UPDATE: At what point to call pedi for no poop?

CopperT0p

DS2 is nearly 6.5 months old. Up until Saturday he had been a regular once a day pooper for a couple months.  He pooped Saturday and hasn't gone since. He had his 6 month vaccines Monday and cut his first tooth Tuesday.  He has been extra fussy and clingy since Monday, but I chalked it up to the tooth and vaccines.  Now I'm wondering if maybe it's that he hasn't pooped in five days. He is breast fed, and we BLW for 1-2 meals a day. He doesn't consume very much food, basically sucks off whatever smashed food he can get onto his fingers. 

I know it's not unheard of for breast fed babies to go for a week or more without pooping, but he was so regular then just stopped. I'm thinking about trying the thermometer trick tomorrow if he still hasn't gone.  

Anybody else have this happen? 

SandFHasse

I gave DS prunes and he pooped the next day. This happened with DD and I called the ped. The ped said to try one of the following:

Putting tip of thermometer or q tip
Prune juice
Suppository

painttheair14

I would say not to worry until 10 days or so, but his discomfort is not a good sign.

I also heard pear juice (cut with water) can help. 

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sehudson821

Applesauce works for us!

Libby026

I have called twice with this issue... And like magic DD always poops after I get off the phone! I would call, but I may be a little overly dramatic.

peanutmuse

@CopperT0p, I could have written almost the same thing myself and was considering it. Up until last Friday, Brennon pooped 2-4 times a day. There were 2 days he pooped once a day. He turned six months last week (Wed) and we started solids at that time. He didn't poop from Friday to Sunday and now hasn't pooped since then. He was EBF prior to starting solids. Until last night, I would have said that he wasn't uncomfortable, but now he seems to be straining and grunting a lot. I'm assuming that he has to poop but since it always flowed so easily while breastfeeding, he never really learned how to activate those muscles to push it out.

Here is what I have done:
- Every day -- bicycles, stomach massage, let him relax in a warm bath, the thermometer tip a couple of times a day (to which he giggles but doesn't clench. Weird kid.)
- Monday - 1 oz of apple prune juice mixed with water
- Tuesday - 1 oz of apple prune juice mixed with water, pears pureed with apple prune juice
- Wed - pears pureed with apple prune juice 2x a day
- Thurs - pears pureed with applesauce mixed with a tiny bit of ground flax  2x a day

So far, no poops. I am going to call the doctor in a few hours. I don't want to go into the weekend without some sort of communication with his doctor.

ETA: I am not a nervous nelly or a "typical" FTM, but the extreme change in bowel movements and now the fact that he is starting to be in pain and the length of time are the reasons that I'm going to call. People might tell you that it's normal for BF babies not to poop as often (as they have done here) and while that might be true, if it wasn't true for YOUR baby, that is what really matters. My EBF baby pooped all the damn time for six months straight, so not pooping for 5 days all of the sudden is an extreme change.

NenaMarie84

I posted something about poops last week b/c my LO's poop habits had changed. I think like PP said even though they say 10 days is normal if you once had a regular pooper and there's a drastic change follow your gut. Call your pedi if you are concerned. For us pears and lots of belly massages seemed to do the trick. I've made these things part of the routine now.

km_md

I agree with what peanut said. People told me that it's normal for BF babies to go a long time between poops but I got concerned when it was a change in her routine that was pretty drastic and she seemed uncomfortable with it. I hope that your little guy feels better soon.

CopperT0p

Thanks ladies. That is what my gut it telling me. While I know EBF babies can go for a week or more, it just isn't what my BF baby does. We've been doing some of the things suggested, like the baths and we do lots of jumping where I hold him and jump him around so his legs are moving. I also rub his belly at diaper changes.  I've been giving him steamed apples and pears the last few days which I thought might help move things along. 

I'm going to call just to ease my mind. That and I think I have thrush again in one breast which is just awesome. 

amt0312

Prunes are magical for us. Nothing else really works (not pear or apple juice or any of the high fiber foods) and its quite obvious that DD gets uncomfortable after 1-2 days of not pooping. She will strain and have no luck with pooping, so that's when I know its time to give her prune juice. I also incorporate pureed prunes 2-3x a week in her diet. We do formula though....But my advice is call when there is obvious discomfort and nothing else is working. 

