My 3 Month Old Breastfed Baby Only Poops Every 10-14 Days

You need to get your baby in to the doctor ASAP, you should never let a baby or an adult go that long without a bowel movement, that baby could die!! Didnt your physician or the hospital ever tell you how often to expect a bowel movement?? it should be more than once per day, not even every other day!!! much less 10 days, you should have known something was wrong, especially since you have several other children.

When my daughter was a baby she had de same problem, and she was also in breast milk only...I did try the prune juice (she was probably a little older than your baby) and it worked, other than that the doctor didn't give me any other recommendation, but I tried taking her to the chiropractor and that worked wonders.
The doctor was very gentle with her and every day we would go for a visit she would have a bowel movement.
As she got older (she's 2 1/2yr now) she grew out of the problem, and you should now she's the most regular in the family now.
So if your baby is not in distress or clearly uncomfortable with this you don't have to worry, I read that breastfed babies have less to 'poop' than babies in formula.

I haven't had this problem before with any of my kids but my mother in law (a mother of 5 and nurse for 25 years) told me she had this problem with one of her kids and she said that her doctor told her the baby was absorbing it all, so in return was pooping less often. So, I don't know if this can really happen or if it is true but maybe something for you to research, or you can ask your doctor about this and see if it is possible, and/or look it up on line. Just a thought and thought I would share it with you. Good luck. J.

Hi T.-
First, I hope that you have to been freaked by some of the reply's about your baby could die.... even though its something you should take care of. My son has had the same problem since he was born (but maybe for not as many days) The baby's Ped said it is very common, and I should not worry unless its been more than 2 weeks, However, he did say if it make me feel more comfortable, to give him full proof apple juice, 4 oz a day until he gets reagular. Dont give him the pedilite apple juice, because that is watered down. My son is almost 2 and I still have to do this. Its just something that becomes part of the routine.
Hang in there!

When my 15 month old was that age she started doing the same thing. My Ped told me it's nothing to worry about if she goes that long since exclusively breast fed babies use up all the nutrients in the breast milk thus they have less waste and can go do days or even weeks without a bowel movement. As long as she is still having wet diapers, eating well, and gaining weight she should be fine. I know it's a little freaky when they change their pattern but i'm sure he'll poop for you soon on his own.

D.

Try some chamomile tea with a bit of sugar. If your are breastfeeding and don't want to give him a bottle, have someone else give it to him. He will always prefer Mama and will understand that nursing only comes from Mama.

Can he have a tiny bit of mineral oil in his breast milk or with some water?

I just wanted to mention a supplement that I think would be very helpful. The fact that the poop is very smelly when it comes out would indicate that it is old (which would make sense since he poops so infrequently). When the poop sits in the colon for so long, it becomes a breeding ground for unhealthy gut flora or normally good flora but in very unhealthy levels (like an overgrowth of yeast for example). I am wondering if he has a diaper rash of any sort??? Anyway, probiotics are wonderful! Here is one in particular that I highly recommend - for babies -completely safe. At his age you would just dab some on your nipple before he nurses. Once that good flora builds up, it will help him eliminate faster and it shouldn't smell so foul. Here is the site if you are interested, you can find it at many health stores or online (you just have to make sure it is one specifically for infants) http://www.jarrow.com/product-201 Most doctors that I have encountered don't have a really good idea about supplements and nutrients in the diet (in my experience). Maybe a second opinion or a more holistic/natural approach would be more helpful. Good luck!

Go with the prune juice, you can always 50/50 it with water, but the doctor is right on that one. My older kids didn't have this problem, but the youngest did. Maybe keep track of the foods you eat and see if there is a pattern with his bowel movements. My youngest would get constipated and this is going to sound gross but it worked, I used to get a rectal thermometer and take a "rectal temp" to stimulate his bowels. (Just put the very tip in) I also used prune juice and it worked. I worried to about allergies because allergies and anaphalaxis is very common in our family. Good luck!

Our breastfed son had constipation issues a couple of times around the age of 4-5 months. Our pediatrician recommended a mix of brown sugar (Small amount, teaspoon)and warm water. We gave him this anywhere from 2 to 5 times a day, and sure enough it worked.

Maybe your breastmilk is to think for your child and he/she can't digest it.
I don't think prune juice would hurt the baby it's just a small amount you need to give or try prune food. You need to find something to regulate him/her.
Hope it helps.

about me I'm a mother of 3 girls

T.,
I am glad your problems eventually worked it's way out. No pun intended. Breastfed babies typically can have a bowel movement 1 to every 14 days. TOTALLY normal. The reason . . . breast milk is so good for babies that the body is able to efficiently utitlize all of the milk, leaving very little to be elminated. Formula feed babies have bowel movements many times a day, because they get more than what they need and the body has a hard time digesting it. My son was breastfed and typically bowel movements 2-3 days apart and even a couple times 10- 14 days apart. It will change when they begin to eat solids. Great job breastfeeding. Keep it up. The breast is best!

