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AIBU?

Newborn Bowel Problem URGENT ADVICE NEEDED

70 replies

rosinaboudicca · 06/05/2016 22:59

Need some advice re my 8 week old granddaughter. She was born healthy 9lb baby and was passing stools normally until around 3 weeks old. She is breastfed and feeds well.Then, suddenly, around 4 weeks old she has stopped passing stools regularly and, for past 4 weeks, has only been passing stools every 6-7 days. She is gaining weight handsomely and appears healthy. But she is continually fretting and frantic whilst awake and desperately trying to pass stools and red-faced, crying and generally unhappy. It is affecting her sleep too as she is passing foul stenching gas. When she does pass a stool, it is literally everywhere. It's as though it has all built up and blasted out everywhere. We have taken her to GP 2-3 times now and they are not in the least bit concerned. But mum is seriously concerned because her feeding is now deteriorating also because when she does feed, it all triggers her bowel and so the cycle begins again. Screaming, shallow breathing, red face, drawing up knees and unable to feed well. Mum is becoming agitated and concerned all is not well, but we have been sent home from the doctors yet again yesterday with some powder form laxative. Doctor seems to think baby is constipated, but her stools are not hard, they are normal consistency when they do appear.

We are at a loss at what to do. Anyone else experienced this?

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Turbinaria · 06/05/2016 23:04

I'd ask the GP for her to be urgently referred to a paediatrician because at that age they should be pooing daily. hirsprung disease presents with similar symptoms

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Gileswithachainsaw · 06/05/2016 23:05

this sounds pretty similar to dd2. although dd2 was ff.

all she did was grunt and strain and appear to struggle to poo except when she did it wasn't hard it was just stinky and acidic and made you gag. she was reluctant to feed too as she would just start straining akd grunting and crying in pain.

turned out she was intolerant to cows milk protein.

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Bluecarrot · 06/05/2016 23:07

I'd prob turn up at gps and refuse to leave we were given an emergency appointment with a different Dr.
Or if you are in England i think there's a service you can call that will help determine if you need a&e? 111 maybe? (It's not avail here)

. Poor little girl :(

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AlexandraLeaving · 06/05/2016 23:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Bluecarrot · 06/05/2016 23:08

Would also point out that some bf babies only poo every 3-4 days and this is still in the normal spectrum.

Think the pooing every day is more formula fed babies..

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orchidnap · 06/05/2016 23:09

Fully breastfed babies can go up to 10 days without pooing and it still being completely normal.

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DailyFaily · 06/05/2016 23:10

It's not unusual for an exclusively breastfed baby to poop one every few days. The blast is affectionately known in mothering circles as a poonami. The rest sounds a bit colicky - it would be worth getting the attachment checked to make sure the baby isn't taking in too much air. Massage, winding, infacol etc might help.

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pearlylum · 06/05/2016 23:11

It is not unusual for a breastfed baby to poo infrequently. Tuebinara, you are wrong.
Breastmilk is absorbed so readily that there is not so much waste created as a formula fed baby.
In the early weeks, your baby may poo during or after every feed. On average, she will do four poos a day in the first week. This will slowly settle down and her bowels will work out their own routine. You may then find that she poos at a similar time each day. "

After the first few weeks, some breastfed babies will only poo once every few days or once a week. This is not a problem

www.babycentre.co.uk/a551926/your-babys-poo-whats-normal-and-whats-not#ixzz47uqtwepF

OP there may be something else going on here. What you describe all sound typical of colic, and she is exactly the age at which many babies develop it.

I suspect the discomfort is a result of colic rather than constipation.

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DailyFaily · 06/05/2016 23:12

Sorry, meant to say I hope she's okay and baby's mum is managing, persistent crying is just awful x

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Xenadog · 06/05/2016 23:12

Someone with more knowledge than me is sure to come along and give great advice but I would be taking the baby back to the GP if you aren't happy and also contacting the health visitor. I would go with your DD to the GP so there's two adults in the room to ask questions/remember info.

It could be constipation and when my DD suffered from this when she was a couple of months old I was advised to give her cooled boiled water with brown sugar dissolved in it - worked a treat - I'm aware this is now frowned upon but I was desperate to get her to just go!

