4-week old BF baby pooing every 2/3 hours – disrupting sleep

[KKKKaty]

My 4 week old DS is BF and a great eater. None of us are getting much sleep however, as he?s feeding all the time and when he does nod off he?s very often woken before he?s hungry again by tummy rumblings, farts and poos. He?s getting through about 15 nappies a day, at least 10 or 12 of which are dirty rather than just wet. He?s putting on weight and seems healthy enough. My questions are these:-

1. If he?s doing up to 12 substantial poos a day, does that mean he?s not digesting properly?

1. Is it something I?m eating that?s making him poo so much? I don?t drink tea or coffee and have a fairly normal balanced diet, so I can?t imagine what that might be.

1. Is it normal for babies to huff and puff and make a bit of a song and dance about pooing, especially as they?re so runny? It?s frustrating as I feed him during the night, and he?s just feeling sleepy and nodding off, when his guts start to rumble and he groans and grunts for up to half an hour or so, preventing us both from sleeping, then poos, then has to have his nappy changed, then we?re back to square one.

1. If he does fall asleep after filling his nappy, can I just leave him or do I have to change it to prevent nappy rash?

1. If this is all normal, is there an end in sight?! Rather tired now.

All help and advice gratefully received.

1. as long as weight gain is ok, he is probably digesting properly. Are they all green though that could indicate something you could fix?

1. probably not, you could investigate cow's milk protein intolerance if it carries on. It could also be his reaction to a virus - has he had a cold at all? my ds did this, it lasted about 2 weeks then settles down a bit.

1. yes normal, odd isn't it!

1. I think you do, i'm afraid he'll likely get a sore bum if not. However if he is pooing this often don't change his nappy if it isn't soiled iyswim, a nappy can hold a lot of wees and if he wasn't waking up you wouldn't change him would you?

1. both of mine have stopped pooing overnight at around 5-8 weeks so you may not have too much longer to wait i hope, I know how frustrating it is!

Hello, my DS is 8 weeks and 10-12 nappies a day sounds about right, incredible isn't it! Apparently it slows down soon..

He huffs and grunts and goes red in the face when he's doing a poo, I lift his legs up against his chest and this helps him on his way as well as providing a great opportunity for bonding

He doesn't wake himself up though. I change him between boobs so I can tuck him right back up at the end of his feed without disturbing him.

Perhaps your DS has wind and that's what's waking him? Lots of people swear by Infacol although you have to use it before every single feed which is a pain.

I feed every 3 hours if possible, i.e. if I start feeding at say 3, I finish at about half past, play with him and let him sit in his gym etc. for about an hour then let him nap for an hour and a half (I take him out in his pram if he doesn't drop off) and feed him as soon as he wakes up. I wouldn't ever leave him hungry of course - he hasn't had colic since we've been doing this (I'm bfing too).

Good luck, hope it helps,

Just from my own experience:

1. sounds ike he's digesting v. efficiently!
2. no, both my babies were like this whatever I ate!
3. many babies are performance pooers. Have you considered you & DH sleeping separately with him for a bit, so that you can take it in turns to deal with the noise and nappies? Me and DH are still doing this for 9 week old DS, every few nights he will stay up until about 2am with the baby so that I can get a decent stretch of sleep.
4. Yeah, leave him now and then - if he does get a slightly red bottom, a kick in the air followed by a plastering of sudocrem should sort it.
5. Well, DS has gradually gone from poos every 90 mins during his first month to about 4 daytime poos a day now at 9 weeks, so I hope that gives you heart!

Final, bonus tip - we have a tummy tub, and their claims to ease digestion are coming true for us. DS nearly always rounds off his bath with a big poo (after about 4 big deep burps!), I've got to know his "poo face" now so I can whip him out the second he's finished. With a morning and evening dunk, it's 2 less nappies to deal with.

Sounds like you're doing really well.

As long as the poo isn't green I would say it all sounds normal.

Both of my bf ds's poo's a lot.

It does calm down, don't worry!