No Poo for 5 days

[Warwickmum]

Hi, am a first time Mum and bit unsure about whether my exclusively breast fed baby should be going this long without pooing! He is 3 months this coming Sunday and for two weeks he has been going every two or three days. Before this he was going at least once, if not two or three times a day. What is also confusing is that one Health visitor said it is ok and quite common but to maybe try some (magic) boiled water, whereas the one I spoke to yesterday gave the impression it wasn't normal by the face she was pulling and said that I should go to the GP with him tomorrow if he still hadn't been??? I wish they would all sing from the same hymn sheet! He doesn't seem to be in any pain generally, but does seem to get quite a lot of bottom wind the day or so before he goes and this does make him uncomfortable. He squirms quite a lot when feeding, often leading up to a poo, but his tummy doesn't seem sore etc if we rub it gently. Any advice gratefully received

Normally bf babies have their own pattern, but the pattern can vary enormously, so one baby has 5 dirty nappies a day, and the next baby goes 5 days without a pooh. When they have a growth spurt they can pooh less often. The general rule is, when they pooh is it healthy looking, so for an exclusively breastfed baby it should be like yellow mustard. If so, then the time between is so flexible it doesn't really matter - unless you think he is poorly. I really wouldn't worry, breast milk is so close to the perfect food, that at times thay absorb it all and there is nothing left to pooh out.

Hope that helps

firstly, I would not mess with your childs pattern.

My 11 months old did the same thing, his pattern went to every 10 days, never bloated, never in pain. His longest was two weeks, but that was when he was 9 months old. I did not start him on solids till nine months.

Just go with it unless he is in pain, I have done lots of research on this and it is perfectly normal, babies do not have to go every day.

Dont let doctors meddle with his pattern, as long as he is happy leave him alone.

If you get really stressed out talk to a breast feeding advisor.

Its totally normal, lots and lots of babies do it if they are exc- breast-fed.

My son now goes every three days, now that he is on solids.

Dont worry.

Thanks to both of you for your replies. This afternoon he went, and boy did he go! I really didn't want to take him to the doctors about it as, like you say, I didn't want them starting to 'mess' with him! When he does go it is very runny and yellow/orange so I have always been sure that he isn't constipated, despite what the health visitor thought.
I will just go with the it then and try not to worry about how long he goes within reason.

Yellow and orange is normal. Red jelly like poo is not normal (just to let you know).

I used to check back with this everytime I got worried.

My daughter is breastfeeding her first baby. The baby is five weeks old. The baby does not have a bowel movement for a whole week; some times longer. My daughter does not seem concerned about this. She has baby books and says this is normal. The baby seems to be a very restless sleeper. Should she be concerned about the baby not having a bowel movement for such a long period of time? She is a very conscientious and devoted mother.

From a health care website.

It is usually around the age of 5 to 6 weeks that a baby's bowel habits may begin to change. Prior to that time, we like to see a breastfed baby stooling at least twice a day. This is one factor that lets us know that he is getting the amount of milk he needs for good growth. After 5 or 6 weeksof age breastfed babies often transition to less frequent, but more abundant stooling. For this age group we like to see regular, substantial bowel movements. Healthy, and happy breastfed babies sometimes only have a bowel movement every 10 days or so.

If your daughter's baby is growing well (about 4 to 8 ounces per week)and does not have signs of constipation, such as dry and hard to pass stools and/or a distended (and uncomfortable) belly, I would not worry about his infrequent stooling pattern. It is also quite common for babies to be restless while sleeping.

LOL its not just first timers that worry, I have a 10 year old and you worry just the same about them.

Hi i have a 5 week old girl who has never had regular bowl movements she can go 3 or 4 days with out going, but when she does go it is like an explosion it's never hard stools she passes and the colour has been that of a yellow colour but her last couple have been a darker green colour is this normal. She is bottle fed and is on aptimel formula i have even been giving her a couple of feeds of the aptimel comfort milk to see if this helps and boiled water but no luck yet can anyone help how to get her going more often

cumbria - if the poos are sloppy/soft then she is unlikely to be constipated. Greenish poo is quite common and usually harmless.

Her bowels sound within the normal range at the moment really, all sorts of variations are possible

Thank you for your advice :)