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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

10 week old baby wont poop by herself....

28 replies

Welshchik · 04/03/2010 14:26

My daughter is 10 weeks old, she was breastfed for the first 4 weeks but I had to stop as I found it difficult due to having a 2 year old aswell.
At first she used to poop fine by herself but from about 3 weeks she will stop her poo coming out, she will straighten her legs n tense her bum. I have had to resort to helpin her by putting the tip of a cotton bud into her bum, she will go then and the poop is quite runny, yellow with little bits in it. I have spoke to my HV but she doesnt seem that worried, but im worried if i keep having to resort to the cotton bud she will never go by herself, i have changed her milk n even put her on aptimel comfort for constipated babies but this didnt do anything either! Any advice would be appreciated as i never had this with my son! He never had any problems n I hate seeing my lil girl in pain!

OP posts:
bellylicious · 04/03/2010 17:04

I would seriously consider going to the doctors , I wouldn't mess with her back passage either as everything is still so delicate down there.
Sorry o couldn't help anymore

tiktok · 05/03/2010 10:11

Welshchick, if your dd really is consciously withholding her poo, and is in pain, then yes, you need to get further advice on this.
It doesn't sound as if she is constipated in the usual sense - the poo would be dry and hard.

But pain and resistance is not normal, and you deffo need to speak to someone who can find out what's happening.

Snowsquonk · 05/03/2010 16:12

I'm not a health professional but as far as I am aware, a 10 WEEK old baby will not be able to physically withold her poo (she lacks the brain hormone for that kind of conscious thought) and I think the leg straightening and bum clenching is perfectly normal reaction to the sensations, and its probably not a good idea to go poking around her bottom with a cotton bud ! Leave her alone, stop checking every five minutes and she WILL poo by herself - for goodness sake, three year olds can't control their bowels so I can't see how a 10 week old is able to !

A trip to your HV or GP would be a good idea to talk this over

tiktok · 05/03/2010 16:42

I agree, Snowsquonk....a 10 week old deliberately withholding sounds odd. But pain needs investigating.

RubyBuckleberry · 05/03/2010 18:50

my ds was exactly the same. not anymore - he's five months. apparently they just get the wrong idea and when the urge comes they straighten and clench instead of relax and bend knees... i readabout the cotton bud thing but didn't do it and once he realised he had to bend and relax he was away

you could bend his knees - hold onto her thighs to encourage her to relax the right sphincter or sit her in that position. or slowly bicycle her legs...

obviously if you think she is actually in pain then get it checked... ds used to make grunting noises all day it seems! the penny WILL drop!

sarah293 · 05/03/2010 18:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

geordieminx · 05/03/2010 19:00

Please dont stick things up your babies' bum... you could cause serious damage/infection.

Original poster
Welshchik · 09/03/2010 09:09

For the record i was advised to do the cotton bud thing by my doctor and health visitor! And as for 3 yr olds not bein able to control their bowels, that is completely wrong my son is 3 an controls his bowels! I dont check every five mins she goes days without goin screamin i didnt want to do the cotton bud so please dont call me cruel, i was told to do this by a doc and hv which is why i decided to get advice of other mums that have experienced this as i really dont agree with it! My baby is very badly colic do anyone no of this affectimg
their bowels?

OP posts:
mama2moo · 09/03/2010 09:44

Hi Welshchik - My 5 week old dd is exactly and hasnt pooed for 2 days now. She straightens her legs when she needs to go and screams in pain.

We find that a warm bath usually helps. We put as much water in as we can and just let her move around with us holding her head IYSWIM. Most times she will poo within a few hours of a bath because she has relaxed. Maybe this might help your dd?

I read about 'helping' them out but dont think I could do it!

Its horrible isnt because they are in pain but are not helping them selves!

I will keep checking this incase anyone else has any ideas. Good luck

Mummy369 · 09/03/2010 09:48

Yes, colic WILL affect your baby's bowels as it is all part of the gastro-intestinal system. You may find she is also very 'windy' down below. I don't think the advice from your GP and HV is particularly safe, rather you need to teach your baby 'how' to poo. As RubyBuckleberry suggests... Your baby is becoming tense when she feels this odd sensation and it's really a reflex action that is causing her to straighten instead of relax. Bending her knees up to her tummy may help, and well worth trying the 'bicycle' method too!

FWIW, whilst my daughter didn't 'withold' her poo, she hated being changed. I had to shop around for narrow-fit nappies as she used to lay on the mat with her legs ram-rod straight and sometimes even cross her ankles over!

If you feel that using the cotton bud gave your baby the 'encouragement' to relax and poo, why don't you try a less invasive method? Lift your baby's legs up as if to change her, and using a cotton-wool ball dipped in water just wipe her down gently from front to back a few times. The action of lifting and bending her knees, together with the wiping, should probably do the trick.

