My 11 day old won't poop!

melissa00718

Anyone else go through this? I'm sure she's fine, but I'm starting to worry a bit....

 First few days she pooped 3-6 times a day. Other than a tiny smear yesterday, she hasn't  pooped since last Monday (at 4 days old). She doesn't seem to be overly uncomfortable, she's eating a ton (breastfed), and pees a ton. She's gaining weight and dr. didn't seem concerned..... I tried the rectal stimulation (with thermometer tip) to no avail.

Should I just stop worrying? 

KGF625

I did have this problem. Like you said, it isn't the end of the world, I think they say a baby can even go three days without pooping but I could still tell my little man was uncomfortable and I knew he usually went a few times a day. The dr. told me I could do rectal stim which I did try and it worked a little but not enough. He also allowed me to give him 1 tablespoon of straight prune juice. It worked within a few hours.

AgrippaRidesAgain

Remember that breastfed babies can go quite a while without needing to poop.  It's actually something like 7 days.

Saunders3

Massage the bottom of the feet and/or rub the tummy in a circular motion around the belly button.  Do it a few times a day, when your holding her.

When I do this I usually get a poop.

tbone22308

AgrippaRidesAgain:

Remember that breastfed babies can go quite a while without needing to poop.  It's actually something like 7 days.

This. When DD was EBF, her longest stretch was 7 days. She usually only went every 2/3 days. 

bkjcwedding

Not going for 5-7 days for a BF baby isn't a big deal. Breastmilk is so well digested that there is very little left that needs to be pooped out after digestion. No reason to worry!!

TinyTeacher

Take her temperature rectally. That should do the trick!

Knitty

YOU NEED TO CALL THE DOCTOR

It's only normal for BF babies to go days or weeks in between poos once they're six weeks old. A two week old that isn't doing 3-4 poos a day is a HUGE red flag that they're not getting enough. Please, call a doctor and an LC in the morning.

When you say she hasn't done a poo since four days old, has she done any that aren't meconium, or had it changed from meconium by then?

Meconium stools are the large dark, black or greenish-black, thick, tarry, sticky bowel movements that newborn babies have on their first 2 or 3 days of life. It is those combinations of adjectives, especially 'large,' 'thick,' and 'sticky,' that make meconium stools hard to clean up and don't make many new parents look forward to these dirty diapers.

Fortunately, meconium stools are quickly followed by transitional stools by the time your baby is 4 or 5 days old. These stools are a little looser and are a more greenish-brown color and are the 'transition' to regular milk stools on about day 6.

 

 https://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/enough-milk.html

 

IS BABY GETTING ENOUGH? -- QUICK REFERENCE CARD

~~~ BIRTH to 6 WEEKS ~~~

WEIGHT GAIN: If baby is gaining well on mom?s milk alone, then baby is getting enough. A 5-7% weight loss during the first 3-4 days after birth is normal. Baby should regain birth weight by 2 weeks. Once mom?s milk comes in, average weight gain is 6 oz/week. If these goals are not met, call your lactation consultant. More on weight gain.

WET DIAPERS: 5 - 6+ sopping wet diapers per day (after 1st week). Expect one wet diaper on day one, increasing to 5-6 by one week. To feel what a sufficiently wet diaper is like, pour 3 tablespoons (45 mL) of water into a clean diaper (if baby wets more often, then the amount of urine per diaper may be less). Urine should be pale and mild smelling.

DIRTY DIAPERS: 3 ? 4+ dirty diapers per day (after day 4). Stools should be yellow (no meconium) by day 5 and the size of a US quarter (2.5 cm) or larger. The normal stool of a breastfed baby is usually yellow and is loose (soft to watery, may be seedy or curdy). More on infant stooling.

OTHER POSITIVE SIGNS: After a feeding, mom?s breast feels softer and baby seems reasonably content. Baby is alert, active and meeting developmental milestones.

While multiple daily bowel movements are expected for thriving breastfed newborns, there are exceptions to be noted. Rarely, a healthy, well-nourished newborn with infrequent stooling will have weight gain within the acceptable range. The BREASTFEEDING ANSWER BOOK states newborns may have a 5% to 7% weight loss up to the fourth day after birth, then gain 4-8 oz (113-227 grams) or more per week. If a newborn is spacing bowel movements days apart rather than hours apart, each bowel movement would be very large. Since experts list infrequent newborn stooling as a "red flag" symptom requiring professional evaluation, confirming the infant's overall health and monitoring weight gain with the health care provider are prudent precautions.

(from LLL)

https://www.llli.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVDec97Jan98p123.html