1 Week Old Not Pooping

Updated on March 14, 2010
R.M. asks from Trenton, NJ
14 answers

My son is 8days old and he hasnt pooped in almost two days. I was trying to breast feed but i have decided to just bottle feed. What can i do or give him to help him poop. I need to call his doctor in the morning but i was wondering if there was anything i can do tonight since they are closed.

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A.V.

answers from New York on

Dont worry. This is usually the case when transitioning from breastmilk to formula. My daughter didn't go for almost a week when we made the change to formula. My Dr told me that some babies even go up to 10 days without a bowel movement when making this change to formula. Give it a couple of more days before worrying too much about it. You can use a suppository or even a Q-tip with a little vaseline to try to induce a little pooping. Good luck!!

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D.W.

answers from Gainesville on

Yep very normal for a breastfed baby! Some go all the time and some go very little. My son would only go every 3 or 4 days. My daughter several times a day. Both exclusively breastfed. Please don't give him Karo syrup or any other crazy stuff that gets suggested.

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M.M.

answers from Detroit on

Perfectly normal. It sounds like your son is on formula now? That can cause constipation. The doctor will have some advice for you (perhaps trying different formula type) but in the meantime don't worry.

K.C.

answers from Barnstable on

If you are interested, I would love to help you get back to breastfeeding your son (it is not to late to restart your milk)! I can link you up with the right people to help you succeed!

K. C., Cape Cod Breastfeeding Moms Leader
owner, My Mamma's Milk (http://www.mymammasmilk.com)

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B.R.

answers from Cleveland on

Breastfed babies can go a week or so without pooping. This is normal and nothing to be alarmed about. I don't think its a good idea to give a one week old anything to make him go, unless ordered by a doctor. Be careful of home remedies and anything herbal as they might not be safe for a baby so young. He sounds like a normal one week old to me! Congrats on your new baby.

B.W.

answers from Minneapolis on

Totally normal! If you are nursing, his body is using everything perfectly, and he will go up to two weeks without pooping. Just be prepared for a major blowout when he does go. :)

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K.J.

answers from Lincoln on

I know it's scary, but when you breastfeed; your baby uses all the nutrients up and may not have poop for 10 days. My son went 10days without and man did we panic. Don't worry so long as your son is still peeing every 4 hours once he has enough for a BM he will. When a baby gets breastmilk there is no excess like in formula which is why a breastfeed baby eats more and more often. Good Luck and congrats. K.

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C.S.

answers from Victoria on

I wouldn't do a thing unless he's fussing or straining to go. My daughter had issues with this & it was that her muscles weren't developed & so we had to stimulate her when she got fussy & would strain. Pediatrician inserted a thermometer & that was enough. Later we had to insert a glycerin suppository for infants to do it, but it never took us leaving it in. Just the stimulation down there did it for her. We did that for about 2-3 weeks. Hope this helps.

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S.H.

answers from San Antonio on

Some frightening answers here. This is NOT normal for a breastfed one week old baby. It is normal for a breastfed 4 month old baby but NOT a newborn. It is not at all normal for a formula fed baby. A newborn should poop many times a day. The poop output is an important sign of how a baby is doing. Please call your doctor. Please do not give Karo syrup or suppositories as they can be both painful and damaging to the delicate and unprepared gut of your child.

Call your doctor. Call a lactation consultant. It is not too late to get help and nurse your baby.

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J.E.

answers from Washington DC on

There is a certain period that newborns go through of excreting everyday because their system is getting rid of any myconeum. You should have been given a list at the hospital of what to look for (eg. the first day or so its this dark gooky stuff, but then turns into a more runny yellow mess). But, once that is out of their system, not going daily is quite normal. My daughter was breast fed and when she went 5 days without going everyone (not the doctor) freaked out. The doctor thought their might be some constipation so he had me try to give her pear juice--she wouldn't take that. So, I drank it to get it to her indirectly. Then I stopped. His concern was constipation, but there were no signs--no discomfort, no straining, no blowouts even. She was simply using everything I gave her. That's normal and wonderful. Formula has stuff in it that she can't make use of, that's why formula fed babies go more often. Check with your doctor about when all the initial myconeum ridding is finished, and if that's over, and your son is not straining or in discomfort, it just means that he is a healthy baby getting the best stuff anyone can make.

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K.C.

answers from Tucson on

1 tsp of dark cairo syrup in his warm bottle. shake it really well to get it to mix in. if constipation becomes a problem, you can put it in every bottle and increase the amount when he is drinking more. also, check his temprature rectally and that will often help, as well. if worse comes to worse, call the hospital for advice. good luck to you!

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J.S.

answers from New York on

sometimes a little sugar water will help. He may need some water in his system to help him go.

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A.V.

answers from Phoenix on

My daughter started that from 2 wks old to about 10 weeks. I tried suppositories, vaseline, gripe water and changing her formula. We finally stuck with Similac Isomil and now she is 3 months and all is good. It is totally normal. Ped said that they can go up to 5 days w/o but it was hard to watch her cry. Hang in there. Vaseline with a Q-tip seemed to help a bit.

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M.T.

answers from New York on

I wouldn't do anything to a baby that tiny to facilitate pooping. If he is not struggling or straining, then he is not constipated. He has had to transition from meconium to breastmilk poop (well, really only colostrum poop, I've seen your posts here over the course of the past week and it appears you only "breastfed" a couple of days, before he got any actual breastmilk) and now his digestive system is processing formula. Breastfed newborns tend to poop mulitiple times a day, but you don't have a breastfed baby, you have a formula fed baby and I'm not sure what is normal for a formula fed newborn. Best to check with the ped, good luck!

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