How often does your baby have BM?

Kellie - posted on 05/17/2010

my daughter is 5 1/2 months, she's formula fed and eats either a bowl of veggies or oatmeal cereal a day. she goes averagely once every two days. she's had plenty of problems with constipation. my doctor says give her more and more WATER. Unfortunetly she won't drink too much plain water (she doesn't seem to like it that much), so I give her prunes during the tough times as well.) Only now is it getting a little bit better.

Jessica - posted on 05/17/2010

My daughter was on rice cereal and it bound her up and she was so constipated.. we were told to go off rice cereal and put her on oatmeal- every now and then she will be constipated and we were told to put a little prune juice or prunes in her bottle and/or food....

Rachel - posted on 05/16/2010

my poor breast fed baby has terrible constipation issues, always has. even as a new born he went 2-3 times. Now, at 6 months, still breat fed and on some cereal and veggies twice a day he goes just about every day - once. If he doesnt go for more than 3 days he is in terrible pain and has lots of gas so Ive been giving him glucose suppositories. The doc said he could go as long as 5-6 days but my little guy just cant do it.

Angela - posted on 05/16/2010

Hi Ladies!
Thanks for all your input! My son had his 6 months old doctor's appointment last week...Again was told that not to have BM every day is OK unless he still poops loose stools. He is finally stabilizing as he is getting used to eating rice cereal. We gave him some prune juice and it helped too!

Stephanie - posted on 05/15/2010

Breastfed babies dont BM as much because they absorb the milk whereas Formula babies do BM more because they don't absorb it all up. My son was the same way and that is what the doctor told me. My 2nd son is the same way :)

Suhaini - posted on 05/14/2010

my son just turned 6months and on formula fed. pooped thrice a week, after introducing brown rice , he pooped once every day

Sarah - posted on 05/14/2010

My dtr is (6 months old now) breast fed and when she was first born she pooped all the time. I think almost every diaper was a poopy one. Around 2 months she started going less often. She would go 4, 5 even 6 days with out going. My dr said it is ok and perfectly normal. She recomended doing the "bicycle" with her legs to get things moving and if she became uncomfortable give her 1 table spoon of kayro syrup mixed with breast milk one per day until she had a BM. I never had to do that since she was never bothered by it. Once I started feeding her solids at 4 months she started going more often but now that she has adjusted to solids she will go 2-3 days some times with out going.

Charlene - posted on 05/14/2010

OH yeah - and pay attention to consistencies of bm. Hard isn't necesarilly bad but small pellets are a sign of constipation. A meal of prunes usually doesn't just make babies 'break loose' so don't feel bad giving a whole container - even a couple times a day - until he has regular bms. We just use the prunes regularly to be sure she doesn't get stopped up (but you don't want to make them lose nutrients by forcing them to be over poopy lol!)

Charlene - posted on 05/14/2010

Hi Angela!
My daughter is the exact same. My other boys had similar 'issues' as well, so I have dealt with it three times so far. All of my kids are breastfed and all of them only had a bm ever couple days, sometimes even nearly a week.

You really want to know if your baby is ok? ...if he is ok. It's really THAT easy! He will let you know if it's hurting him. His belly will feel very hard and he will fuss a LOT.

GAS is GOOD! This means things are still moving around. Your baby is going to use everything it can while he is growing and use less (more bm) when he isn't in a growth spurt. This is why you might have different bm patterns from time to time.

Main thing is to remember that he will let you know if something is wrong. If you are concerned - you can do tummy rubs for him to ease any discomfort. Circles- clockwise or hearts (each hand on one side just aboe the button down to the pelvis)

Don't assume it isn't 'normal' just bc someone else doesn't have that problem and never assume it's OK just bc someone tells you it's fine. Listen to your baby, when he tells you he is in pain - bring him in. My daughter is using a sippy cup w/ water and we give her prunes regularly just to be sure but you do whatever you feel is right for him!

Michelle - posted on 05/13/2010

My son use to poop only like once a week up until he was having lots of solids then he started going nearly daily. I was assured that both situations were normal, as long as the poop wasn't hard and dry.

Acelynn - posted on 05/13/2010

My daughter is BF and the longest she goes without a BM is 2 days and usually then she will have a blow out my best friend (whose daughter is 5 days younger) will go longer and her pedi has told her to give her prune or apple juice with her cereal. I personally don't give my daughter cereal yet so her BM's may change but I was told by my pedi that isn't good for them to wait that long.

Tina - posted on 05/13/2010

Hi my son was going once a day for the first 3 months, from then until now (he's just coming up to 6 months old) he has been going once every 4-5 days. He has been bottle fed throughout and hasn't started any weaning yet. I also had this with my daughter and the health visitor said it was just her body regulating itself and she soon got used to it and was fine - she's now 5 years old!

