Bf baby constipated? Or just windy?

[Cosmo89]

3wo DS is obviously really uncomfortable - on his back he's frantically kicking his legs up in the air and going red straining to do... Something...
He hates when I try to wind him - screams etc.
Last major poo was Monday, v watery and yellow- normal for ebf baby.
I've got him on infacol, which helps burp him but doesn't do anything below!
Any advice really welcome- he's really not happy!
Is it anything I'm eating?

I don't know how true this is but my HV says that BF babies can't get constipated.

You could try massaging his tummy in a clockwise direction.

I'm not sure if that's true, dd2 is EBF (7wks) and only goes every few days, when she does she is even more unsettled the day before and it's huge!

Definitely not true that BF babies can't get constipated. My HV told me that too but DD was most definitely constipated and she still suffers from constipation 4 years later.
Sorry, I don't have any advice OP other than to keep on doing what you're doing and if things don't get better maybe speak to your HV or GP.

Exclusively breastfed babies really, really don't get constipated unless there is something wrong (and in rare cases, there is). Rosa, your child's constipation now may be unrelated to what happened when she was a baby.

It is normal for babies to go several days between poos after the first weeks, and some babies seem to react with discomfort to the sensations of needing to 'go' - but the poo when it comes is soft and normal. This isn't constipation.

Nothing the mother eats or drinks has any effect on this.

The good news is they get used to it and things get better in time.

But she's always been constipated TikTok. Always. From week one. I've just been reading a book on childhood constipation (delightful bedtime reading ) and it confirms that babies can be constipated from birth even if EBF. Actually, I should say that they can "withhold" from birth which is slightly different. It's not that they can't poo, but they won't poo.

I understand, Rosa. That's not constipation, not in babies.....some babies are very sensitive to the sensations in their gut.

If your little girl is constipated now, it could also be to do with withholding, but by now, this withholding will produce 'real' constipation .

So there's nothing I can do- he's finding it v difficult to sleep at night because he's uncomfortable :-(

Cosmo, what have you discovered so far helps?

Will he be soothed with a breastfeed? Even if he has just fed?

Well. Not mUch seems to help. He's now not eating as much - I think because he's not comfy. Hmmm.
Infacol helping relieve wind in terms of burps but nothing downstairs so to speak!

What happens if you put him to the breast again?

He starts enthusiastically then pulls off after 5 ms (were doing 30-45 mins feed) then he gets agitated and upset...

What happens if you just let him come off, and don't try to put him back on until he shows he wants to?

Or are you describing a baby who comes off after 5 mins, gets agitated and fussy, as if he wants to come back on, and then fights it again, sometimes coming back on for 2 mins and then the whole thing starts again?

Do you mean his feeding used to last 35 mins and it's now changed?

What's his weight gain like? (I am wondering about over-supply).

His weight gain is brilliant. He's Tracked the 50th percentile since birth. Is now nearing 10lbs.
Generally on these uncomfortable episodes I only put him back on if he repeats feeding signals - but he'll do the same thing, and act really uncomfortable.
But, thinking about it, the whole episodes might be triggered by long feeds themselves- it's hard to say. But that might make sense...

OK - given that he is basically fine and clearly thriving, and you have no worries about his health, then one thing to try over the next couple of days is to accept his 'decision' when he comes off after 5 mins, and just cuddle and stay close, let him calm down, and then put him back on if he gives recognisable feeding cues and stop if he is resisting and calm him again....really try to 'get' what he is 'saying' to you and go with that. Keep him snuggled in and close, but without pressing him to feed.

What do you think?

That's fine..but I'm not do worried about the feeding..
My only concern (selfishly) is the lack of sleep. He just can't get comfortable, hates being on his back, kicks his legs up and writhes around looking like he's trying to get something out of him, then he gets upset. It means none of us get any sleep! And he's clearly distressed.

Yes, I know....I'm thinking that letting him set the pace might possibly make this side of things better....worth a try?

Is it possible that he simply hates to be on his back? Some babies really hate being "face up" and can only sleep well on their tummies. I know it's against SIDS guidelines to put a baby under 1 to sleep on his/her tummy. I'm just saying that he may not be constipated at all, just uncomfortable on his back.

