My Baby Doesn't Poop a Lot!

This happened when my daughter was a baby. Is she formula fed? My daughter was and I had the same concern. She's 4 now and more regular than me. So don't worry as she starts eating different foods and drinking juice you'll wish she only pooped every 4-6 days!

If he is breastfed, it could be normal for him to go quite some time without a bowel movement then blow out the diaper.

YES! My son went 12 days once and he had breastmilk ONLY at the time! (We joked that he didn't want to waste any of it!) My doctor said the same thing....not to worry. Once I started him on solids - I got to prunes ASAP and give him some prunes every day. (pears and peaches also) I also give him 4 oz. of straight juice (not diluted) everyday. Baking soda baths can help. My doctor also instructed me (as he became very uncomfortable and was crying) to give him 1/2 teaspoon of milk of magnesia at night time for a few days. Last resort - rectal thermometer. Now - when he seems to be pushing....I immediately pick him up and lay him on his back to bicycle his legs. I then push his knees kind of toward his armpits (not in his armpits..haha!)to help him push. The poor little guy has more solid poop than I do!! But he has softened up over the last week and I think all the fruit and juice has helped. Give him oatmeal cereal also rather than rice.

Hope some of this helps and that he feels better soon!

I don't know what is "normal" and what isn't. Everyone's system works differently but I would try prunes and/or apple juice to see if that helps any.
Good luck.

My baby did that for a while. The dr said it was ok, but I did not think so b/c when you eat something has to come out. First they told me her sphincter was too tight, so I had to stretch it once/wk which helped i.e. using my pinky finger. It was very disturbing to me so I stopped. I am also breastfeeding so I changed my diet to have more fiber & gave her Karo syrup, apple, pear, & prune juice.

Now that she eats everyday I make her oatmeal w/prune, pear apricot, etc. I also started eliminating things from her diet & come to find out the apple sauce & rice cereal was causing her constipation. Apple sauce b/c once it is puree most of the fiber is broken down & the baby rice cereal b/c of the added iron. I just use the regular oatmeal since this has tons of fiber plus add prunes & pears. You can also puree the fruits/buy baby fruit whatever it is you do. I make all her foods. Good luck.

Hi E.,
My 10 month old daughter was the same way. She would scream every 6-7 days as she was having a bowel movement. Her ped. told us to make sure she ALWAYS had a sippy cup with juice in it. He said the sugar in it is what makes them go. She drinks about 6 oz of apple juice a day and eats prunes on a regular basis and she still has hard poo. She goes about every other day now, but it is hard. We are waiting for her next appt. to see if there is anything else we need to try. Try the juice and prunes! Hope it helps!

My kids went through this as well. It is perfectly normal for a baby to poop only every so often and not everyday or every couple of days. Some will go a week without pooping and there is nothing wrong. He is fine don't worry. I worried too and the doctor said not to worry it is normal. I found it is very normal as a lot of my friends went through the same thing with their kids too plus talking to the doctor gave me more reassurance. He is fine.
D.

I am 31 and have been married for almost 12 yrs. My husband and I have 3 boys ages 10,7, and 4.

It's totally normal if your baby is nursed. Before I started my son on solids he only went about once a week. Give him prune juice. Man, does that stuff work!!
Good luck!!

I have never heard of that. I would of been concerned too. But if your doctor said he is in good health.. well then.. heck.. enjoy it! My kid poops all the time... It literrally is like we feed him and it come straigtht out! We are always like OMG! Again! And I swear he won't poop unless its a clean diaper... It will always be right AFTER i change him! The lil stinker!

My sons were great poopers, my daughter she was every 3-7 days and it scared me beyond belief. She is and was fine and still only poops once or twice a week. She is 10 now and we never had any problems, other than me thinking it was wrong. I watched her constantly and worried but I didn't need to, I guess some are just made different!! I hope this helps!!

My daughter never pooped everyday. She still doesn't. There's nothing wrong with her, it's just the way she's made. I'm sure your guy is fine. As long as he's not having little hard pellets or showing signs of discomfort, I wouldn't worry. You may also want to try infant massage in addition to fruits and juice. I know some really good strokes to help with digestion. Let me know if you're interested. (I don't teach a class or anything. I did take a class and I have the hand outs.)

I had this with both of my boys and it still continues with my youngest son (he's 5-1/2) We even took my oldest to Riley Children's Hopsital when he was around 2. Everything was fine. They just "hold" their stool b/c they associate #2 with pain. It's a vicious circle b/c the longer they hold it, the larger it becomes. With both of them, we would resort to giving them baby enimas or baby suppositories, b/c we would worry that they would get impacted and we'd have to take them to the hospital (which would undoubtedly be super-traumatic!). That always seemed to work. My oldest son outgrew it when he turned 3 and started using the potty instead of a diaper. But my youngest still struggles with it but he's getting better. Now, instead of going a week+, it's every few days or so. And he's doing it on his own now as well, instead of us making his sit on the potty. Just hang in there! My daughter (my youngest) has thankfully not had this problem at all. Good luck!
J.

My little guy went up to 32 days with out pooping. He is a healthy 3 1/2 year old now. Nothing is wrong with him. They told me because he was breastfed that was o.k. Just try to make him comfortable and to do your best. I would not worry.

Does he act constipated?

