**constipation** 7 week old help please!!

[Jess07]

Hiya ladies!!

So my little lady is 7 weeks old today, she was born by c section at 37 weeks as she stopped growing at 34, she was teeny weeny just 40cm long and 5lbs.

Ever since she was born she's been constipated, straining all day bless her.

She's been to the drs twice , at first we watered down feeds ( no improvement ) now we give her 6 oz water throughout the day, no improvement.

She has 2 poos a day now but they are very very hard like an adult poo and huge sometimes with blood as it hurts her inside. The lining also comes out when she goes to the toilet, dr said from straining so hard.


Soooo before she has medicine which I'm hoping to avoid , anyone have experience???

I hAve to help her poo and it's getting her and me upset now.

She's on aptimal comfort, changing her to another comfort brand this morning, which one??? SMA or cow and gate?

Thank u for reading my long post!!!

 

[Jess07]

Forgot to mention she's a very hungry baby as came out obv starving ! She has 5oz 6/7 times a day and guzzles the lot x

 

[H16]

Avoid SMA at all costs in my opinion. SMA made my daughter really badly constipated it was horrendous. Have you been recommended to get the comfort milk rather than the normal stuff? Just asking as I would try HiPP next if it was me and not sure if they do comfort milk? Also after changing to a new formula it can take 1-2 weeks for the effects of old formula to wear off so give it a bit of time to work before assuming it won't help xx

 

[Jess07]

We've been told to stick to comfort but I don't know if that's right? I have no idea what to do ! I haven't heard of hipp is that one of the best ones? X

 

[H16]

HiPP has got rave reviews, it is organic too so that is a bonus. My daughter did really well on Aptamil so I will be trying that with my little boy when he arrives but if I have any problems with him on it I would change to HiPP in a heartbeat on the recommendation of loads of Mummies
Also been told it is cheaper than Aptamil which is a bonus!

Even though comfort milk is meant to resolve colic issues, constipation etc I have seen a few cases of it making situation worse as it is so much thicker than normal formula (apparently). But saying that my daughter has never had comfort milk and had constipation on normal SMA Gold powder. I changed her formula to another non comfort milk, gave her 3-4 oz cooled boiled water each day and also on the recommendation of my midwife I got a fresh orange and a sterilised teaspoon and squeezed juice onto the spoon and added it to her water. They are not meant to recommend that so it was off the records advice but basically if baby has really terrible constipation and you do the orange trick for a couple of days (no more than 3 teaspoons in 24 hours and for no longer than 2-3 days in a row) then the acidity helps loosen their bowels. I tried it with my daughter as she was in that much pain she cried and cried all day and after doing that trick she did a nice soft poo whilst waiting for old formula to work its way out of her system. I recommended it to a friend recently with similar issues and it worked for her too so always worth a shot if you are desperate xxx

 

[babyscotcher]

Comfort milk is thicker which might be causing or making the constipation worse. I was told by the health visitor that the odd bottle of ready made formula is good for getting babies to go for a poo, so might be worth a go. X

 

[Mummybexee]

Every baby is different - ready made constipates my 3 week old

I'd suggest trying something like Hipp aswell. Clearly comfort milk isn't working.

What formula works for 1 - doesn't work for another so its pretty unreliable asking for recommendations on milk brands. You may have to find out for yourself. Not what you wanna hear I get that

Have you asked GP for lactulose or anything else?

 

[Browneyed Girl]

I would try her on normal formula unless there's a specific reason she's on comfort milk. There's no real evidence to back the use of these comfort or anti reflux milks - if they were miracle solutions all formula would be made the same! My lo is 8 weeks old and we use Hipp Organic, he has no problems with constipation. I've also heard people say that the ready made cartons can help little ones go so there may be something in that. Hope you find a solution xx

 

[Mummybexee]

I would try her on normal formula unless there's a specific reason she's on comfort milk. There's no real evidence to back the use of these comfort or anti reflux milks - if they were miracle solutions all formula would be made the same! My lo is 8 weeks old and we use Hipp Organic, he has no problems with constipation. I've also heard people say that the ready made cartons can help little ones go so there may be something in that. Hope you find a solution xx

