Water for 5wk old

[Pob13]

My 5wk old DS is constipated. I have been told to give him some cooled boiled water to help. But is this really ok for one so young?

Seek medical advice not the advice of strangers online.

I can't remember how old my dds were when I did this, check with your health visitor, they'll be able to advise you.

Agree- go see your GP. But no, it's not okay- never give water to a baby- it can mess up their electrolytes badly.

Of course it's OK to try that, OP. This lot'll also be telling you to breastfeed until he's six and that co-sleeping is compulsory!

Yes. I gave mine water from birth, we were issues with disposable plastic bottles of with a teat in the hospital and advised to give water in between milk feeds. Is that one of those things that has since gone out of fashion? All babies drank water then.

It seems a bit young for water. Have you tried cycling his legs and rubbing his tummy in a circular pattern (clockwise)? Warm baths can help as well.

No, best not to do that at such a young age. Bottle fed or breast fed? Actually constipated (firm stools) or just a long time since the last one?

When you say you’ve been told, who by? As I wouldn’t go against it if it’s a specialist who knows what they’re talking about! But very common for bf babies to not poo for a few days and then do an explosive one.

Thanks for the helpful advice. We are seeing GP this afternoon I just want a quick fix. DS is so uncomfortable, straining all the time.
He is formula fed and we do regular leg cycling and tummy rubs. He hasnt been for a couple of days. The last time was a really hard poo followed by normal consistency. So he is obviously blocked up. He gets bad reflux so we tried him on thicker formula. That helped the reflux but blocked him up. We are now back on normal formula but he is still blocked and suffering with reflux. Im really hoping the GP will have an answer.

What thicker formula did you try? Can you ask the doctor for omeprazole instead? Are you definitely making his formula correctly? Measuring the water before you put the powder in?

My baby (7 weeks) has been to the GP twice with constipation, both times resulting in a hospital trip. I've also discussed it multiple times with the health visitor. At no point has anyone suggested giving water.

In that case the GP visit sounds like the best idea, good luck :)

As far as I am aware advice is no water as it fills them up then they don't feed properly. But i am not medically qualified!!

@kaytee87 we tried aptimal anti reflux. Yes we do make it currently.

Is he breastfed or formula fed? Breastfed babies don't need water. If formula fed using powder, check everyone who makes bottles is adding the correct amount of water - you need to measure it before adding the scoops (or in a separate bottle before combining).

Are you sure he is definitely constipated - are his poos hard? True constipation is rare in newborns but very very common is infant dyschezia -in short, they haven't coordinated the acts of pushing and relaxing at the same time yet so they do a lot of pushing and don't get anywhere. The crying is an attempt to create pressure (like you might have roared or grunted during childbirth) and not a response to pain. If the poos are soft and/or liquidy when they come out it's much more likely to be this: www.aboutkidsgi.org/childhood-defecation-disorders/infant-dyschezia.html

My mind was blown when I learned about this with DS2 because I'd never heard of it with DS1. I found patting him and singing to him, and a dummy would help him to relax and then he'd be able to go. Or sometimes he would fall asleep instead.

@Pob13 was it your gp or hv that suggested that formula?

Can you try nanny care formula

My son was being sick all the time with cow formula and also was constipated
Once we swopped to nanny care it all stopped

We used Cow and Gate Carobel to thicken DS's formula and it didn't cause constipation - that might be something to consider once you get him sorted.

I'm still hoping someone will tell me what is wrong with giving water. I was gobsmacked to read that. Whether breast or bottle fed, we were all given water in hospital to give to our babies and encourages to continue at home. Mine had it from day one! Long since grown up and certainly doesn't seem to have done any harm.

Things seem to go in out of fashion.

Now I've googled and apparently water is not usually given before six months and then sips when the baby appears to be thirsty.

Honestly, I remember the midwives bringing round a trolley with jugs of warm water in which were disposable plastic bottles of water with teats on them.

I'd see about moving into Comfort formula.

Current NHS advice is not to give water to babies until they're 6 months old. I don't see a GP going against this advice but they should be able to give you alternatives.

In addition to the no water, the health visitors, infant feeding specialist and paediatricians recommended that I don't use the "alternative" variations of the formula (hungry baby/constipation/reflux etc.)

They also said using the ordinary stage 1 milk for 12 months (forget follow on milks too) is the recommended advice now.

jesss it's because it fills up their tummies with something that has no nutritional content, which causes some babies to take less breastmilk or formula so could cause them to become malnourished. It's also unnecessary as breastmilk and formula both act as a drink and food. Sometimes bottle fed babies will need some extra water in heatwave conditions. Modern formula is less likely to make babies constipated than the stuff from decades ago. You start giving them water when they begin to eat solid food.

I get it. All I can say is there must be plenty of women who had babies in 'my era' who are panicking now that they may have done their adult children some harm, albeit temporary. Blimey, I was actually scared to come back to this thread because of what I might find out.

It's OK though, I've calmed down now :-). It is funny how 'fashions' regarding care of infants change.

@jessstan2 honestly, I doubt many people panic about it, especially if their children are now healthy adults.
I don't think it's 'fashions' changing as such, more that scientists and experts discover new things all the time and update advice accordingly.
You do the best you can with the information you have at the time.

Some of it is fashion. They still give babies tea in Germany. Very strange for me having moved here. I don't give mine tea I might add - but it's seen as normal. When you buy bottle teats you buy them as milk sized or tea sized, and there are teas on sale in the baby aisle.