2 month old (EBF) not pooping

[denna]

Forgive me if this has been asked/ answered several times I attempted a search and found a lot on potty training but nothing on EBF infants.
At 8 weeks DS went 7 days w/o pooping and with the advice of our pedi we intervened with diluted prune juice, warm bath, rectal stimulation and even expressed BM from newborn (colostrum) timeframe. He pooped w/i 24hrs. The next week he went 8 days w/o pooping and with no intervention he went on day 9 and 10. Now this past week was the 3rd week in a row and he finally pooped on Day 10, 24hrs after receiving diluted prune juice.
Our pedi does not seemed concerned as his growth and weight are normal, he's happy and doesn't appear uncomfortable and the bowel movements are liquid and there is a lot of it when it does finally come. The concern is coming from MIL and DHs Uncle who is a pedi in the PICU, he wants to rule out any diseases etc and feels this behavior is not normal but my pedi disagrees. Any experience, advice, info would be greatly appreciated. I'm just so confused on what to do now.

[ahrimie]

We just had our 2 month checkup and I asked about the same thing. Last week, DD2 went 3 days without a bm when she used to go at least once a day. And it's happened a couple more times since. My ped said as long as she doesn't seem uncomfortable or bloated and the bm comes out liquidy, it's ok. He also said if it goes on for more than a week, to call. I remember DD1 went through a poop change around 2 months and she went a few days without going at time. I feel like I read that in a baby care book as well; 2 months is when it changes up a bit.

However, if your MIL and DH's uncle are concerned since it's happened a few times and they last for more than a week, are there tests they suggest? If there's something specific they can do to rule things out and it's not too invasive, I would probably look into that just for peace of mind. Now, if they weren't medical professionals and just speaking as parents, I would probably dismiss what they're saying... but since they probably know what they're talking about, that's the way I would personally lean.

[alirebco]

It's actually normal for BF babies to go 7-10 days without pooping. DS of course pooped 6 times a day until he was 6 months old, but DD goes once or twice a week. I'm not worried about it, but the only thing I worry about is her diaper holding it all in!

[Tondi G]

I have always heard that it is quite common for breast fed babies to poop less often because they are digesting the breastmilk well and their systems slow down after a few months. That said, my DS1 was 6 weeks old and had a horrible time with constipation. he hasn't gone in a week and we finally called the ped who suggested rectal stim with a thermometer ... didn't work. It ended with a liquid glycerin suppository and my little guy emptying out a weeks worth in about 10 minutes and passing out on the changing table and finally sleeping for 2 hrs. He hadn't slept more than the few 20 or 30 minute cat naps in a couple of days (nighttime was a mess). After that we resorted to giving him an ounce of organic prune juice in 2 oz of water everyday for a few months till he was started on solids and going more regularly. He was clearly unhappy and uncomfortable.

this is from the Kellymom website

Babies who skip several days between stools tend to be gassier. Older breastfed babies (after the first 6-8 weeks) can go several days without a stool. Ten days or more is not uncommon! The long periods between stools in a baby who is obviously thriving is not a cause for concern if the baby's abdomen remains soft, baby is content and alert, and the stool is soft and profuse if several days have gone by.

[echoesofspring]

DS goes about once a week. He just had his 4 month check up and I mentioned this, our ped was not concerned. it does seem to me that he gets a little fussier in the day or two leading up to the event, but that's really anecdotal. In some ways it's a reason to not start solids for a while

[waitingforgrace]

We saw a ped GI specialist for DD when she was a few months old and they told us they don't get concerned about lack of bowel movements until it's been more than 14 days in an EBF baby. I was really surprised, but they said as long as the tummy was soft and baby didn't seem uncomfortable it wasn't a problem.

Obviously, if you're concerned you could get a second opinion and ask for some testing to be done, but I always hesitated with any unnecessary testing on DD.

[annex]

this is from the Kellymom website

Babies who skip several days between stools tend to be gassier. Older breastfed babies (after the first 6-8 weeks) can go several days without a stool. Ten days or more is not uncommon! The long periods between stools in a baby who is obviously thriving is not a cause for concern if the baby's abdomen remains soft, baby is content and alert, and the stool is soft and profuse if several days have gone by.

Two EBF kids here, and both followed this pattern starting at 8 weeks until they were closer to 4 months old. They would go 7-10 days between poops. Perfectly healthy and normal. Just very messy to clean up since it almost always over-filled the diaper and went up their backs.

[DrSally]

I was concerned, too, when it happened to DS (I think he went 5 days several times). Then, I heard it is quite common for EBF'd babies b/c they are processing BM so efficiently.

[denna]

Thanks for the helpful advice and experiences. I just spoke with our pedi again and expressed our family's concerns, she was very understanding and said as long as his abdomen is not distended and he remains comfortable and content she sees no reason for extensive testing. She suggested a daily ounce of prune juice diluted with equal parts filtered water as a dietary addition, not (IHO) an intervention. We then spoke with Dhs Uncle and filled him in on all of this and he conceded with the advice of keeping a journal on his bowel movements; size, color, days, etc.
I had no prior experience with this as DS1 started formula at 6wks and DD never had any issues in the poop dept. Thanks again everyone!

[indignantgirl]

Totally normal. I wouldn't give prune juice; the pedi was probably suggesting that for your peace of mind, since as an exclusively breastfed baby, your son wouldn't need any kind of dietary addition at this age. Also, there is likely some good biological reason why breastfed babies don't poop every day.