Should I try different formula?

[BeautyAndTheBump1]

DS is 12 days old.
Currently on Aldis mamia formula, in the last week hes started only pooing every other day. On the day he doesnt poop, and up until he does, his tummy is really hard and bloated, he strains like hes trying to poop, kicks his legs about and cries then seems to give up and go back to sleep. He gets really restless on the no poop days.
He has also been projectile vomiting probably once every other day, but today he has projectile vomited 3 times.
We have tried warm baths and massaging his tummy, bicycle legs, water with brown sugar & water with orange juice but none of it seems to work.

I spoke to my midwife this morning and told her about the constipation and asked if I should change it but she said to hold off - but then since speaking to her hes vomited 3 times today so I'm worrying now.
Shes coming for a home visit tomorrow so I will mention it again - but just wanted some advice from other mums.

[Aimzxo]

When I spoke to my health visitor about what formula to give my baby aldi or cow and gate she said it doesnt matter as every formula is the same ingredients with a different label, unless its colic or reflux milk etc so that could be why shes saying hold off, I cant give any mum advice as I havent had any issues with the aldi milk but can see why your questioning the milk, hope your little one feels better soon and you get it sorted xx

[Ihaveoflate]

First infant formula is pretty much the same stuff in a different box. It is regulated strictly so all the ingredients are the same. A poo every other day isn’t unusual and not necessarily a sign of constipation. A truly constipated baby will have hard pebble like poos.

Not sure who advised about the brown sugar and OJ, but I’m fairly certain it wouldn’t be recommended (though I’m not an expert so could be wrong). Babies do all the things you mentioned on account of their underdeveloped digestive systems. I think I would wait a little while before changing formula, but that’s only one opinion. Do what you feel is right for your baby.

[Bol87]

Your DS sounds just like my DD was at that age! She’s 3 months now. We use Cow & Gate first milk.

I was worried about DD only pooing every 48 hours and similarly, she’d end up writhing around with wind until she finally pooed. However, my HV said so long as what was coming out was normal, it’s not constipation. And her poos were indeed normal, mustard paste like consistency. If they are constipated, poos will be quite solid & hard to pass. As opposed to some babies digestive systems just not quite doing the job properly when first born but the poo being normal. By 4 weeks, she was into her pooing pattern of once a day at 7am and she still does that now! Sometimes she throws a curve ball & goes twice a day but not that often 😄 it no longer causes her any bother bar the 30 mins before the poo itself. She wriggles around & grizzles until she goes.

DD also projectile vomited all the time for the first month or so. It’s really scary isn’t it. But chances are it’s either reflux or your baby is actually just drinking a bit too much milk for his tiny stomach! How much milk is he taking? At 12 days my DD would drink 1.5-2oz max. Anymore and it all came back!

If he continues to projectile vom, you could consider your GP & ask for some Gaviscon. We used this with DD1. But it’s horribly constipating & given DD2’s lack of pooing, I didn’t want to use it again. So my GP suggested a product called Carobel. It’s a natural milk thickener and you can add as much as your baby needs to keep the milk down. We fiddled around for a while to find the right amount of scoops that balanced keeping the milk down & not constipating DD2. It works a treat! It’s cheap to buy on Amazon & you just add it to your usual formula.

Just be a bit wary swapping around milks. It can upset their stomachs & you shouldn’t really make a sudden swap. Rather you should wean into the new one gradually.

Hope that helps a bit!

[CCW86]

Was the vomiting before or after the diluted orange juice/brown sugar? I hadn't heard of the brown sugar thing before, but I think its not recommended for newborns to be having juice, even if mixed with water. Could that have something to do with it?

[Yorkiee]

I used aptamil comfort for 3 months. Saved us

[Maggie90]

Oh goodness, I could have written your post.

I have a 9 week old with exactly the same symptoms but he also had an increased breathing rate.l and a rash around his mouth.

We ended up in A and E because GP suspected cows milk intolerance but wanted a few test done first. Turns out he does have a cows milk intolerance.

Consultant asked us to try him on normal formula last week to double check it wasn’t due to an immature digestive symptoms but the projectile vomited started again, no pooing and general bad mood in bubba.

He has been on prescribed milk since 10 day’s old and has been much better, we are going to continue with this formula until he stops needing milk.

Maybe mention this to HV, mind you mine didn’t have a clue.

Hope your baby feels better soon.

[Yukka]

The ingredients if formula are the same but the Hipp brand is processed differently so the proteins are gentler on the tummy to digest. I switched from sma to hipp after a couple of weeks I could tell she wasn't right, but this was after bf for 5 months.

As baby is very new, digestive system is still getting going,so it might settle on it's own. I'd avoid the brown sugar and orange juice as they could aggravate even more at this stage. Perhaps give it another 2 weeks and keep monitoring.

[BeautyAndTheBump1]

Thankyou for the recommendations everyone.

@Ihaveoflate @CCW86 he vomited twice before and once after the water w/ juice & water w/ brown sugar. It was actually the health visitor who recommended it on the phone to me today to give it him.

@Maggie90 I am going to keep that in mind - as he keeps breathing heavy & has developed a rash on his arms and legs.

[User8008135]

I would have thought orange juice a no for a newborn but regardless it's definitely a no for someone with possible reflux. Way too citric. That's a way to make someone puke. I've had it since being a baby myself and can't stomach it even now.

Try colief in the milk and raising the end of the moses slightly, plus no laying dc down until a while after a feed.

[User8008135]

Change in breathing and a rash? Call 111 to be sure, they should get you an appointment