how much poo is enough poo for a 2 week old? please help

[hellosailor]

I would really appreciate advice on poo...apologies for those about to enjoy a sunday roast...

Our baby is a little over 2 weeks old and ever since she moved on from the meconium stage of the first few days and began normal breast milk mustard poos she has generally pooed several times a day, often during or straight after a feed.

However, yesterday and the day before she only did one poo per day, and so far today no poo, though still hoping for one before the day is up!

She is however weeing lots, in fact weeing has increased over the same period that pooing has decreased - which I hope is a sign that she is getting enough milk and is hydrated?

Also should say that although she has yet to poo today, the lone poo she did do yesterday and the lone poo she did the day before we both 'normal' not changed in any way or constipated.

When I consult the web (I know, I know, always a gamble in terms of reassurance!) I find vastly differing accounts of what's normal for a 2 week old - with some sites saying that as long as the baby is pooing once a day then there's no prob, others saying that a 2 week old should be doing 4 or 5 poos a day and yet other baby sites saying that a 2 week old should pretty much be pooing after every feed and therefore up to 12 times a day. If that's the case then it worries me?

Is it normal for a 2 week old to go from pooing several times a day to once a day?

I'm particularly mindful of it I think because she has cephalhematoma, a hemorrhage of blood between scalp and skull which forms a fluid filled sack on the back of her head from ventouse delivery which tho not common is apparently not something to worry about unless her behaviour changes and should re-absorb in time, but whenever they check it out they ask whether she is weeing and pooing frequently so I can't help worry now that there has been a change...hope I'm just being neurotic...? I know babies can often drop down to pooing once a day or less after about a month but is it a problem that there has been quite a reduction at just 2 weeks old?

sorry to fulfill the cliche of angsty poo-monitoring first time parent - but any advice greatly appreciated....

[Mazza6]

Dear Hello Sailor,

I bet by the time I have posted this message you little one has finally pooed. Don't worry this does happen, there are some breast fed babies I have come across (but they were three months) who had not pooed for four days! This does seem extreme though.

Unfortunately with my little one at the moment I have the opposite problem and he has had diarrhoea for days! Off to the doctors tomorrow...

All the best

[Pickle]

It's perfectly normal for breastfed babies to poo less than once a day - breastmilk is digested very efficiently and there's not a lot of waste product, so don't worry too much if you go a day without a dirty nappy. Wet nappies are a great sign that she is hydrated - the other thing to check is that her fontanelle (soft spot at the top of her head) isn't depressed.

With anything to do with small babies though... if you really are worried get her checked out. There's no harm, the doctors/midwives don't mind, and if it gives you peace of mind it's the best thing you can do.

As an extreme example of the poo thing - my daughter, once past the tar poo stage, then didn't poo for 2 whole weeks! Obviously I had her checked out as it did seem a bit extreme, but she was fine. She was seen by a doctor at Kings a couple of times who reassured me, while giving me a gentle "warning" to expect a bit of an explosion eventually. He was right, the babygro she was wearing that day ended up in the bin ;-)

P x

[littleEDfamily]

We are no strangers to strange pooing patterns. Our elder daughter regularly went poo free for a week or so, and I think 10 days was the record, and boy was it impressive when it finally came! With the little one, when she was exclusively breastfed, we'd find some days she would poo repeatedly and then skip the occasional day or two as well. Doesn't sound like anything to worry about to me, and the HVs I mentioned it to never batted an eyelid.

[candj]

Agree with every one above that it's completely normal. My exclusively breast fed 10 week old currently only poos about once every 4-7 days and the record for us was also 10 days. He went from pooing at every nappy change to this pattern overnight at around 5 weeks which did slightly concern me.

Just make sure your little one's tummy is soft, they have plenty of wet nappies and are not in any discomfort. My gp also told me that if you eat a load of fruit that it does affect your breast milk and this has worked for us. Certainly makes for easier nappy changing!

[hellosailor]

thanks everyone for your replies, that's really good to know!

x

[Doulady]

Just in case you're still in doubt I can confirm what everyone above has said - not all babies are the same and therefore you're bound to read conflicting accounts of whats "normal" (although after every feed I'd actually be quite worried about!) The general rule of thumb that midwives go by is anything from 3 a day to one every three days although not even this is usual for every baby. Some just do one nappy busting poo a week! It's also very normal for a baby's pattern to change occasionally. The main thing is that she is weeing regularly, which she obviously is - hurray!

[Saffron]

The consultant at King's told hubby and me breastfed babies are never truly constipated. He also said the same baby could one day do for example 7 poos, then no poo for 7 days, and this is totally normal. Our poo-free record was 16 days. Then one Saturday afternoon I could hear hubby running down the hallway shouting, 'Get a bucket-- she's doing a poo!'

Also, I could tell when a 'poo day' was approaching b/c when Little Saff was b/fing she would get really squirmy, kicking her legs and pumping her arms. As far as wet nappies, we were told to expect 8-10/day, but Little Saff only ever did around 6 wet nappies a day, and this is normal too.

xx