BF 5 week old not pooed for 2 days. Not settling - wind, hunger, something else?

[HalfMumHalfBiscuit]

Not sure where to post this so forgive me if its in the wrong place.
My DD is not a happy bunny. She is only 5 weeks old and was settling into a routine feeding at 6.30, 10pm then 2.30am etc. Last night she did not settle after the 2.30am feed for ages (1.5/2hrs) but I wasn't sure why (and was so tired I couldn't think straight). I winded her loads and then fed her and eventually put her down and she cried a bit and we went to sleep.

She has not done a poo for a couple of days. Lots of wet nappies though.

I read online that BF babies sometimes absorb all the milk and don't poo as much.

When she feeds she does sometimes take in a lot of air and I try to wind her. Sometimes she does fall asleep on the boob so not so easy to wind. Maybe she has trapped wind and that is uncomfortable and therefore she is not sleeping?

After a feed she is not settling so I was thinking that she had wind/colic but if she is absorbing all the milk and not pooing does that mean that she needs more milk and its possibly a growth spurt and she is hungry?

Tonight she is not settling and has only just 'gone down'. She had a good feed at 6.30pm and extra at 8pm.

She also has bad eczema / cradle cap if this means anything.

Any ideas would be good.

Thanks

bumping then going to bed...v tired

Firstly, many congratulations on your dd. Secondly, everything you've put (from my massive experience of one child and extensive loitering on mumsnet) sounds completely normal. Around 5-6 weeks babies change a lot and patterns can keep shifting. I think it can be fine for them to go for around 4-5 days without pooing at this stage. Also colic can really kick in so winding is important but they can still feel uncomfortable. Plus they're getting much more aware of themselves and everything around them and just seem to cry a bit more.

Unfortunately I haven't got much/any practical advice but I wanted to say 'don't worry'. I'm sure others will be able to give advice as well as reassurance.

Thank you eclipse.

I went with the needs more food option and made sure she had lots at the 2.30am feed. She was up for 1.5 hrs again but then slept til 7.30am which was great. Of course I couldn't get back to sleep....!

Still no poo. Not that I'm complaining.

Hello HMHB

My DS is 5.5 weeks and has lots of the behaviours you describe. He seems to poo only once or twice a week -but blimey when he does it's EPIC! I was very worried because he seems so unhappy and uncomfotable after a feed. I read on here that feeding stimulates peristalsis in the gut which gets the poo moving. I suppose if it's a bit stuck or it's accompanied by a lot of wind that would hurt, hence the looks of anguish and the crying. Poor little thing! I took DS to the GP who said this pattern is quite normal for a bf baby. She is keeping an eye on him though, so if you are at all worried I would talk to your doctor or health visitor if only to set your mind at rest. The bottom line (no pun intended) is that the gut matures as they get older and they grow out of it.

This is just my experience, but it does sound a bit like your DD's. I wanted you to know you're not alone!

Thanks JaneyTroll, yes that does sound similar. How is it going with your DS, is it your first? DD is my second so not so much of a ginormous shock as when I had DS.

We went to the drs yesterday with DD's eczema and I mentioned about the not pooing and he said it was normal and that she had probably emptied her entire bowel during the last poo (which was a biggy - DH changed her ).

I checked the internet yesterday and it said that sometimes they absorb all the nutrients from breast milk therefore no poos!

She is doing lots of farts though so something is getting through .

Hi HalfMumHalfBiscuit sounds normal to me, but then I only have one, so you have more experience than I do. Have you tried the infacol? Seemed to help with DS when he was struggling with his digestion. Also, baby massage seemed to be the only thing that really relaxed him enough to help him sleep a bit better (he was, and tbh at 8mo, still is, a terrible sleeper). Try a class if you can fit it around your two children?

IsItMeOr - good idea. I've been trying to go to a class (any class) for the last few weeks. First DS's school was flooded so had to look after him, then he was sent home from school with tummy ache so I still haven't met any local mums with babies . I'll try again next week.

I am going to try to go out to town today (if DS doesn't get sent home again) as need to abate the cabin fever.

Like your name btw - if my assumption about the reasons for it are correct, mine would be HalfMumHalfChocolate .

