Many newborns have at least 1 or 2 bowel movements a day. By the end of the first week, your baby may have as many as 5 to 10 a day. Your baby may pass a stool after each feeding. The number of bowel movements may go down as your baby eats more and matures during that first month.
Some newborns poop five times a day; others only poop every five days. If your newborn poops less frequently, but they are eating regularly and their stool is soft and appears typical, then that's normal for your baby. However, if they go more than a week without pooping, contact your pediatrician.
Experts recommend that you change your newborn's diaper every two to three hours, or as often as needed. Why? Your little one may urinate as often as every one to three hours, and have between two and five bowel movements a day.
According to Dr. Pittman, it can be normal for a breastfed baby to have one bowel movement each week—but it's also normal for them to poop after every feeding. (In other words, as long as a breastfed baby is pooping at least once a week, you're probably good.)
During the first month of life, stooling less than once a day might mean your newborn isn't eating enough. However, breastfed infants may go several days or even a week between bowel movements, using every drop they eat to make more baby, not poop.
Your newborn should have a bowel movement at least once a day during the first month. If they don't, call your doctor, as the baby may not be eating enough. After that, a formula-fed infant should have one at least one a day, but breastfed infants can go several days or even a week without one.
“There are very few circumstances where I'd recommend waking a sleeping baby to change their diaper,” says Mochoruk. Unless your baby has an open sore or serious diaper rash that requires monitoring, let them sleep, she says.
Don't panic. Because breast milk is digested differently than formula, it's not unusual for a breastfed baby to pee regularly (creating six to eight wet diapers a day) but not poop for several days.
There's no 'normal' when it comes to how often babies poo – breastfed babies will sometimes go several days, or even a week without having a poo (this is more common in babies aged 6 weeks or older). You'll quickly get used to your baby's bowel movements, so you'll be able to tell what's normal for them.
Do breastfed babies need to be burped? In general, breastfed babies don't need as much burping as bottle-fed babies because they tend to swallow less air when feeding. In fact, some very efficient nursers don't need to be burped at all. But some breastfed babies definitely do need to be burped.
Flexed Position to Help Stool Release for Babies:
Help your baby by holding the knees against the chest. This is like squatting for your baby. This is the natural position for pushing out a stool. It's hard to have a stool lying down.
Increasing milk supply
By offering the other breast when the first is finished, and repeating breast compressions if needed, your baby will get the correct balance of foremilk and hindmilk automatically. Using both breasts when needed (and sometimes three or four!) will drive up and maintain your supply.
If you're worried about your baby not pooping in two days, don't freak out just yet. Not pooping for two days is normal, especially for a breastfed infant. It could be due to a change in formula or adding formula to your baby's diet.
To summarize, it may be normal for a baby to go 24 hours or even a couple of days without pooping. As long as they are gaining weight, have an appetite, and are passing stools easily and painlessly, then they are likely alright.
Most colors are normal but call your doctor if your baby's poop is white, black or has blood in it.
If constipation does not improve, a small amount of 100% prune, apple, or pear juice may be added to breastmilk in a bottle as long as your baby is older than 1 month. The sugars in fruit juices can draw water into the intestines to help baby pass the stool.
Breastfed babies often pass more than 6 stools per day. Until 2 months of age, they may pass a stool after each feeding. But, if stools suddenly increase in number and looseness, suspect diarrhea. If it lasts for 3 or more stools, the baby has diarrhea.
Conclusion: Exclusively breastfed infants produced more stools than exclusively formula fed infants during the first two months and more liquid stools during the first three. Infrequent stools were 3.5 times more likely in the breastfed infants.
Constipation is uncommon in infancy, particularly in breastfed babies, but it can happen. Breastfed babies tend to have fewer episodes of constipation and diarrhea than formula-fed babies because breast milk is easier than formula to digest.
It's quite common for your baby to become constipated when they start having first infant formula (which is harder to digest than breast milk) or eating processed foods. This is because their body is learning how to cope with digesting new things.
Infant dyschezia is a specific condition. Another name for infant dyschezia is grunting baby syndrome. Infants with dyschezia appear to have difficulty pooping, but they have no signs of constipation. They might strain, grunt or cry for 10 to 30 minutes before they poop, but when the poop comes out, it's normal.