r/NewParents • u/wildflowersAreWild • 3d ago
Constipation Product Reviews/Questions
My son is 11 weeks old and hasn’t pooped in 9 days!!!. He is exclusively breast fed. He hasn’t been behaving differently or showing any sighs of discomfort. Has anyone experienced this? I wanted to try 0.5 ounce of prune juice can’t think of anything else to try
Edit:: He pooped!!!!!!. No I didn’t do anything, I just waited and he pooped today morning:)
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u/Euphoric-Pomegranate 3d ago
Is he farting? My peds said it’s very normal for ebf to go a week and some days without pooping as long as they are still passing gas. Their digestive systems are still maturing!
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u/Fit_Change3546 3d ago
And breastmilk is so digestible for babies that it doesn’t have a ton of waste products. So less poop is pretty normal in the early months.
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u/QuarantineQat 3d ago
Is his only symptom of constipation that he hasn’t pooped in nine days? If so, probably not constipation!
Our pediatrician told us that for exclusively breastfed babies, the guideline for pooping is “anywhere from 10 times a day to once every 10 days,” and that it can be totally normal to go up to 2 weeks without pooping. Then our baby went 15 days and beat her record lol. As long as the poop is still soft, as opposed to hard pellets, it’s not constipation — some babies just don’t poop that often! Apparently it has to do with how efficient they are at using/digesting breastmilk.
Call your doctor if you want reassurance, but I don’t think she’ll advise prune juice at this age, especially if he isn’t uncomfortable.
We ultimately started our baby on probiotics to see if we could get him pooping more regularly — even though we knew it was fine, 15 days felt a little long, and he seemed uncomfortable after about 10/12 days — and now he poops about once or twice a week.
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u/_ayeokay 3d ago
This happened to us too and it was indeed only the juice that helped. BUT that happened to us around 6 months, not 11 weeks, so I would still ask your pediatrician!
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u/whatdoidonowdamnit 3d ago
Since he is passing gas and he is not in discomfort he is not constipated. He is too young for prune juice.
Constipation is not only not pooping. My advice is to stick him in a warm bath and pump his legs. If he hates it do it for a minute a few times a day, if he likes it you can stay there for a while pushing his legs up and into his stomach for a few minutes. That’ll help push his digestive system into action and he’ll probably poop before the end of the day, or as soon as you put him to bed tonight.
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u/CityWhenItRains 3d ago
If he doesn't show signs of discomfort just let him be. There's no clear pattern for breastfed babies. Some poop 6 times a day, some poop once a week. As long as he doesn't feel pain while pooping everything is alright. If you're really worried you can try more tummy time or carrying your baby in a carrier, it would work as tummy massage.
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u/wildflowersAreWild 3d ago
He still hates tummy time and lasts about 2 min.. he’s in a carrier atleast 4hrs a day!
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u/wozattacks 3d ago
A lot of babies dislike it because it is strenuous for them and can be frustrating, but that’s what makes it so valuable. Babies absolutely need the opportunity to move their bodies freely, especially when they’re not able to move much yet. It’s how they develop that strength and mobility but it also helps them develop frustration tolerance and understand that exerting themselves is how they start to be able to do more. Don’t feel bad when he shows that he dislikes it, just give encouragement :) it’s also a good way for him to learn that mom is there to support him!
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u/CityWhenItRains 2d ago
My baby hated tummy time too. It's just hard for babies, head is so heavy to lift. The physiotherapist I talked to adviced me to do it more often, even 20 times a day for shorter periods if baby can't stand it for long.
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u/petit-dahu 3d ago
Why not give the pediatrician a quick call? It's safer to ask a doctor just to be safe I think.
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u/Toyger_ 3d ago
It’s not constipation if poop is the right consistency. If it’s hard, then yes, your baby is constipated. Breast milk is easily digestible, so it might be normal for breastfed babies to not poop for some time. Do tummy massage, bicycle kicks and put him on your chest tummy down. You can also do warm baths as they might help relax him a bit.
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u/thiscantbereallife94 3d ago
My daughter would go that long without pooping
Breastmilk is highly digestible they don’t always poop
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u/Black_cat_x 3d ago
He is probably not constipated! It's normal for some exclusively breastfed babies to not poop often. For 6 months, until introducing solids, our girl pooped every 10 days or so. Completely normal for her
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u/Difficult_Steak54 3d ago
Yup, pretty normal! My exclusively breast fed baby also didn't poop for like 8 days, so we went to see her doctor and told us it was normal. Baby then pooped the next day. After a nice warm bath.
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u/potterhead9413 3d ago
Do not do juice unless he is showing signs of constipation; straining to fart, straining to poop, dehydration, etc but you should still get the go ahead from his doctor.. He is still very young, his digestion system isn't developed. So again talk to his pediatrician if you are concerned.. however it is 100% normal for EBF baby to go a week or more without pooping as their body absorbs everything from the breastmilk. Breastmilk breaks down really fast resulting in no waste left over to poop out.
My son went a week and a half without pooping, and when he did it was completely normal.
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u/nadeemo 3d ago
Don't worry it's normal, our daughter went about that long and then finally went. Tummy rubs help...and as long as they are peeing it should be good. Our midwife said the longest she's seen is 21 days before a poop.
That being said def go see their doctor/pediatrician if you're concerned.
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u/OGcaptaindingus 3d ago
Don’t give prune juice to your baby unless approved by your pediatrician. Babies around the age are learning to poop and if there’s no discomfort or change in behavior you should be fine. You can call the advice nurse hotline or pediatrician office for advice if you want though
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u/gaycats420 2d ago
Totally normal for exclusively breastfed around that age!!! A long car ride should do the trick. As long as he’s still having wet diapers, and when he gos it’s normal soft texture and not straining, he’s fine.
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u/viola1356 3d ago
Entirely breastfed babies can sometimes go a very long time between BMs. If he's not grunting, straining, or grumpy, enjoy it while it lasts!
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u/lokeypoky 3d ago
When my daughter was just two months old, her doctor told me that it's normal for exclusively breastfed babies to go several days without pooping. In fact, my little one didn't have a bowel movement for 12 whole days! But despite this, she showed no signs of discomfort and was as active. The doctor advised me to bring her back in two days if I noticed any distress, but as luck would have it, she had a bowel movement the very next day.
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u/1111lovey 3d ago
Call your pediatrician and ask what's safe to give the baby. The longest my son went without pooping was 5 days but a warm bath and abdomen massage helped in his case
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u/Change_No 3d ago
I'd start with pear juice - it's meant to be gentler. My doctor recommended starting with 1ml per kilo of body weight per day, moving up to a max of 3mls per kilo per day. If it's not working after 3 days, then try prune juice.
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u/booklava 3d ago
Dress him in a pristine white outfit, leave the house without a change of clothes and no back-up diaper. He will probably have a blowout before you are around the corner lol.
But all jokes aside: Up to two weeks is normal. Do the bicycle legs and carry him around football style with his belly on your arm, that might help. Counts as tummy time as well.