Advice for Helping My 3 Month Baby Boy to Do #2 - Guaynabo,PR

I got concerned about my son around the same time. The advice I heard was to use a thermometer. It stimulates poo. I never had to do it because my son finally went before I could do it but my best friend had to do it to her son and it worked every time. Hope this helps.

I have a 5 1/2 month old son and he had very bad colic and was constipated. I boiled mint leaves and mixed the tea with powdered formula. This settled his stomach from cramping and helped him poop more often. If you want more specifics, feel free to email me. ____@____.com.

A.

My daughter is 26 now. When she was a baby I breastfed her and she had the same problem. I took her to the doctor and he told me that maybe she was using all the food intake, with little or no "leftover". Not to worry so much.

Hi, I would relax. It is REALLY TOTALLY NORMAL for an exclusively breastfed baby to go a week at a time without pooping. They are so efficient at absorbing everything they get from you that sometimes not a lot is left over for poop. My daughter was not a high frequency pooper either, every 3-4 days, sometimes longer. Constipation is almost impossible in an exclusively breastfed baby. And the fact that you said it's soft and not hard is further support it's not constipation. My advice would be to stop doing the suppositories. If you use them too much, it's possible his body will be unable go on it's own without outside stimulation. Maybe give him a little juice if he seems incredibly uncomfortable, but otherwise I would let him be. (Well, I guess you could breastfeed more when you're together too. Breastmilk is a natural laxative.) You could also check with the lactation consultant at the hospital you delivered at (cause that way theyr'e usually free) or give LLL a call. They will also tell you this is normal. Good luck!

My oldest had the same issue specially when I changed from breastfeeding to formula. My doctor told me to mix prune baby food in the milk. She drank it that way until she was about 24 months old. You may want to check with your doctor the baby food is more concentrated than the juice so it helps. They get used to the taste pretty quickly.

Hope this helps.

Try a children's enema or a pedialax enema feel his tummy if hard tummy massage helps.

You might want to contact the La Leche League (LLL), the organization that promotes breast feeding. On-line they have advice on "stooling" bowel movements and much more.

How is the baby water intake? Try giving the baby more water, that may help your problem.

C.

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I found this for you:
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/bf-links-concerns.ht...

also:
The La Leche League Breastfeeding Helpline - US began on June 1, 2007. Everyone in the U.S.A. will have access to toll free breastfeeding help 24 hours a day. Just call 1-877-4-LALECHE (1-877-452-5324).

enjoy that baby!!!

I read all the other moms responses, and I have to say if YOU feel like your child isn't right, then he isn't. We went through the exact same thing with my son. I kept telling his doctor that something wasn't right. He would only poop every 5 days or so and by the third day of no poop he was in pain. Everybody said breastfed babies only needed to go once a week, but he was hurting. I finally got a referal to seee a pediatric gastroentologist just before he turned 6 months. I had tried everything up until that point. I eliminated dairy from my diet. I wrote down everything I ate for weeks, trying to figure out what was messing him up, but nothing I did helped him. When we went to see the specialist he said to give my son baby cereal, oatmeal not rice. The rice actually makes their stomachs worse. I know they say not to give a breastfed baby solids until they are 6 months, but the specialist said you can at 4 months. Once I started giving my son the cereal, he started pooping every day. He didn't have those horrible crying fits of pain anymore. He just became the happiest baby. I wish I had gotten him to the specialist sooner. So all I have to say is you know your baby, if you think somethings wrong, then it is. Every mom wants to keep her baby from pain. The specialist I took my son to was Daniel Kollwitz, he was in a office in the hospital just west of 95 on Hollywood blvd. He also recommended this stuff called Senna Syrup, it's all natural. He gave it to his kids, but I never had to use it on my son, the cereal sorted him out just fine.

I know that when my kids who are now 2 and 4 had constipation their pediatrician suggested that with their milk i added a little karo syrup to their formula or breastmilk. This remedy worked like a charm and also made them eat more because the syrup made the milk taste even better :-)

You might want to consider asking for a referral to a Gi specialist before trying home remedies since your baby is so young. Also I was concerned when you mentioned honey to treat colds: I hope you are aware that it is not recommended to give honey to a child under the age of two. Best of luck.

