Nikki Lee writes:  
"  Remember about the normal variation in adults: some  people poop a little
 every time they use the toilet, others go once a week. I've  seen a baby with
 sufficient intake and weight gain (3/4 ounce per day)  stool once weekly
 (after he cleared his meconium).
     If the baby is acting fine, and waking to ask to  eat frequently, and
 smiling, and peeing, and waking to look around and interact  with mother, then
 what can one do if the baby isn't stooling according to  expectations?    Babies
 never pretend to be well to  make their mothers feel good.
     I have been told by pediatric practitioners that  very smelly flatus (the
 kind where mom rushes to the baby, ready to change that  dirty diaper.....and
 the diaper is clean) means that the poop will come. I have  seen this
 clinically also."
   

The point I might have missed making is that I in no way believe that these are normal variations--they are unhealthy variations. I also think that they are the reason that we as adults fail to recognize that infant stooling patterns are significant--b/c we want to believe it is okay for us to have infrequent bowel movements. Lots of babies will develop excema and seem to be prefectly happy, too. Should we assume that the excema is not a sign of imbalance b/c the mother is not disturbed by it? Yes, the poop will come eventaully--but what is healthy about having it sit inside the body for days at a time? There are many things to be done when the baby isn't stooling normally (or an adult isn't for that matter)--depending on the cause. Sometimes eliminating certain foods, have bodywork done or homeopathy will cause an immediate change to regular stooling. If treatments that bring balance to the body increase stooling frequency, then I am convinced that this is the normal pattern.
Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA