what to do with a 3mth old baby if she did not poo

[helywong]

I got a 3mth old baby girl and she normally poo once a day. Since last week, she changed and almost 2 days she did not poo andshe can only poo a bit (hard small ping pong ball size) when she did.

I want to know if this is normal? anyone can advise.

thx

[shuchisingh]

yes.. they can sometimes go for a week without poop. pretty normal.

exclusively bf babies poop more easily and a lot but they can go without poop as well. also, sometimes some formulas (lactose-free etc) can cause conctipation as well. if you are worried - just check with your doc if you need to change the formula.

[carang]

you don't say if she is breast fed, formula fed or a combination of the two...makes a difference.

[carang]

also, beware of dehydration in this very hot weather! with such hard poop it sounds to me like she's dehydrated.

[lesliefu]

if you are giving formula I would try to dilute it, so that she is drinking more water which will make it easier for her to poo..if she is breast fed then perhaps there is something in your diet that is affecting her - if she will, you can try giving her just plan water to hydrate her - my daughter didn't like water, so i always had to dilute her milk to get her to drink more water....

[helywong]

many thanks for the advice.

My baby girl is formula-fed (nan-ha 1) so I guess she's probably a bit dehydrated this while under this hot weather. i did give her water once or twice in bewteen milks everyday (normally 10-20mls), Is that enough or how often/how much water should i give her in a day?

I will try to dilute her formula a bit so to make her drink more water in this way.

thx

[FutureHKmom]

If it's only been 2 days, I wouldn't worry yet. I think you can wait up to 5 days or a week before you need to worry. Unfortuantely, I can't give advice on the water intake as I breastfed and I didn't give water to my son until almost 5 or 6 months and then he didn't like it so didn't drink much at all. Other things you could do, is gently massage your baby's stomach (around the belly button) in a clockwise circular motion a few times a day (not after you feed her though). Also, you could try to apply some vaseline on her butt to (sorry to be so graphic) make it easier for the poo to slide out.

[mela]

They change from month to month so I wouldn't worry. Diluting formula can be dangerous as the baby might not be getting all the nutrition it needs at least that's what the label on my formula says. I's just wait - my doc told me that they can go for a week or so like this and it's nothing to worry about - but if you are just call your doc's the nurse in a couple of days and ask for some advice.
My baby went from 2 poos a day to 1 every 4 days and then back to once day - all while I was bfeeding!