No stools in 6 days in fully breast fed baby

[ladylush]

Struggling to get any concrete advice wrt this. Dd (13 weeks old/3 weeks corrected - prem baby)has not openeed her bowel since last friday Hoping someone will come along and tell me this is normal and I am worrying about nothing. To be fair, this is what the GP said when I took her two days ago. He examined her tummy (soft) and said she would poo when she is ready. HV was fairly non-commital and advised me to contact a breastfeeding counsellor. I did that and she said it is normal for babies to not open bowel for a week. When I asked what I should do if dd still hasn't pooed tomorrow (7 days) she said she will get back to me. I want to know at what point I should seek intervention (e.g. suppository)as HV said it's unlikely GP would take this step.
Should add that dd is feeding ok and gaining weight. TIA

[Aranea]

My dd1 used to go for about that long between poos. And I know someone whose baby did a weekly poo. They couldn't go out on poo day, as it necessitated a bath. Be ready. (I'm sure your baby is fine!)

[BunnyLebowski]

As far as I know it's pretty normal for breastfed babies to poo infrequently in the early days.

I know that dd went 7 days a few times and then had a massive explosion!

If she's feeding ok and weeing plenty then I'd say just wait for it!

[ladylush]

Thanks Reassuring to hear from bf mothers rather than just Healthcare professionals. I hope she goes tomorrow as that will then be 7 days.

[ladylush]

And yes.........I think it will be pretty substantial when she does eventually go

[tiktok]

ladylush - this is normal. It is normal for long gaps to appear between poos in a baby beyond the newborn stage - and the gaps can be longer than a week.
Your baby is feeding ok. She is gaining weight. She is happy and healthy. The GP has examined her. The HV sees no concerns. The bfc has confirmed it's normal....er, what else can you do except not worry?

I think the longest record on mumsnet was the baby who did not poo for 13 days (can anyone else remember?).

No need for any intervention with a healthy, thriving baby....

[YouKnowHumanBonesCrunch]

DS2 and DD1 both went that long between poos. DS2 was very regular (so much so that I knew not to go ANYWHERE on a Tuesday afternoon as it was uncontainable!), dd1 ranged from 5 days to 8 days. No health issues at all with either.

As long as they are well I don't think it's a problem

[ladylush]

Thanks Tiktok - I guess I will see if dd can break the mumsnet record Hope not!

[ladylush]

Thanks youknow - v reassuring

[ladylush]

Happy to report that dd did poo yesterday evening. I suspect we have much more to come because it was an average size poo (!) rather than 6 days worth

[ShowOfHands]

DD, fully bfed did this. And when it did come, it was, er, normal. It's because breastmilk is the ideal food, they digest and use so much of it that there's little waste sometimes. I awaited the massive explosions the couple of times she went a week but they never came. In fact it was worse when she was doing her normal 3 a day routine.

[ladylush]

That's interesting showofhands - forgot about the minimal waste. It makes sense.

[Rachee]

My son went 9 days max when bf, hv said this would be because he was using all the nutrients in the milk to grow, so not much waste left.... warm baths if you want to loosen the inevitable !!
sometimes to it's not a great big explosion when it happens, cause there wasn't much waste.
as long as you have wet nappies, everything is fine
xXx
( Rachee , bf counsellor, le leche league)

[moosemama]

DD did this, first she used to go after every feed then she changed to not going for 9-10 days at a time. Never bothered her and when she did go it was a normal quantity, but a slightly thicker consistency and really smelly!

As ShowofHands and Rachee said, breastmilk is so nutritious that there isn't much waste so no huge explosive nappies.

She makes up for it now she's weaned, 3 dirty nappies after her porridge every morning like clockwork and more throughout the day.

[Warwickmum]

My DS went several times a day until about 3 months old and then it suddenly started being anything from 5 days to 8 days. The longest he went was 10 days!! I've been told it is that they are absorbing nearly everything from the milk and so there is not so much to get rid of. We also were glad to be home on a 'poo day' when we were as you could hear it arrive! Since starting weaning at 6 months we have become a 'poo monster' again!

[ladylush]

Thanks for all your messages. Glad it is normal. I was worried because at the Neonatal Unit they said she should pass stools at least every 48 hours. Maybe it is different for pre-term babies and not a problem now that she is 3 weeks corrected.

[Ready]

My HV told me that one baby she knew went 20 days without a poo. Absolutely fine, checked by GP, was happy and alert and not straining or anything so said not to worry. When the poo came it came but I would say not to worry.
DD went 5 days and we were worried, hence talking to the HV about it, and when she did poo it was pretty abundant