6 month old hasn’t pooed for 2 weeks

[IJustNeedToSleep]

Hi,

Our baby used to poo multiple times a day, then at around 8 weeks this started to reduce. At first it was every few days and then gradually it went down to once a week and we’re now at a stage where he hasn’t pooed for 2 weeks.

Ive taken him to the doctors twice (when we were at once a week) and I’ve spoken to our health visitor - they’ve all said ‘all babies are different’ and as he’s happy in himself they’re not worried.

He’s EBF and we’re starting to wean but only just in the beginning stages and I’m not sure any of it has actually gone in yet - he just plays with it in his mouth and then spits it all back out again.

His farts smell like toxic gas, so there must be something that’s not right.

Despite doing some gentle sleep training, he is still waking loads in the night and I think it’s because he’s in pain - loads of farts come out, so I really want to make sure nothing scary is going on.

Has anyone else had anything else like this?

Thanks.

My EBF kids didn’t poo very often, easily a fortnight.

I used to cycle their legs when playing with them (a Dr told me to do that), not sure it did anything, but all was well.

Thanks @MananaMananaPenelope - did they start pooing more regularly after weaning?

I think so, I can't actually remember now tbh. Loads of medical people told me it was OK, one of my DC had an appointment with a pediatrician every month for the first two years, it was never a concern.

Two weeks? Like not at all??

I would be going to a&e I think or at least walk in.

Dairy allergy can cause constipation, and so does starting solids (especially if you have introduced anything with dairy directly) but two weeks is a long time.

This is 20years ago, but I was told that it’s a sign to start weaning. Ie all the nutrients from breast milk are being used up by the baby and there’s nothing left over for poo. It’s a sign the baby is using all the nutrition to grow.

It made sense to me, but I know weaning advice changes, so I don’t know what the current advice is now. My takeaway was that there was nothing wrong with the baby and they didn’t have a digestive problem in not being able to poo.

My eldest only pooed once a week when EBF. I’d start to get concerned at 2 weeks though I think. Try a gentle belly massage and leg cycling.

You could try giving some fresh orange juice with bits. This is what the Health Visitor told me when my baby hadn't gone for ages (just at start of weaning). It worked!

I would go to A & E - this can be very serious.
My cousin ended up in intensive care and nearly died due to a severe bowel blockage.

Ok, thanks everyone - I’ll give 111 a call

How did you get on with 111?

If your DC is ok in themselves then you'll be worrying about nothing.

3 ebf DC here and all 3 were fortnightly poo-ers for quite a while.

At 8m they won't be eating loads of solids and the waking is well within normal.

You could try a bath with them and cycling their legs. The farting is a sign it's on its way.

Thanks everyone.

I called 111, got an out of hours GP appointment for the afternoon, saw an excellent doctor - he felt his tummy and said because it was soft and he was very well and not fussy or losing weight, it was fine, but best to give a laxative as it had been over 2 weeks.

He said it’s very common for some babies to have very sluggish digestive systems and sometimes they need help to get going again.

Overall, very impressed with the NHS today and so glad 111 isn’t just sending everyone to A&E now!

Will see how he gets on with the laxative.

@catsnore I was going to suggest this too. We had similar with DS when we went to visit family and his bottles were being made up with soft water (we live in a hard water area). BIL went to give him a cuddle and ended up being the recipient of the worst poo-nami .

How is your LO doing? @IJustNeedToSleep

We have movement!!! The glycerin laxatives worked a treat.

Not sure if we’ll need to keep using them regularly, but it’s good to know there’s something that we can do to help things along in future.

Thanks for all your help everyone.

give him porridge once a week with ellas prune sachet mixed in that should help keep things regular from now on

I also had a 2 weeker ebf baby and she did end up struggling from 6-8/9 months as she was constipated and it definitely took her system a long time to get used to it.

I think once they’re eating they need to be going pretty regularly so we had to make sure she didn’t get backed up or we would get into cycles of eating/not eating depending on how constipated she was. sounds like you’re on the right track going to the docs and getting something to help.

Fantastic! I bet he's feeling much more comfortable ☺️

This is going to sound ridiculous but it's 100% true. I'm not saying this has happened to your baby but it's worth getting checked

When I was a baby I too didn't poop for weeks and ended up poorly, turns out skin had grown over my backside.

I don’t know about in the UK but not eating much at 6 months would worry me - where I am weaning is encouraged earlier. Some replies here seem quite relaxed but i would be really worried about this and probably be in a&e! Will they eat mashed banana? Fromage frais? I’d be trying to cut down the milk now and start giving some real food. Have you got a paediatricians opinion?

If you’ve started weaning
Steam and blend lots of vegetables
Like broccoli and cabbage, lovely greens are natural poo shifters 😀

Our now 5 year old was very similar. Had newborn frequent poops and around age 8 weeks it all slowed. 8-10 days between poops became normal, though they were stomach clearing, and many clothes went straight in the bin. She’s always been sluggish digestive wise. By age 2 her doctor recommended a daily laxative to help, which did do it. We recently stopped them, and have found that whole grain cereal is really helping her regulate instead of medicine, which feels so much better. We also need to remind her frequently to hydrate. Hoping as she gets older her diet/pickiness improves and the problem goes away entirely. Strongly suggest giving varied foods that are veggie and fiber rich once she starts eating. Never thought I’d care so much about poop that I’d write about it 😂. Good luck!

Thanks everyone - on the weaning front, I started when he was able to sit up properly and also grasp things properly in his hands. This was when he was about 6 months and a week.

So far we’ve tried broccoli, courgette, avocado, potato, cucumber, spinach…. He just gags whenever I offer him anything - I’ve gone with purées and also finger food and he just doesn’t seem interested.

i thought it might be because he’s not quite ready so have had a break of a few days and will start again today. I’m really keen to get to a place where I can start giving him porridge and prunes and more veg, but he just won’t take anything. He just spits everything out or gags…

He also hasn’t had another poo since Monday, so I think I’ll go back to the docs if he’s not pooed by the weekend.