Hi I posted about this about a week ago in breast and bottle. Gots lots of good advice: moving the legs around in a cycling movement, me eating figs/ more fibre etc All of these things have helped dd2. Hope something helps your lo it is horrid to see them unsettled.

Hello there!

Just back from follow-up check up at GPs. She listened to bowel and said all seemed well. Farting (which DS could do as an Olympic sport) is apparently a very good sign. So good news! GP mentioned she'd heard Infacol can worsen constipation, though there was nothing about this in her big drug reference manual so she reckoned this was just anecdotal. She did reccomend that we reduced the dose we've been giving DS just to see if it helped though.

Yes - DS is my 1st, hence super-panicky-mummy outbursts! I don't have anything like as much experience as you HMHB!

IsItMe - Half Man Half Biscuit was a band in the 'ahem' eighties.

OMG DD has pooed.

Was epic. A proper nappy buster all up her back.

I have had to bath her and put the babygro and cardigan she was wearing in to soak plus the towel I wrapped her in.

It was so runny I didn't realise I left a trail of it on the way to the bathroom.

More info - the poo was bright yellow.

Right. One more feed then will attempt going to town....

Thanks everyone.

janey - still having panicy mummy outbursts here too. And asking DH things like 'was DS like this' as I can't remember. DH says 'yes' in amused condescending voice.

Nappy buster ! Bet you're glad that didn't happen when you were in town.

You see, I remembered the band after I posted. So, on this occassion, it is me then .

Your DH is very cheeky and lucky that you have a kind and gentle disposition.

Glad to hear about the poo (wouldn't have imagined a couple of months ago that I would ever type that...) and impressed by the epic nature!

I saw the HV today and she was reassuring about DS's poolessness. She suggested giving him a drink of cooled boiled water if he gets to 7 days without incident.

He seems fine other than this. I'm just bracing myself for the event. Better get a hazmat suit and a sou'wester for the nextnapper change.

HMHB glad to hear that you and DD are feeling better

Janey a bit puzzled why your HV has suggested cooled boiled water - AFAIK exclusively bf babies who are otherwise doing well do not need anything else. You might like to post on the "Breast & Bottle Feeding" topic. Tiktok and other bfcs might be able to advise.

MesS- I know. I thought water was a no no for bf babies, but HV did say only try it if DS is v uncomfortable and hasn't poked for a week.

That should say 'MrsS' and 'pooed'. Oops.

They do love their "cooled boiled water" HVs. Your typos made me giggle tho' and MesS is not a bad description of my appearance right now

Much as I hate to fly in the face of advice from your HV, if your DD is producing plenty of wet nappies, she doesn't need any water. Your breastmilk is doing a fine job of keeping her hydrated.

My DS would go over a week without pooing when he was 1-2 months. But yes, when he did poo, it wasn't pretty

There is a thread somewhere asking what the fuss is about new babies and how can they take up all your time. Well, for those wondering, the poo incident earlier took ages to sort out and I still haven't managed to wash all the stuff that has got bright yellow poo on.

DD seems a lot better after getting back in to her stride poo-wise.

Good luck Janeytroll for when your DS explodes finally goes.

just to let you know i went through the whole panicking-cos-no-poo thing with DS2. After lots of talking to paeds, breastfeeding specialists etc the consensus was that if the poo is soft/runny then they are not constipated regardless of how long they haven't pooed for. My DS settled into a routine of pooing once every 2 weeks or so - the longest wait for a poo was 19 days

(which then resulted in 3 changes of clothes in under half an hour - he was never uncomfortable or distressed though)

Oh I totally panicked too. Why is there not a bit in all the breastfeeding guides and new parent stuff that says: BF mums - if there is no poo for nearly 2 weeks, DON'T PANIC

(written in large, friendly letters obv).

Would be very helpful.

HMHB - have you tried napisan? That always seemed to do the job when we had "leakage".

I put the offending items in the wash last night after soaking most of the day. They should be clean now.

I'm going to set up a thread for mums of a 1 month old cos I'm enjoying chatting to you lot (and I still haven't been out and met anyone this time!). Will be back with a link.

here's the link