Let us know how you get on

Original poster
Welshchik · 09/03/2010 10:33

Thank u both for the advise i hav just put her on coleif as i had tried gripe water n infacol but none of them worked i started the coleif last night n for first
time ever she slept in her bed for six hours and when i changed her nappy this mornin she had a tiny bit of poop n has been trumpin alot! I have found a bath helps so will try this long with the bicycle method

OP posts:
kalo12 · 09/03/2010 10:37

may your baby be dairy intolerant. mine was and it caused no end of discomfort

Original poster
Welshchik · 09/03/2010 13:16

Im not sure kalo12, i think i may go to the gp n see sum1 diff from before n ask them what they think if i keep seein diff gp one is bound to know wha to do

OP posts:
OTTMummA · 09/03/2010 15:09

i found that laying my son down on the mat, and bending his knees and gentley rubbing his bum cheeks was enough to get him going!

my HV also told me i could use some ky jelly on my little finger over glove etc and massage his sphincter lightly but i couldn't do it lol.

my aunt who is a m/w also told me that often if the baby hasn't pooped for a while they often take their temperature analy and that also helps!

kaylee76 · 23/03/2010 06:53

my baby Welshchik has the same problem and I was advised by the Pediatrician to do the cotton bud thing with pure Vaseline or use a suppository once a day at a specific time (morning or night) just before feeding in order to help him and to train him how to relax his muscles instead of clenching.
I don't like doing it as I don't want him to get dependent on this, but he is in pain when I don't do it and gets no sleep and feeds less. I too, was instructed by my Pediatrician to do this. He does not have hard poo at all, its all runny (because he is breastfed).

kaylee76 · 23/03/2010 06:58

i have tried the warm bath and bicycle method on him before and it unfortunately didn't work. this is why after much anguish i have resorted to the doctor's advice

felicity10 · 23/03/2010 09:49

I sympathise, little lady here is 5 weeks and wasn't having any dirty nappies for 4-5 days at a time. HV recommended half a teaspoon of brown sugar dissolved in boiled water and then cooled - about 2oz. Worked a treat, 2 hours later dirty nappy.

DD also suffers from colic - although actually i think we suffer more! The straightening of legs seems more to do with her being uncomfortable with the wind than anything else. Colief seems to be helping, we've been doing that for about 3 days, also still using infacol, which definately helps. Gripe water didn't really help and she manages to spit it out before it gets anywhere helpful anyway!!

The coleif is also helping with dirty nappies, seems to make them more like BF fed babies nappies.

And all in all, I know your doc said to do the cotton ball thing, but the sugar water is a heck of a lot easier and less stressful all round!
Take care

barbie1 · 23/03/2010 12:32

Just back from the doctors with my 4 week old experiencing the very same. I was advised to drink camomile tea as the effects will be passed on through my bm to my baby. Also avoid chocolate, caffine, cabbage and onions

There are drops which you can give your baby to make then less windy and more comfortable, im not sure what they are though, sorry!

Also told to do the cotton bud thing.......

anastaisia · 24/03/2010 02:47

Massage her tummy in a clockwise direction, do bicycle legs and then hold her out over a potty/bowl/nappy/toilet in a supported squat like this

Regardless of what you think about nappy free babies, this is one of the best positions for using the toilet (adults too, the fact we sit not squat is thought to contribute to a rise in digestive and colon problems)

jjosiejo · 24/03/2010 19:33

Hi, I haven't read the whole thread, but I think it's perfectly possible for a 10wk old to do that - my daughter was refusing to poo in her nappy from 3 weeks old. She had terrible nappy rash and hated the nappies she was wearing - as soon as we took them off she would poo everywhere explosively but never in her nappy. Finally we tried her in pampers rather than eco friendly ones and she immediately started pooing in her nappy again and has been happy ever since! Re. the colic, I started taking Acidophilus capsules (Culturelle) for her oral thrush - not only did they clear that up, but also got rid of her colic completely. If you are FF then you can get baby acidophilus, but as I'm BF I took them to treat us both... Good luck!

kaylee76 · 27/03/2010 15:08

My sister in law just showed me a good position to hold the baby in with his legs tucked in and his knees to tummy while holding him. It instantly helped him to pass his stool without all the fuss. I am so excited, because if it continues to work with him I can stop using the cotton buds as the doctors instructed; (I am always afraid that his poor little anus gets irritated by the constant use of cotton buds and Vaseline).
Her way is much more natural and it also trains him to use his muscles which is what i wanted.
I wish the doctors instruct mothers with this problem to do these more natural positions instead of telling them to use cotton buds. Yay to mothers with experience!

paigelondon · 17/10/2011 17:05

My 3 months old poops almost 3/4 times a day and the colour is yellow mustardy colour. Is this normal? She is bottle fed (Aptimal) Thanks.x

tiktok · 17/10/2011 17:13

Paige - start a new thread :)

This thead is 18 montns old and is nothing like your own query.

To start a new thread, click on the word 'Start' in 'start a new thread'.

user1496034645 · 29/05/2017 06:19

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Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

sexcauldron · 29/05/2017 06:22

Look at the date on the OP Wink