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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

bf baby and poos

10 replies

olivo · 23/10/2006 20:13

my dd is 8 weeks old and bf - how often should she poo? it seem sto have gone down to one a day but hasnt pooed at all today?
can you reassure me this is normal?

OP posts:
GrimAdventuresOfJane · 23/10/2006 20:15

Hi there
My DD sometimes went 2-3days withput pooing!
BF babes poos can really vary! Dont worry

lemonAIIEEE · 23/10/2006 20:31

Once they get to that age bf babies can not poo for a week or more and it's perfectly normal. They're just being very efficient at digesting and absorbing the breastmilk. It does tend to be very explosive when they do go, mind you!

I'm , because DS continued to be a several-times-a-day boy throughout his exclusively bf period...

mush23 · 23/10/2006 20:53

My DS was exclusively breastfed from birth and from about 4 weeks started going for about three or four days without doing a poo - as he got older it got longer (record so far is ten days without a poo) - and when the poos came they really were like industrial accidents in a curry factory! He didnt seem to be in any discomfort by not pooing for several days so if your baby is the same and pretty happy with life, dont worry about it......

Plibble · 23/10/2006 21:06

Agree with Mush. Nothing to worry about. 4 month old DD's record currently stands at 15 days with no poo. She's not fussed so neither am I.

Original poster
olivo · 24/10/2006 17:45

thanks everyone! still no signs but hey, only two days - am impressed with 15 days though

OP posts:
Cazwa · 24/10/2006 22:09

My 11 week old BF daughter is breaking all records. Shes just done the following pattern: 14 days then poo, 13 days then poo, 8 days poo (today).

Shes uber-healthy and rarely cries, but at first I was really worried about it. In fact i gave her orange juice after the 14 days on a health visitors advice, but have since been told I shouldnt have done that.

My current HV is saying to give her cooled boiled water 3 times a day and regular massage. Im sort of doing this (keep forgetting the water and only bothered today after being reminded by her) but got a poo. Sort of feel like I dont even need to give her water, she seems really happy and is putting on weight with lots of wet nappies.

lemonAIIEEE · 24/10/2006 22:14

I really don't think you need to give your DD boiled water, Caswa. It sounds as though your HV is treating your DD as though she's constipated, when she's actually just breastfed. The fruit juice and water is something they suggest for constipated formula fed babies (who shouldn't be going for days without pooing). Water isn't necessary for exclusively breastfed babies.

Cazwa · 24/10/2006 23:01

LemonAIIeee, thats what my gut feeling was too, which is why Id stopped until I was reminded of it at my BF support group by a BF counsellor. I gave her water once today and a couple of hours later she pooed loads, I dont know if she'd have done that on her own or not... Either way it feels unnecessary and I dont want her to fill up on water. Shes gone from 75th to the 50th centile in recent weeks so I want to keep the weight up.

Or am I just being a paranoid new mum?

tiktok · 24/10/2006 23:54

Extraordinary advice to give water - if the HV thinks the baby somehow needs more fluids than she is getting anyway via the breastmilk, then why not just offer more breastfeeds?

Breastmilk is something like 90 per cent water anyway....

I agree with lemon - the HV is treating the situation as if your baby baby was formula fed.

If you're feeling brave, challenge her!

It's not unusual for a breastfed baby to go several days between poos, and there seems to be no reason to be concerned about it if everything else is ok.

Cazwa · 25/10/2006 00:26

Thanks for the support Tiktok. Its amazing the advice Ive received over the last month, some from friends family and some from professionals. A few people have said to stick my finger up her anus and try and work any poo out!! Another said use vaseline and massage the perinaeum area. Brown sugar and water, OJ, prune juice, try a formula feed, etc. etc. She is a really happy little girl on the 91st centile for height, gaining weight well, and deffo not constipated.

I hope if anyone else has this occur to them finds my post and realises they are not alone. Its been quite stressful and Im sick of defending not doing anything to people, especially as the one person who said dont worry is my GP.

I AM going to challenge my HV next time I see her.

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