Your Baby Hasn't Pooped? Facts To Know Before Contacting A Doctor!

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Poop isn’t something that people like to think about, let alone making it a topic of the dinner table conversation. But once you have a baby, this changes drastically. It is pretty easy to get worked up about your little one’s bowel movements. Is your angel pooping too much? Or not enough? Is it too often? Does the color look okay? Is the flow alright? Have you often found yourself asking these questions? If yes, then you know what we are talking about.

For the first-time moms, figuring out the diaper-changing routine may seem like a herculean task. And, if the baby does not poop at all, the worry about his/her health can take up a lot of your mind space. After all, it is your angel’s well-being that matters the most. Here is a good news for you. Your little one may be doing just fine. It is normal for a breastfed baby to go for a few days without pooping. As long as your angel is still feeding and gaining weight, you might not have any reason to stress (1).

If you still have some doubts, don’t worry because we have your back. Here, we will break down and explain in-depth the different aspects that might be bothering you.

In This Article

How Often Should Your Little One Poop?

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There is no simple answer that exists for this particular question. Mostly, because it depends on your little one’s age. Also, no two babies have an identical pooping pattern. The diet plays a key role here. Generally, newborns who are breastfed poop more frequently as compared to the formula-fed babies. Truth be told, they might poop each time they eat something. It is normal for babies to poop somewhere around five to six times in a day. However, some can even go up to seven to eight times. And, then there are little infants who might get to business only on alternate days (2).

However, with time, the pooping frequency might go down and the sudden drop in the bowel movement can worry quite a lot of parents. But, this occurrence is pretty normal for breastfed babies as the mother’s milk matures over time. A mom’s milk is well-balanced and the munchkin’s digestive system is pretty good so there is not much residue (3). But, the important thing is that the stool should be soft and the child should continue eating properly.

In a baby’s poop, there is usually a huge amount of liquid content, especially before six months of age. This is because the exclusive source of nutrients for these little infants is milk. For formula-fed babies, the stool looks like you have mixed a jar of mustard with cottage cheese. While it looks mostly the same for breastfed babies, the liquid content is a lot more. Also, the milk curds present in the poop are much smaller and finer (4).

How Do You Figure If It’s Constipation?

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Many parents get worked up if their little one has a strained and painful expression while passing stools, assuming that it is constipation. However, that is not usually the case. At such a young age, the infant doesn’t really understand the contraction of abdominal muscles and the push. Plus, he/she doesn’t have the gravity on his/her side either.

Constipation doesn’t only mean that there is an absence of stool. But, if the poop formed looks similar to pellets, it is an indicator of constipation. In fact, pebble-like firm poop means that it is time to consult the doctor (5).