Constipation in baby

[chantal21]

Hey ladies! It's been so long since I've posted on here. Life is busy! Lydia is almost 4 months now! Have a question for you all, Lydia is strictly breastfed and has pooped regularly everyday just about until this past week. It's been almost a week now and I'm a little worried. I am going to try to call my doc later but wanted your opinions and advice. What can I give her to help her out? Is it necessary? Can this be normal? She has been teething for a few weeks now and was going poop 2-3x a day somedays. Now nothing for almost a week. Any advice is greatly appreciated. She also is getting these little red bumps on her belly. They look like a bug bite almost. I will have to post a pic later of that. Not sure if it's related to anything but that started last week as well.
She doesn't appear to have any discomfort, nurses the same and sleeps great. Not sure what's causing this!!

[tiredbuthappy]

Wish I had seen this or you had posted on the BF forum (I know it's a bit more quiet there :/)
Do not give juice or anything. This is completely normal for a breastfed baby and I have seen many threads where dozens of women confirm this. Plus my LC and ped both said it's normal.
As you know, the poop of breastfed babies is very soft. And the breast milk is highly digestible so there is much less poop than with formula babies. In the first few months, these characteristics make for little poop machines- small doses of loose poops several times daily (for my kids 10 times a day!). As they get older (for mine it was also 4 months), they start to gain control and their intestines are bigger. With the soft stools, this translates into no longer having the urge to push stools out all the time.
Mine went from pooping 8 to 10 times a day, to 2 or 3 a day for 2 weeks, then... nothing for 8 or 9 days! I called my ped who said that as long as the belly isn't hard, she's still eating and happy, then not to do anything. Sure enough, she eventually went without difficulty. But when she did go... oh boy... watch out! Wholly blow-out! Still all soft and liquidy, just massive amounts.

[stacey10]

well the spots could be due to her teething, I know mine get rashes/spots around that time, when I eat nuts my bubs get like peanut butter as well, just make sure your drinking heaps as well

[chantal21]

Thanks everyone!! I tried apple juice the other day but nothing happened but boy did she enjoy it! Haha last night I tried a little bit of prune juice and she pooped just a little bit this morning. Nothing crazy and I'm definitely waiting for more. I've never tried karo syrup on any of my kids so I will use that as a last resort since she did start going just a little bit. Will wait just another day if she hasnt had a good poo then maybe ask the doc if that will be okay.
I know some babies may only go once a week but I thought it was strange as she goes everyday and then all of a sudden nothing. My diet hasn't changed so I'm stumped. I will try giving her some more juice and maybe some sips of water here and there to loosen her up. I can remember when my first did this an when he finally went it was like peanut butter coming out TMI LOL  but I can't remember what I did to help him along. Thanks again!!! Hoping the juice trick works! I will try to get a pic up later today of her belly and the spots. Still on my phone! Sorry if there are any typos.

[stacey10]

I def would not reccomened  to give her anything some breastfed babies poo lots of times during one day everyday, others only do a poo once a week, all of this is considered normal for a breastfed baby. When bub is teething they also tend to have lots of loose poos, she may have pooed herself pout, remember one poo a week is within the normal range for a fully breastfed baby.

[k4d]

My baby boy was breastfed also and at 8wks he didn't poo for 1wk took hom 2 tthe docs as he started bein sick bcoz the food had nowhere else 2 go he had 2 get a suppository was terrible but worked and was on lactulose (not a laxative) just helps soften and easyer 2 go he is now nearly 16 months and on sairy free diet and goin 2 the toilet a lot better he was in so much pain wen he was around a year old was so painful for us 2 watch noin there was nothin we could do and the lactulose stopped workin but he was the prescribed movicol peadiatric which is gr8 but he does not really need it since the dairy free diet seems 2 b workin but I would defo contact ur doc and explain bcoz 1 wk is not good for a baby 2 go without pooin and good luck x  

[justice6920]

I was advised to give Kayro Syrup and water as well.... The Doc did also suggest to take the temp rectally and that could stimulate a bowel movement... I would give the doc a call just to be on the safe side bc a week is quite a stretch for your little one not to have gone to the bathroom.. They might even suggest a suppository. Good Luck

[leahvv82]

Try apple and pear juice by gerber don't water it down.  Use a medicine dropper from your pharmacy Two teaspoons. It always worked for my three when they were babies. And this shouldn't mess up the breast feeding. The little bumps may be baby acne like said earlier. But it could be eczema. Try using allergen free detergent for washing clothes, fragrance and dye free. Use fragrance free and dye free bathing soaps formulated for dry skin like cetaphil or dove sensitive skin. Use plenty of moisturizing lotion for sensitive skin like eucerine cream or lubriderm sensitive skin lotion or vasoline. Many of the lovely baby lotion and soaps have fragrance and dyes that can be irrating to a baby with eczema. Talk to your pediatric doctor to see if this what's going on. If so, as explained is how I managed the eczema my son and daughter had from infancy.

[honeydew21]

When my guys were small, and even now, we gave them a bit of kayro syrup (sp) (the light kind, not the dark. I don't remember why, but I think it's because there's something in the dark syrup that doesn't help relieve the constipation.). When they were babies we'd mix it in with their milk and in a few hours...oh I had a lovely little present to go along with my happy babies.

Now, we just give them a little bit in a teaspoon.

(Their pedi recommended the kayro syrup instead of prescribing a laxative or suppository. )

[Ashelen]

orange juice can be highly agitating because of the high acidic content, and allergenic ...

offer her a bit of applejuice Chantal...they also sell gerber all natural prune/apple juice combination that I gave to Grey when he was about 3 months and stuffed up like you wouldn't believe...he pooped about 4 hours later and had no problem after that.

You might want to start adding a little bit of sips of water from a cup (so it doesn't disrupt the breastfeeding) daily to give her a little more loose liquid because breastmilk can be surprisingly thick!

When you do talk to her pediatrician ask about things in your diet that may be contributing to it; sometimes you may  need to add more oils or healthy fats to your diet. My SIL had this problem where her baby would scream when she pooped because she was so stopped up and once she added some healthy oils it helped a lot. if she doesn't seem uncomfortable by not having pooped, she may be OK and no intervention may be necessary, but I might recommend a few sips of applejuice or water.

also - where on her belly are the bumps? I know that girl pee is way more acidic than boy pee, and my daughter used to get a little line of bumps under the edge of her diaper where her pee would touch her...some powder and extra diaper changes cleared it up. if it's on her upper belly, could just be baby acne..I found my girl to have a lot more acne than my boy!

[yumimumi]

Try pure orange juice watered down. always worked with mine! if that doesnt work go to your doc. xx