This is not unusual for breastfed infants. Exercise his legs by bending his knees and then moving them back towards his abdomen. Repeat about ten times. You can also massage his tummy at the same time. Do this everytime the diaper is changed. If he is uncomfortable you can put vasoline on a rectal thermometor and carefully insert in his anus. DON'T GO IN TOO FAR. Put it in and out a few times. He should poop either right after or pretty soon after. Repeat as often as necessary. I only do this if the exercise isn't working. Also be sure to be doing Tummy Time which is not only important for neck muscles but also forces them to push down and hence helps with regular bowel movements.
You might want to try not eating any thing made from bleached flour or white rice.

Hope this helps!
S.H. Certified Postpartum Doula and Nutritional Consultant.
P.S. DON'T USE MINERAL OIL,CORN SYRUP, OR KARO SYRUP--CAN CAUSE ALLERGIC REACTION

Unfortunately, I don't have any advice for helping your baby to have a normal bowel movement.

However, I wanted to point out to you that scientists have discovered that honey can be seriously harmful to children under the age of 2. I don't remember the details, except that the intestinal tract can't handle the honey properly. (If your 4 month old is getting honey on a regular basis, that might explain part of the bowel movement problem.)

Here is a link and an article from the Mayo Clinic about honey:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/infant-botulism/HQ00854

"nfants younger than 12 months are at risk of infant botulism from eating honey. Infant botulism is a rare but serious form of food poisoning.

Honey is a known source of bacterial spores that produce Clostridium botulinum bacteria. These bacteria are typically harmless to older children and adults. But when ingested by an infant, these bacteria make a toxin that can cause infant botulism. It's unclear why this occurs in infants and not in older children or adults.

Infant botulism affects a baby's nervous system and can result in death. Signs and symptoms of infant botulism include:

-Persistent constipation
-Floppy arms, legs and neck
-Weak cry due to muscle weakness
-Weak sucking and poor feeding
-Tired all the time (lethargy)
Botulism spores may also be found in undercooked food, corn syrup and even maple syrup. For this reason, feeding an infant any of these foods is risky as well."

Be sure to talk to the pediatrician if you have been feeding honey to your baby!

Good luck.

Hello M.,

I am sorry to hear about your little one having problems with #2. My boy is 10 month now, but he also had some problems with making #2. I also gave him breastmilk till he was 6 month, the doctors in Argentina adviced me not to use supositories (since he was too little).
So With my husband we did the belly massages, gave him compote juice, prune juice and when he would push and cry we would help him by tucking his legs to his belly and used liquid vaseline arround his anus (he could then get his poo out with our help and then he would feel relieved!) It was very hard for us to see him cry and go through that pain, but afterwords he was ok!

This went on till he was 6 or 7 month. Now we don't have any more problems.
Try to also give him lots of water.

Regards,

I had the same problem with my 11 year old daughter, this might mean that her tract wasn't fully developed, but if you keep on breastfeeding him this will help greatly, do use the glicerin suppositorries every 4 to 5 days, becase I can imagine his discomfort. They are natural so you shouldn't worry. Keep doing the massages and the tucking of the legs.
This wil eventually develope and it will be as good as it should be.
The best of luck.
J.

Hi M.,
My name is M. H. and I am a massage therapist in South Florida. I have one daughter who is 5 years old. Massage is a great and natural way to stimulate your baby's intestines and help him go #2. Start below his belly button and to the right (when you're facing him, it will be your left side). Do small circular motions and massage up his right side, across his chest (under the ribs) and then down his left side, back to below his belly button. I have done this on myself and my daughter many times. It is also very helpful with gas.
Good luck!!

Breastfeeding is the most efficient method for your baby. You baby absorbs almost everything, therefore there is not as much waste as with a baby that is bottlefed. We learned this with our first child because it seemed that she didn't poop enough so we went to a specialist and thats what he told us.
Good luck!

Dear M.

You don't need to put the supository to your baby. That's completely NORMAL. Don't beleive that about the vague intestine and all that stuff the doctor said. I breasfeeded by 14 years old son till he was 4 1/2 years old. The same thing happened to him so I called my brother who is a great pediatrist at Atlanta. The thing is that your baby is making great use of your milk, and he keeps it in his system, so he will only do #2 when his body feels it necessary, that's all. Don't ever let to breasfeed him, do it as long as you can, you will remember me. It's just GREAT! Eventually this will change, but naturaly, without needing medicines, you'll see. Don't get scared, is normal.

