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My breastfed 9 week old is constipated... any ideas?!

11 replies

Mary3324 · 19/12/2008 07:01

My 9 week old is being exclusively breastfed and has now been constipated for about 3 days. I haven't changed anything in my diet and he doesn't actually seem to be ill or in any sort of distress. He seems fine in himself, but just isn't having any sort of bowel movements! Does anybody know if this is normal for a baby of his age and if there is anything I can do to help him?

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tumpyfairygodmother · 19/12/2008 07:10

normal - one of my friends BF babies didn't go for 8 days at a time - I think thats on the edge of normal and you should have seen the amount when she finally did go !!! When my DS was that age he would sometimes go a few days without going. You could always mention it to the HV if you are worried.

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differentnameforthis · 19/12/2008 07:16

I was told that it wasn't actually constipation, just normal!

My dd would go every feed [almost] up until about 8 weeks & then once a week after that!

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saadia · 19/12/2008 07:19

I seem to remember reading that you can help by eating grapes.

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shitehawk · 19/12/2008 07:29

It can be normal - breast milk is just such an efficient and perfect food that sometimes there is no, or very little, waste.

If he is not uncomfortable and seems fine in himself then there is almost certainly no problem with him not pooing.

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JaneLumley · 19/12/2008 08:07

If he's unhappy and straining, which mine were tho totally bf, I used glycerine suppositories (as recommended by Sears). They are v. gentle and it helped them settle. But it's also quite normal, and I resorted to them because dd once went a fortnight without a bm, despite much purple-faced straining.

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belgo · 19/12/2008 08:30

I'd say it was normal. Is he still feeding as normal? You can try massaging his tummy in a clockwise direction.

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tiktok · 19/12/2008 11:17

This is normal, no need to do anything unless you want to massage him or eat grapes (but have to say, eating grapes yourself would have no effect on your baby's gut...but no harm in eating them!)

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PortAndStilton · 19/12/2008 11:45

It's perfectly normal in an exclusively bf baby, and isn't constipation, just absence of poo.

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Aubergenie · 19/12/2008 12:03

Just make sure you have a complete change of clothes wherever you go - when he does finally poo it could be very explosive!

I found this out the hard way...

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bohemianbint · 19/12/2008 12:13

They do slow down as their digestive systems get more efficient, or something along those lines...