Advice for 5 week old baby

[Zoero]

Hi all,

I have a few questions and would appreciate any help and advice you're able to give me:

1. My baby strains, grimaces and cries loudly when he's trying to do a poo. The GP said this is normal for babies, but I can see that it really distresses him and also really distresses me. This is especially bad at night, partly because I'm tired and I don't know what to do for him to make it better. Does anyone else's baby suffer with this and is there anything we can do? I've tried holding him in different positions but none seem to work, so I just hold him close and speak softly to try and sooth him. He is breastfeed and has bad nappy rash at the moment (we're using Clotrimazole cream from GP).

2. Getting my baby to sleep! After a feed, he nods off in my arms. I try carefully to lay him on the bed or in the moses basket, but he always wakes up! Any tips? This is especially frustrating at night time when I've spent 10 minutes carefully holding him so that he can go into a deep sleep and then he wakes when I lay him down.

3. Nappy free time for helping nappy rash. Ok, so when he's asleep, I am sometimes able to move him onto the changing mat and carefully undo his clothes and nappy so that his 'bits' can breath. However, on most occasions he wakes up and starts crying. Does anyone have any advice about how to do nappy free time? When he's not alone asleep, my baby only likes to be held. Hardly ever does he mind being on his own when he's awake. I suppose I could lay him on his changing mat underneath the baby gym, but does anyone else do it differently?

Thank you so much for any help - I feel like i'm going mad!!

ok

1. yes it is normal and it's something that your baby will grow out of. sometimes babies just don't like the feeling of going for a poo, and there isn't really anything you can do to change it unfortunately, but he should get better with time. If not then do take him back to the health visitor or GP.

2. normal! he's been inside you for 9 months being constantly soothed by hearing your voice, and the motion of being held by you... he still wants that! it's fine to cuddle him while he sleeps, or to wear him in a sling.
   we ended up co-sleeping with ds2 because he hated being away from me so much, maybe that's something you could look into for the nights?

3. maybe change nappy brand? i know a few babies who had reactions to some types of disposable nappy.
   as for doing nappy free time, i used to let mine just kick around on the changing mat for a while each time i changed their nappy. it gives the area a chance to dry out in the air before you apply cream and put on a new nappy. if he doesn't like it don't worry too much about it tho. under the baby gym is a good idea if he will lie there for a little while.
   or you could cuddle him with no nappy on and with a towel on you in case he wees or anything?

Congratulations on the new arrival!

1. Not sure if this will help but DD used to strain and cry with wind (bum) and poos so we tried Infacol. It worked really well for her, but I know it doesn't work for all babies. Might be worth a try?

1. Would he fall asleep in a sling or carrier? This would give you some hands free time to get things done. I co-sleep with DD as she is not very happy on her own and I find it easier to bf when co-sleeping, but there are some guidelines to follow if co-sleeping (if you are interested in this it's worth reading up more, but the main ones are no smoking, drinking or drugs, baby sleeps next to mum not dad, no heavy blankets/duvets, no pillows).

1. Not sure about this one I am afraid. At this age they need a lot of body contact and without a nappy that would be hard to deal with!!! Hope someone comes up with something more useful!

Does he have nappy rash? From personal experience DS didn't get it until months later when teething. Nappy free time IMO is pointless at the stage you're at.

HTH

1. infacol was a lifesaver when ds was that age
2. we found that he settled better in a warm bed, I used one of those microwave teddies to warm up his spot before putting him down, not too hot but just warm enough that he felt as though he was still being cuddled, also try having him wrapped in a blanket so he's already feeling secure
3. as someone already said try switching nappy brands, Huggies seemed to give ds pretty bad nappy rash, or try a barrier cream but at that age you souldn'g really have to

1. We also used infacol with DS, which seemed to do the trick.

2. I used to put a hot water bottle in his moses basket while I was changing and feeding him and then take it out a couple of minutes before putting him down, it was only ever warm instead of hot, just enough so the transfer from me to the basket wasn't so much of a cold shock! He also enjoying being wrapped in a blanket and then laid down wrapped in the blanket as he was nice and toasty in there.

