Constipation with 8 week old baby - someone help!!😩

[Paris20y]

My 8 week old baby has had nothing but tummy troubles since newborn and doctors are no help… unfortunately she had to be bottle fed as she would not latch onto boob so was originally on Aptamil.
I have tried all tummy massages, cycling of legs etc, no help.
Doctors then said change formula to one to help constipation, we changed her to Aptamil comfort, which did not help still… doctors then sent us to hospital for a suppository, and said once she is cleared out, if she’s still screaming she isn’t constipated… she screamed all night again! then tried gaviscon for reflux, changed her formula to neocate thinking she had a intolerance, but have since given me suppository’s, laxitive medication, further medication for reflux, and colief for colic… at night, she still screams, what do I do?? She screams like she is in pain. I personally think they’ve given her so much at once and now she doesn’t know if she’s coming or going… suppository’s are the only things that help her poo, however she is still left screaming after and I wonder if they give her cramps… any advice would be much appreciated!!

Sorry to hear you're going through all this. It's so difficult when they're so small and have issues like this. Our son was a very constipated baby and we did everything you've mentioned in your post bar suppositories, and the only thing that really helped was time unfortunately. Eventually he started getting more regular and the straining and screaming stopped. But I do remember baby poop did dominate our lives for quite some time! Ours was on Aptamil too and we did try other brands but it didn't really make much difference. DS was refluxy too and was on baby gaviscon but it made the constipation worse so we had to use it sparingly. He was given lactulose for a bit which definitely helped him go but it gave him cramps so we ditched it eventually. I can't remember how old he was when he was prescribed laxido (powdered stool softener) and that seemed to do the trick and we used it until he was 18-ish months, maybe even two years. I don't know if newborn babies can have it but if the problem persists you could always ask about it? Additionally we were advised to give cooled boiled water too, but again I think that was when he was a bit older.

Anyway, I think particularly bottle fed babies can get really quite constipated and it's horrible, but it does usually get better. If you've ruled out any other medical issues then hopefully she'll grow out of it soon. Best of luck!

Gaviscon itself can cause constipation in babies.

It’s 20 years ago now but DS was quite constipated as a baby. Also on Aptamil.

In desperation I gave him warm water with a tiny bit of brown sugar. Old wives remedy which will no doubt cause horror. It did seem to work.

I mentioned the constipation to the GP and he advised adding an extra ounce of water to every bottle. So for a four ounce bottle you use 5 ounces of water. It’s not recommended to add extra formula obviously but he said extra water wasn’t a problem. He asked what the stools were like and they were quite dry so he recommended adding the extra water.

In desperation I gave him warm water with a tiny bit of brown sugar. Old wives remedy which will no doubt cause horror. It did seem to work.

I used to use this also and it worked well.

Has anyone considered CMPA?

Ooh that sugar trick reminded me that one of our midwives told us to either squeeze a tiny bit of orange into cooled boiled water or just add a little bit of shop bought orange juice. Must be the sugar in it. We also tried the slightly watered down formula as it would mean that he would get more water in his system. Obviously not loads of water because they need the nutrients too but a little bit here and there was what we did.

I wouldn't use Gaviscon if your baby is constipated. Unless it is actually helping with reflux. If not, don't use it. It's terrible for causing constipation in babies.

@WhyYesYABU

Has anyone considered CMPA?

Presumably that’s why they changed to neocate?

Definitely the brown sugar in water or orange juice (not squash!)

DD for some unknown reason decided to chew some plaster board when she was around 18 months...unsurprisingly it made her constipated! I spoke to my local pharmacist who said to try both of the above, one at a time, as sometimes little ones get relief from one but not the other.

Btw, DD never ate plaster board again and orange juice did the job for her 👍🏼

Good luck OP