Cosmo you are describing my DS who is now 24w/o when he was younger with the squirming, crying and the appearance of wanting to do a poo but can't. He too was an Infacol baby due to wind issues.
He would often go days without a poo but then all of sudden it came. No real answers but I have read that some babie appear in discomfort trying to do a poo as their muscles and bowel are getting used to be used to such a capacity. So not constipation as such but just looks like it.
I found spending quite a bit of time on his tummy helped, even lying him across my knee and patting his stomach into my knee helped. Baby massage too (particularly in the bath as this seemed to relax him). When he has been really upset I have put him on his stomach in his cot for a bit (always staying in the room) and the pressure of being on his tummy seems to help
He now sometimes still strains but not as much as before and the wind now seems to make its own way out IYSWIM.
I know the lack of sleep must be very hard but it will get better.
I am just starting my DS on solids and already have the prunes ready in case of any constipation issues now!
Good luck

Cosmo you are describing my DS who is now 24w/o when he was younger with the squirming, crying and the appearance of wanting to do a poo but can't. He too was an Infacol baby due to wind issues.
He would often go days without a poo but then all of sudden it came. No real answers but I have read that some babie appear in discomfort trying to do a poo as their muscles and bowel are getting used to be used to such a capacity. So not constipation as such but just looks like it.
I found spending quite a bit of time on his tummy helped, even lying him across my knee and patting his stomach into my knee helped. Baby massage too (particularly in the bath as this seemed to relax him). When he has been really upset I have put him on his stomach in his cot for a bit (always staying in the room) and the pressure of being on his tummy seems to help
He now sometimes still strains but not as much as before and the wind now seems to make its own way out IYSWIM.
I know the lack of sleep must be very hard but it will get better.
I am just starting my DS on solids and already have the prunes ready in case of any constipation issues now!
Good luck

My 5 week old DD is exactly the same. I never know if she's windy or trying to poo. She doesn't burp much even with infacol and she never farts (which DS did loads). She does poo a few times a day but always with a struggle and she seems so uncomfortable. Like your DS it keeps us both up half the night. Cycling her legs and tummy massage din't help.

I tend to just try to calm her (before she wakes DS) and feed her to sleep which can take up to an hour. Last night I had to resort to putting her in her bouncy chair to sleep, which she did for an hour. She has her 6 week check up next week so will ask the paediatrician about it but really hoping she grows out of it soon.

It may sound crazy, but you could try supporting him on a baby potty. The act of being upright helps things move out. DS really struggled with wind at the beginning. If you google elimination communication, you can get more info.

I had the same issues as part of my dd's colic. Colic was the worst thing I have ever been through. She cried all of the time and it was worse when she needed to poop. Baby massaged helped to get her bottom burps out which helped her a little. It is not true that colic only strikes in the evening, my baby had a two hour cycle of try to eat, scream, try to sleep, scream, try to poo, scream, until about 10pm at night when she would sleep until 1ish, then down again at 1.30 until 4, then down again until half 6. I have heard that cutting dairy out of your diet sometimes helps but I dont know if that is true. All I can tell you is that it does get better xx

My DS is 9 wks and did kicking, straining and the red face thing from about 2 weeks onwards. He did it even although he's always been regular. It was particularly bad at night and we couldn't sleep with all the grunting and straining. He wasn't actually crying though, just noisy. He is also ebf, tracking 50th percentile.

My HV said he had just discovered he could grunt and was doing it to entertain himself. Which sounds a bit far fetched. She also said, not in so many words, that we were paranoid new parents and we'd relax about it over time.

I also read online that babies can't co-ordinate their poos properly and were going through the motions, so to speak, while they worked out how to go. Which sounds a bit more plausible.

Infacol didn't make that much difference with us.

We never figured out how to stop it but his straining and grunting is a bit less frequent, although he still keeps us awake sometimes - although my HV is right in that we did get more used to it. Otherwise he's doing fine.

I mentioned it to the dr as well and she didn't seem concerned at all. I think some babies just grunt and strain, although if he still doesn't poo you could try asking your HV?

Oh blimey yes - grunting and puffing and going red-faced and wriggling and writhing is part of some baby's normal, healthy behaviour. It does not mean pain or discomfort - the baby would cry if in pain.

OP - if your baby is not actually crying when this happens then it's really not worth trying to do anything different :)

some baby's = some babies'