Hi E.! Try putting some of the prunes with apples baby food into his cereal. I used to put 1/2 jar in my daughter's cereal, and it put her right back on track. I did it every time I gave her rice cereal, because the rice can be binding. She's 9 months, and poops like a champ now! Also, try giving him 1/2 juice and 1/2 water. That will help too. Bananas and applesauce are also constipating, so maybe be sparing with those. Good luck!

Many children deal with this. Perhaps try using a stool softener. There are ones that the child can take orally and others must be inserted in the anus.

You can also try giving juice such as pineapple, prune and orange juice. Each of these are very acidic and may help loosen things up.

I had the same issue with both my girls. When I was breastfeeding, they would go a week or more with out a bowel movement. I enjoyed not changing poopy diapers!! When there was a poopy diaper it was HUGE!!! The Dr. told me the girls were using the food efficently and that there was little waste. They are healthy little girls 4 1/2 and 2 1/2

My youngest sibiling was constipated from birth and still has problems (he's 7 now). My Mom narrowed it down to dairy sensitivity. Even now he can't have milk or cheese without being backed up for 10-14 days at a time. Infant formulas can produce a dairy sensitivty or allergy, but for her it was the dairy consumption he received thru breastmilk. Maybe it's getting better with the intro of solids b/c he's not only consuming liquid for his whole diet (whether its formula or breastmilk) and the fiber in the fruits or grain cereals is helping move things thru.
I'd Definitely push the clear fruit juices (diluted with water if needed) and try giving prune baby food and see if it really kicks things into motion. One bowel movement every 4-6 days for an infant is much to infrequent for my comfort level as a mom!

E.,

This sounds like my son. The pediatrician says he's just hording all those nutrients and there's absolutely nothing wrong with him. He's now a year old and tipping the scales at 24 pounds. And perfectly healthy.

When I was most concerned was about the same age your boy is at now. He would go five days without pooping. But when he did, it was a huge blowout! Messy, brownie mix disgusting! I counted my blessings I only had to deal with it once about every four days.

And once again, my pediatrician said - and says - he's perfectly healthy and growing exactly as he should be. Even now, it's just one poop a day - but usually every other day. That's just the way he's made.

If your pediatrician says he's good to go and his poops are neither a runny watery mess OR hard acorns, I'd say listen to her. Your little guy is probably just perfect in every way!

Good luck to you,
J.

Hi! Are you breastfeeding? This is VERY common with breastfeds because the milk is absorbed so well since it is made for them naturally. If not, I'm not sure what is normal with formula feds, but if the doc says it's ok, then I wouldn't worry about it. Whatever it is, he's still too young for anything but breastmilk/formula and a few solids, don't pump him full of juice or anything yet. And remember, unless it comes out hard, he's not constipated :) Good Luck!

My second son did the same thing, he would go days and then EXPLODE everywhere. Eventually (I think at about 11-12 months) he started to be more regular, he is six now and goes every 1-2 days.

Especially if you are breastfeeding your son, this is completely normal - as long as he isn't uncomfortable those days in-between poops and his poop is normal-soft when he does go.

This happened with both my older boys, and I'm expecting it with my third (now 6 weeks old). For whatever reason, it seems this begins to happen right around the 2-month old mark - - so your son sounds right on track! My pediatrician even reminded me that this may begin to happen around 2 months.

As it was explained to me, breast milk is so pure and the baby's system gets so efficient at digesting it, there is very little waste to accumulate. This also backs up why when you started solids, he did start pooping more frequently (solids have more roughage undigested = more waste to poop out).

You took him to the DOC and all he did was run x-rays on him and tell you that he was fine? He didn't say give him apple juice mixed with water or give hime some prunes to loosen up those bowels? If I were you I'd be searching for another Doc. In the mean time, give him some fruit, prunes to loosen him up, applejuice, applesauce, lots of water.
Good Luck

infant babies can go as long as two weeks without a bowel movement!!! as long as it's not hard to pass and formed when he does go then there isnt a thing to worry about..if it is hard to pass and formed that may mean he is constipated..a sensitive stool softener for infants usually does the trick you can ask your doctor about it if that what you thinK THIS IS...

My son did something similar and my ped told me that unless it seemed to bother him and was really dry and hard it wasn't a big deal. It eventually got that way (dry and really hard) and we gave him a sugar solution prescribed by the doctor. It worked wonderfully and once regular foods were introduced we could even stop the sugar solution. If it's not bothering him or your doctor I wouldn't worry! Good luck!

My daughter just turned 7 months about a week ago and I have the same thing going on at my house. Having an older child like you do, I was so concerned that she was hardly going. It was only like once a week....even though she is breast fed and eats all the time. I too consulted our physician and she said that it is fine. That if she is not having other symptoms of sickness or constipations (i.e. really hard bowels, fever, cramps, etc...) that it is fine. I have found that some foods bind her up more than others and the more breast milk I can give her the better. I am still freaked out on it a little bit but I am also learning to accept it. That is just her. Besides, when I thought about it I realized I had the same issue when I was little and I turned out just fine. My advice is just to watch your baby and find out what works best for him. I kept my daughter on the same food for about a week to see how she reacted to it before I tried something else. He could just have a harder time digesting some things than others. Applesauce seems to really help my daughter so you may want to try that. Ultimately, just listen to your instincts and to your little one. Make sure that what is happening is normal for HIM not everyone else. Good luck.