Could SMA Gold be causing constipation

[cadsa]

Just wondering if anyone has experienced any problems with SMA Gold. My ds is 16 weeks and i have recently (10 days ago) moved him onto it full time. He was mainly breastfed before with maybe 1 bottle of formula per day. He has never been very regular and when breastfed only pooed every 36 to 48hrs. Since I stopped breastfeeding him, his poos are firmer (like peanut butter) and he does alot of straining, moaning and crying. He usually manages to have a small poo in the morning but in the afternoon he will start his ritual all over again. I get the feeling he would like to poo more than once a day. I have used glycerin suppositories a few times and they have moved things a long a bit but am concerned that regular use of these might cause problems. He was straining this morning and i used a suppository and within a couple of minutes he pooed which was still fairly firm, then this afternoon ds was straining and moaning again (going red and crying) and i used another suppository and sure enough he add another poo. I have been giving him between 4 - 6 oz of water per day and have tried massage. He has a 6 feeds per day of about 7 - 9oz per feed. Sorry for all the detail but it seems to be making him pretty miserable and i wonder if it might be the SMA gold. Has anyone experienced this? and tried another brand of formula which was more successful? How much water should he be having? Any help would be great. I am tried of being woken up in the middle of the night.

Hi there. I've never had any problems with SMA Gold myself, but don't see any reason you shouldn't try another formula. I have read on another thread that Cow & Gate has been associated with constipation, so probably best to try something else. The actually only 1 poo a day thing sounds OK, and the poo becoming firmer sounds normal for switching from formula. However the straining/moaning etc does sound like something best to be avoided! I don't really know about suppositories. Hope someone can give you more specific advice.

My DD also suffers, we initially tried taking her off the SMA but it made no difference so we went back. She is now a year and still has problems, maybe some are just made that way!

have has similiar problems with tiny daughter straining throughout the day, only poos every other day, have tried prunes, cabbage, apricots, ripe pears - nothing. poo is very firm, poor thing goes red in the face, she drinks enough water though. she's on sma white.
apparently they used to give diahorea sufferers milk, as a way to firm things up, so perhaps it's just the case with a high milk diet.

are supositories special baby ones?

Hi littlemisstittlemouse. The suppositories are 1 gram glycerin suppositories that are designed for infants. I brought them from Boots. They can be cut in half so that they are narrower so less discomfort. The other day ds cried so much that he voice went hoarse, i didn't realise until he passed a small pebble that he was constipated and as he had been the day before so i didn't suspect it. I remembered someone telling me about the suppositories a few months ago and since the GP would not advise me of anyway to help ds go, i decided to try them. Within a few minutes of using one ds filled his nappy and was smiling again. I am not sure if there are any side effects to prolonged/continued use.

Also forgot to mention, my HV advised against using SMA white even though ds is a hungry baby because it would make him constipated because it is made of casein which is hard to digest. Haven't started solids yet.

Any brand of formula can increase the risk of constipation, cadsa....is going back to mainly bf an option for you?