BF baby, 7 days old and still not pooed since meconium

[Pesha]

Ds2 was born last monday night and had 2 meconium poos that night with no problems but hasnt pooed at all since. My milk was pretty slow getting going, I would say by friday evening I had plenty and he slept better and had some awake alert times which he hadnt till then, it had all been desperate feeding and crying with the occassional hours sleep in between. Since saturday afternoon/evening he's been weeing fine (before that was orange) but he's still not had a poo and since last night is crying much more and has tummy ache alot. Ive tried giving him some water as the mws suggested but he really hates it and spits most of it out and then screams an gets really upset. What else can I do? I dont really want to give him formula.

I bf my other 2 dc and my milk was slow coming in with both of them but never had this problem. Also ds1 used to go over 2 weeks sometimes without a poo but not when he was this tiny.

They should normally be having several poos a day at this age later on it's fine for them to space out and go days or weeks between, but not yet. It doesn't necessarily mean that there's a problem sometimes you just get an unusual baby -- but definitely warrants a trip to the doctor.

don't give water, give bm. get in touch with one of the breastfeeding helplines.

la leche league
national childbirth trust
association of breastfeeding mothers
breastfeeding network

don't have the numbers handy google them and they all ahve them on their front page.

do that asap.

Oh yes, don't give him water -- not appropriate for bf baby, particularly since you now have plenty of milk.

Soemone on here had something similar with their newborn recently and tiktok (our resident breastfeeding counsellor) was very definite that it warranted being seen same day by a doctor.

no water, just breast

contact your local NCT as they will most likely have a BF counsellor available

speak to gp too

You should first get help about him not pooing, if he is constipated for some reason you should take him to a gp asap!

A few months ago there was a similar thread, one of the posters (midwife) said it is not normal for such a small baby not to poo regularly!

I'm not sure the lack of poo is such a problem if he's weeing lots - which you say he is now. Don't give water, just feed loads and speak to MW/GP/NCT etc.

Hi Pesha

Hope you are okay - the April babies had a bit of a rebellion overnight! Hope you have got some help now with ds

Octo xx

Pesha, not pooing at this v. young age is a red flag, does not normally mean constipation, does not require water (what planet is the midwife on???) and the following needs to be checked out

• is he transferring milk effectively? Is he on right, swallowing, and actively enjoying feeding, with a spontaneous coming off of the breast with a contented look?
• has he been weighed naked on digital scales? If not, he should be asap
• has someone who know what to look for observed a whole feed?

I don't think the crying is tummy ache - he is probably wanting to breastfeed more effectively.

Everything might be ok, but very rarely, lack of poo is a sign something is wrong physiologically, and it needs to be checked out. More commonly, lack of poo means he is not getting the lovely milk you are making in sufficient amounts .

If the midwife does not take your concerns seriously, then I strongly suggest you take your baby to the clinic today to get an accurate weight - if the weight is ok, then there is no need to worry unduly, but the bf still needs to be sorted so he has a happier experience at it.

You can also phone one of the helplines, but they will (or should) tell you the same as me - don't give water, sort out the bf, get him weighed.

Hope all is well and you find the help you need.

Thank you so much for all your replies. I did think water didnt seem right but 2 different mws told me that so I did try. Im relieved that thats not right though as he hadnt been taking it and I was feeling guilty that i couldnt get him to and that actually i wasnt trying very hard, if he wanted a feed I was doing it myself without thinking and forgetting to offer water.

I rang the NCT earlier, before tiktok posted, and they've told me pretty much the same. Shes given me some great advice on how to make sure he is latching on properly. He has not been weighed since birth but the mw is coming tomorrow to do this.

Started this post an hour ago, had to stop half way because he HAS DONE A POO Ive dealt with some explosive nappies in my time but this went to a whole new level!! And he seems like a much happier baby now, screamed while i bathed him but has been making some lovely happy cooing noises since and now just fallen asleep on his play mat
Thank you so much though for all your replies.

Pesha, so pleased about the poo

The reason why it's good news is because when the baby is feeding well, the creamier components of the milk get into him, and it's this that makes the poo yellow. The baby needs appropriate quantities of milk in order to poo. I would guess that he is feeding better now, and things have turned a corner - if he continues pooing, then there's less reason for a weight, but it's perfectly reasonable for the midwife to weigh him tomorrow anyway. She must use digital scales and the baby must be naked - spring balance scales are not accurate enough for any real assessment.

Thanks for updating us