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Original poster

Newborn not pooing

91 replies

PrettyCandles · 22/10/2006 18:52

Ds2 is 7 days old, his last poo was on day 3 IIRC. It was a mega-poo, with the meconium starting to change colour, and some yellow streaks. He's had plenty of wees. He's breastfed, and I know that bfd babies can go for days between poos, but I've never heard of this happening in such a young baby before he's got rid of all the meconium.

Any experiences?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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tortoiseshell · 23/10/2006 10:40

Hi - hope you had a good night. I think the issue with not pooing (especially with a big baby) isn't so much that there might be a blockage, but that they might not be taking enough milk.

I remember checking nappies obsessively in the first few weeks, getting really upset if there was no poo, and really celebrating if there was. IF it helps, I'll link to a thread after ds 2 was born (10lb2), and his feeding issues - tiktok and hunker wrote lots of useful stuff on there...hang on I'll find it...

tortoiseshell · 23/10/2006 10:41

here it is

Original poster

PrettyCandles · 23/10/2006 17:38

Ghastly night. No poos yet. Midwife just calld to say she's coming. I've reached the point of exhaustion that I#'m on the verge of tears.

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tortoiseshell · 23/10/2006 17:55

Oh prettycandles, I'm sorry to read your post - it's a really stressful time, and I remember crying down the phone at a bemused friend that ds1 hadn't pooed. Good that the midwife is coming. Nothing to suggest, just lots of helping thoughts! x

tortoiseshell · 23/10/2006 17:56

When you say ghastly night, do you mean up lots? Because if so, that's good because it means he is energetically increasing your milk supply. I used to have to set an alarm clock to wake up ds1, because he would sleep too long, so it is really good (although you must be exhausted).

Hope everything goes well with the mw.

tiktok · 23/10/2006 18:10

PrettyCandles, I have been called onto here by tortoise

I agree with mears - call the midwife as she asked, and it looks as if you have done that. If she's doing her job correctly, she will want to observe a whole feed.

The normal 'production' of a newborn is several soft yellow poos a day from day 5, and if a baby isn't doing this, then we need to check everything well ie weight, transfer of milk, overall health.

A few babies are fine, even if they are not producing anything, but usually, gaps between poos don't begin until the baby is a few weeks old.

I hope everything is fine, and with frequent effective feeding, they will be

mears · 23/10/2006 18:22

How did it go with the midwife PC?

Original poster

PrettyCandles · 23/10/2006 19:36

Midwife has refered ds2 to the hospital as she's worried he is jaundiced. At least he hasn't lost any more weght.

Friend has come to sit with ds1 & dd. I'll pack overnight bag for ds2 and me.

I'm sure he's fine and lotas of you have been through woesr but I'm striggling to mainaitn my composure.

OP posts:

HumphreyComfrey · 23/10/2006 19:39

Take care PrettyCandles.

It's only natural that you're worried, but I'm sure everything will be fine with DS2 and you'll be home again soon.

belgo · 23/10/2006 19:44

Pretty candles - Hope it all goes well in the hospital tonight with your little one - hope you'll both be home safely as soon as possible.

funnypeculiar · 23/10/2006 20:28

Hope all goes well pretty candles - let us know when you're back...

tortoiseshell · 23/10/2006 21:27

Take care. That's really good that he hasn't lost any more weight - it may mean he'd gone below that, and is coming back up again. Hope you're back home soon, and that everything goes well. x

tiktok · 23/10/2006 21:31

Yep - stable weight is good. The babies who are worrying are the ones who are continuing to lose weight.

girlsAboysD · 23/10/2006 22:47

Hello PC, dd1 and ds1 passed the mec and then didn't poo for ages, dd1 went for nearly 2 weeks I would say, but then she pooed for Britain. I was absolutely beside myself by that time.(and she'd been up to hospital and had a rather unplesasant examination). With ds1 the duration wasn't as long but when the midwife expressed concern (that he hadn't gone for 4 days) I told her about dd1 and he went in his own time. I hope everything goes OK with you.

Original poster

PrettyCandles · 23/10/2006 23:58

We're back. Verdict: he needs more milk and some water. They wanted to keep us in overnight so that I could express and they could get some idea of how much ds2 was getting, and so that, if I didn't express enough to top him up he could have a bottle of formula and I could have some rest. But I don't want to be put under pressure of measuring my output - especially after this stressful evening I doubt I could express much. Besides, if it's a matter of rest, I will sleep better at home htan on a ward.

So I'm bfing him right now, and will go straight to bed, then dh will give him a bottle of formula before he goes to bed in the hope that ds2 and I will have enough hours' sleep to supply a good feed and take a good feed. I think ds2 has been getting dozier and feeding worse, so hopefully this will help us get started off better again.

Paed was also concerned that perhpas ds2 wasn't pooing because his body was conserving water, so gave him a tiny suppository.

Oh! Just heard a most wonderful sound from ds2! The poo is coming through!

So, remember that I'm uttrerly braindead from lack of sleep, please advise me:

1 - how to get a good latch
2 - how to boost supply

Should I hire an electric breastpump?