HI Tara,
I am a former La Leche League Leader.
Many babies who are FULLY breastfed can go up to 2 weeks without a BM, although it is usually a pretty full diaper once they go and it is usually not smelly. It should have the same color and consistency ( light mustard). You are correct about adding prune juice at this point.
You baby maybe in a growth spurt and using everything. It is important to make sure you are nursing often, that you are drinking plenty of fluids.
Is the baby gaining weight?
It might help to call or get to your local La Leche League meeting and consult with a Doctor is very BF knowlegable. In the Los Angeles area, Dr. Fleiss or Dr. Jay Gordon in Santa Monica.

( PS, I also homeschool/ed ( my 22 year old and 15 yr old)

Best,
M. Barone MA MFT

As long as the baby is thriving you don't need to worry about it. DOes the baby still have 6-8 wet diapers a day? Gaining weight? This is what you look for, not the amt. of poops. Breastfed babies absorb more nutrients, you only poop out waist. This just means your baby is using all of the nutrients. Good luck.

Both muy girls went through this - 10 days, 13 days...as you see from the many responses this is common and normal!!! My pediatrician recommended a rectal thermometer for 3 minutes and it worked on my first daughter very well the first time. After going through it with my first, I just let it happen naturally w/ peace of mind. My girls were never uncomfortable...mom was the panic machine!

Hi T.,
My breast fed baby pooped every 7 days at about 4 months old. Our Dr. said it was normal in a BF baby. They are utilizing the milk really well. My son's poops were VERY smelly once he did go. His gas too. Sometimes his poop was orange too! The longest he went was 9 days without pooping. I read that some BF babies go 3 or 4 days up to 10 days. We used a glycerin suppository once - instead of prune juice. I would wait to do diluted prunes until your baby is eating solids. My Dr. said not to keep doing the suppository though- that it was fine to go that long - as long as baby is exclusively breast fed. As long as when he does go it is soft and he isn't constipated, then don't worry. His bowel habits will change soon. We started our son on solids at 5 months old. Veggies first and he started pooping everyday.

When my baby was 3 mos we went through a similar thing but the pooping occurred closer to 8 days. As long as the baby is happy, and not fussy all the time, it's probably no big deal. I asked my Dr and they actually recommended a sapository - so I'd take the prune juice option.

One of my children, who is now 9, also poops infrequently. He often went 14 days without a BM, but when he did go, it was enormous blowout.

Of course, if your breastfed baby was still a newborn, you would expect several BMs a day, but now that your baby is a bit older it is not uncommon to have less BMs.

I am concerned when you say that his stools are not large, and would be curious about his weight gain. If his weight gain is good and he is not uncomfortable I don't think there is a reason to worry. Your decision to wait to give anything other than breastmilk due to a history of allergies is very wise.

Here is what La Leche League says about 'constipation' in the breastfed baby:

"It is normal for the bowel movements of a breastfed to decrease in frequency when the colostrum, which has laxative properties, is completely gone from the mother's milk after about six weeks of age. A baby this age may continue to have bowel movements as frequently as five times a day, sometimes even after every nursing. It is also normal for a breastfed baby older than six weeks to have only one bowel movement every few days. Some healthy babies will have only one bowel movement a week. When bowel movements are less frequent, they should be more profuse in volume. As long as the baby is gaining well, wetting sufficiently, and is happy and content there is no cause to be alarmed by infrequent bowel movements, and it is not necessary to give the baby a laxative, fruit juice, or any other "helpers." In fact, attempting to force bowel movements can have harmful consequences to your baby."

Happy Nursings!

B.

Hi T.,

I am a chiropractor with a background in pregnancy and pediatrics. I HIGHLY suggest that you take your baby to be seen by a chiropractor with pediatric training. It is a very common complaint that can be EASILY and GENTLY corrected, by simply realigning the spine so that the nerve supply from the brain to the large intestine can flow freely.
Wishing you all my best!
M.
ps If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me.

You don't say whether you're nursing? You can nurse more often; sucking produces milk, and this will help him much more than prune juice at this age. What sounds odd is that it's not a "blow out."
My 6th child did this not pooping from a very young age and he was extremely sensitive to certain things I ate, so I had to play detective and check it out. But at first he also wasn't getting enough from me because of his anatomical issues, which I had fixed (tongue-tie, torticollis, pierre robin sequence).
I started with eliminating common allergens such as dairy, wheat, corn. He did better without any of these in my diet. Later I found out it could have something to do with an underactive thyroid, but I never had it checked out; he got better with my elimination diet, and when he did start solids I gave him plums, pears, and avoided apples (pectin is constipating), and yams and bananas and of course any rice!

Good luck.

I had the same thing with my second daughter. I would have to give her suppositories to get her to go as I wasn't comfortable letting her hold it in for more than a week. I gave her small amounts of juice (not prune, it's too harsh). I used white grape juice. Eventually she grew out of it after months but she would be in so much pain when she went to the bathroom it broke my heart. You can also check with Whole Foods and see if there is something homeopathic you could give him. Good luck.