Now that this issue has been brought up, I wish to ask a question about
the infrequent stools that I'm not sure has been discussed on Lactnet
before.  We all know that as long as the baby is thriving and the stools
are soft, the interval between stools can be several days (if I recall,
the range went from about 3 to as long as 21 days) in a fully
breastfed baby after about 4 weeks of age.

A number of the mothers with babies that stool infrequently, although
reassured by me that the interval is normal, still raise a concern about
their baby's behavior prior to passing these stools.  They describe the
type of fussing and gassiness that Len described, usually for several
hours or so prior to passing the (enormous) stool.  The behavior is
relieved until another few days have passed and it's time for another
stool.

My questions to this experienced group is:  How frequently do you
encounter this kind of complaint among infrequently stooling otherwise
healthy bf babes?  Have you found any difference in the babies who stool
infrequently without these symptoms as compared with those who do exhibit
these symptoms?  I want to know whether I can continue to simply reassure
the mothers that the stooling pattern is normal and reassure them about
the apparent discomfort their baby is having, or whether I need to look
for other causes in babies that exhibit the discomfort.  TIA, Alicia
Dermer, MD, IBCLC.