And thank you all so much for listening to me and helping me.

OP posts:

lemonAIIEEE · 24/10/2006 00:02

Best way to boost supply, if possible -- strip DS2 down to his nappy. Strip yourself down similarly (topless). Take to bed with DS2 for 48 hours, lots of skin-to-skin and nurse him as often as possible. Unfortunately may be tricky given you have DS1 and DD to deal with as well.

LRWG · 24/10/2006 09:11

If you do decide to hire, I can recommend \link{http://www.medela.co.uk/UK/en/breastfeeding/products/lactina.php\Medela Lactina.

My DD decided that breastfeeding was way too much like hard work, but due to low blood sugar and jaundice had to have at least 80ml every four hours, so when I left hospital I hired the same pump I'd used there and expressed every feed for her. I did this for eight weeks and it is exhausting and may not be suitable for you as you already have two little ones to look after, but it did mean that I could monitor how much she was getting and it saved her being hospitalised again.

I stopped expressing at eight weeks and she then decided that she could just about summon the energy to breastfeed for her first feed of the day, so we did that - with formula at all other feeds - until she decided at 16 weeks that she really couldn't be bothered with that either! Little madam

Anyway, sorry have no real advice, but good luck!

tiktok · 24/10/2006 09:42

Glad the crisis has passed, PC.

It sounds as if the no-poo was a direct result of not enough going in the top end and you are right to think about ensuring this doesn't contine.

It's not so much your supply that's the concern - your milk production won't have had time to be compromised - but the amount of milk going into the baby. I don't see the point of expressing, really - it won't make any more milk get into him! Feed and hold your baby 24/7 for the moment, so he gets every opportunity to increase his intake. Hope things go well from now on.

With regard to the latch - as I said before, a midwife doing her job properly will want to observe a whole feed, and checking the latch comes into that, as well as seeing that he is transferring milk effectively. So if you see the midwife today, ask her if she doesn't offer.

Original poster

PrettyCandles · 24/10/2006 10:12

Tiktok, that's really reassuring about the supply not having been compromised yet, thanks!

We had 4h of deep dream-filled sleep last night, and I woke to find myself wrapped around a sleeping ds2. Wonderful. He had the energy to take a good feed from me, and for the first time in days I felt boob-achingly full.

dh is takng ds1 and dd out so that I can go back to bed with ds2. Little Gogmagog here would use me as a dummy, given the opportunity. Am I right to assume that I should let him stay as long as he likers at the boob, and feed as often as he likes, as long as he is properly feeding, rather than 'dummying' on me?

Should I try to make any gaps between feeds?

How long should I let him sleep?

OP posts:

tortoiseshell · 24/10/2006 10:14

Glad you're home PC - your ds sounds quite similar to mine. My mw got me to express and supplement with EBM after every feed which did seem to boost his weight a bit, because he was quite sleepy, so it was easier for him to drink the EBM from a bottle, and this then gave him a bit more energy for the next feed. Not necessarily saying this is the right way forward - as tiktok says, lots of feeding is the best way to boost supply - but this worked for us (though it is a REAL hassle, - my routine was...

Sterilise breast pump (I had a Medela one) and a bottle. Express from one side. Feed baby from other side, then offer other side, until he really couldn't stay awake any longer, then give him EBM. This would take between 3/4 to 1 hour, and then knocked him out for about an hour, which was about time to wash and sterilise the expressing stuff, in time to feed him. I was doing 2 hourly feeds (start to start of the feed iyswim). And it was REALLY hard work, but it did boost the milk supply, and get a bit of weight on him.

Hope things resolve - do keep posting! I noticed on my old thread that you'd posted on there - it really does help I think!

tortoiseshell · 24/10/2006 10:16

X posted PC - that sounds really good. And I just remembered, you said earlier that he had a stable weight, so it sounds like you're doing really well with him. Ignore what I said about expressing - ds2 was still losing weight a bit, which is why I went in for all that malarkey. Just enjoy feeding yours!

tiktok · 24/10/2006 10:21

PC, the shorter the gaps between feeds, the more quickly you make the milk, and also the more milk goes into him....so don't worry about sleep timings

mears · 24/10/2006 13:10

Sounds to me as though your supply is on the up at the minute and your DS has just begun the process of filling himself more effectively. Water is definitely not needed - milk is. Water fills a baby's stomach so that they end up not asking for a feed. Water is an old fashioned remedy for jaundice - milk gets ris of bilirubin more effectively.

You are right to let him feed as long as he likes. Definitely keep him skin-to-skin as much as you can. The more milk he takes in, the more he will poo and the jaundice will go.

I am sure things will improve now.

tiktok · 24/10/2006 13:38

mears - I'm glad you challenged the water thing. I have just done a quick check and it has been known for at least 25 years that water is ineffective in the treatment of neonatal jaundice. Wonder what textbooks that paed had been reading....

tortoiseshell · 24/10/2006 13:49

reading this thread and others, it's extraordinary how bad ltos of the advice given is - really quite frightening! Thank goodness for tiktok and mears I say!!!

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