Our 3 1/2 months old went 16 days without a bowel movement. We need help please?

Question

Our 3 1/2 months old went 16 days without pooping. At 2 months, he went for 14 days and the doctor said to use fleet babylax which works and his stool was soft just like pudding. One week later he went by himself like pudding again. 2 weeks later we had to use fleet babylax again and it was like pudding again. This time, it has been 16 days but nothing yet. We are hesitant in using the fleet babylax again afraid that he may get dependent on it. He is a breast fed only baby and I've heard that it is impossible for a breast fed baby to be constipated. I'm not even sure that what he has is consider to be constipated since his stool has always been soft like pudding. He seemed to be feeding, playing, sleeping, and peeing just like normal. He is not at all fussy. Is it bad to have him gone this long without pooping? Is it normal? Is fleet babylax bad to use? We've tried massaging, warm bath, etc but nothing work. I appreciate any help anyone can give me. Thank you.

Dan

Answer 1

I know you are looking for help in this area, but I would consult the pediatrician again. It could be something his mother is eating that is affecting the milk he drinks. I would do some searching on google or yahoo about how different foods and drinks can affect the breast milk.

I wouldn't think the babylax is bad to use (on occasion), but like you say, he may become dependent on it.

A baby should have bowel movements daily.

Answer 2

I would definately call your Dr, he should not really go more than 3-4 days because we had this problem with our 7 mth old twins. You could try a glycerin suppository especially for babies but since they usually work you run the risk of it becoming habit forming for him to use so he can use the bathroom another problem could be that he has a "tight anus" and his feces may not be able to go through which is why they come out looking like pudding plus the use of laxatives. You could possibly try prune juice (infant-toddler) warm and see if that helps or massaging the side where his colon is located...here is a bit i found on a website


Q My 6 and a half month old son has not had a bowel movement for 7 days, though he's eating, passing gas, and urinating regularly. He is breastfeeding only. I have not introduced any solids at this point. He seems in very good spirits (happy, laughing, vocalizing), is very active (cut first tooth a week ago, sitting up on his own, pulling to stand in crib, scooting, rolling, semi-crawling, happily into everything), has no fever, no signs of dehydration or illness, but this is the longest he's gone without a BM. Should I be concerned? Are there any warning signs I need to watch for?
A While most exclusively breast fed children at six months can be expected to have a bowel movement at least every 3 to 5 days, a child may occasionally go longer. As long as he is acting well with good appetite and no grunting, straining, or fussiness, there is no reason to worry. At about 7 to 10 days I get a bit concerned just because of the unusualness of the time involved and usually recommend an infant glycerine suppository. In my experience the children have invariably pooped and gone on to be fine. The record in my practice has been 15 days. Seven days without stool in a newborn or in an infant on a broad diet has an entirely different significance.


Answered by Bruce Strimling, MD, Pediatrics, Eugene, OMG - West Eugene Medical Center (1/29/2002)
http://www.peacehealth.org/apps/Expert/QA.asp?SubjectID=6

Answer 3

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RE:
Our 3 1/2 months old went 16 days without a bowel movement. We need help please?
Our 3 1/2 months old went 16 days without pooping. At 2 months, he went for 14 days and the doctor said to use fleet babylax which works and his stool was soft just like pudding. One week later he went by himself like pudding again. 2 weeks later we had to use fleet babylax again and it was like...

Answer 4

Use the babylax as the doctor recommended, your baby will not become dependent. Not all children react the same to breast milk, or to formulas for that matter.

One of the things to take into consideration is the heat that has been at or near record levels for the past few weeks. This does have an effect on children, especially the youngest. Try feeding him a bottle of water several times a day. He DOESN'T have to drink much, just keep fluids in him and his bowls may loosen on their own. Pick up a gallon of Baby Water, it's formulated and specifically filtered for thier systems. Give it at room temperature at first and see how he takes to it. He is used to his mother's milk and it will be just a bit warmer, so it's an easy transition to the cooler water.

The best thing to do for now would be to give him regular doses of babylax and NOT allow him to go 16 days on his own.

I hope this helps.

Answer 5

I'm having the same problem but his doc doesn't seem to be concerned. My son is also breastfed and I was told this was normal for breastfed babies. Ignore the morons preaching about seeing a million docs until they find something wrong with your child. My son is happy, healthy, rarely cries, gaining weight and is content, yet I can't get him to poop! He went 7 days before I gave him the babylax and now it's been 5 days and no poop, I'm also concerned about constantly giving him babylax so I'm going to wait it out and contact my doc at 7 days and let them decide what is best.

Answer 6

I have an 8 year old that has always had a problem pooping... only when he does it is normally so hard that it stops up the toilet... we believe he may have hypothyroidism due to the fact that he is very small and underweight. He doesn't eat regularly either though. normally a few glasses of apple juice helps him go. There is a link below that may help, if you haven't already read it.

Answer 7

babies do not have to poo everyday. In fact they can go more than a week easily without a bowel movement. A baby is only constipated if the stools are hard or dry and it is hurting the baby to pass. if the baby is happy and feeding well then it is most likely to be fine. It will poo eventually. If the babies belly feels hard and baby seems unwell then you should go back to the doctor.

Answer 8

He really should be doing every day - after 16 days he definitely needed that babylax. Change doctors to one who takes fecal retention and auto-intoxication seriously.
In the meantime, there are worse things you can do than keep giving him the babylax if it's the only thing that'll make him do the do regularly.

Answer 9

It may be your diet or in his digestive tract, in any case, get him to a good pediatrician or the hospital as soon as possible.
His life could depend on it!
A baby should be at the dr's office if it doesn't have a bowel movement in 2-3 days!

Answer 10

TAKE THE BABY TO THE DOCTOR...this is not normal...if your unhappy with the doctor you have now then get a second opinion....with breast feeding you are suppose to count the number of bowel movements a day to make sure he is eating enough...how can you when their are none...I wouldn't risk it...your babies health is number one...and talking to us on here rather than taking him to a different doctor is comprimizing his health...good luck!!!