Try giving him a tablespoon of Karo syrup mixed with about 1 oz. of water (you'll find Karo syrup on the baking aisle of your grocery store). When my son had this problem my doctor recommended this remedy and I would give it to him after every feeding. After a day or two everything would "loosen up" and he'd be fine. You might have to do this for a while until his digestive system matures but for now you could just use it to regulate him and avoid having to use the suppositories. Good luck!

Congrats on the Breastfeeding. But there is nothing wrong with your child. A breastfed only child can go up to 14 days with out a bowel movement. Seem like your child got that memo. Once you introduce solids it will come a little more frequently. Or so they say.

As for the thickness. It should not be hard. Forumla fed babies have hard poops. An exlusive breastfed baby's poop is soft to very watery.

My son is 11 months old. I delayed solids with him till he was 9 months old. And even now he is still 85% BF and his bowel movements are still very soft. Before solids it was watery.

BTW if he is uncomfortable it might be something you are eating that he does not agree with. You might have to do an elimation diet if he really is that uncomfortable.

I know it can make you feel uncomfortable if your baby does not go #2 for several days. However, most reference books on babies will tell you that it is very normal for babies that are breast fed to not go sometimes for even up to 10 days. The reason is that breast milk gets absorbed almost entirely and there is no need for the baby to "discard" anything.
I had the same situation with my baby and started giving him apple-prune juice at about 6 months and that helped him go more regularly every 3 to 4 days. After he started eating solid foods he goes more regularly every day or at the most every other day.
I would not stress to much about it until he starts the solids, and would not use the supositories too much because he may need the nutrients.

When my daughter was a baby and she had trouble going #2--I gave her mineral oil. Just a tablespoon once a day mixed into her meal and it worked great and has no side effects. My sister has a cat that has this problem because of the shape of it's hip bones and I told her about the mineral oil and she now uses it for her cat and it works great. Good luck...from, Mama Bunch

My pediatrician told me that it is normal for a breastfed baby to go up to 7 days without a BM. When our son (3 months old) starts to act uncomfortable, we put him in our bouncy seat on vibrate and he tries to kick the toys. Between the kicking motion and the vibration, he usually ends up going on his own. I also try to bicycle his legs for a few minutes with each diaper change. I would not recommend using suppositories for such a young baby unless it was absolutely necessary.

I have your answer. Keep reading, but first I must note always check with your pediatrician.

My pediatrician told me:
Do not give a baby suppositories. They are too harsh on his body.

Here are 3 natural options that REALLY work. I've tried them and these worked for my baby.
1 - You should take a stool softener. It will pass in your milk to your baby and is not harsh on his system.
2 - Give one or two ounces of prune juice. Dilute it with warm water.
3 - Warm bath and a tummy rub.

I agree your vitamin might have too much iron which can effect the poop.
Good luck.

My name is M. and I have a 5 yr. old daughter- When she was born, she had some constipation, the baby nurse gave me the advice of giving her Karo Syrup(corn syrup) in her bottle- Try this, it really worked for her. Not sure of the amount, maybe 1 teaspoon??

It is normal for exclusively breastfed babies to go days between poos. My son started at 5 weeks only doing poo once a day, and at about 12 weeks going 8-10 days between. As long as the poo is soft (my son's was like mud, and lots of it), no worries.

Hi Great job on the breastfeeding, first of all!
My daughter had problems with constipation even at 2 months old. I would give her acidophulous. you will find it in health food stores or whole foods market. they come in capsule form and I would break open the capsule and poor it right in the breastmilk bottle and I would take it myself. Acidophulous is all natural in helping the intestines.
Hope this helps. C.

Hi i had the same problem with my son i would recommend miralax it worked liked a charm for my son...Now that he has been eating solids i dont use it anymore... But a tablespoon in a bottle of water it should take a day or so.. if not give him a little morit is very gentle on there stomach too its not a laxative which could hurt there tummy its just makes there stool soft...

Once a week poops are completely normal for a breastfed baby. Their bodies are so efficient at pulling out the nutrients in your milk that there is very little left over to poop out. You certainly do NOT need to give prune juice to a 4 month old! Belly massages and tucking the legs, like the ped. said, are helpful but that's all you need to do. This is not "problem" and good for you for exclusively breastfeeding! It's the very best thing you could do for your child!