My 5 month old son is exclusively breastfed.
I know that breastfed babies can go for a week without pooping, but my child is very uncomfortable and gassy by the third day without a bm. It starts to affect his daytime and nighttime sleep. Last night was horrendous.
I mistook the problem (stupidly) last night for teething, but today I put the pieces of the puzzle together and finally I gave in and used the old thermometer trick to get him to poop. It did work as it always does. It seems like every four days I'm having to "take his temperature" in the middle of the night for him to have a bm and us to get some sleep. I'm wary of over using this strategy, but I don't know what to do. Sometimes he poops a tiny bit out himself, but never the entire amount of what is in his body.
It isn't constipation because the poop is runny. He does not take a bottle so trying to get alternative liquids in him (prune juice, whatever) has to be done by medicine dropper which is tedious and most runs out of his mouth anyway.
Has anyone else been through something like this? This does not seem normal.
My sons didn't get constipated until they were on solid food. Giving them a some prune baby food always worked.
We did! It happened for us around Christmas, and NOTHING helped. Our baby also was about 3 months, when he finally pooped (like 14 days later, I think?) it was not constipated. We got two suggestions that seemed to help the best--we did give him juice, but I think we got like 6 oz in him before it "worked", so I suspect it wasn't actually the juice that did it--and I was NOT fond of giving him that much juice, as he also was exclusively breastfed. Um, one suggestion was that my diet had changed (it had; it was Christmas and I was junking out) and while I"m not sure that was it--as it happened periodically for a while--it might have been; who knows. After almost 2 months of this going on, the doc suggested rice cereal. She said it can firm things up (the iron, obviously) and make it easier for him to poop, for some reason I don't completely get. Anyway--the bottom line was that when we started him on food, it DID regulate him. It was confusing and frustrating and sleepless for those two months, but we started him on cereal at about 5 mos and it worked well.
I would suggest the chiropractor also. I have a little one that I care for that had always had problems with BMs. It took one adjustment and he was totally changed.
Maybe it's something YOUR eating. My dd had a horrible time with my breastmilk, was actually not tolerating it at all and had colic symptoms. I think something to do with milk protien allergy I dunno. She was the same way with Simlac Formula too so after months of excruciating pain, gas and misery the Dr. switched her to Enfamil Nutramigen. I feel bad not breastfeeding but it's made a complete 360 with my baby. No more poop problems, no more gas, no more upset tummy's, no more interrupted sleep.
Maybe try starting him on cereal will help. It could be that the BM's are just too loose for him to get out on his own, the cereal will help thicken them up and he will have an easier time getting them out. I had the same problem with one of my kids and once he was started on cereal he had no difficulty. Have you tried starting him on a sippy cup? That might work if he doesn't want to do bottles. It's another way to get some fluids in him.
Have you tried taking the prune juice your self? I nursed all four of my children. T.
Hi, M.-
Sorry to hear about your little guy's discomfort, poor thing! He actually COULD be constipated. I know it seems contrary to what you would expect, but if he is plugged up then all that can get through is the liquidy stuff. (My daughter has had ongoing bowel issues and I have learned this through her doctor.)
Either way, it's best to consult his doctor. As others have said, he's too young for fiber or laxatives and such.
Good luck!
I would talk to your doctor about this. Babies can become dependent on the thermometer technique and can't go them selves. The same thing happens with suposatories and juice. I'm not saying you shouldn't use these techniques but talk to your doctor about how often is appropriate/safe. Perhaps he is becoming dependent on it already.
I would not use a fiber supplement on an infant without directions from a doctor. In general too much fiber is not good for infants. This is why they don't make baby food with extra fiber.
Starting solids will probably make the gass worse for a week or more. It takes a while for there bodies to get used to digesting this new food.
My daughter was the same way, started early on plus she was starting to spit everything up she ate at around 2 months. After many doc/hospital visits we cut out dairy by putting her on a lactose free formula. It was like a completely different baby, I loved breastfeeding but switching was best for my daughter and that is what counts!
