BF baby is constipated!

[Yorkiegirl]

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my ds2 would go for about 10 days without going at this age! I was told this was fine, but when he did go i needed plenty of wipes!!!

I had the same with my DD . She wasn't constipated, it's just that there's comparatively very little waste from breastmilk - it's all good . Using the principles of baby massage, and using an oil (baby oil / olive oil) you could try massaging her tummy, very gently, a in circular clockwise motion, starting by circlig her belly button and outwards. This can help encourage bowel movement. If you think it really is constipation, my midwife reccomended using just 5 mils or so orange juice from a freshly squeezed orange. HTH

Horrified at the advice from your health visitor....orange juice indeed!!

It is normal for breastfed babies to have several days between poos after about 4-6 weeks. It is not constipation. When she goes it will be soft and copious

Levanna, I am dismayed at your midwife's advice as well - 5 ml isn't very much but pure orange juice is far too acidic for a young baby's tummy. And they do not need it At least massage isn't going to do any harm and may even be pleasant....

sure you don't need to give oj yg, but in the same situation my mum told me to up MY intake of prunes, oj etc. can't do any harm imo!

Sorry to barge in, cant believe HV said you give them orange juice, what are they on some of these women gggggrrrr!!!!. They cant have citric fruits of any kind for a long time yet. Far to acidic as titok says.

I was told that I should drink the orange juice, but only a 3rd of a glass,and that will come out in the BF milk. Thats if they are constipated at all , as they would be very grizzley from the pain.

I also like levannas idea of the massage, thats a much nicer way of doing it.

Um, I thought watered down OJ was OK? Not straight OJ obviously...
As others have said, is normal for b/f babies to go several days between soiled nappies ? mine did the same at this age. And you are right, when they do go you get a really gross nappy. We used disposable change mats on top of his normal mat so we could just throw them away when we got a 'spectacular'!

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Do not give citrus to such a young child because of allergies. If she is fine just leave her be.

Sorry to dampen your idea melsy and acnebride, but there is really no way the 'deconstipating' effects of prunes or orange juice could come out in the milk...but obviously, it won't do any harm for you to have them.

It is bizaare advice from the midwife to give oj, dilute or otherwise, to a baby....midwives saying this need some updating and retraining. Most babies won't be harmed by it, I don't suppose (though undiluted it could give them tummy ache), but a few may be. In any case, it is not necessary to treat a perfectly normal phenomenon like not poo'ing for a few days.

My ds often went a week without pooing. He'd save it all up for when my mum was babysitting!!
My HV said it was nothing to worry about and that she knew a baby that went 2 weeks without.
I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Wouldn't go for the oj though as everyone said - far too acidic and could cause allergies!

Good luck for the spectacular, be prepared with the bath, its amazing where it all gets

My dd is bf (6.5 months)
She has been extremely regular until today. Nothing last night or today - quite a change!

I think gassy foods for us like broccoli etc would help them also? anybody else think so?

wow, like tiktok I am amazed that the hv told you to give oj, even if it's diluted. Oranges are something that babies with food allergies are commonly allergic to. I wouldn't give it to my children until they were over a year old. In any case, exclusively bf babies don't get "constipated." It is perfectly normal for different babies to have different digestive systems. My exclusively bf ds poo'd several times a day until I started solids at 6 mo. and my exclusively bf dd poo'd once every 3 or 4 days (and sometimes would go as long as 5 or 6). It was always soft when it finally came out. You use a lot fewer nappies if you are lucky enough to have a baby that poo's that infrequently!!

Sorry, papillon - how would the broccoli reach the milk in a way that then reached the baby's gut?

No way should a baby get orange juice at that age. Breastfed babies are supposed to be 'exclusively' fed which means nothing other than breastmilk. It is very rare for an exclusively B/F baby to get constipated. It is not uncommon for b/F babies not to have a dirty nappy for 10 days. Am totally surprised by the advice you have been given.

My HV also suggested diluted orange juice... surprised it's considered such a bad idea as she was great and all her other advice was very useful (and didn't contradict anything I've ever seen on MN). She did reassure me that b/f babies can go days without pooing though.

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Had this problem with ds - apparently it is common for b/f babies, but didn't make it any easier. He got into a real pickle and was obviously uncomfortable, so gp gave some glycerine (I think) pessaries, that worked like a dream/bomb? Used them a couple of times when he was really fed up, and did the trick.