4 Day Old Baby

Babies don't poop much when breast fed. Rub her belly softly in the direction the colon empties (up on the right across the middle, down on the left) in a circular motion to relieve her gas and help her colon empty.
If she really has colic then you can give her homeopathic chamomile 6c twice a day for several days and if it helps stop. If the colic comes back give it to her twice a day until she is three months old.

Would you be willing to take her to a doctor to see if she is having problems? She should be going to the bathroom!

Have you called your midwife? If you didn't have a midwife for your home birth, it's time to have a professional take a look. If she's breastfed, she should be having yellow bowel movements and wet diapers at least 5-6 a day. If she's crying a lot, it's very possible she is not taking in enough breastmilk sometimes due to poor latch or not enough breastmilk being produced. Don't wait, take her to be seen by a Dr/midwife ASAP. You can't be too cautious with a newborn. Congratulations on the birth of your daughter! Motherhood is a delightful journey. Nurse Midwife Mom of 3

Hi there? Are you breastfeeding? I only ask because I breastfed my son and he was sooooo colicky... I still get cold sweats thinking about it....brgh.
But I digress. It turns out my son was sensitive to wheat and dairy. When I talked to my pediatrician I was suprised how common this is! When I cut it out of my diet, my son's colick improved DRAMATICALLY! He is 19 mos. now and has mostly grown out of his sensitivities, thank goodness. He still can't have whole wheat, but sourdough and dairy are no prob. You might give it a try. It will take a couple of days for the gluten or dairy to get out of his system, but if you stick with it, if the food is an issue, you should see results within a week. It won't hurt in any case.
I hope this helps you. I've been there. Hang in there.

Call your pediatrician and have a breast feeding consult, weigh-in. There should be no reason to worry at this point as long as your daughter is being monitored. It may be nothing, it may be a matter of not latching properly, which a lactation consultant can help with, it may even be an intolerance. A dear friend just had her third this year and dedicated to natural everything, she breastfed successfully the first two. Their third had problems with weight gain and eventually blood in her diaper. After weeks of dietary changes for mom and lots of stress (even cut out all allergy related foods which was very stressful but didn't help) she reluctantly accepted that her little girl had some kind of allergy to something in the breastmilk. She is a thriving toddler now but still cannot go back to breastmilk for whatever reason. Hopefully that is not the case but its always most imperative that she is monitored closely these first days to be sure she is getting the nutrition she needs. They will often just weight the baby before/after feedings and sometimes even the diaper to be sure of how much is going in/out. Not invasive. If she's gaining weight then that's a good sign. Best of luck and congrats on your newborn!

My son pooped meconium for at least several days - maybe closer to a week. If your little one hasn't had a bowel movement in the last two days, she needs to see a pediatrician pronto. Just to make sure everything's OK. Don't wait until tomorrow.

For the colic, try The Happiest Baby on the Block. This video demonstrates five soothing techniques. They worked great with our baby. : ) Good luck and remember this stage won't last forever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aivfKI6Vjdg

I have to concur on the colic issue. My daughter had colic so bad. Shes also allergic to wheat and dairy.
Also I think if you take probitics it should help and they have infant probiotics that are supposed to help with colic. The gripe water never helped us much although its gets rid of hiccups. LOL
I agree to keep track of her weight. Congrats on your home birth!
M.

You don't say whether the baby is breastfed or formula fed. If she is breastfed, then look at what you're eating. Broccoli, dairy, cauliflour, onions - all these things can make her gassy and constipated. If she's formula fed, consider switching her formula to something easier on her tummy - like Nestle Goodstart. If she continues being colicky, then you can add some probiotics to her bottle (even if she's breastfed, you can bottle feed her a bit of milk and add the probiotics to that). You can get baby probiotics in Whole Foods that you add into their milk. Studies have shown that colicky babies who take probiotics (acidophilus) show much fewer colicky symptoms afterwards. Good luck and congratulations!

If she has wet diapers, that means she's getting the milk.

I am a midwife. If you're breastfeeding, it is entirely normal (although unsettling to you as a parent, I understand) for your baby to go up to a week without pooping. Since she's passed meconium, you know there are not any serious physical malformations, so I really wouldn't worry on that account. Far more significant is whether she's nursing every 2-4 hours, when awake, and whether she's having 5-8 wet diapers a day. These are the reliable indicators as to whether she's actually getting enough to eat.

With the colic, is she fussy or does she just spit up constantly? My one-year-old spit up copious amount after every feeding for the first 7 months. (I would have to mop up the floor with receiving blankets and do an extra load of laundry a day just from cleaning up after her!) I couldn't believe that she was actually healthy, but she didn't seem uncomfortable and she grew and gained weight normally, so the doctors didn't do anything. I tried every elimination diet I could come up with, gave her gripe water, tried smaller, more frequent feedings, etc., but nothing seemed to help. I just had to put up with it while I waited for her to grow out of it. It was a pain, but it's mostly in the past, now!

Congratulations on your homebirth! I also delivered at home last year. I am so thankful for that experience!!!

Is she peeing lots? Talk to your midwife. Also you could call a local La Leche League Leader (www.llli.org/webus.html) or call a private lactation consultant (Melissa Cole of Luna Lactation is great). Probably everything is fine, but it doesn't hurt to check. Congrats, also, on your home birth--I had both of my babies at home. :)

I would take her to the doctor. There are many, many factors that can determine why she isn't having a bowel movement, many quite harmless. The lack of poo in tandem with the irritability would be enough to send me to the doc. (A friend of mine had a baby recently who needed surgery for a bowel obstruction.) Often a doctor can't offer much more than peace of mind, but it's worth it to me.

Good luck with the suggestions already given. If nothing soothes your baby's "belly" remember that a lot is unknown about colic and it could just be an immature nervous system or even temperament (highly sensitive child). In that case try swaddling, swings, bouncing your baby while sitting on an exercise ball, and white noise. These things remind them of being in the womb and were the only things that calmed my two colicky kids. Just FYI I tried everything from elimination diets (to avoid them getting potential allergens in my breastmilk) to every gripe water and homeopathic remedy on the market. Best of luck to you and your babe.

Some breastfed babies don't have bowel movements for a week at a time, and that is normal. Are you burping her after every feeding? If not, she may have swallowed some air while eating and she may have really bad gas pains. Try moving her legs in a bicycling motion and see if that works out some of the gas. If she is otherwise healthy (good color, eating well, gaining weight), then I wouldn't worry, but if you have any concerns, call your pediatrician. The chances are small that something is wrong, but it's worth making the call and putting your mind at ease. Congrats on your new baby!

At minimum, I would call the doctor's office and ask them about it. All of my 5 babies have taken more than 2 days to pass all their meconium, and went quite a few days before falling into a pattern of going more than a few hours without a bowel movement.

Which isn't to say something IS wrong. But, combined with "crazy colic", I'd err on the side of caution.

Definitely call the doctor, but for tonight, try taking her temp with a rectal thermometer. You don't actually need her temperature, but the stimulation in the anus might be enough to get her going. Sometimes massaging the anus a little with a baby wipe will do the trick too. Beware of the projectile poop though! Good luck to you. I hope it's nothing serious.

Definately Dr time...to have her checked and to make sure your milk is coming in and that she's getting enough and not losing too much weight and that she's not dehydrated. How many wet diapers does she have?
Congrats on your new addition!

For temporary relief of at least to try on the way to the dr office....move her legs in a bicycle motion or rub your hand over her tummy in a clockwise motion. Both of these are supposed to stimulate the tummy and bowell. It may just be calming touch as well.