My 14 week old breast fed baby hasn't had a dirty nappy for 5 days

Emmanuelle - posted on 07/06/2010

As she is breastfeeding, if you drink prune juice, that will help her, without you giving her anything.

Chanell - posted on 07/05/2010

My daughter is only breastfed, and she just turned 14 months today and im 10 weeks pregnant and still BF... (shes breast fed 2-3 times a day..and also drinks lots of water and about 10 oz of regular milk a day and she eats what ever I put infrout of her.) and she sometimes still goes poo every other day.. it just depends on the child/little person.

My daugher would poo 4-6 times a day up until 8 weeks old.. then she would go up to ten days with out a dirty pamper. That went on for about 6 weeks, then she would poo every 5 days.. then every 3 days.. I would put a smiley face on the calendar when she went, just to remember..

I called the DR and talked to them over the phone. and told them at all her regular DR apts. and they said it was normal as long as she was HAPPY and PASSING gas. and she was. I let nature take it course.. I chose not to make her go.

The Dr said that they could give her meds to go, or to try to give her watered down juice.. if it really bothered me.. but he said that it could disrupt her body from whats going to be normal for her.. sorry I probably didnt word that right..

My daugher kinda out grew it like the others on here around 7 months when she started eatting regular food.

Good luck, and sounds like your doing a great job :)

Lauren - posted on 07/05/2010

My daugther was/is the same way. I was concerned because my son pooped like it was going out of style and my daughter would go once a week if I am lucky. She is 6 months now and is going more, on average once EOD, and she is fine! I agree if you are too worried try some of the other solutions that were posted!

Amanda - posted on 07/05/2010

My baby did the same thing at six weeks and i freaked out because she used to poop after every feeding they said since her diet changed with mine it was normal as long as her poop isnt hard or formed there is no need to be concerned. now at three months her poops are really inconsistant some times she will poop three times a day and then she will go a week with out pooping.

Yohi - posted on 07/05/2010

Breastfed babies could go on without dirty nappy for 10 days. More than that, consult your doctor.

Elissa - posted on 07/05/2010

It is a myth that breastfed babies dont poo as much. Any baby who hasn't pooed for more than 72 hours needs to be checked out. It may be that it is just a blip but it needs to be checked

Jenny - posted on 07/05/2010

It's normal, as long as you still have lots of wet nappies and he's content. Breastmilk is efficiently used by the body, so there's often very little waste left over, especially if he's going through a growth spurt :) My baby always went about 2 weeks between dirty nappies until he was around 7 mos. and started eating solids.

Resmi - posted on 07/05/2010

Many say that it is natural for a breastfed baby not to have a dirty nappy for as long as 2 weeks. Having plenty of wet nappies is a good sign. Just make sure that ur baby gets enough milk. It is best if the baby passes motion say on a daily basis or once in two or three days to the max. this is because, the more time he takes to pass motion, the more strain he needs to put up for the same. Also, he suckles more milk when he is more hungry, which is when he passes motion well. Hope this helps.

Kristel - posted on 07/04/2010

If he is happy then that is good. If his urine is looking yellow or darker then I'd talk to your doctor. When I had my daughter we thought she was getting milk and she wasn't so she didn't poop, and her pee was really dark yellow. I was trying to breastfeed, are you breastfeeding or formula feeding?

Kerri - posted on 07/04/2010

I had this problem and after talking to the health visitors found out that it is completely normal when babies are breastfed. I wouldn't give fresh orange becaue it is very acidic and gives upset tummys. I wasn't sure what to do but didn't give my daughter anything and she was fine and wasn't constipated from it, all of her poos were still runny even when she hadn't been in aaaages.

Angie - posted on 07/04/2010

Mandy it actually is 100% normal for a breastfed baby to go several days between poops. Formula fed babies should go everyday but if a baby is getting nothing but breastmilk then the milk is so fully digested there just isn't a lot of waste.

