Breastfed baby not pooing but not constipated, please help!

[farmertom]

Nearly 5 month old has been having trouble pooing. When he was born everything was fine and first few months poo'd normal and no issues. Then about 2/3 months he started to go 5 days/week without pooping now it's over a week usually and the few days before he goes he is upset/uncomfortable and doesn't sleep well. It's so hard to watch him in discomfort and he's so grumpy.
Have spoken to the doctor who recommended starting solids or offered a laxative. Have started solids (tiny bit of prune purée for three days now and no difference). Reluctant to start laxatives as he is not constipated, his poos, when he does them are normal.

Sorry for long post. Has anyone had anything similar happen with their babies? Any advice or tips greatly appreciated x

Breastfed babies can go for a week or more without pooing without there being an issue or being constipated

I have no medical knowledge but I'm quite surprised that a doctor recommended starting solids as a solution for constipation. Did they explain how this would help?
Have you tried bicycle legs and tummy massage to try and relieve the pressure and help him go?

It sounds like his normal. Brfed babies can go up to 2 weeks without pooing from what I recall.

My daughter was exactly the same as this it did get better once I started weaning. It's normal for breastfed babies to be like this as there's not much waste product in breast milk. If your son is 5 months you'll be weaning in a month anyway so I'd not bother with laxatives just yet and give it another couple of months. Prune puree with porridge always did the trick if DD seemed to struggle a bit.

So is it normal for him to be in discomfort/grumpy/uncomfortable before he goes for a few days too?
Did your babies have the same?

@SecondStarFromTheRight I was surprised too but she said that starting solids at 6 months was more of a guideline and that vegetables might help start the bacteria in his gut..?

Sounds totally normal. Stop the solids this will only make it worse (abdominal pain etc) there is no need. perfectly normal for ebf baby to go once every 7-14 days. There is little waste from breastmilk as is perfectly formulated to your baby

Sorry just to add I am a midwife and have a 14 month old who is breastfed. It is normal for them to be a little uncomfortable as the sensation of gas/full bowels etc is one they are adjusting to. They can make some pretty impressive grumbling, grunting noises but this does not necessarily mean they are in pain

For a couple of months my EBF DD only had a poo every 7 or 8 days. It didn’t affect her sleep but she’d get fussy feeding the day before she went. I knew it was normal so just rode out the fussing. No reason at all to start solids early because of it. So many GPs are utterly bloody clueless about breastfeeding, it’s enraging and can be dangerous.

Thanks for the info @Wednesdayfeeling so you'd recommend stopping solids? Ah I feel bad for trying him now!

As someone mentioned above I do bicycling his legs, massage and warm baths, he is an extremely gassy baby!

@SecondStarFromTheRight sorry meant to say I was surprised re solids because of his age but re constipation, he isn't actually constipated when he goes.

It can be really infrequent for BF babies as there isn't much waste. Is he having plenty of wet nappies? If he seems uncomfortable could you try some baby yoga? I can't remember exactly what it entails, but there is one which helps relieve their discomfort a bit.

Hi OP. My DS is 4.5 months and only poos about once a week (sometimes more). After his first meconium poo he didn't poo for about 6 days! I was really worried but done some Googling and it's normal for BF babies. My LO is sometimes a bit ratty when he's due a poo and much happier afterwards (who wouldn't be lol). I don't think you have anything to worry about. I expect you'll see a change in bowel habits when you seen him.

Interestingly my DD (also BF) seemed to poo after every feed. I guess they're all different!

*wean not seen!

Yes I absolutely would stop. Its ineffective at best, and dangerous at worst. Gps have little to no training on breastfeeding and like a pp said their advice can be terrible. You're doing all the right things with massage, warm bath, lots of tummy time, bicycle legs etc. I also found holding my baby upright in a sling and bouncing him tended to get things moving a little too. As long as the stool is soft when it is passed then it sounds like normal ebf stool pattern and not constipation. Keep going, and well done for the 5 months of breastfeeding!

Agree with everything @Wednesdayfeeling said! Ditch the solids for now, and echoing the well done on 5 months breastfeeding.

Thanks for the advice, I will cut solids and hope he finds it all easier in a few months.
And thanks for the encouragement re breastfeeding 😊

When DD1 was about 5 months old, she was very constipated. Think it was around 9 days, and I did tummy massage etc, so finally called 111 and stayed on hold for ages. Got referred to nurse who called me back - went through the initial questions, she was exclusively breast fed, no other illnesses, no rashes.... and then perfect timing, DD had a very audible explosion to the point that even the nurse on the phone could hear it. She laughed. I laughed.

At about the same age DS went 24 days without pooing. Yep, 24.

Although he wasn't in any discomfort we took him to the GP who said there was no blockage, she could hear normal bowel sounds etc.

We took him to the hospital as they said the same things. He was a happy content baby so not in any discomfort. Hospital sad they would give him a suppository just to be safe. 2 hours late the poo came out and it looked totally normal, there wasn't even that much of it! He went every few days or so after that one incident.

Whereas the first time DS didn't poo for a few days when still EBF, when he did, i started changing him but it just kept coming, and coming and coming for about 10 minutes

And it's only since weaning he got more regular but we didn't start early. He's now mostly once a day and just potty trained (but won't tend to poo at nursery and hasn't for a long time)

@farmertom hello, my son is going through the exact same. 5 months and advised my GP to start solids. Which I have done and it’s only made the issue worse. Even giving prunes doesn’t do the trick. Losing my mind as it’s awful to see.

Did you ever get to the bottom on this? When did things improve? X

Hi @PurpleRayne89 it's me the OP but with a name change!
Wow this thread has really brought back memories which you'll be happy to hear are so distant I had to really think about this and re read me initial post to jog my memory.
From what I can remember it just resolved itself naturally. I think I stopped solids and left them for another couple of weeks then started him again.
He did eventually get the hang of it, I think it was a few more months though 😫 but it wasn't constant all through he had better times too. Things all evened out by maybe 9 months ish? So sorry I can't remember properly.

The bicycle legs looking back I wish I had tried them more and slightly more forcefully as I think he had a lot of trapped wind.

I hope my ramble has in some way made you feel even a tiny but better. I do remember it being really upsetting and hard to deal with as you just want to enjoy your baby! It will pass soon I promise x

@brightmonitorx2 hey, thank you for getting back to me. I’m glad your sons situation improved! It must be nice having it as a distant memory.

I spoke to the GP today and they prescribed him Movicol sachets which must be dissolved in water and drunk. My son is too young to drink water, especially the volume they’re suggesting. According to the instructions, the entire thing needs to be consumed for it to be effective. To me that’s a nonstarter. They said they will review in 2 weeks time. The laxatives are to make the poop more watery. However, he’s EBF and his has always struggled passing loose, liquidy stools. So the laxatives are just likely to cause diarrhoea and stomach ache. I’m stopping the solids until he’s at least 6 months and I’ll stop start if I have to.

What are your views on the laxatives? X

It's absolutely normal for exclusively breastfed babies to go for days without pooping. Breastmilk produces very little waste so some babies just don't need to go. Have you any breastfeeding support groups in your area? they might have a bit more insight for you, or maybe give the BFN helpline a call?

@Underpaidsnackbitch thanks for responding. What about solids? My son has been on them for 2.5 weeks and it’s exacerbated the situation. I’m aware of EBF babies pooping less but what about when they start solids? Surely that needs to come out.

Sorry , yes that's different! My DS was on movicol for a long while, but not at 5 months. I think we were prescribed lactulose initially?
Are you able to speak to a HV about this at all? They might have some other ideas or suggestions.