Take it you havnt had a reflux baby ! Having been through the reflux battle and still doing it now at 18 months I can assure you reflux milk is actually proven to help babies. That's why paediatricians advise it for formula fed babies ! Reflux milk helped my son overnight. You only have to look at reflux forums to see the success rates by parents who have refluxing children

 

[Browneyed Girl]

I would second lactulose as well, my nephew had the same issue and was prescribed it which sorted it out. His constipation was caused by anti reflux formula xx

 

[Browneyed Girl]

I would try her on normal formula unless there's a specific reason she's on comfort milk. There's no real evidence to back the use of these comfort or anti reflux milks - if they were miracle solutions all formula would be made the same! My lo is 8 weeks old and we use Hipp Organic, he has no problems with constipation. I've also heard people say that the ready made cartons can help little ones go so there may be something in that. Hope you find a solution xx

Take it you havnt had a reflux baby ! Having been through the reflux battle and still doing it now at 18 months I can assure you reflux milk is actually proven to help babies. That's why paediatricians advise it for formula fed babies ! Reflux milk helped my son overnight. You only have to look at reflux forums to see the success rates by parents who have refluxing children

My baby was has been diagnosed with silent reflux so I am sympathetic. I know there are prescribed formulas which can help but my GP was of the opinion that there's not enough evidence to support the ones you can buy in the supermarket x

 

[JD.Deedee]

To be fair i'd ask for a referral to a paediatrician.. Hipp is a very light milk opposed to sma to digest.. Lactulose should help softening so if that's the medicine please do try... 6 oz of water is far far too much for a newborn and adding water to formula more than what's recommended can cause malnutrition... Don't faff about with doctors trying to figure out what's wrong go to a specialist..

 

[MrsS143]

My HV advised strongly against SMA
So anything but that i guess
They said it was terrible for causing constipation x

 

[H16]

Ignore post. Accident.

 

[Lulu90]

Luca has been suffering terribly with constipation, so I feel your pain.

SMA made things a million time worse and was strongly advised to not switch to comfort as its thicker and will clog him up more. We're on aptamil and even on that he goes every 3 or 4 days, but he isn't in pain anymore. Hear great things about hipp too. Having a warm bath and tummy rubs help Luca go xx

 

[kumber]

HiPP, HiPP and more HiPP!!! It is amazing stuff, it sorted out colic, constipation and hunger issues with us! I would avoid hungry baby, it's just full of filler and no extra nutrients. Comfort milk is a bit of a gimmick too imo, like others have said it's thicker so can make constipation worse. HiPP is a much thinner milk and it being organic means it's not got as much (if any) filler rubbish the other brands do. Only downside is that you can't always get it in supermarkets and you can only buy 2 at a time (in our area anyway).

 

[buttonbear]

Please stop giving your baby water or diluting formula etc it is incredibly dangerous for them, they get enough fluids through milk be it formula or breastmilk. Id get something from the gp like lactulose to help little one rather than self medicating.

Heres a quick link I pulled but there is more evidence around like on the WHO websites etc

http://www.babycenter.com/408_when-can-babies-drink-water_1368488.bc

 

[H16]

I don't see how you can say giving boiled water in small amounts to a baby short term is dangerous? My midwife and GP both told me to give my daughter 3oz boiled water a day when she had constipation - surely it is illegal for medical staff to tell you to do something that is dangerous for your baby?! I wouldn't dilute formula either though as it says set amounts of formula per oz water for a reason.

 

[buttonbear]

Babies don't need water there are specific amounts in the milk for a reason, you risk water intoxication at worst but also it stops or hinders the correct amount of nutrients being absorbed. There is new evidence of this but of course some Drs etc are still old school. Just because they are medical staff doesn't mean they are always right.

Didn't you see on the news about the baby that died recently as its parents where diluting its milk/giving water

 

[Lulu90]

I was also told to give Luca boiled water for his constipation. I was told only an oz throughout the day though. My problem is, he loves water and sucks the bottle dry and screams for more, so we've stopped giving it to him xx