DS stopped pooping 3 weeks ago...

ashleynb7

...on his own.  He is almost 4 months old now and soley on breastmilk.  He was doing fine.  He would have around 4 or 5 poopy diapers a day and then he just stopped!  After 2 -3 days and him being miserable, I gave him a suppository and it's been the same sycle for over 3 weeks now.  No poopy diapers for several days, he finally gets a suppository once he's miserable and the the process starts over.  For around 2 weeks now we've done dark Karo syrup in every bottle.  (I would just pump and bottle feed so he could have the syrup)  We've done prune and apple juice....nothing is working.  I haven't changed my diet so I don't think that's the cause.  If anything, I stay away from too much dairy due to his reflux. 

I called the Pedi back on Monday and she said to stop everything I was doing to try to make him go and to stop the suppositories.  I'm supposed to give him until Friday morning to "see if he will go on his own" and then bring him in if he hasn't.  The poor guy is sooooo uncomfortable!  When he was going with the suppositories the poop was so thick it would just stick to his bottom.  Does anyone have any experience with this or have any suggestions?  If he doesn't go on his own by Friday what will they do?  What could be wrong?  Thanks guys!

mominatrix

A lot of breastfed babies go through this or something like this when the colostrum finally is completely gone from breastmilk...

Colostrum is a laxitive - it's one of the reasons why it's all they eat in the beginning - to get the meconium poops out. 

DD went about 10 days at about this age, then had the most epic poop ever. 

It's completely nervewracking, but you have to wait it out... they have to learn to poop on their own, which is why the doctor told you to stop with the suppositories and everything else you've been doing...

 

https://www.llli.org/FAQ/bm.html

SCOOTER

EBF babies can go up to two weeks without pooping.  My son born 12/14 is now about every 2 or 3 days between poops and yes it's messy.  My twins got to 10 days once too.  BM is very efficiently broken down.  Look into other reasons why he's acting fussy, it might not be because he's constipated.

Kelly&Dave

DD went 11 days without pooping. I tried warm baths and rubbing her abdomen and finally she went. Now she goes every few days.

KimMaraia

Who told you to do all of this to get him to poop?  I have never heard of this.  EBF babies eventually have a slow down at this point and if when he does go, is not hard and is loose just as it is suppose to be, my pedi said that is fine. 

J Bean

My DD stopped pooping often at around 3 - 4 months too.  As pp have said it's not uncommon for EBF babies at this age.  My pedi had said to give a suppository once it had been a week without her pooping, and we had to do that twice.  Also, DD was in daycare by this point, and I tried making one of her bottles from thawed frozen BM from a month or two earlier each day hoping the colostrum in it would help her go.

I've heard you can try to drink more water and some prune juice yourself, and I did try that and it seemed to help a little bit. 

This phase won't last forever.  Shortly before she started solids around 5 months DD pooped every three days, and then once she was on solids she now goes pretty much every day or two, and sometimes more than once a day.

GL!