How long can a 7-month-old go without pooping?
In this Q&A, the 7-month-old baby hasn’t pooped in 14 days! Why is this, and is it something to be concerned about?
Mom’s Question:
My 7-month baby has not been pooping in already 14 days. For the last three months, he has been pooping very rarely. He is still breastfeeding, and we give him some food: oat cereal, fruit, and vegetables, but not a lot.
We went to the doctor; he said that he was ok. But I’m not so sure about this; we tried everything natural and sometimes suppository. But he still goes very rarely … we are so worried!!
Please give us any advice!!
Dana
Ps: When he was four months, we gave him some formula for one day, then we gave up, but since then, he doesn’t go regularly (he was fine till four months, then after formula, something went wrong)
Baby Not Pooping For 2 Weeks – Normal Or Not?
How long can a baby go without pooping?
I completely understand that you are worried. For any grownup, imagining to pass motion every 14 days sounds pretty crazy, of course. But breastfed babies can actually go for two weeks or even more without pooping, and it is completely normal! This is because breastmilk is very easily digested, and very little waste is produced.
How to Know if your baby is constipated
When your son does pass stools, is it very hard or painful for him? That could indicate that he is constipated. If not – i.e., if his stools are soft and he is not in pain, I’d say your Dr is completely right! Since your son is “so old” and still mainly breastfed (which is great!), he is very likely to digest almost all the nutrition he gets.
At around 4 months, many babies seem to need more food (maybe the reason why you gave him formula), and two of our kids (breastfed) started pooping every 14 days at this age. No constipation, nothing wrong, just no poop, which seems very strange the first time you encounter it!
Since your baby is now 7 months old and needs even more food than a 4-month-old, I’m not very surprised that he passes stools rarely. The little bit that does come out is probably mainly related to the solid foods you give him.
So, unless your baby is truly constipated (find symptoms of constipation here), don’t worry! Instead, enjoy this “clean” time”; it is doomed to stop as soon as your boy starts eating more solid foods.
Introducing Solids to a Breastfed Baby
Since your baby is already pooping so seldom, you might want to consider which types of foods you introduce to him. Oatmeal in stead of rice cereal is great, and some fruits and vegetables are better than others to avoid constipation. You can find more inspiration on solids foods that soften stools here.
It is quite common that breastfed babies become constipated with the introduction of solids, so take it slowly. On the other hand, after the age of 6 months, babies do benefit from being introduced to iron-rich foods, such as iron-fortified baby cereal, pureed meats and pureed beans, to avoid iron deficiency.
I hope this helps!
Paula
More Babies With Infrequent Bowel Movements
Find comments to this question below.
Research References
Courdent M, Beghin L, Akré J, Turck D. Infrequent stools in exclusively breastfed infants. Breastfeed Med. 2014 Nov;9(9):442-5. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2014.0050. Epub 2014 Sep 22. PMID: 25243969.
Paula Dennholt founded Easy Baby Life in 2006 and has been a passionate parenting and pregnancy writer since then. Her parenting approach and writing are based on studies in cognitive-behavioral models and therapy for children and her experience as a mother and stepmother. Life as a parent has convinced her of how crucial it is to put relationships before rules. She strongly believes in positive parenting and a science-based approach.
Paula cooperates with a team of pediatricians who assist in reviewing and writing articles.
Since I switched my son to 1 or 2 solid meals a day, he started pooping irregularly. Now he is eight months and poops about once every 14 days. I’ve gone to the doctor and gotten a poop softener which sometimes works, but I hate using it. He is also breastfed. He has had a few constipated poops in the beginning but now seems to poop without pain. I’ve switched my diet to goat milk and no gluten, and it hasn’t seemed to help. He doesn’t seem to be uncomfortable, and I don’t notice him trying to go with nothing coming out. There is no stomach blockage that I can feel, and I’ve even checked with my pinky. I give him all organic pears, prunes, pear juice, probiotics, and homeopathic constipation drops, and still, he doesn’t go for 14 days. When he does go, it’s a lot, but only one time that day! I eat almost all organic foods: raw milk, cod liver oil, high-vitamin butter oil, and Kamboocha (for probiotics) to give him the best nutrients I can. Maybe he’s just absorbing it all? I’m going to try another natural doctor to see what he says, but it just worries me that he doesn’t go more frequently. It’s good to know I’m not the only one.
My little Jazmynn had the same pooping problem, she is also still breastfed, and she is now 7 months. The past week we introduced her to goat’s milk, and she loves it…and now she is pooping regularly, she drinks water throughout the day, too, and she is still breastfed, but I found that the goat’s milk really helped with the digestive system.
We have kind of a similar situation. Our daughter is now about 5 1/2 months, and she is exclusively breast-fed. Yet she only goes about every ten days (sometimes less, sometimes more). But when she does go, it’s a complete deluge. The other thing is that she seems uncomfortable (and hence CRANKY) for days before she finally lets it all out. Doc says she’s growing well and looking good, so there’s nothing to worry about, but it sure makes for long stressful days when she’s ornery and not getting her usually long solid naps.
Hello Dana, I’m not jumping the gun, but it wouldn’t hurt to suggest having your baby tested for Hirschsprung’s disease. This is a disorder of the colon in which certain nerve cells, known as ganglion cells, are absent, causing chronic constipation, especially in infants. This causes the part of the colon nearest to the anus not to contract, causing a blockage leading to excruciating discomfort and pain.
My baby is ten months old, breastfed, and eats 3-4 meals per day. Is the lack of bowel movements still okay? She goes every 6-8 days.
Hi,
It all depends on whether your baby appears to be constipated or not. If the meals are only a small part of the total intake, it isn’t strange, but if she mainly eats solid foods, it seems to be a bit unusual to go that seldom. Are the stools hard? Painful bowel movements?
If she seems to be OK and not constipated, then it is likely to be OK; otherwise, you might want to try to help her by adding, for example, more apricots, pears, prunes, etc. to her diet and less carrots and dairy products.
I hope this helps,
My 2 month old baby has not pooped on his own since he was 2 1/5 week old. Doctors say to swab him or use suppository we have tried that and he still doesn’t poop on his own. Why can we do. When we stimulate the butt area he poops buy without stimulation he does not poop. I am frustrated and so is Baby. Please help
Breastfed or formula fed? Breastfed babies can go about 2 weeks without pooping. When my girl was this young she didn’t poop everyday. I did also make sure I was drinking a lot of water.
I am bottle feeding, have been since he was born. He is now 2 months and 5 days and still does not poo on his own we use a glycerin suppossitory once a day usually at nights to empty his bowels.
So formula right? He still doesn’t need to go everyday. I don’t recommend a suppository everyday it can cause the sphincter to stop working properly. If he’s on formula having issues with pooping I recommend trying a different type. Dairy free, liquid not powder. These are the things that helped the baby I take care of.
He was on ready to feed then we switched him to formula. A peadiatrian recommended that we use the glycerin suppossitory. We tried changing his formula but no luck. Anyways thanks for the replies. I don’t think my point is getting across clearly. His doc has sent his file over to sick kids. We are just waiting on a call from them now. Point: he can poop on his own is just that he hast done so on his own since he was 2 weeks old and now he is 2 months pusing 3
Also if your baby is on solids make sure he/ she is drinking water with those solids. You can give him/ she prunes mixed in with formula or breast milk. After 6 months it’s safe to give water with food.
He is 2 months and 5 days old. He was just born July 2017 he is only on powder formula .
Sorry the Title said 7 months,
Still he doesn’t need to go everyday, ask a doctor but as long as he’s going every 3 days it’s fine. You might want to try a liquid formula I know that helped the little boy I care for.