Introduction to constipation:

As long as your child is in diapers, every single bowel movement will be right there for you to see when her diaper is changed. During the diaper years, the stools undergo several changes. The first bowel movements are the thick, sticky, tarry meconium stools formed while the baby is still inside you. During the first week these give way, in breastfed babies, to soft, yellow, breast milk stools. These usually look like yellow mustard with little seeds. By the time a baby is one week old, she has an average of 8 to 10 of these pleasant (as stools go) stools each day. Formula-fed stools are often tan or yellow at this stage, and a little firmer than breast milk stools. Either way, there are many dirty diapers!

For most breastfed babies, the number drops to about 4 per day by 4 weeks old (although many kids have a different pattern). Formula-fed babies usually stool less often at this age, and the stools do not change much with time until solid foods are introduced (because unlike breast milk, formula doesn't change over time).

By 8 weeks old, the average drops to 1 per day. Most formula-fed babies will not go less often than daily, but many breastfed kids will poop even less often than this. I know many babies who only go every three days. If a happy formula-fed baby goes 4 days, or a breastfed baby goes 7 days without a stool, I recommend that he or she be checked by a pediatrician (sooner if the child seems to be in pain). Still, it can be completely normal to go only once every eight days -- as long as the stool is soft when it comes out. Breast milk is an amazing food that leaves very little in the way of waste.

Beginning solids usually produces a noticeable change in the character of the stools. They may be either softer or firmer, but they will likely smell worse (kids also smile and laugh more at this age, more than making up for the unpleasantness). Most children's intestines are very responsive to the foods they eat.

Toilet learning may also result in a significant change in the timing and consistency of stools.

Also, at school-age, when children begin going to the bathroom alone (and parents are less aware of the frequency and consistency of stools), some children may go through another period of constipation.

What is constipation?

When a child is constipated, the stool in the intestines has backed up more than it should. The longer stool sits in the colon, the more water is absorbed back into the body. When a child is constipated, the stool tends to be hard and passing it tends to be painful.

Who gets constipation?

Anyone can become constipated. Common times include during the introduction of solid foods, during toilet training, or when fluid intake is decreased.

What are the symptoms of constipation?

Babies will normally strain from time to time to move the stool along through the intestines. If you want to do something when babies grunt, push, or strain, try picking them up to get gravity to help them in their efforts, or try holding the knees against the chest to help them "squat" -- the natural position for bowel movements. Straining is usually normal. Crying while straining may be a sign of constipation. Hard stools are often a sign of constipation.