EBF baby not pooing

[Bluesycamore]

My 4 week old ebf baby hasn’t pooed in 8 days. Before this it was 6 days, and maybe 4 before that so periods are getting longer. When she does go it’s the usual poonami (very liquidy). I’ve spoken to two HVs who say because there’s no solids etc that she’s fine but I’m still a bit anxious about this. Has anyone else experienced this? She’s still passing wind but sometimes seems in a bit of discomfort with this.

Up to 10 days is normal for some ebf because there is very little breast milk which is waste.

It’s completely normal - there’s very little waste with breastmilk so the vast majority of it is absorbed and there’s very little to come out

Oh thanks that’s reassuring then, friends’ babies of a similar age are going multiple times a day so was slightly concerned so thanks for putting my mind at rest

It can be normal and nothing to worry about but only if weight gain is going as expected. When did you last have LO weighed?

Thanks @Chickchickadee555 she was weighed on Tuesday and following the growth chart to a tee so HV wasn’t concerned. In the last couple of days she’s brought up what must be a full feed once a day but not sure if this is because I tried her on infacol as coincides with starting that

@Bluesycamore

My 4 week old ebf baby hasn’t pooed in 8 days. Before this it was 6 days, and maybe 4 before that so periods are getting longer. When she does go it’s the usual poonami (very liquidy). I’ve spoken to two HVs who say because there’s no solids etc that she’s fine but I’m still a bit anxious about this. Has anyone else experienced this? She’s still passing wind but sometimes seems in a bit of discomfort with this.

One of mine was like that - once every 7-10 days. It was a total nightmare. The poonami needed to be anticipated or it was a head to toe job.

So when we could see he was getting ready to poo, we would grab him and bring him to the bathroom where the changing table was. We had at least 3 nappies open and ready to go. Blast 1, remove nappy and replace with fresh one (very, very quickly), Blast 2 - repeat, Blast 3 - hold on a little to see was that it and then do the final change after cleaning him up.

There was one memorable occasion where I wasn't quick enough with the replacement nappy and blast 2 hit the wall approx 1m away. Another one where dh wasn't quick enough and he was positioned poorly. Blast 2 ended up in his sleeve.

BF babies generally have very liquid poo anyway and, as a pp said, up to 10 days between them is normal.

DD2's record was 14 days. Not fun for anyone. The thing that worked in the end (or coincided with her having a poo anyway) was me drinking lots of orange juice, as recommended by a friend.

Yes, when DS was about four months, he only pooed every ten days!

@OchonAgusOchonOh oh my that sounds horrific, how can such a tiny person make such a mess. Hopefully you can laugh about it now. Just worried as she’s still so young only four weeks old. On day 9 now so hopefully the poo is imminent

@Bluesycamore - Hopefully you can laugh about it now.

He's 18 now so definitely able to laugh at it. Seeing your post on Active immediately brought it all back so it obviously made serious inroads in my memory

It's normal from 6 weeks. At 4 weeks (and as an ongoing theme) it could be a sign that your baby isn't transferring milk very effectively. It could also just be that your baby is unusual, but in the first 6 weeks it's expected that EBF babies have at least 2 poos the size of a £2 coin daily and it can form part of a bigger picture if they're not.

It's reassuring that weight gain is acceptable and that there is no sign of jaundice etc, but nobody should be dismissing this as normal without assessing the baby!

It's to do with the whey protein which makes up 90% of a feed in the first 6 weeks but only 60% of the feed later on. Whey protein passes through the gut very quickly. I think Lucy Ruddle IBCLC did some work on this.

I'm wondering if you've spoken to the National Breastfeeding Helpline or any breastfeeding support locally OP?

@FakeFruitShoot oh thanks. Both HVs did a home visit so have seen her and said she has good skin tone and weight gain is following the line on the chart to a tee. Because of this and her having lots of wet nappies they seemed to think it was ok but I’m still anxious as it seems such a long time. Will look for our local bf group thanks for the suggestion. I had also read the 6 week thing online which added to my worries

Glad you pointed this out @FakeFruitShoot
I see so many of these "no poo" threads on various forums with people telling mothers it's "normal" and merely because there's "no waste in breastmilk" (inaccurate) and without having asked the most basic of questions regarding weight gain.
It's well-meaning advice but it's not correct and, at worst, could be dangerous if it makes someone reading think everything is ok when it's actually not.
OP, I agree it needs monitoring and it would be a good idea to access some breastfeeding support from someone who can observe a full feed.