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Baby can't poop on her own

jkloeppeljkloeppel member
in November 2015 Moms
My daughter can't poop without... help. We have to stick a thermometer or suppository up there to get her to go. She is EBF and when she does poop it is completely normal looking (soft, seedy). She is 9 weeks old and has gone 3 times in the last 6 weeks on her own. We have to give her stimulation once per week to get her to go (this was at the recommendation of a doctor). Well, we went in for our 2 month appointment last week and the doctor was completely stumped as to why she still can't go on her own. He is concerned and referred us to a specialist two hours away. We have an appointment for Tuesday, but now there is a blizzard in the forecast, so we have to cancel. The thing is, this specialist doesn't have any openings until March. I guess I just want to know if anyone has experienced something similar and if so, what happened? Was it some sort of condition or did it resolve on its own? I'm really concerned about my baby girl. She seems pretty uncomfortable when it has been a while since her last BM. 
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Re: Baby can't poop on her own

  • Lolo427Lolo427 member
    I'm sure you know some of this but I'm just spitballing here. Do you do tummy exercises? Bicycles, knees to chest. Also a probiotic ( we do Gerber soothe) is a lifesaver for us as she does have a tough time passing. Do you use bottles? I usually only Do a Luke warm when heating up expressed milk from the fridge but I do notice if I do a nice warm bottle it helps my daughter  at times. Hope you get some answers and relief soon!
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  • jkloeppeljkloeppel member
    We do tummy exercises and have tried both probiotics and gripe water. We give her warm bottles from time to time, but it might be worth a shot to combine it with tummy exercises. Thanks! 
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  • SJFTCASJFTCA member
    LO has had some constipation problems. He hasn't gone more than two or three days without a BM, but he started having some hard stools and was clearly in pain passing them. My pedi recommended an ounce or two of apple or pear juice each day. He also recommended the rectal stimulation. I've only had to do that once, and it was after a couple episodes of LO clearly trying to pass something and not being able to. The juice has been doing the trick. One ounce worked for a couple of weeks, but now we have had to add an ounce each day. I have no other advice, but I hope your LO's problems are resolved soon. It's a pitiful situation :-(.
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  • Cook3133Cook3133 member
    edited January 2016
    LO #3 had issues going regularly so our pedi had us do 1oz water 1oz prune juice once a day and it helped a ton!  I want to say he was 2m when we started if not earlier.  #3 also didn't gave his first BM until 25 hours old. He is 21m now and has no issues.  That's just what worked for us.  My Lo #4 is starting to have the same issues (EBF) so we are going to try it for him. (#3 was FF starting at 3wks)
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  • Pontot31Pontot31 member
    I read that once you start using something like a thermometer to help them poop you have to keep doing it because the muscles get stretched out and they don't get the feeling of pushing it out. Plus infants need to almost learn how to poop and by doing it for them they don't learn. 
    Hopefully a specialist can help figure it out for you!
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  • kdoak2015kdoak2015 member
    Following from D15, we have the same issue with our DD who is 9 weeks. Our doc isn't concerned but it worries me that we always have to help her. Hopefully you can get to a specialist and let us know what it is or what they suggest. The juice is to soften the poo but likely won't help with the "Push" reflex. Leave it for longer and see if she'll go on her own.
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  • Ceridwen77Ceridwen77 member
    Pontot31 said:
    I read that once you start using something like a thermometer to help them poop you have to keep doing it because the muscles get stretched out and they don't get the feeling of pushing it out. Plus infants need to almost learn how to poop and by doing it for them they don't learn. 
    Hopefully a specialist can help figure it out for you!
    This is what I would worry about - using the thermometer every time seems like a bad idea. Can you get on a cancelation list with the specialist?
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  • SJFTCASJFTCA member
    I took LO to the doc today after he has continued to be constipated despite adding juice. My pedi said, as PPs have suggested, that rectal stimulation one to two times a month is OK, but you don't want LO to become dependent on it. He said there are some underlying conditions like cystic fibrosis that can be a concern w chronic constipation, but that is usually coupled with weight loss, and LO is definitely not having that problem (he weighed 15 lbs 6 oz today at 2.5 months). He also felt on LO's stomach and wasn't concerned that it seemed too firm or distended.

