We need help with poo!

[butterfly_warrior]

It seems I have a baby who doesn't like to poo. He's formula fed, so should be pooing much more frequently than he is... The longest we've gone is 5 days without a poo, and so far it's been since Friday.

Thing is... he's not constipated. When he does poo it's sloppy, not hard and pellety as you would expect with constipation. He just doesn't seem to want to poo at all.

We give him cooled boiled water regularly, so it's not that he's dehydrated.

He's on Nan HA formula, and switching formulas isn't an option. He needs a HA formula and the karicare HA (the only other one I've seen) gave him incredibly stinky yellow diarrhea. We're talking 10-12 fluoro yellow poos each day and farting constantly and it was so stinky we were embarrassed to take him anywhere. Do I really have to live with one extreme or the other?

The paed suggested we give him watered down prune juice... But I feel a little funny about it as he's not constipated, he just won't poo.

If he was a breastfed baby, we wouldn't have a problem!

Help!

BW

[Ryatha]

I've suggested on a thread somewhere else but DD (formula fed) didn't want to poo and always seemed to strain to get it out. I gave her 20-50 mls of camomile tea with brown sugar in it - cooled down of course! Half hour later I would pop her onto her back on her nappy and gently push her knees towards her tummy. I would talk with her and make a fun game of it and she seemed to enjoy it. This helped her push them out and eventually she pooed with out my help.

Another very strange thing is that I had her in a bouncinette a lot of the time and when I went to the loo I would pop her outside the door so she could see me while I went. (I was at home by myself a lot and she hated being by herself) She started to strain when I did this and eventually I worked out that she was copying me and trying to go at the same time! So we had a winner in that solution as well. Now I know that sounds ultra weird but it worked for us!

HTH

[kawazuki]

this may sound horrible but could the runny poo he does be overflow?
like he is semi blocked and this is what can get past and usually only happens after 3-4 days of not pooing.

if u are worried, ask for an abdo ultrasound this will show if he has a blocked causing over flow.

i know tay used to go every second day and that was good consistency,

[butterfly_warrior]

Thing is, he's not straining and trying to poo - he just doesn't. When he does poo, it doesn't cause him any distress at all, it's just that he's not pooing anywhere near as often as he should be.

Is it possible for a formula fed baby to not need to poo every day? I wouldn't have thought so...

BW

[alioops]

Bowel motions really are an indiviual thing. Some people go often, others go once a week. As long as he is not straining and gaining weight and generally seems comfortable, we can only assume that he is good at processing his formula.

[butterfly_warrior]

He's certainly gaining weight!

2.48kg at birth and 6kg at 3 months... He's gone from the 3rd percentile to the 50th!

Funny thing is... if I take him to the doctor, he'll poo. He's done so at every single doctors appointment he's ever had! Paediatrician, ophthalmologist and GP...

BW

[Jennifer13]

Some formula fed babies will not necessarily poo as often as others. From what you've described, it doesn't sound like you have a problem, his system is just absorbing as much as he can from the milk. Check with your MHCN or GP if you're concerned though.

[[M]umma[M]ia]

dont stress. I was talking to a lady in MG and she said her son goes every 2nd WEEK!!! she said the longest he has gone is 21 days!!!!!!!!

If hes happy, content, just let him be.

[Doing my best]

Is it possible for a formula fed baby to not need to poo every day? I wouldn't have thought so...

BW

I used to stress about the same thing. My daughter had poo habits like a BF baby (she was getting about 30mls BM a day), and was drinking FF the rest of the time and I asked my GP who advised that there is nothing else out of ordinary and there is no blood or constipation, then it is ok.

It is not normal, but there is also nothing wrong with it. It was more of a shock to go from every 5 or so dayss to 5 a day when teething.. hehehe

[Oorki Galoorki]

bw doctors give me the poos too!! hehehe
i think the other are right in saying he might not be a big pooer atm and as long as he isnt in pain or upset by it... try(i know) not to worry

[butterfly_warrior]

Well... we had success again this evening... He poos so rarely that it's a big event when he does! But this was one of those if you don't laugh, you'll cry moments...

Changed his nappy when he got up for a feed (bit refluxy so we always change first). That was one. Pood half way through his feed so I go to change him again. That's two. There's so much poo that I can't get him cleaned up properly so I end up using what DH refers to as a "sacrificial nappy" - one to stick under his bum while you get the last bits cleaned up because the other one was way too full. That was number three. We finish his feed with him wearing half of his bottle and me wearing the other half... Bath time... He's already peed in the last nappy so I can't bring myself to put it back on him. That's four. I'm not quick enough getting a new nappy on him after his bath and he pees all over the outside of it. That's five. Oh yes, and on our way to the bath he puked into the drawer - all over another nappy! That's six nappies in the space of an hour!

I think we'll have to take it out of his allowance!

BW

[alioops]

When it rains, it pours hey BW Every one of us has one of those days. That is one of the reasons we switched to cloth, we were so over the amount of times that half the nappies got wasted!! Glad he put an end to the worry about when the next one would happen

[butterfly_warrior]

It's times like this that I think cloth would be a better option... but it's just not feasible with my arthritis like it is at the moment. I can barely keep us all in clean clothes - especially when Sam pukes as much as he did then! I won't be forgetting the formula thickener again in a hurry!

Forgot to mention - got to watch him poo some more while I was in the process of changing him. He's not struggling at all, they come out like toothpaste just like they are supposed to with a FF bub... I guess we resign ourselves to the fact that he poos infrequently but brings out huge ones when he does!

BW

[alioops]

Absolutely hun

It is so funny to watch them poo though isn't it. BTDT with the thickener too hun, not nice.

[sazzafrazz]

Hi there, had to have a little chuckle about your story tonight BW! Oh, yes I remember those days too. In fact Celeste will usually manage a wee between getting undressed and getting into the bath.

I think it is quite normal for a FF bub to poo once in up to 10 days! I know it sounds gross and I wouldnt like to be there on day 10 but it is quite common apparently. Celeste pooed every single feed plus some when BF especially at 3months but when on formula and food at 8months she was down to once every couple of days. Now on food/cows milk she is once every 24 to 36hours.

As someone else said, you will get more than your share when teething starts. OH BOY!!! Try not to worry about it if he is happy and not sore/straining. It is quite normal

Isnt it funny how much Mums can talk about poo? It is an endless source of conversation!! Apparently it's the same in old age care facilities