my baby was born on June 10- she is nursed and has not been introduced to cereal or baby food yet,. She has not pooped since Sunday-- tomorrow will be seven days- we have given her three two once bottles of water with a teaspoon or two of Karo syrup and a few bites of baby food pears over the past four days but nothing. Any suggestions?

Tina - posted on 12/03/2008

My daughter would go 10 days or more. My doctor said as long as she is not in any discomfort, she is ok. Apparently breastfed babies are rarely constipated.

Christianne - posted on 12/03/2008

My daughter is almost 6 months old and I have exclusively breast-fed her as well. Our doc said that it is normal for breast-fed babies to go up to 10 days without pooping. Also, if your baby is going through a growth spurt, she may be absorbing more and excreting less. Breast-fed babies rarely become constipated so I wouldn't worry too much. If you are really concerned though, trust your instincts and take her to her doctor.

Hilary - posted on 12/03/2008

I've been told that it's impossible for a breastfed babe to become constipated. Try the exercises, I think they work.

Bethany - posted on 12/01/2008

Stop stressing! My baby girl, born June 3rd, went 16 days and she's fine! I started feeding her pureed prunes once a day and that made a huge difference. She still only goes 2 or 3 times a week, but if they're not in pain, then there's no need to worry.

Rebecca - posted on 12/01/2008

I have known mothers who have mixed a little prune juice in with breastmilk in a bottle. Also, she may be impacted might need a little help getting the poop started. Sometimes just gently taking her temp with her rectal thermometer is all it will take. But watch out, if she has built up a lot, you will get one heck of a poop out of her!

Meghan - posted on 12/01/2008

Me again, I did A LOT of research on this subject. My son was born June 11th and was pooping around 5 times a day until last month, now it is around once every 3-4 days. What I learned is that at this age, it is perfectly normal for the exclusively breast fed baby to not poop as much. Since the breast milk is better digested the baby will use all that they take in so there is very little waste to poop out. So as long as they are not straining, seem distressed and their tummies are not distended there is nothing to worry about, she is just using all that good nutrition that you are giving her!

Margo - posted on 12/01/2008

My son was born June 8th and he had a very similar problem. No one had told me that it was normal until LONG after the fact, but i talk ed to a pharmacist and he suggested PRUNE JUICE so what i did was started very small with 1 oz prune juice and 1 oz water....i still give him prune juice everyday and now he is on a schedule and poops the same time once a day.

Jacqueline - posted on 11/25/2008

she is old enough for food at this point, I would give her a good portion of prunes mixed with rice cereal.

Meghan - posted on 11/25/2008

It is not unusual, my son recently had the same thing happen. My ped said as long as he is not uncomfortable or straining it's O.K., she said if I was really concerned I could try to give him 1 ounce of Goya pear nectar or some prunes or just pear juice. I tried to prunes one week and the pear juice another, both worked great! But she said to avoid the rice cereal because they are binding and not much nutritional content

Bonnie - posted on 11/25/2008

My son was born on June 9 and he was like that here awhile ago...No dirty diapers for a few days, so we fed him a couple little spoonfuls of baby prunes and then we did the same the next day and he was giving me a dirty diaper soon after that. So try some prunes..

Jodi - posted on 11/25/2008

My baby was very constipated at around 2-3 weeks, My sister suggested I massage the area just under the bum hole :). Sounds gross but it worked.

Diane - posted on 11/25/2008

My daughter went about 10 days a month ago, and I was getting very concerned. I did some research though, and found that that is not all that unusual. As someone else mentioned, breast milk does not have much waste, so if she's using it all, there will be no poop. I decided to check this theory, and fed her about twice as much the following day...an lo and behold....she had a massive poop. So it's worth trying that before giving her anything else.

Greta - posted on 11/25/2008

No, no, no--do NOT rub her belly counterclockwise--it will stop her up. Go CLOCKWISE for constipation!! I am a Massage Therapist, and you only want to go counterclockwise if baby is having diarrhea. You could google infant massage--a technique calles the "I love you" massage. It will help move things thry the large intestine!

Amla - posted on 11/24/2008

if she is not showin any discomfort ad i exclusively breastfed, with normal amount of wet nappies, i wouldn;t worry too much about no poop. however if you are concerned or she is uncomfortabe, try a few drops of castor oil dissolved in warm water... don;t overdo the castor oil though, its very potent.

Sheila - posted on 11/24/2008

I have used Miralax with both of my children. My oldest is 2yrs 7 mo. and youngest is 5 mo. today. Start with a half teaspoon and adjust as necessary. My doctor told us to absolutely not use Karo syrup when our oldest was a baby. I can not remember the reason he gave. He did say that if the stools are the consistency of peanut butter or thicker we should use the Miralax. We mix it with formula, rice cereal and baby food since it is too early for water or juice. Hope this helps.

Lesly - posted on 11/24/2008

Hi folks. I'm a massage therapist and just wanted to share that you should never massage the belly counterclockwise (from your view,). That would work against moving "things" along. The other post might have meant conterclockwise from baby's perspective, but I just wanted to clarify. You should start on the right side of the lower belly (their right), and gently massage clockwise in an upside down u pattern, as if your drawing a big inverted u, moving below the rib cage to the left lower belly. Using olive or pure coconut oil helps. Happy belly rubbing!

Heather - posted on 11/23/2008

oh, also, it's very common for their poop schedules to change around this age.
it's also very common for breastfed babie to poop less often because their bodies use all everything that's in the breastmilk and that equals less leftover that needs to vacate the body.
here is a link to some basics when it comes to poop and the breastfed baby:
http://www.breastfeed.com/articles/breas...

Heather - posted on 11/23/2008

it sounds like she isn't ready for solids. i would delay and try again later.

Lesly - posted on 11/23/2008

My son poops every week or so. My pediatrician says that it's normal as long as his stools aren't harder than usual. Check in with your doctor, but she might be transitioning into fewer poops...

Joanie - posted on 11/23/2008

Have you called your doctor? I would talk to your doctor before giving any crazy concoctions. But I like the apple-prune juice, that's always worked perfect for me. If she is exclusively breastfed, she probably isn't constipated, though. I would just see what the doctor wants you to do.

Julia - posted on 11/23/2008

Our pediatrician told us that some babies can go as often as 2 weeks without a poop. Breast milk doesn't have much waste to it. So unless he seem uncomfortable, I'd just say it's normal. My LO went a week...that's the longest she went.

Nichole - posted on 11/23/2008

Try Brown Sugar and water!

Erica - posted on 11/22/2008

My Dr. suggested mixing a half teaspoon of Miralax in rice cereal.....I'm sure it would work the same in a bottle of breastmilk or formula. Also, try baby food prunes! And you can rub her belly in counterclockwise circles, then bicycle her legs, push her knees up to her chest and hold for 10 seconds, and repeat several times......that should help move things through her system.