3. Not sure on this one as it has never been a problem for DS...Sorry! I know that skin to skin contact is really good at your DS.s age so maybe if you can bear it and feel brave enough do that for short periods throughout the day with no nappy on?

All sounds fairly normal to me - my DS was the same at that early stage (is now 5 months).

1. Re difficult pooping, we got him a bouncy chair to sit in just so he'd have somewhere to be propped up and look around rather than lying on his back all the time and lo and behold it turned into 'the poo chair' [yes, I know, yuck] as every time we put him into it, he always pooped. He would strain and grunt usually but once we put him into 'the poo chair' he'd manage to poop. The slightly upright position seemed to help him.

1. You might not like this advice if your baby is breastfed but we used a dummy to get DS back to sleep once I put him down after feeding. The sucking motion would soothe him and we took it out once he was asleep. A sling is also a good suggestion, you could always co-sleep with him in the sling. I did this a few times in those first weeks when he wouldn't sleep alone.

1. Don't know about nappy rash because DS never had it but for nappy-free time, I lay an old bath towel on the bed or floor and let DS kick about on it for a while after his bath to make sure he's dry and aired out. You have to make sure the room is warm enough though. Also not sure if this would work so well for a younger baby like yours as they can poop about 4 or 5 times a day at that age and pee was VERY random then too - we'd often get a jet fountain out of nowhere when changing his nappy soaking everything in sight. Maybe just put the towel on the bathroom floor so you can clean up easily if there are any accidents?

Hope that helps!

Good advice so far:

1. DS we gave infacol to, he had colic. Both children lots of tummy massages and bicycle legs helped shift the wind, make sure you fully burp him after every feed.
2. DS we rocked in the buggy, or put a hit water bottle down, DD we co-sleep, for both we've given dummies to help settle to sleep
3. do it skin to skin if your first, or leave him without his nappy for a few mins each nappy change if he's happy

Congrats on your new baby!

Hi everyone, thanks so much for all the advice and help, I'm going to try lots of these tips! Fingers crossed he'll be much happier when nappy rash has gone and when I've helped him with his pooping! Isn't Mumsnet great! What would I do without you all!

On the nappy rash, it sounds like it's a fungal infection if the GP has given you Clotrimazole (which is basically canesten).

DS had thrush around this age - so did I, in my nipples and milk ducts (very painful feeding and terribly sore and cracked nipples!) - DS also had white spots in his mouth. It's apparently not that common for such young babies who are breastfed to get nappy rash, so it tends to be caused by thrush. It was all fine once it was properly treated, but do go back to your GP if you think he needs an oral treatment.

Nappy free time, I used to just let nappy changes take longer. I also used to just let him lay on me, eg sitting on the couch with him on my knees, with a nappy underneath him (I'd usually put a muslin over his willy though, as both DH and I got the old pee in the eye trick from him a couple of times )

Otherwise, all sounds normal! I was also a fan of the sling and co-sleeping - think of the first three months as the fourth trimester and things get a lot easier!

I'm 39+1 with DC2 and looking forward to this newborn stage so much

On nappy free time - I think at this age I let DS have nappy off time on our bed - having put down a thick towel and some inco/maternity sheets to catch accidents. DH or I would sit with him and touch his tummy etc for reassurance - also started doing a bit of tummy time at the same time.

When he is a little older, old sheets/towels on the floor for the inevitable accidents.

oh - and nappy free time is often less stressful in tiny babies if you keep a vest top on or something covering their chests so they still feel secure and not exposed

On the nappy rash (and ignore me if you know this already), try not to use wet wipes, they are full of chemicals and can irritate their skin. Cotton wool and water is best, or waterwipes for when you're out and about (pricey, but so worth it IME, as I have a DC with eczema).