bf and constipated (baby, not me!!)...

[cass66]

..9 week old son, breastfeeding well but hasn't pooed for 2 days. was dirty almost every nappy change before now. otherwise well, a bit grumpy and possibly tummy ache/colic at times.

anything I can eat to pass onto him to help him?? I know he may be changing his habit to every few days, but I'd like to do something!! thanks, cass

DS had this at about 4 months. Think he didn't go for 4 days, at which point I was so frantic about it, I called NHS Direct, and guess what happened when I was on the phone? It was soooo audible, the NHS Direct Nurse heard it...

Have you tried rubbing his tummy? Always go clockwise. This sometimes helps.

But don't worry too much

my 6 week old son has slowed down to 1 poo every 2 or 3 days (and then it is massive). before that he was going nearly every change too - in and out whenever he fed.
he has had a lot of gas so i assume they are linked somehow.
i haven't figured out if there's anything that can be done - infacol didn't do anything, gripe water makes him choke, and high fiber foods seem to just make him more windy.
???

cass66, sounds like very normal bf baby behaviour, not constipation. After the first few weeks they just don't tend to poo as often. It's thought that this is down to the fact that nutrients in breast milk are efficiently absorbed. In contrast, constipation is not uncommon in ff babies, particularly with hungry baby milk and follow on milk.

my poor guy is straining and grunting lots though - then passing lots of wind. i thought bf babies weren't supposed to have to work so hard!

sorry chandellina, missed your post. I think it's normal for them to make a bit of a production about poo-ing but as long as what's coming out is semi-liquid and soft (ie mustardy looking) then there is nothing much awry (sorry if TMI)

thanks - it seems to look right, and there's plenty of it when it's only every second or third day!! (dirty nappies now requiring a bath, hose-down of his changing mat and a load or two of laundry...)

is this normal as young as 4 weeks, my litle man has just gone from pooing literally 3-4 times a day to once every 1 or 2 dys, he seems to really get belly aches in between and his little belly goes rock hard , he also really cries on and off as though he is in pain, nothing seems to help until the next explosion (thats wot it sounds like when it comes ) i have tried infacol but seems to have stopped working, he also has alot of wind

when my son was 6 weeks old he went for 13 days without a poo, previously he had been going every day. I called NHS direct, asked my local midwife and the health visiter, they just told me to wait and to rub his tummy in a clockwise direction. Within this 13 day period my poor baby son cried every night in pain. I was at my whits end when my friend advised me to give him 2.5ml of pure orange juice mixed with 2.5ml of cooled boiled water, making 5ml. after 2 hours of giving him this he pooed about a pint. I continued to give him this if he hadnt had a poo by 7 days. The experts will not advise you to give your baby orange juice, but I was desperate and was willing to try anything once. People who say that breast fed babies cant get constipated are talking rubbish. He now poos every 3-4 days on his own, this is normal for a breast fed baby, I only give him orange juice if he hasnt been for 7 days.

just to clarify - if they don't poo for ages but when they go it is still liquid/soft then it is not constipation - they just aren't going so often!

we have been through the mill with this recently as DS2 who is 4 months doesn't poo for 14 days or so at a time - his trumps smell truly awful but other than that he is bright eyed and bushy-tailed so we're not worrying too much now. the professional advice we got was

• give glycerin suppositories (GP)
• give mashed up banana (paediatrician - even after I had reminded him of DS' age [hmm})
• give lactulose (same paediatrician) - this seemed pointless since DS's poo is always liquid anyway

in the end got hold of infant feeding coordinator who said to ignore all of the above advice and if DS2 was happy, putting on weight and otherwise well then not to worry - breastmilk is a very low residue food so there's not alot of waste to get rid of.

look on the bright side - you're saving some money on the nappies