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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

question about poo frequency in 3 week old breastfed baby

20 replies

rhetorician · 25/12/2011 21:22

DD2 is 3 weeks, and feeding well (other than struggling with first, a cold and secondly a very fast let-down). She was just over 8lbs when weighed on Weds (birth weight was 7lbs 8), so putting on about an ounce a day. She had been pooing frequently (and sometimes copiously), but has only had one fairly modest poo in the last 24 hours. Plenty of wet nappies, feeding frequently (sometimes we wake her to feed), seems alert and mostly sleeping well...most sources seem to say it should be 3-4 a day at this age. Is there any cause for concern? I know older babies often go longer.

My instinct is that if she is feeding well, gaining weight, not dehydrated and not distressed beyond a bit of nasty wind then it's probably fine...am I wrong?

Thanks for reading

OP posts:
TapTapTapPenny · 25/12/2011 21:30

Even at 3 weeks, some babies poo every other day and fill their entire babygro
I speak from experience. [ill]

If she's weeing, feeding, seems well etc then she may just brewing for an almighty head-to-toe poo.

Just in case, nobody should be wearing white trousers. Again, experience.

And congrats!

Original poster
rhetorician · 25/12/2011 21:32

thanks! white trousers not an option in this house due to pathologically messy almost 3 year old...(plus I am incapable of maintaining anything white too!)

OP posts:
KenDoddsDadsDog · 25/12/2011 21:36

My DD is this. I bent her legs and pushed them into her tummy and used massage to get them moving. Then there was a poohsplosion not many hours later....

rufusnine · 25/12/2011 21:37

My babies were totally different -from the beginning one pooed after or during every feed -copiously- we called her dirty mcsquirty and the next child went days between poos which were more like toothpaste coming out of a tube - but yellow!! Both totally breast fed so I wouldn't be too worried at the moment! Your instincts seem spot on to me!

TruthSweet · 25/12/2011 21:38

If she has had at least 6 heavy wet disposable nappies (8 if using cloth), is feeding 8-12+ times a day (and is feeding well) and when she does poo it isn't hard or meconium like (dark green/dark brown), then the occasional skipping of pooing is okay.

Second the advice for no white trousers - for her as well as you!

TimeWasting · 25/12/2011 22:26

DD did this too. As long as she's well and it's healthy poo when it appears, no worries.

Original poster
rhetorician · 26/12/2011 10:57

seems to have been a temporary hiatus so I will hold off on the white trews for now! thanks to you all

OP posts:
somewherewest · 26/12/2011 16:58

Thanks for starting this thread, as it saves me starting an identical one Xmas Smile. My almost 3 week old is exactly the same and is also sleeping, feeding and weeing well. Again there are no obvious problems, although he's always had issues with wind. I too have very fast let down, but I can't imagine the two are linked?

Original poster
rhetorician · 26/12/2011 19:50

no, me neither; but maybe the wind is a factor? as i say, frequency has resumed here - is yours a more longstanding issue somewherewest?

OP posts:
somewherewest · 27/12/2011 15:33

DS has now gone 48 hours without anything and we're getting concerned again. Up until now he was pooing very frequently, although the frequency had been decreasing for a few days before the current 'poo strike'.

pud1 · 27/12/2011 15:48

Both my dds could go days at that age without pooing. Hv told me that breast milk is so right for them that there is very little waste. Not sure I agree with that one but they were fine holding onto it for a bit

TimeWasting · 27/12/2011 18:05

Going a long time without pooing is normal for a bf baby, though usually starts later. It isn't a problem, unless there are other issues.

GrownUpBelievesInSanta · 27/12/2011 18:12

My BF baby went over a week once without pooing. I judged it by how she was in herself (no stomach, colic type pain), how her appetite was and how many wet nappies she was doing a day. I needed lots of reassurance though.

nannyl · 27/12/2011 18:41

My baby was born mid september

I know by mid october (4 weeks) she was only poo-ing every 3 -4 days. Im not sure she has ever poo'd as often as daily in her whole life!

Now she is 15 weeks she poo's every 5 - 6 days. (she did 5 poos in november and 5 so far in december) (normally only small, sometimes medium.... only about 3 "big" poos ever!!!!)

Iggly · 27/12/2011 18:45

Can you sneak in some more feeds?

DD is three weeks and her poos have slowed down. I try feeding every 2 hours and feed to sleep to get extra milk inside her which seems to help.

Incidentally she struggles with wind both top and bottom - and j have an overactive letdown!

Original poster
rhetorician · 27/12/2011 20:56

any tips for the wind? dd really suffering - tried all the usual methods - over the shoulder, bicycle legs, tummy massage, tiger hold etc etc. Nothing seems to make a lot of difference....

OP posts:
TruthSweet · 27/12/2011 23:22

This might help with the wind (it talks about how to read baby's cues/signals and interpret them).

HappyCamel · 27/12/2011 23:27

Don't worry about gaps. Between 4 weeks and about 4 months DD went once a week, like clock work.no nappy could have held it but we could tell when she was getting going and held her over a pot.

Original poster
rhetorician · 28/12/2011 12:38

truthsweet fabulous link - really useful, and makes sense of the whole thing. My dd2 is a very easy baby - eats, sleeps and we are wiser this time to the ease with which they get overstimulated. I posted something on fb about her being a bit windy and bingo - loads of people telling DP (who is doing all the work) to give up dairy/infacol blah blah. Baby just is windy! Not sick, not difficult, just completely normal. Her parents, on the other hand....

OP posts:
otchayaniye · 28/12/2011 20:28

mine's 4 months old and can go 10 days without pooing

she started infrequently pooing at 6 weeks. i hadn't expected it because my first daughter started the infrequent pooing (her record was 12 days) later and paed just shrugged her shoulders

no discomfort, and she's gone up several centiles and every hcp i've asked can't give me an explanation

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