Just a suggestion, talk to your little one's doc about what could be in your diet to cut out or switching to a formula that would might help your littl one in th BM area.
Best of luck!
I second that it could be something you're eating. Dairy very often causes constipation, so I'd cut way back on, maybe even eliminate, dairy from your diet for 2 weeks and see if that helps.
I'd also consider taking him to a chiropractor. I have problems with my hips (car accident, several falls) and if I am overdue for an adjustment, it becomes difficult for me to pass a BM. I can feel it there, but it's very hard to push out. (Sorry for the TMI!) Perhaps your son's hips or back are just a little out of whack.
My 5 year old was the same way as a baby. I thought it was odd but the doctor said some kids just used their milk better. Well, she still has a harder time having bms. We use fibersure in her diet now. I can't remember exactly all the things we tried as a baby but usually after four days if she didn't poop on her own we would use a q tip or thermometer to help her. When she was old enough for food we started lots of apples and other fruits. I do think we tried peppermint extract in a water bottle and that seemed to help sometimes. I sure hope your little one out grows this problem. Maureen would go days as toddler without a bm. I wonder if you could use the Fibersure in some water for the baby. It comes in a tasteless, colorless form that can be mixed with anything. I think that it has worked the best. It is amazing to me that she has had this problem because she eats lots of fruit and grains and none of my other kids have this problem.
Good luck. M.
there are a couple of suggestions I have for you. My daugher was premie and had this problem for the first 6 months of her life. You can buy the children's suppositories and cut them in 1/4s and then make sure to put vaseline or something on the tip. Then after you insert it you will need to hold his bottom together for about 15 - 30 seconds to make sure he doesn't push it right out. Another suggestion is if he takes a pacifier then there is a medicine pacifier that has a little spot for the medicine in it and then the baby gets it when sucking on the pacifier. You could put prune juice/pear juice in it and have him take it that way since he doesn't take a bottle. You could also try giving him stage one prunes by spoon. Good luck!
It sounds like he's getting too much foremilk. If you have a forceful letdown, and then switch breasts while nursing, he will get too much foremilk and it will make him gassy, crabby, and extremely uncomfortable.
Nurse him on one breast only, and let him nurse until he is done on one breast, don't switch during a feed, one breast only so he gets the foremilk to quench his thirst, and hten the hind milk which is full of fat and nutrients to help him stay full and grow.
If his poop is runny and this is a 'new' thing, he could have a virus. Some of the virus' going around this year have long bouts of diarrhea. If he's not getting any better and this is a new thing, I would probably take him in. But be prepared to be told he's lactose intolerant, can't handle your milk, he NEEDS formula,.... which both you and I know is not true. So if you do take him in, be prepared to stand your ground against the formula pushers.
I personnally did not have that problem with my children, but I do know of something that will help in more ways than one. There is a nutritional product that has helped with these areas in babies to adult. I would love to share it with you. I have a 18 mth grandson that has been taking it since the womb and he has never been sick. It is definetly worth taking a good look at, his mother is a Type I diabetic and getting great results with that as well. Give me a call at ###-###-#### and leave a message if I am unavailable, I would be more than happy to share with you how this product can help your baby. This is actually a home business you can do around your family and share it with other mother's that want good nutrition for their family. I have a girlfriend that is home schooling 5 children and pregnant with her 6th and they all take this great nutrition as a family. Looking forward to talking to you. D.
HI M.! I would definitely take him to a chiropractor! Be aware to have a diaper changing mat on your lap when he is adjusted, though! The results are often immediate!
Infant chiropractics is very gentle. They use the baby's own weight to adjust them. No forceful manipulation of the bones, and no pain.
i dont think hes constipated either...
i would take him into the doctor and make sure he doesnt have a diarhea issue.... diarhea can be rather uncomfortable also, and babies wont like to pass that either.....
anyway,
check with your doctor... you are right that this doesnt seem normal - good luck and keep trusting your GUT! LOL.
:D
