My 4 month old boy has problems pooping?

Question

He goes only once in 5 days now but thats not the only issue. Since last night he is crying with pain in the evenings and has apnea which really smells bad. The last time he pooped it had mucus. It started as green liquid with solid bits followed by normal poop. He is alright in mornings and having this problem last night and now. Please help i can call the doctor only tomorrow morning

He is exclusively breastfed

I am a veggie (no meat but milk products allowed) and am not into junk food/soda or anything thats not "healthy". How do I know cow's milk is the problem? Any specific symptoms? (i have been drinking milk all along)

crying is in bursts lasts a minute max and he goes to sleep only to wake up and cry in an hour or so. When he cries its definetly pain.

Answer 1

I want to SCREAM! Breastfed babies DO NOT need suppositories, juice, water, or anything else. It is COMMON and NORMAL for a breastfed baby to go more than a week without pooping. My current BF baby hasn't gone in 6 days. NORMAL. He also has the worst smelling gas, but it doesn't bother him, just daddy's nose. Breastmilk is so perfect that sometimes there is simply no waste for the baby to poop out.

WOW, those other answers you're getting are dangerous and WRONG WRONG WRONG. Sorry, I get a little heated when we're talking about a poor baby.

Constipation has to do with the consistency of the poop, NOT how often he poops. If when he goes it's still mostly soft or liquidy, he's fine. If when he poops it's hard, like pellets or adult poop, then he is truly constipated.

What you're describing is not something that has to do with constipation, so DON'T give him a suppository when he doesn't need one, that will cause more harm than good.

Green, mucus stool usually means one of two things:
1. A virus
2. Teething and too much swallowed saliva (is in line with the crying he's experiencing.)

Here's the full write up from Dr. Jay Gordon:
"Green, mucousy stool
This can be a result of a virus. Often the only sign we see of a virus is in the green stool. This is evidence of malabsorption in the intestines. Watch for how many days and with what consistency it is occurring. With a virus, it will run its course over a few days and begin to improve.

Another cause of malabsorption in the intestines can be teething. The profuse saliva of a teething baby can cause irritation in the intestines interfering with proper absorption. When babies teethe, we can see lots of drooling. Large quantities of saliva is swallowed which can irritate the intestines causing runny, acidic stools. This can also cause a rash in the diaper area.

There is something important to point out regarding frequency of stooling in an exclusively breastfed baby. Many parents are concerned when after the early weeks where they may have been seeing a little bowel movement in almost every diaper, they suddenly begin to see days go by without any. This is perfectly normal. There is a great range of frequency of bowel movements with exclusively breastfed infants, ranging from a couple of times a day to several days. There are completely healthy nursing babies that have a bowel movement once a week, once every ten days, or even a few that go a bit longer. If your baby is healthy, developing well, nursing well and the consistency of the bowel movement when it does make its appearance is soft or loose, then do not be concerned. It is not constipation if it arrives in soft form. Constipation would arrive in pellets and hard formed pieces."

Answer 2

He could be starting to teeth. That will cause loose stools and screaming and generally does get worse in the evening for some reason. Call the doctor in the morning, don't do anything drastic tonight like a lot of people are suggesting. It is probably unnesecary and may do more harm.
If he has a cold that could account for the mucus.
My daughter only pooped once a week when she breastfed at that age. It was perfectly normal for her and the doctor said not to worry about it.

Answer 3

First of all, pooping only once in 5 days doesn't sound right. Have you talked to the doctor about that?
What is apnea?
When you say he is all right in the mornings, I assume you mean that the crying is at night. He may not be all right but it has nothing to do with his crying (although that may be how he signals he's not all right) but has everything to do with his digestive tract.
I'd be worried about the mucous. He may have some sort of blockage. The doctor should not 'blow you off' about this - it could be really serious. The thing is, the doctor can only go by what you tell him and you may not be telling him that this baby only goes once in 5 days, cries with pain at night and is now pooping mucous. If this doctor can listen to you state those three things (make it very very clear to him) and not have your son examined thoroughly, then go to another doctor or at the very least the emergency room of the hospital. There's a breakdown in communication somewhere when a baby has distress when pooping and your concerns are discounted.
We're talking about a baby here. You can't just wait until the doctor is ready to take your call. All doctor offices that I know of have someone on call. If not, you run to the emergency room instead of waiting for your doctor to be ready to hear from you.
This could be a health emergency and you should be changing doctors if he can't deal with that. It's a baby, for God's sake, not the blister on your grandfather's big toe.
Demand that your baby gets thorough attention and say that you want a second opinion if you sense you're getting the same old story. Then go to another doctor for a second opinion.

Answer 4

My little girl would only poop every 10 days- also breastfed. It drove me crazy but they told me it was normal. (I checked online, with the 24 hour nurse line,with my doctor and with the baby book.) When I calmed down I realized it was great- She was happy and I didnt have to change diapers.

As far as the green liquid goes... I have no clue. Sorry.

I wouldnt go to the er just because he hasnt pooped. If he acts really sick then take him. That means he is breathing funny, or wont wake up or crying incessantly.

Answer 5

Can you call the Dr's emergency number? When you say that he has apnea and it smells really bad? Are you talking about his mouth / breath? Breastfed babies often poop several times a day. Has his pooping stopped or has he always pooped only once in awhile? Sometime, way back when, I heard about a patient having bad breath, literally smelled like poo, and the person had some sort of blockage.
If you can not call the doctor until tomorrow, ask the pharmacist if a 4mth old can have gas drops. Also, hold him upright and burp him often.

Answer 6

he has apnea that smells? sleep apnea doesn't smell. he crying b/c he's in pain. get some glycerin suppositories at the pharmacy. it should help till he can get to the doc. he's probably impacted. a 4 month old should be going a few times a day. start giving him watered down juice and water to help prevent this in the future.
edit- have you been sick lately? cold of flu symptoms? taken any over the counter meds?

Answer 7

i agree with everone else who said to go to the ER(who i guess didnt read your question) he is getting everything YOU eat so even if HE is only breastfed, if you have changed YOUR diet in some way then that could be the problem. the ER is open 7 days a week 24 hours a day i think you need to go in today and not wait til tomorrow. good luck

Answer 8

What did you feed him? It sounds like he has a sensitivity to the food you're giving him. Did you feed him something he has never been given before or did you switch formulas? Some babies have a harder time tolerating changes in their diet than others. If that's the case, he has already passed the food that's been bothering him and he shouldn't be given any more of it.

Answer 9

My daughter went through the same thing and she was also breast fed.
We were on vacation and she was constipated and screaming in the hotel. We went to the pharmacy and got some glycerin suppositories. THe pharmacist said just a little piece would do the trick. WE cut it in half lengthwise and width wise and just put in a tiny piece. 20 min later it worked. My doctor said the suppository was ok for an emmergency but they can grow dependent on it if you use it too much.
WE now use baby prunes and prune juice every few days. Gerber makes an apple-prune juice that she loves.
This is a fairly common problem in breast fed babies.

Answer 10

I have had this problem with my 17 month old since the day she was born. Your little one does need a suppository (they make them for infants) or an enema to help soften and pass the stool. I have taken my daughter to the ER in screaming pain from not being able to pass stool and they just sent us home and told me to give her an enema. And to all the parents out there with this same problem please listen: yogurt!! I give my daughter a yogurt everyday and it has worked wonders with her constipation. There is something about the natural cultures in it that regulates them and is a natural stool softener. All it takes for her is just 1 a day to keep her out of pain and keep my sanity!! No parent wants to feel that hopeless. Best of luck to you both!!!