Mandy - posted on 07/04/2010

Everyone says this is "normal" but I was told breastfed or not anyone a baby or an adult should have a bowel movement once a day, even if it's little, I started taking a probiotic myself and then my baby gets it thro my milk, but that has kept him very "regular" he has a dirty diaper everyday now.. But I did think the same thing b4 that breastfed babies don't "need" to poop everyday until I started this and he actually does go everday. Good luck

Rachelle - posted on 07/03/2010

The big one used to go 9 days before poops. But when he went they would be huge. **haven't read through all the responses so what I say next someone might have already said, sorry**

But, breast milk gets used up fast. There's no waste with it, so your babe is just using up everything! That's awesome. Makes for cheaper diaper trip and less clean up for you!

I still remember when the big one wasn't going the first time. i would call home from work all the time, 'Has he pooped?' I even made up a song for him called 'Where's the poopy?'

Christa - posted on 07/03/2010

My daughter is 4.5 months and has been like that since birth. She goes about once every 3-4 days with some week+ plus stretches too. Don't give them anything other then breastmilk, they don't need it so small. As long as he is having regular wet diapers, doesn't seem to be straining or uncomfortable and when he does go they are normal BF poops, he's fine. Don't worry about it. :-)

Jessie - posted on 07/03/2010

Hannah... the poop explosion is funny and so true. it sort of worried me when my son started to poop very irregularly like once a week or so but when he did it was an explosion. he has had so many changes in bowel movement in the last year its hard to keep track. as long as they arent straining and are happy and the pooey isnt hard when it come s out I think you're good to go!

Olivia - posted on 07/03/2010

When my daughter was a few weeks old, she had skipped a week here and there at first. I had asked my midwife if all was ok, she said that my LO was just building up a bug poop. Just keep bf-ing and as long as he is happy everything is fine.

Patricia - posted on 07/03/2010

hi there,

He sounds like one content little baby just wanting to keep mommy on her toes lol

He sounds very normal and I love making curry and never stopped when I was BF and it did not seem to bother baby, just think about all those Mums in India and Thailand and what they eat...so enjoy your food, it won't bother him too much.

I would never give OJ, prune juice or boiled water to a BF bub, your milk is good enough to work it all out (quite literally!)

Oh and I don't think there will be any damage to his digestive system just doing it once, you would have heard the screams lol

Hannah - posted on 07/03/2010

Hi Claire, don't worry about it, I think all babies do this from time to time breastfed or not, but watch out for a massive poop explosion when it eventually shifts, seems to be the way of things! I had to take a photo when it happened to our babys nappy so that Daddy would believe it. Good times- lol!

Clare - posted on 07/03/2010

Thanks Kimberley, he's been content all day and is sound asleep - bliss xxx

Kimberly - posted on 07/03/2010

I don't think there would be permanent damage from so little...I think it's more about discomfort...

Clare - posted on 07/03/2010

Thanks everyone, I do hope I haven't stuffed his tummy up with the citrus... so much conflicting advice around though, as I had been told as mentioned that citrus fruits shouldn't be given until after a year, but then advised for his bowels to give a few sips of very very diluted orange juice.

I did a 15% concentration with boiled cooled water and he had 2 spoons full, something has worked - the Thai meal or the sips - as we have just had a full nappy.

Do you think I have damaged his dygestive system by giving him the sips though?

Tara - posted on 07/03/2010

No worries. My oldest child pooped every 14 days like clock work from about 8 weeks until he started eating solids!! It freaked me out a lot at first but I contacted LLL and they told me not to worry, so I'm passing it on!
Breastmilk is such a complete food that sometimes there isn't enough "waste" accumulated in their bowels for a long time.
As long as he is peeing lots and isn't fussy, he's fine.
Just as a side note, I was told no citrus for babies until after a year. The acid can be very hard on their tummies and is also a potential allergen.
:)Tara

Angie - posted on 07/03/2010

That is totally normal for a breastfed baby, they can go up to 10 days as long as they are comfortable and when they do go it's not hard. A 14 week old should not be getting any sort of orange juice or citrus, way to harsh for their stomach. Many drs recommend holding off on citrus until a year.

Amanda - posted on 07/03/2010

If your baby is passing wind, and happy, there is nothing to worry about.

Tanith - posted on 07/03/2010

My Doctor told me that a baby (breastfed or not) can have a dirty nappy anything from twice a day to once every 2 weeks. Anything inbetween is considered normal. So don't worry. If you really are concered, a little prune juice or puree should bring on bowl movement.