baby constipation help!

[mammyrebs]

I need some advice on what to give my son for constipation, he can go 3 days without pooing and lifts his legs up to his belly in pain after feeds, i breast and bottle feed (he's 5weeks)

Not sure what to give a baby for constipation but it's really not at all unusual for a baby of that age to even go only once a week. Are you sure the pain is constipation and not wind?

more water added to the bottle feed/change formula/use expressed breast milk ?

Really doesn't sound like constipation, do you wind him/is he colicy?

When he poos, what are they like?

I do wind him but he is very difficult to wind, i thought it might be colic so i started using infacol, his poo is mustard in colour and can sometimes be thick or runny i just thought the poo may be bunging up his belly. i tried expressing but can never express enough and find the breast pumps quite rubbish as they seem to leak

He's not constipated, and lifting legs up is not a sign of constipation, or pain, in fact. Is he really crying after feeds? What happens if you just put him to the breast again?

Like Toktok said, I'm not convinced he is constipated. He's still very young, so I wouldn't advise extra water in his formula and definitely not in expressed breast milk. If you really think he's trying to poo, try holding him upright, maybe patting his bottom or letting him sit on your lap (so there's something for his bottom to push against). Some babies seem to prefer to 'go'when they are upright.

How do you burp him? Two ways: either sit him n your lap with one hand pressed gently against his tummy, letting him lean forward slightly. Or prop him over your left shoulder with his arms over your shoulder, tummy pressing gently against your shoulder. Massage his back gently in a circular motion. If he doesn't burp within a minute or two, he probably doesn't need burping.

If you are using SMA Gold try changing it. It constipated DS and quite a few other babies IME.

Tiktok, nice to see you back!

Hi sorry my messages are so far and few between i don't seem to get a lot of time to check my computer these days, thank you all by the way for replying, his poo is now really runny, now what i do is bottle at bottle at night breast during day unless i'm out we use 130ml water to 4 and a half scoops and sometimes he is still hungry after his bottle (he's 6weeks) at night after his feed when i put him down he seems to wake up and want more he winges untill i pick him up then he opens his mouth and turns his head toward my breast and gets himself all of a tither untill i feed him again is this normal? do i just sleep at night and let my baby wake when he wants to feed or do i wake him at certain times to feed him?

Hi mammyrebs, I wouldn't wake him at night for a feed. I had to wake my babs every four hours for the first five weeks because her weight was low, so unless there's a problem with his weight I'd let him sleep. I used to worry so much about my her being hungry but if he's hungry he'll wake you. If you lie him down a little while before his bath and rub his tummy in a circular motion not too hard, just like a massage around his bellybutton with the palm of your hand, stopping every few mins to lift his knees up to his tummy. A baby massage teacher told me this when babs hadn't gone for a few days. Then when I put her in the bath she went, apparently the water relaxes the anal muscles! If he's lifting his legs up I'd say it's more wind. If you're worried look out for him straining and pushing and crying if he is doing this and nothing is happening then you know he's trying to pass something. Also, there's sodium in formula milk which can make babies thirsty, there's none in bm so maybe he's just looking for some of the 'watery' breastmilk? Or maybe he wants to cuddle while he's falling asleep?

Thanks eveyone and thanks hollyboo that sounds like really good advice i will give it a try