunes (he'd eat those) and they cleaned him out, and the darker green veggies seemed to help (Gerbers).

Good luck!!! :)

Calm Baby - its a magnesium supplement. I give my 11 month old 1/16th of a teaspoon daily and she goes every day like clockwork. I started giving it to her when she was 3 months old.
http://vitanetonline.com/description/VY0016/vitamins/Natu...

Hi Suzanna. My son had trouble with this as well. My doctor told me to mix prune juice in his cereal. Also, he suggested feeding him oatmeal cereal instead of rice because there is more fiber in it. I started eating prunes so that he would get some via my breastmilk. It takes a while for their systems to get used to food. I started my son at 7 months and he just now is starting to regulate, about a month later. Hope this helps.

I was told that prune juice works.

Apple juice always has and still does work wonders for us. When my daughter was little we mixed it 1/2 'n 1/2 with water, so as not to give her a tummy ache. I wouldn't worry too much about it if she doesn't seem uncomfortable, but a little apple juice/water every now and then can't hurt either. ;o)

I have 5 kids and they all did that from time to time and it ALWAYS happened right befor ethey had a major growth spurt. It is very normal and common.

Try "Plum Sweet" juice. It's made from plumbs instead of prunes, so it tastes better. Our baby drinks it every day (diluted with water.) Good luck. :)