Constipation

Most breastfeed babies don’t get constipated and should have regular bowel movements. Starting with the very first feeding, the colostrums will stimulate a bowel movement the same day and it will be black called meconium. It will be black for about three days after birth. Your baby will probably not have very many wet diapers because they are not getting much from the colostrum. Once your milk comes in, your baby should have at least six to eight wet diapers. As far as bowel movements, you baby should be having at least three to four a day. If your baby is having that many or more bowel movements a day, then that is a good sign that your baby is nursing well and getting enough milk.

About the third day after birth, your babies ‘poop’ will change to a color green and then a couple of days later it will be a mustard yellow. The ‘poop’ will be runny, but make sure that the amount or size of their ‘poop’ is at least the size of a quarter or bigger to help indicate that your baby is eating enough. Really pay attention to the color and consistency because if your baby’s ‘poop’ is still green and watery after about the fifth day after birth, then that means that your baby is not gaining weight well. You could be switching breasts to soon and your baby is not getting the high calorie hindmilk that is needs to put on weight.

As your baby gets older (4-6 weeks), he/she might not have as many bowel movements as they did when they were younger. Some babies will continue to have a bowel movement after every feeding, but some babies may have fewer. If your baby starts to have less then four bowel movements a day, it is nothing to worry about if your baby is continuing to gain weight. It is something to watch because it could be a sign that your baby is not getting enough hindmilk at feeding time. If your baby is not getting the hindmilk, then you need to make sure that your baby is emptying each breast at every feeding.

For babies from six months to a year to only have one bowel movement a week is not uncommon as long as your baby is on top of its weight. If your baby’s bowel movements are hard and dry, then he/she could be constipated. So you might need to talk to the baby’s doctors and also make sure that your baby is getting what it needs to help it have healthy bowel movements. If your baby is older and gets constipated, you can try molasses water or warm suger water to see if that will help get things moving. You don't need to much molasses to make it work. Just put enough in to make the water a light brown color. I also used this when my babies had upset stomachs.

I have never had to deal with constipation, but my sisters little girl was always constipated once she stopped nursing. For children two and older there is this stuff called liquid calcium that my sister used for her little girl. You get it at any health food store and it comes in flavors such as cherry or grape, etc. You need to start out giving them a small amount so if it works well it won't make their 'poop' to runny. My sister really liked and it helped her little girl out to where she could have regular bowel movements. If your babies or toddlers get constipated don't wait to long to help them out. They get in alot of pain and very uncomfortable. There is always suppositories, but make sure that you talk to your doctor before you use them.