10 Week Old Son Not Pooping

Updated on September 12, 2007
S.D. asks from South Rockwood, MI
18 answers

I have a 10 week old son and he is a bottle fed baby. He will go 6-7 days at a time without pooping. I have been giving him a little prune juice as well as some Apple juice. Neither seems to really work. I got him to go today by giving him an anal temp, but it had been 6 days since his last bowel movement. This has been a problem since birth. Has anyone else experienced this, and is it normal for a baby to go that long with no bowel movement? His pediatrician seems to think he should be going every day or every other day. I have even changed his formula a few different times, and nothing seems to work. Any suggestions??

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A.S.

answers from Detroit on

I had this problem when my daughter was little. I got a gel enema for babies from Rite-Aid. I cut it in half and held it in her butt for about 1-2 minutes. I didn't let the whole thing dissolve either, cause that's too much for someone so little. It would work within a day.

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R.W.

answers from Jackson on

if he is on an iron fortified Formula, make the switch to a low iron. Iron fortified formulas can/will make some babies constipated. You may need to switch him from a Cow Milk formula to Soy (or vice versa) He may also need a bit of extra water in his bottle as well.

Try not to switch his formula TOO often. It takes a MINIMUM of 2 weeks and often a MONTH for the body to get used to new formula.

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T.

answers from Detroit on

My son went through that when he was an infant. I was told to try juice or Karo syrup in the bottle. None of that worked. If I used a suppository he would go but you can't keep doing that. What seemed to help him and it wasn't immediate was putting him on Nestle Good Start. Seemed gentler on his stomach. Good luck because I know it can be frustrating and the doctors don't really have an answer.

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C.R.

answers from Detroit on

When my babies would get constipated two things would work..I would put a tsp of sugar into a four ounce bottle of water.(warm water)..Or try a little bit of diluted apple juice..Those two things worked everytime..My mom is a nurse and thats what they would do at the hospital..My pediatrician said a couple of days is ok but no more then that..

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D.L.

answers from Detroit on

My daughter had that problem and still does. Her peds. told me to give here mineral oil. Ask your sons peds. if you can give him some in his bottle. That should help him out. Hope this works.

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T.D.

answers from Detroit on

Hey S., my son had the same problem. It was his formula, because when he did poop it was very hard and black..which isnt normal at all. So I switched his formula to Enfamil Lipil and it changed his whole pattern. He started to poop regularly. Now that he is older (20 months) he started running into the same problem. With whole milk so I switched him to SOY milk. And that has done a miracle for his little system. If you havent tried Enfamil you should try it and see if it helps. The powder has a lighter texture than Similac, so I can see why it is gentler. Also they have a milk called ProSobee that may help. I think that is infant SOY milk. If you stick to Enfamil be sure to sign up with their family beginnings program. They send you milk up to the age of 12-16 months and VERY valuable coupons. Like $5-$10 off the milk (which is already expensive.....So I hope this helps.....

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J.V.

answers from Detroit on

My son had this same problem. We bought suppositories. They worked really well. It sounds like he just needs stimulation since the anal thermometer worked. That is all my son needed. As soon as the suppository went in it came right back out. It always worked. It is best to get him to go at least every other day. The suppositories are just gel so it stimulates the process. I hope this helps.

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L.B.

answers from Detroit on

Hi S. - when my son was that young, he was the same way. We switched formulas, and he was still really constipated. The pediatrician told me about an old trick. A little bit of Karo Syrup w/a couple oz of water. It worked - he had a bowel movement later that day ; ) Just be careful when you give them water that young b/c they tend to joke easily on water.