CopperT0p

I called but the office is closed until Monday. 

I bought some prune juice and prune puree today. I just gave him 1oz of prune/apple juice mixed with 1oz water a couple hours ago, which he only drank an ounce of. So far nothing. He did wake up randomly from naps with a shrill pain cry twice today after I gave it to him so now I'm worried that was too much and it is hurting his stomach. Ugh.  

peanutmuse

@CopperT0p -- BZ pooped today! I did the q-tip thing for a bit longer than normal. He giggled while I was doing it, haha. Then..... poop explosion!

Does your pedi office have an on-call doctor? Just in case he starts to be in more pain.

Good luck!

CopperT0p

They don't have an on-call doctor, they say if you really need to see a doctor go to the walk ins that are open on the weekend.  

I'm hoping he will go today.  

CopperT0p

He had another round of prune juice tonight, no poop before he went to bed.

SandFHasse

It took about a day for the prunes to kick in for DS. I hope his tummy feels better soon.

Roses87

I would try the q tip trick before I would call. They will most likely try a suppository. Dd went 6 days and we did that and it was a poopexplosion. Immediate action as soon as removing. We put it in and out 3 times. On the 3rd husband moved it ever so slightly side to side and then bam! Wr haven't had a problem since. This was Easter.

sehudson821

The liquid glycerin suppositories work in like 5 mins or less. I couldn't find infant doses when we needed it, I gave a very tiny amount of the children's dose at the suggestion of the nurse. I hope LO gets some relief soon!

CopperT0p

Today marks a week. He had a little skid mark earlier today that looked kind of solid.  I tried prune purees at dinner, so we'll see if that helps. Somebody suggested probiotics like what I gave him when he was a newborn, so I'm going to try that as well tomorrow. I will be calling Monday if he hasn't gone. 

kmd03000

The pedia-lax suppositories work amazingly! My little guy has a problem sometimes. He is EBF and we dot them at 5-7 days. Our pedi said to watch his discomfort... not the calendar. I'd highly recommend that! We also do probiotics to help keep him regular.

CopperT0p

He is definitely uncomfortable at various points in the day when I think he must have stomach pain. He isn't really pushing but does arch back and cry. Is it weird that he isn't farting? I cannot remember when I last heard him fart when usually he farts almost every time I nurse him.

Babychuu

Here in The Deutsch-Land they push fennel tea when baby is constipated. If you have any mother's milk tea try that--make a bottle and try to get him to drink as much as possible. Also, q-tip soaked with fennel tea and a little Calendula oil or cream.

CopperT0p

Well ladies, he finally had a poop this evening, it wasn't as much as I expected. It was the same amount he would have done when going once a day. It was normal consistency. He's still been doing a lot of screaming while nursing and fussing afterwards tonight, so I'm thinking there's still a lot in there or something going on. 

CopperT0p

UPDATE:

So he finally pooped about his usual amount on Sunday while we were out shopping. It was normal consistency and nothing to really write home about.

Today I took him into the pediatrician anyhow. He has been waking up more at night and naps have gone down the tubes. Sometimes at night he would only sleep 30 minute intervals, and never more than 1.5 hours the last couple nights. 

We weighed him and he lost 3oz since his 6 month visit exactly a week ago today. So we both figure my milk supply has tanked like it did with DS1 (happened between 4-5 months with Lincoln).  I'm going back on Domperidone to increase my supply and hopefully he will be a happier baby.  I hate knowing now that he was probably so miserable because he wasn't getting enough milk.  

So he likely wasn't pooping as much because he wasn't getting enough milk.  I suspected it, but didn't want to stress about it since that wouldn't help out my supply.  

CopperT0p

Yep I am in Canada - @danaadell

blue_elle

@danaadell‌ you can get it in the US, but you have to mail order from Canada.

Hope it works well for you @CopperT0p‌!

CopperT0p

Thanks @blue_elle

It has helped a bit, but I think the dosage she recommended is a bit low as there are still times where he seems to want more, but I am definitely noticing a bit more milk.  He's gone back to his night wakings being every 2ish hours rather than the 30-60 minutes it was for a while there.