No poop! Orange Juice in Water for 2 month old baby?

Question

My baby is a 2 month old and breastfed.

On the recommendation of my doctor I put a drop of orange juice in some water for my baby who hadn't pooped in 6 days. It worked within about 15 minutes - she filled her nappy. The poop was soft and light brown.

Anyway - then she didn't go again for 7 days!! So I've put a small drop of orange in some water again and it cleared her out within minutes.

In those seven poopless days, I had done baby massage and 'taking the temperature' etc... nothing worked.

How long should I wait this time - I don't want to keep putting juice in her water to make her bowels move - but she was getting to the point of crying and straining all of the time because she was trying to poo.

On a side note: She is getting enough liquids because she's soaking her nappies many times a day. She's a very content baby other than the pooping issue - it's just when she's trying to poo that she gets crying and straining.

Your advice is appreciated!

Answer 1

I have heard that breastmilk is better absorbed by babies making them poop less. So maybe she is pooping as much as she needs too. I would follow your docs advice for now.

Answer 2

It is not very likely that a breast fed baby will be constipated. Crying and straining when a baby has a bowel movement is normal, many babies do it until they are toddlers. A more reliable sign of constipation is the consistency of the poop. If it is small, hard, and pebbly, then it is likely constipation. Soft poop is a good thing. Breast milk is highly digestable and some babies can utilize the nutrients in it so efficiently that other than urine, there just isn't that much waste material left over. Other breast fed babies will poop every time they eat. My youngest daughter was an infrequent pooper and exclusively breast fed. After she was born, she twice had meconium poop in the hospital, but did not poop again until she was 10 days old. I had her in to the doctor twice to check for a problem, but none was ever found. Until she started solids at 6 1/2 months, she would go 4-7 days between bowel movements. After she started eating solids, she would go a little more frequently, but still it would be 3-5 days in between. She has always been exceptionally healthy and is now 10 years old. She still only has a bowel movement every 3 days or so. If it has been 7 days since your daughter's last bowel movement and your doctor has said to try the drop of OJ in the water, I say go ahead and try it now. It may just be that the first couple times was a coincidence and your baby would have pooped regardless if she had the drop of OJ in the water or not. A baby's digestive system is pretty undeveloped and if the OJ in water works, then she may need that additional help every week or so until her system develops a bit more.

Answer 3

Baby Constipation Orange Juice

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
No poop! Orange Juice in Water for 2 month old baby?
My baby is a 2 month old and breastfed.

On the recommendation of my doctor I put a drop of orange juice in some water for my baby who hadn't pooped in 6 days. It worked within about 15 minutes - she filled her nappy. The poop was soft and light brown.

Anyway - then she didn't go again...

Answer 5

Stupid, stupid answers!!!

Breastfed babies regularly go a week or more without pooping!!


It is NORMAL and NATURAL for her to go 10 days without going! I wish people with no breastfeeding experience would stop answering these questions. Leave the baby alone! My breastfed baby goes more than a week all the time. As long as the poop is soft when it does come then the baby is FINE.

What is poop? It's WASTE that the baby has to expel. Breastmilk is so perfect, that baby will often use ALL OF IT, there isn't any waste and therefore NO POO!

QUIT telling this poor mother to interfere with her baby's natural movements. Formula fed infants get constipated all the time, that's why they have to be given juice and other helpers. Breastfed babies are RARELY constipated. Constipation has to do with the consistency of the poop, NOT how often they poop. If when the poop does come it's soft, the baby is NOT constipated! Leave her alone.

So, stop feeding her juice, she doesn't need it. She doesn't have to go, don't make her.


From LA LECHE LEAGUE:
It is also NORMAL for a breastfed baby older than six weeks to have only one bowel movement every few days. Some healthy babies will have only one bowel movement a week. When bowel movements are less frequent, they should be more profuse in volume. As long as the baby is gaining well, wetting sufficiently, and is happy and content there is no cause to be alarmed by infrequent bowel movements, and it is NOT NECESSARY to give the baby a laxative, fruit juice, or any other "helpers." In fact, attempting to force bowel movements can have HARMFUL consequences to your baby.

