EBF and constipation

[lauraairving]

My daughter is 9 weeks old. I'm at my wits end honestly. I'm EBF. The first few weeks every nappy change was dirty.

Then from the 2/10/16 no poos till the 10/10 an absolute explosion.. I wasn't too concerned. From there she didn't poo again so on the 23/10 I took her to the doctor and they prescribed lactulose. She then pooed on the 24/10. It wasn't an explosion. It didn't even leak out of her nappy. She's now on lactulose twice a day. She hasn't pooed again since Monday so I'm getting worried again.

She's got REALLY smelly wind. Seems uncomfortable. She's not as settled as she usually is. I'm not sure what to do. She's feeding well and still having wet nappies but when I try massage her tummy she cries and flinches. I just feel something isn't right. I'm really not sure what to do now!!!

 

[Snufflepop]

Don't worry!! This is normal behaviour for BF babies. They can go much longer than their formula fed counterparts between bowel movements. My DS once went two weeks between poos. By the second week his wind was embarrassingly smelly, he could stink a whole room out. I was slightly concerned as he seemed to be getting a little uncomfortable by the end but then once he pooped it was fine. It is just such a transition from pooping every nappy to hardly any poop at all that it's easy to worry. I personally wouldn't use the lactulose as I don't see the need but that's your decision as only you know your daughter and how she is feeling.

 

[noon_child]

Having just looked at Lactulose on the internet it seems its side effects can include flatulence and abdominal cramps - so maybe that's where some of LOs symptoms come from?

It seems it is a treatment for hard poo as it increases the water content in the colon (where usually the colon absorbs water out of poop, lactulose draws it back in to the poop) but I don't know if there was any evidence that your LO's poop was hard, just that it hadn't happened in a while (which like pp said can be normal for some breastfed babies).

Maybe stop using the lactulose (if your doctors have no serious concerns) to see if your LO is one of those babies who is happy not to poop for a couple of weeks. Just a suggestion, obviously you must do what feels right to you and talk to your own doctors to see if this might be worthwhile.

I'm assuming she has a normal temperature?

 

[BunnyN]

I would agree with the others going that long between poos is not necessarily a sign of constipation in BF babies. The body digests and deals with breast milk so much better than formula it could just be a sign your LO has good digestion. Was the poo the right consistency?

 

[swimmyj1]

yep my gal went a week once, I was super freaked out by it but her belly wasn't huge like it was full of poo, and she never seemed uncomfortable. i know its scary to think they can go that long. but breast milk they can literally absorb everything from it unlike formula.

 

[minties]

My older kids only poo'd once every 7-14 days. Normal. Emma still poo'd constantly and as I'm not used to that I worry.