3 1/2 Month Old Not Having Bowel Movements as Frequently

this is normal in a breastfed baby. Breastfed babies do not get constipated - ever never. Breast milk is almost completely digested by the baby- there is little waste. He is fine- he doesnt need a suppositiory. When breast fed babies are very young they may have several bowel movements a day (one after every feeding is normal too.) but now that he is older- whatever he does is normal.. Do not worry he is fine.

My daughter was exclusively breastfed for 10 months. she was never ever constipated.

1 mom found this helpful

Yes baby's bowel movements change so if your doc isn't alarmed you shouldn't be either. Honestly you shouldn't be giving him medication to make him poop unless the doctor okay's it. I think many of us Mom's made the same call you did to the doctor and got the same answer you did. :)

My son will be 11 months old soon & when he was about three or four months this happened to us. I like you had no clue as this is my first child. I called the doctor and they seemed to think all was well.By the way my son is a breast feed baby too. A book I read said this was normal. I am pretty sure as long as there is no fever or discomfort for you son it is okay. I do know that suppositories should be the last thing to try & you should discuss it w/ the Dr. first.

J.,
I have a 5 1/2 month old and I have been told and read this is very common. As babies get older they need to use more of the milk they take in so they have less waste. My daughter had the same thing happen. As long as your son seems happy I wouldn't worry about it.

Hi J...........you need not worry! My daughter went through a similar situation where I too called her pediatrician for some words of advice to help her through it. He said that this is perfectly normal. At this age, babies are learning to do all this and their little bodies are setting their own routines. He told us to try Karo syrup mixed with nursery water to help flush things through if we felt it necessary...........this may not work for you becuase most breast fed babies don't take well to bottles, right?! It wouldn't hurt to call and ask about it if you feel you need to do something else for your son though. I wouldn't worry. Your baby should be able to get through this just fine. Don't ever hesitate to call his doctor again on the matter. Our pediatrician is there for us any time of the day or night with someone on call at all hours, so call and call again if you feel things aren't right! That's what they're there for! Just give him extra love and attention and I'm sure you guys will get through this just fine! Good luck...

my two month old had trouble with bowel movements her dr told me to karo suryp in her bottle or give her prune juice that helped and i also started her on baby food that helped alot too. see if any of these help for you.

Hi J.,
I agree with everyone else, it is normal. Personally I wouldn't use anything to help the situation (suppositories, karo syrup). If he is breastfed he is getting all that he needs. I think every baby goes through a phase like this. When he starts eating baby food prunes work wonders. Good luck.
Chris

We went through the same thing and I know it is stressful and the cause for a lot of worry. My daughter would only go every four or five days but as her digestive system mature it became every two days. It was hard to make the doctors understand how upsetting it was to hear my daughter scream at night because she couldn't go when the doctors didn't consider it constipation until after eight days. I resorted to suppositories every other day and now she gets a little flax seed oil mixed into a bottle once a day. It helps to lubricate her tract and has some healthy benefits because it contains omega 3 oils. Don't worry; most babies do grow out of this and it is very normal.

If the Dr's aren't concerned and the baby isn't exhibiting any discomfort then leave well enough alone. Don't use suppositories or use flushes to manipulate his bowels, as this could cause problems with regularity later. Also be very careful of Karo syrup as it is unpasturized and can cause baterial problems in their stomachs. If your Dr. agrees, you could try some prune juice watered down.
Good luck,
C.

This is COMPLETELY normal. My daughter was the same way. Her doctor said his kids were also the same. It's just that since you are strictly breast feeding that his little body uses everything. This will change once you start with solids.

That is totally normal for a breastfed baby! We went through it with my first son and just like you, I was worried. My son went 11 days without a bm once. I was terrified! I went to a La Leche League meeting and found that many of the mothers had the same experience, it was something about the age, growth spurts and adjusting, or something like that. I was told that you don't need to worry UNLESS your baby is running a fever, straining, seems like he is in pain, or has a hard belly. The suppositories are totally unnecessary. Constipation is not the abscence of bowel movements, but refers to hard and dry bowel movements that are hard to pass.

I'm noticing the same thing with my 2 month old that is strictly breastfed. I called the nurse at my pediatrician and she said it can be normal for breastfed babies to go up to 8 days without a bowel movement. She said as long as when they do go it's not hard or dry (which are signs of constipation) not to be worried if there are no other symptoms.