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rosinaboudicca · 06/05/2016 23:13

Thanks for the pointers everyone. I've breast fed three children and mum already has an older child whom she breastfed and between us, we've never experienced a wait of a full week for a stool. I think if baby was settled, it wouldn't be a concern but baby is visibly in discomfort and it appears to be troubling her pretty much around the clock.

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Discopanda · 06/05/2016 23:14

If the mum drinks fennel tea it'll pass into the breastmilk and help aid baby's digestion.

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pearlylum · 06/05/2016 23:15

OP is the baby like this constantly or is she more more upset at certain times of the day.
Although colic can be constant and relentless and go on for weeks, often it appears in the evening.
My DD was like this from 4pm onwards every day for 6 hours, DS started his at 10pm. Babies will try to feed for comfort, but as they have overly full and gassy tummies this often makes things worse.

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starlight78 · 06/05/2016 23:16

My son had this. Exactly the same problem, I was really confused and desperate. Luckily I mentioned it to my son's paediatrician (son was being followed up for something else) who diagnosed him with cows milk allergy ( yes they can get it through breastmilk as well). He was prescribed soya based milk which he did really well on and subsequently we moved him over to alpro junior as that apparently tastes better.
Most GPs unfortunately are not aware the cows milk can cause constipation. I remember when I mentioned it to my GP he simply dismissed it and laughed, even when my child was diagnosed by the consultant. I am not saying your child has this but would be worthwhile considering it. People tend to associate food allergies with diarrhoea, but it can go the other way too. My son's used to have 'explosions' after straining and crying however, it was always extremely foul smelling and runny instead of being hard. Hope your child feels better soon.Smile

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pearlylum · 06/05/2016 23:17

My babies could go 10 days without a poo at this age.

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Shirkingfromhome · 06/05/2016 23:19

If it is colic, there are some really good massages which help ease the discomfort and help them pass stools comfortably. Have a look on you tube for tutorials.

FWIW, I have a one month old who has just started with colic, he poos roughly every other day but is quite distressed with trapped wind most nights. I've been doing massage with him and it hasn't completelystopped him from crying but it has eased the gruntung.

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rosinaboudicca · 06/05/2016 23:21

From our observations, it seems the only time baby is calm is after expelling a stool. She seems to fret permanently, red faced from straining to pass something. It goes on pretty much all the time she is awake and disturbs her sleep. I think we may call our 111 service if things don't ease up because we are concerned there may be an internal blockage somewhere

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ElegantDream · 06/05/2016 23:22

Exclusively breastfed babies can go days and says and days without a poo.

The food is so well suited and so well absorbed that there isn't much waste.

X

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ElegantDream · 06/05/2016 23:23

What is the mum eating? It might be worth monitoring what she eats in case the baby is intolerant to something passing through the milk.

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WhoTheFuckIsSimon · 06/05/2016 23:25

Colic rather than constipation? I would second the fennel tea (for mum).

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ElegantDream · 06/05/2016 23:25

One of mine went nearly a month... The result was enormous! Grin

We averaged 1-2 per week. It's an advantage of breastfeeding - fewer poo nappy changes.

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WhoTheFuckIsSimon · 06/05/2016 23:26

Pressed too soon.

Also infacol for baby and maybe mum try cutting out dairy for a bit?

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SprogletsMum · 06/05/2016 23:27

It can be normal for breastfed babies to go so long without pooing, but it sounds like your granddaughter is struggling.
Has she been seen by a lactation specialist? Has she been checked for tongue tie?
It sounds like your daughter needs some specialist real life help, gps aren't necessarily the best person to see for breastfeeding advice!

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craftyoldhen · 06/05/2016 23:28

It could be an intolerance to something.

My DS had the opposite problem. He pooed every 10 mins for the 1st 6 weeks of his life. He had a mild lactose intolerance.

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rosinaboudicca · 06/05/2016 23:28

Mum's diet has been fantastic during pregnancy and since. She doesn't drink or smoke and eats very healthily, being aware of anything that might pass through to her milk. She has been avoiding certain vegetables too.

Baby has been taken for cranial massage to stimulate things and was really calm from passing a stool in response to treatment and slept better afterwards, but symptoms returned within 12 hours.

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