Jessica - posted on 05/13/2010

This is a great question!! My son which is on Cereal, Breastmilk, Veggies and fruit only goes once a day. Sometimes it hard on sometimes it just looks normal. I have always wondered if I should be concerned..

Anthea - posted on 05/12/2010

I remember a health nurse suggesting that pawpaw (papaya) or rockmelon (cantaloupe) is brilliant and getting things moving through if you are concerned about a bit of constipation or build-up. You only need a little to work.

Nicole - posted on 05/12/2010

I have a lot of experience with this issue! Both my boys have had this problem. It all starts when introducing food to them and rice cereal is the worst. Yes it is normal for them to go a week without pooping if they are breastfeed but that should only last for a couple of week (around 3 months). But when you introduce other foods to them then it becomes more of a constipation issue. My oldest used to turn red when he would finally go-I felt horrible for him. Anyways, you can do a couple of things (per my doctor). First you can add Karyo syrup (the light one) to a pumped breastmilk bottle. 1 tablespoon per bottle until they go. This worked well for my oldest but my youngest was not the best at taking a bottle. You can also try adding prunes with the cereal. He can also have up to 2 oz of water a day to help his constipation. If you can do the Karyo syrup-that is the best choice I think. It may take a couple of bottles but it will help it pass through. Eventually, your baby's body will adjust to the solid foods, but if it gets to 5 days without pooping I would go with the karyo syrup. Also...when it does come out there will be a lot! Be sure to bring an extra set of clothes and lots of wipes with you where you go!

Corinne - posted on 05/12/2010

My son was going once a day until he started on weaning now it can be 2 or 3 times a day he is 6mths.

Dominique - posted on 05/12/2010

It does depend on what age the baby is on how often he has a bowel motion and as well it depends on what they are eating. My son goes every day just like clockwork. He is eating food at about three times a day and that is why I think he is going every day because his bowel is being used being sent food to be expelled from the body in the means of poop.

Jennifer - posted on 05/11/2010

I was worried about the same thing. My first was bottle fed starting at three months and would have a BM everyday. But he also was a big eater. He would drink a 8oz bottle of formula in about five minutes. My daughter is almost six months now and exclusively breastfed,, except I just started introducing rice cereal to her. She goes two to three days between BMs, but my husband (who's in med school) says that's normal. I agree with Brooke to watch the consistency of the poop, but also if your son is producing plenty of wet diapers and doesn't appear to be losing weight, then there's nothing to worry about. You're doing a great job!

Brooke - posted on 05/06/2010

My son is exclusively BF and I just started solids this week. he went from 4-5x a day (almost always leaking out of the diaper because they were so runny requiring several outfits a day) to 1-2x a day and much, much thicker. I think the key is consistancy. If it is a drastic change that would make me concerned much more so then the actual # of times he goes during the day. Or if he was straining to go and it was hard stool. Even my older boys ( 3 & 2) go several times a day while my friends kids only go once a day.

Sarah - posted on 05/06/2010

I only breastfeed my daughter. When she was about 2-4 months old we were only getting a BM every ... 7-10 days (and boy was she cranky toward the end.) Now we are getting them ranging from once a day to every few days.

Jessie - posted on 05/06/2010

My child isn't breastfeed but formula fed. She goes once every day or every other day. I really can't see how it is normal for a baby not to go for 5 days no matter what they are eating. I'm not a doctor so I can't be sure. However, if your baby is getting fussier and she hasn't had a BM I would think about that being the problem. If your baby is fine and acting as normal then I wouldn't worry about it.

Glory - posted on 05/04/2010

I think you've been mis-informed re: formula vs. breastfed babies. Formula-fed babies poop more than breastfed babies, as there is more waste for the body to get rid of. Breastmilk is highly metabolized in the body, with practically every ounce being digested. Formula has other "stuff" in it that is just passed through as waste...therefore, more poop.

My daughter is just over 5 mths, is exclusively breastfed and has a BM every 2-3 days..I can tell one is on its way b/c she toots more often & the gas gets progressively worse!! LOL.

Keep doing what you're doing, but if it gets to be a problem take your son to see either a Naturopath, Chiropractor or even both! They will REALLY help balance things out ;)

Ashley - posted on 05/04/2010

My baby who is almost 6 months and is breastfed has a BM once or twice a day. A week seems kind of long to me. But then again I had constipation problems. It seems that when I give my son a little bit of apple juice. (only about 2 oz mixed with water a day. The water is because the flavor was just to strong for him when he dose not eat anything but cereal and breast milk all the time) he goes more and easier. Try to get some other liquids in to him. Keep breastfeeding as normal just offer some juice in between feedings.

Brianna - posted on 05/03/2010

My daughter whos 5 1/2 months old has a BM every 1 or 2 days she is on formula. But when she was younger she would go many time a day. My pediatrician told me its normal for a baby to go a week before having a BM. My sisters daughter used to only go once a week for a couple months when she was young.