    He suggested adding water to the juice. He said that prune, pear, and apple are all acceptable. He said the rule of thumb is one ounce of juice for each month of age. So LO is two and a half months and will have 2 oz of juice w 2 oz of water each day. He also suggested a different formula called Reguline by Enfamil, which won't help OP but may help others. Finally, he said that almost all babies SEEM constipated bc they don't really know HOW to poop yet, so you get the straining and sometimes red face and crying. Essentially, in our case, we need something to soften the stools, so I'm hoping that the juice/water combo will help. 
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  • RaisingJulianRaisingJulian member
    Now I feel like I need a new pedi. My 3 yo has the same problem. He's had it since birth. Drs never seem to want to help at all, they just say to give him miralax. When I told them it doesn't work anymore they told me to up the dosage. So annoying. When my poor baby has to poop it's like coaching him through labor. It's heartbreaking. I have to hold his legs & tell him to push. While this is happening he screams & cries in pain. Drs haven't been taking me serious so next time this happens I plan on having someone record it so maybe he can get some help. 
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  • SJFTCASJFTCA member
    RaisingJulian said:
    Now I feel like I need a new pedi. My 3 yo has the same problem. He's had it since birth. Drs never seem to want to help at all, they just say to give him miralax. When I told them it doesn't work anymore they told me to up the dosage. So annoying. When my poor baby has to poop it's like coaching him through labor. It's heartbreaking. I have to hold his legs & tell him to push. While this is happening he screams & cries in pain. Drs haven't been taking me serious so next time this happens I plan on having someone record it so maybe he can get some help. 
    I can say that my pedi told me that he suggests Miralax when the child gets older and that one of his own children was on Miralax for seven years. However, I agree that if it's no longer working and your DS is still having that much pain and trouble, it would be nice to be given some other options! Good luck! 
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  • jkloeppeljkloeppel member
    Thanks everyone! In looking at other forums, some have said that it is not uncommon for an EBF baby to go two weeks without a bm. As long as she is eating normally, I'm going to wait it out until her appointment in march. I'll keep you posted on what the gastroenterologist says. 
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  • VexedMommyVexedMommy member
    RaisingJulian said:
    Now I feel like I need a new pedi. My 3 yo has the same problem. He's had it since birth. Drs never seem to want to help at all, they just say to give him miralax. When I told them it doesn't work anymore they told me to up the dosage. So annoying. When my poor baby has to poop it's like coaching him through labor. It's heartbreaking. I have to hold his legs & tell him to push. While this is happening he screams & cries in pain. Drs haven't been taking me serious so next time this happens I plan on having someone record it so maybe he can get some help. 
    I had this same issue with DD1.  She was always constipated and it would hurt her to poop.  Then she started to hold it when she had to poop because it hurt.  This led to anal leakage and poops the size of her forearms and sometimes the size of MY forearms that I had to coach out of her.  There were huge amounts of hugs and tears.  She wasn't fully able to handle pooping normally until she was almost 6.  We switched pediatricians due to a move and she was put on a gluten free/cassein free diet.  The difference was amazing.  It took a few months, but she was pooping like any other child.  Every time we've let her go off her diet for a few days the huge hard stools have come back.    
    If there's something strange underneath the hood.  Who you gonna call?  Your Doctor.  If there's something weird and it don't look good.  Who you gonna call?  Your Doctor.  Immediately.  If it's new, painful, and possibly pregnancy related get your ass off the internet and call your doctor.  It's for your health and your child's. 




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  • Pontot31Pontot31 member
    jkloeppel said:
    Thanks everyone! In looking at other forums, some have said that it is not uncommon for an EBF baby to go two weeks without a bm. As long as she is eating normally, I'm going to wait it out until her appointment in march. I'll keep you posted on what the gastroenterologist says. 
    A week or 2 is totally normal for an EBF baby. 
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  • jkloeppeljkloeppel member
    Yes, they say that EBF babies use breastmilk efficiently and could go a week with no bm, but shouldn't there be less poop then? When I would make her go, she fills 5+ diapers. Also, I talked to three doctors and all were concerned with her going more than a week with no bm (especially since she is obviously uncomfortable). I just wish there was consistency in the advice we are getting.
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  • jkloeppeljkloeppel member
    I thought I'd give you all an update. Since posting this, DD has pooped on her own 3 times (consistently every 4-5 days). She also seems to be more comfortable and overall less fussy. It seems that she has grown out of it, so we canceled the appointment with the pediatric gastroenterologist. If you are having this same issue, you may just need to wait it out (but certainly ask your doctor). 
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  • fitmama89fitmama89 member

    You EBF ... Do you take a daily probiotic? My son wasn't regular until I started taking a probiotic. 
    Any supplement store can point you in the direction of a good quality probiotic. 
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  • kdoak2015kdoak2015 member
    Our DD also worked it out and is every 2 days.
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