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H.M.

answers from Detroit on

This IS not normal. I went through this- What works? Pro-biotics and goat's milk with his formula. My son is 2 1/2 and takes probiotics (healthy bacteria) and so do I. We both need it to be regular (ever hear of acidopholis?). It is something all of us are supposed to have but more and more people lack because of diet/stress. Anyway, this works. Not enough water probably isn't the issue but that wouldn't hurt either. Also, he probably has a lot of gas. I used catnip drops (Zerbos, Your Better Health) but they taste pretty bad. My son was used to them but just a warning. Either way they work great and you can simply drop some in his bottle and he shouldn't taste a thing.
I hope he's relieved soon! Poor little pooper :-(

p.s. Goats milk is good for kids (even his age) it is the closest to mother's milk

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D.K.

answers from Detroit on

Hi,

My sister in law had this problem with her son. Her Pediatrician had her using suppositories on him. I felt so bad for him because he was so young, but it seemed to help. She had o do it for quite awhile. You may want to see what your pediatrician thinks of this.

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N.W.

answers from Detroit on

He should be going about once a day. I would talk to your pediatrician again.

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A.W.

answers from Grand Rapids on

When he poops, is it normal, soft consistency, or is it hard? Both my kids, although they were breastfed at the time, would only go once a week when they were that age. My son even went TEN DAYS without pooping when he was about a month old. When they finally went, it was soft (and sometimes a BIG mess!). My doctor explained that their bodies were simply using most of the food they were taking in, which is why they didn't need to poop more than once a week. He told me not to worry and not to do anything about it. As they got older, they began to go more frequently. I have noticed that different doctors have different opinions, that's for sure!

If he's constipated and his poops are coming out hard when he finally goes, then we're talking about a different situation. I would definitely check with your doctor's office before trying anything on your own with a 10 week old.

Hope this helps.

-A.

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K.S.

answers from Lansing on

My girls did the same thing the Karo syrup only works for so long. We are now on Miralax. It's a non addictive laxative. My dr's office sent them both to A GI doctor to make sure there was not blockage or structural abnormalities. Theres only one in the are so it takes a while to get in. Another thing Is I would definatly try soy.

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L.N.

answers from Benton Harbor on

Hi S.~
I have a 3 year old who has been a problem pooper since birth. He would get so constipated he would bleed when he could finally go. Dr. said he could go a day or so without, but if he went into the third day, we should give him a glycerine suppository. I doubted the Karo b/c I was concerned about it making him fat...lol. Dr. said the sugar stays in their gut so not to worry. I used a Tbsp or so (dark Karo) in every bottle and it worked. However, three years and two impactions later he is now on Miralax every day with great results. Trust me, I have tried every remedy you can think of to no avail. Now, Im def. NOT saying you should put your baby on Miralax, just letting you know that it may be a prob that you battle forever. Just keep your doc in the loop and stay mindful of the days between....and try the Karo, it worked wonders for us. It does spoil them a little, though...my son wouldn't take plain formula after he tasted the sweet Karo...lol!
Good luck!
~L.

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H.W.

answers from Grand Rapids on

Has your pediatrician looked into why your son has this problem? It seems like you would need to know this to find a solution. It is not normal to go that long without pooping. It is probably not serious but I believe constipation can be a sign of other problems or it can just be dehydration or something he's eating.

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L.H.

answers from Detroit on

Call your pediatrician about putting Caro dark corn syrup in his bottles. GOOD LUCK!!!

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M.

answers from Detroit on

I just wanted to let you know that mt 5 week old daughter is also going through the same thing and that the only way I got her to go was also anal temp. My peditrition told is prune juice as well and we are still waiting. He told me however it can take a while for their dijestive tract to become normal and not to become to concerned as long as she is drinking normally and peeing normal. but please let me know if you find anything that works. I still haven't changed formula but that could be next. Good luck if I hear of anything i will let you know sincerely, M. b

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C.P.

answers from Kalamazoo on

Hi, I'm a mom of two. my first got constipated quite often too and she was on the nestle goodstart formula. The Ped said that the iron in the formula can be constipating to alot of babies. I think they still make one or two formulas that dont have the extra iron in them I just can't think of the name. If you aks your Ped or WIC they might know of one or two without iron that you could try. For the constipation I would try the dark Karo syrup, it always worked for my daughter. I just put a little in a warm 2 to 4 ounce bottle and she was pooping by the end of the day. Good luck. I hope this helps.

C.

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