Constipated 3 month old bf baby

[juniper9]

Posting here for traffic, sorry.

My dd normally poos about 5 times a day, but hasn't pooed in the last 24 hours. She's in a lot of pain and discomfort with it, and I can feel all the tension in her tummy.

I've tried massaging her stomach, I've pushed down on it, I've carried her so my hand pushes on it, I've bicycled her legs etc but nothing is working.

Any suggestions?! She has slept a grand total of
20 minutes today and is due to go to bed soon, but she's unhappy lying down so I'd really rather get this poo out!

Vibrating baby chair? My three month old only seems to poo in his chair.

Try posting in the bottle and breastfeeding topic as you will get lots of great advice there.

I would recommend lots of feeding (bf usually has a laxative effect), massage and hot baths.

Try a few sips of warm water

Will she take a little cooled boiled water, or if that doesn't help a tiny amount of sugar/orange juice/prune juice in water? If she's impacted a glycerine suppository may help. Don't be afraid to ring out of hours GP for quick examination if you're concerned!

Hot bath always worked for me. Very unusual though for bf baby to get constipated- have you eaten anything different recently?

When I say for me, I meant it made DD poo, not me.

Hot bath, offer more boob if she'll take it, or your little fingers to suck on as suckling helps relax the gut muscles (and hormones in milk relax gut muscles even more), use a little sunflower oil on your hand and massage in clockwise circles on her bare tummy. All things that might help.

It isn't uncommon for bf babies to go several days between poos, but the fact that she seems in discomfort makes it more concerning. If she still hasn't done anything by tomorrow and still seems very uncomfortable then you might consider ringing 111 just for peace of mind but chances are she'll go straight away after you talk to them ;)

Firstly I don't think your baby is constipated, esp if baby is otherwise healthy and is EBF, bunged up possibly but not constipated

breast milk is a natural laxative which is why healthy ebf babies don't get constipated

Around the 3 month mark ebf babies digestion and bowl habits can change dramatically, they go from several a day to several days Inbetween, I think the record is something like 12 days , this is perfectly normal,

This can also be accompanied by a cross baby as they get used to the new routine, they do get used to it as they learn to push to expel poo rather than it coming out easier, again this is not constipation just a change in digestive and bowel system

Keep trying baby massage, leg cycling, a warm bath, keep ebf baby, don't give baby water, when baby sites go you might have a pooplosion so have hot water ready all day and night,

It's probably not constipation, it is very common for bfed babies to not poo daily, or even weekly. Don't give water or juice or anything. Tummy massage in a clockwise motion around the tummy button with olive oil can help, but maybe she isn't actually ready to do a poo today.

DD could go longer than a week without pooping, it's perfectly normal for breastfed babies.

The thing is, she normally goes between 5 and 7 times a day, so this is very unusual. Nothing has changed.

She's got silent reflux and possibly other digestive issues which need investigating properly. She gets incredibly bad wind but normally does poonamis happily and easily.

You should eat some prunes and grapes, and keep bfing her. Don's give water or juice, you don't need to. DS2 was ebf and at about that age switched from a few a day to once a week. Keep up the massage. If you're concerned, take her to baby clinic and talk to the HV.

DD was poonamis until she was a few months old, they change all the time. If you are worried speak to your HV or doctor, but I wouldn't panic too much, it really is normal. Optimal food means less waste because they use it all up.

Something has changed - she's got older and her digestion has got more mature. It may be something, but it's much more likely to be nothing.

I'm a volunteer at a bf support group and we had 3 mums in this week alone with babies between 9 and 12 weeks old who had all suddenly stopped pooing, but were completely fine.

Does she possibly have a lactose intolerance? My dd gets terrible constipation if she even looks at anything cow milk. If you are desperate feed diluted orange juice-sugar helps flush them through but its not recommended (however I did it a handful of times out of desperation to relieve her pain)

Ps-lots of reflux babies are lactose intolerant but often missed x

Does she possibly have a lactose intolerance? My dd gets terrible constipation if she even looks at anything cow milk. If you are desperate feed diluted orange juice-sugar helps flush them through but its not recommended (however I did it a handful of times out of desperation to relieve her pain)

Does she possibly have a lactose intolerance? My dd gets terrible constipation if she even looks at anything cow milk. If you are desperate feed diluted orange juice-sugar helps flush them through but its not recommended (however I did it a handful of times out of desperation to relieve her pain)

I really don't think not pooing for 24 hours counts as constipation, even given her previous regularity! She likely is having some sort of digestive issue though, I agree - maybe trapped wind and bloating? Hope she's back to normal soon.

I've just given my dd fennel tea to help with trapped wind and I'm drinking lots as well. Fingers crossed.

Brown sugar in water.

It's very possible that she's having a growth spurt. Most if the milk is being used as fuel and there isn't any left over to come out as poo.

Babies can get really unsettled when they grow.

Mine was the same, exclusively breast fed and if he didn't poo for 24 hours he was DEFINITELY constipated. We gave him glycerin suppositories on the advice of our GP (who agreed that it was unusual to go from around 6 or 7 poos a day to none) and they did the trick - it took about 20 minutes, and the results were spectacular and proved that he had indeed been constipated (TIM alert, but there was a sort of hardish plug, followed by what would have been the normal contents of his 6 missed nappies - we were so astonished at how much there was that we almost forgot to be horrified at the situation!).

I'm not saying that it is common, but in my experience it can happen and (again, according to my GP) glycerin suppositories are practically harmeless because they are physiological, not medicinal. Might be worth a try if you are worried, especially given that they are cheap and readily available, so much easier than trying to be seen at the OOH if she does start to show more discomfort. Good luck (never thought I'd be hoping someone gets covered in poo soon in a sympathetic way rather than in anger ).

The poo came. Oh how it came. Another one has visited us since. The washing machine is on.

Thanks for the advice- hopefully it was a blip. She's far happier now.

Hi juniper, unfortunately it is unlikely ro be a blip, just the start if her bowels maturing, my ds went from every nappy bring a dirty nappy to once a day to once every 2 or 3 days, it definately freaks you out to start as it is so wrong compared to what they were like yesterday, but very quickly they learn to push and arent as unsettled in between poos, every baby is different so it can take a few days or even a month for a new poo schedule to settle down, but perfectly normal,

You are doing great, from this point on it should get easier and easier,