Is my breastfed baby constipated?

[piximamason]

My 12 week old baby has become very irregular. He used to have a bowel movement daily but now is only having them about every two days. When he does finally have one they are very large and VERY fowl smelling. It does seem to bother him at times but nothing real bad. I haven't changed my diet but did give him an herbal remedy called kids tummy helper. It has fennel,chamomile,gentian marshmellow root, cramp bark, licorice, ginger, and silk tassel leaf in it. I only gave him two smaller then recommended doses but have discontinued it because I'm wondering if it is the problem. It doesn't seem like those herbs could affect him like that but I don't know what else it could be. What do you guys think should I try the herbs again in hope that they will help??? All suggestion are greatly appreciated.

[Breathe]

As long as his stool continues to be soft and he is not in discomfort, he is not technically constipated. "Constipation" refers to hard stools which are difficult to pass. It is very common for BF babies to begin spacing out their b.m.s -- at 7 wks my ds started having one b.m. every 10-14 days! Of course this did concern me, but his stool remained soft and he was never in pain when passing them.

Until he started solids . . . but that's another story . . . so I'd not worry if I were you.

Oh, and be careful with those herbs -- I wanted to try some herbs with ds but my naturopath said that even herbs which cause peristalsis are habit-forming. None of those you mentioned ring a bell, but maybe you should ask an expert (not me!).

Good luck!

[Breathe]

Oh, and I should have mentioned that if you wanted to try cutting ALL dairy from your diet (read labels carefully and ask lots of questions when you eat out), it couldn't hurt, and you may find that his b.m.s won't smell as bad. I know that if babies have a hard time digestig something, it can slow them down, and dairy is a VERY common culprit -- (it was for my ds -- caused awful gas -- but cutting it did NOT speed up his poops -- that appeared to be normal for him!).

[piximamason]

Thanks for the advice! Thats what I was thinking, that it may just be normal for him. I am a long time veg and I have been considering cutting out dairy products anyways so this may be the extra push I need to finally do it. I'm a little concerned about making sure he gets everything he needs though. I know you can be vegan and bf I just don't know if I have the knowledge to do it correctly. My doctor is always on me about getting enough calcium for myself while bfing. Do you have any suggestions? thanks again!!!!!

[Breathe]

I try to eat leafy greens every day (kale, chard, or spinach) and I do take a cal/mag supplement in *addition* to my multi-vitamin (which has 1/3 of my daily cal req.). Calcium-enriched OJ and grapefruit juices are also good sources. I think it's really do-able . . . I've often thought that the dairy industry has us totally SNOWED into thinking we must have cow's milk to get our calcium!

I bet you could do an internet search for a list of other calcium-rich foods . . . hmmm, I may do that myself!

God luck!