Any Suggestions or Experience with Newborn Pooping Schedule

My youngest would go 5-7 days without pooping. The doctor said it was o.k. unless his belly was distended and he was not eating or sleeping because of pain. I also breastfed him. I did give him a little sugar water, this sometimes helped.
I never had that kind of problem with my two older children. I was also worried, but it was just the way his body functioned. He continued the same pattern for quite a long time after.

Who told the mom not to worry - a doctor or a friend? When babies are several months old it is normal for them to go days or weeks without pooping. I don't think it is normal for a baby that young to go several days without pooping. It can be a sign that the baby isn't getting enough to eat.

Perhaps she should contact the doctor or lactation consultant and get specifics on when to start worring. Then she can share this info with you so you can informed as well.

It's normal to not go every day...and that may continue even until they are toddlers/preschoolers (although they should be going at least every other day by then).

it is fine, under certain conditions.

as long as when stool is passed there is no pain, struggle, your baby should NEVER have to strain to poop. this is common in formula fed babies.. and there are easy cures to it. however, yours is breastfed, GREAT JOB MOM!
its fine. as long as there is no struggle to poop. he must be using it. pumping legs can help get things moving, you could even give an ounce or 2 of water.... though it might not work at his young age. :D
anyway, just keep breastfeeding, and be careful with your diet! :D eat lots of veggies and fruits not breads and dairy.
good luck!

Hi there,

It sounds like you're asking for somebody else...if that's the case, does the person have another, older child?

I ask because my now 5-month old daughter has never really pooped regularly at all, and when I asked her doctor about it recently, she said that it might be that I'm not drinking enough water. With chasing after a toddler and taking care of baby, I forget to drink water!

Sure enough, when I try to have a water bottle with me at all times & drink more, my daughter poops more!

Another thing that I noticed with my daughter not pooping often - her toots stink!! I had feared maybe a food allergy to something I was eating, but my doctor agreed that it might be because waste wasn't passing through, and even fermenting a bit...resulting in one of the stinkiest little baby girls I'd ever encountered! lol But, as I'm drinking more & she's pooping more, she's not as stinky when she toots. Funny how it's all connected, eh? :)

Anyway, that's my 2 cents. :)

Yes, it is just fine for a breastfed baby to poop infrequently. Almost all of the breastmilk is aborbed by the body, leaving little to no waste.

So long as the baby has some nice wet diapers and does not seem in pain, do not worry.

Because breastmilk is so good for the baby the baby uses all of the nutrients and doesn't have excess for a bowel movement. My children - all 3 of them - didn't have a bowel movement everyday. I was also worried but they were all fine. Sometimes my oldest daughter would go 7 day without a bowel movement.

As long as baby is still eating well, sleeping well, and generally in good spirits then not to worry. If stomach starts looking distended, is hard, or baby cries when it is touched I would definately take baby into the doctor. They will probably do some rectal stimulation. Your friend can also take babies temp rectally, that may help. If not the doctors may do a supository. I had to do them several times a week with my daughter but she was a 3 month early premie so her digestive system didn't always want to function properly. Typically a breastfed baby can go up to a week without pooping is what I was told.

My friends' newborn pooped once a week (!) and their doctor said it was okay.

Hello-

My first breastfed baby also pooped several times a day, but my second one, born in June only poops once a week! She has never had an issue with constipation, just only needs to poop one time a week (and what a blow out that is). She has been that way since birth and is still that way at 5 months. I do occassionally eat a fiber one bar and then she might poop a little more frequently. I think as long as he doesn't show signs of being uncomfortable, it is ok to not poop everyday. Hope this helped.

I have a 3-month-old, and since he turned one month, he has been pooping only once a week. When this started, I was concerned, since his two older brothers were also breastfed and pooped at least 3 times/day. His Dr. says it is completely normal for a breastfed baby to poop once/week. I think it's weird, but I guess the Dr. has more experience than I do!

Hi R.! I just wanted to say, I was the same way. I have a 3 year old and in January had a baby boy. I called the doctor's office when he was just over a week old because he wasn't pooping everyday. They of course said, no worries! I breastfed until he was 4 months old and he did NOT poop every day. I have now stopped breastfeeding (obviously) and he does poop everyday...I am a confused mom!! But I guess who knows and I say if they aren't crying and uncomfortable just play it by year. That is my two cents, and I am NOT a nurse or anything, just going through the same things as you!!!
-M.

My daughter was breastfed and didn't poop every day at first, either. Our pediatrician was not going to worry unless she went into the 5th day without a bowel movement. On day four, she had one. Breastfed babies all have varied pooping habits, but keep an eye on the baby's urine too. If they're not having at least 8 wet diapers per 24 hours, then you may have to worry that the baby is not getting enough to eat.
Oh, and once our breastfeeding was well established, my daughter began to poop more often, too. The more she ate, the more she went!

Breastmilk is made just for your baby, so his little body is using everything he eats because its specifically designed for his boyd and his needs. So there is little or no waste.

Its normal for a breastfed baby to go up to 14 days without a bowel movement, and there is nothing wrong if that happens, it just that baby doesn't have any waste. As long as he has wet diapers, he's good. :)

my dr told me that breast fed babies can go as long as once a week. formula babies go once a day to every 3 days. if the baby seems as its trying to go do as the one posted to rub the belly.. its clockwise in small circles around the belly. try a warm bath that always got things moving for our little ones. if worried i would call the babies dr first before trying the rectal stimulation. if she chooses to try it, be careful the skin is very thin and its easy to punture it with a rectal thermometer.

If the pediatrician said it was ok then I wouldn't worry too much. I didn't think it was normal at so young of an age. I know this can happen at a few months old though. A reason I would be concerned though is if the child is jaundiced. Pooping/peeing is how the body rids itself of it.

My daughter pooped about once every 5 days as a newborn. And man could you tell it when she was ready. Her gas was horrible. She was also breastfed and only when I started feeding her solids did she get sorted.

I talked to the Dr a few times about it and they told me that it was just her. I did do baby massage on her to try and get things flowing.

You need to rub her belly in a circular motion. I can't remember which way, so you better look that up on the web or some books. If you rub in 1 direction you get things flowing if you rub in the other you'll plug her up. So you'll want to make sure.

Good Luck.

when my 1st son was little we had the same thing but the pediatrician always said it was ok as long as he didn;t go more than 5 days without a bowel movement. if that happens you may want to ask what to do. i know 5 years ago i had to give him a supository to stimulate a BM and it worked with 5 minutes. and make sure there are still plenty of wet diapers.

R.,

You have nothing to worry about. It's very common for breast fed babies to go a day or two at a time without pooping. It just means that their digestive system is absorbing more nutrition compared to formula fed babies. If you get too worried, just give her a teaspoon of dark Kayro syrup mixed with some of your breast milk in a bottle. The syrup will help to move the bowels along. Good luck, and try not to worry :)

N.: Mom to a beautiful 19 month old girl.