Edit to Falkirk:
I may have come across harsh, but she's getting bad advice that doesn't apply to exclusively breastfed babies, especially ones that young. If I had a nickel for how many times people post in this forum about breastfed babies taking days to poop, I'd be a rich woman. Because we’ve lost so much institutional knowledge over the years when breastfeeding fell out of vogue, women do not know or understand the bowel movements of breastfed babies. They mistakenly assume that they are like adults, or like formula fed babies. Many GPs are ALSO completely uneducated in breastfeeding babies. Their experience might be old and out of date, or, again, based on formula fed children.
It doesn’t help when people who only have experience with formula fed babies comment; the digestive systems between breastfed and formula babies are incomparable: apples to oranges.

I can’t stand the idea of someone interfering with their precious child’s perfectly functioning system because of mistaken information.

Answer 6

As disgusting as this sounds, why not try the "taking the temperature" method with a small bunch of parsley. My grandmother and mother used to do that with me when I was young, and it works really well for most babies. Other than that, the best advice I can give is to try to get a referral for a pediatrician. Ask if there is something in the orange juice that your daughter could be deficient in (like a certain vitamin) that would otherwise help her poop. Good luck!

Answer 7

It is usual for babies not to poop everyday and wet nappies are a good sign. Orange juice (or any other fruit juice) is not usually recommended for very young babies - although a very tiny amount diluted in water would be fine. However this method should not be used as an ongoing treatment for your daughter. It is normal for babies to go red in the face and make all sorts of noises while pooping but if she looks to be in pain then this needs to be further investigated by a doctor straight away. Best of luck.

Answer 8

Is she formula or breast fed? If she is breast fed she can be constipated for up to 10 days is what our pediatrician told us. If formula fed, she may need her formula changed to get her digestive system going a little more. He also recommended not waiting for more than 3 days, and to use a rectal thermometer with a lot of vaseline as a stimulant to get the bowls moving. Just sit there with a diaper under her while you wait for her to go. If it doesn't work in 15 minutes try again. If not call your pediatrician and tell them you do not like using orange juice what else can you do. Orange juice even a little bit at her age may irritate her stomach or the lining of her intestines which could cause her butt to be sore.

Answer 9

Hiya, I know this is going to sound awful but I got this advise from my mother who is a nurse and used to be a midwife.

I doubt the orange juice worked that quickly, probably more by chance that she chose to go then.

It is VERY unlikey that your daughter is constipated. Breast fed babies vary rarely have trouble with their bowls. IT is more likely to be the fact that the poo is so soft she doesn't feel it in her back passage so never actually feels the need to pass anything. If you get a cotton wool pud (Q-tip if you're in America) and very gently put the end of it in to her back passage and move it around slightly. This puts pressure on her muscles and makes her think there is something there to pass and make her poo.

It won't hurt her, she may not like it but it won't hurt her and it will make her poo. I did it on 2 occassions with my daughter.

Hope this helps.

Answer 10

Maybe its what you are eating, that she is not getting enough food that will help her go. It is good to get your baby used to water and juice anyway for when she will be off the breast.

Ps. maegss33. the person was asking an open question about her baby, therefore will accept other peoples thoughts and experiences. My baby is not on formula and can be constipated from time to time. It is good for a baby to get used to water even though they get enough from the breast, and a small amount of juice that the ladys gp recommended will be ok too. Id rather listen to my gp than you. There is no need to be so rude !!!!!

Answer 11

My doctor had me put Karo Syrup in each bottle it was about 1 Tsp, but ask your doctor first. He told us dark Karo but I have heard others say light Karo. I am not sure of the juice at that age, even though it is a drop, orange juice is one of the last juices introduced and I would not be waiting 7 days again. My aunt has always told me 3 days tops for a child not to go.
Good luck it can be so hard to get them regulated.