Number of poos for a bf newborn

[Murtette]

Our DD is 8 days old and seems to be b/f well but I am concerned as she hasn't done a poo since Friday afternoon which was over 24 hours ago. She's fed loads during this time, has had plenty of wet nappies and done a lot of farting. The midwife is due to visit again on Monday but should I speak to someone in the meantime and, if so, how much longer should I leave it before speaking to someone? And who should I speak to? Getting concerned about this on a Saturday night obviously isn't the best timing.

Thanks

Anything from five a day to once a fortnight is normal. Unless she is straining to poo and is obviously in pain, don't worry about it.

Congratulations BTW - I'm guessing she's your first?

When mine were so tiny they went at every feed, but by 5-6 weeks it spread out to once a week - every 10 days. Unless baby seems distressed and her tummy is distended I wouldn't worry. Just watch out when she does eventually go - twill be a messy job!

Thanks. Yes, she's my first, hence the general cluelessness! She doesn't seem in any discomfort so I'll leave her for now and just mention it when the midwife visits on Monday. In the meantime, I'll watch out for an explosion...

Sounds absolutely normal.

If ever you think she is constipated (unlikely with a BF baby), a glass of orange juice (for you!) will loosen her up!

Well... I would say that after hearing my health visitor/midwife repeat "it's normal" to every poo related concer I had in DS' early days, you only need to worry if your child starts pooing something that is luminiscent at night. Other than that everything is normal.

Murtette - ah don't worry, everything is scary when you do it for the first time. You wait till she sleeps more than four hours, you will wake in a panic and be convinced there is something wrong! We've all been there.

Incidentally a quick tip - if there has been no pooing for a few days, take a spare change of clothes everywhere and lots of clothes/wipes. It will come out - probably in the car and come out the top of her vest into her hair. And it will be a silent one you won't notice till you lift her out and get coated too - so keep a spare top in the car for you too!

Just want to say that long gaps in pooing time is fine in an older breastfed baby is fine, but a fortnight when a baby is newborn is too long. Murtette, your wee one has probably let fly by now, but if not I would definitely follow up with HV on Monday. Had her poos changed from the black tarry stuff to the mustardy variety - in colour and in texture?

Need to agree with Joyjac here - no poo in a newborn is a sign of not enough food. Eventually it gets OK to skip some days, but not at the age yours has.

I ignored the fact that ds wasn't pooing and it led to major problems with establishing bf - please talk to a bf counsellor if your baby doesn't poo very very soon.

I took my daughter to get checked at hospital when she hadn't pooed for about a week (was a week or two old). She was fine and pooed when we got home!

Panic over - she's exploded! Down the legs, up the tummy, up the back...you name it, it was covered.

Oh what a pile of ordure joyjac and ib. Both mine have been rapidly gaining weight since day one - DS jumped from the 25th to the 99th percentile - without doing every day poos from day one. Sometimes it's just that everything is absorbed and nothing wasted.

As joyjac says, gaps at this age are Not Normal. Long gaps from 4 weeks, yes, fine, long gaps at 8 days - no.

I'm glad she's pooed lots, now, anyway. Is she generally healthy and well?

Glad she has finally pooed!
To agree with some of the PPs - longer intervals from 4-6 weeks is OK. Even once a week can be normal. Up until then you ideally want to see around 3 poos the size of a £2 coin or bigger. Significantly less than that and it's worth chatting to someone/ calling a helpline.

Well I was told it was normal! (Still didn't believe them though.)

beatiebow - whoever told you that infrequent pooing was normal for a bf newborn was naughty. Poo rate has a big importance for breastfeeding counsellors and lactation consultants and is an useful indicator - but ONLY for those first few weeks.

Twas my health visitor.