Baby Girl is constipated - help please

[Newdadofgirl]

Good Afternoon Mumsnet.
Sorry for long post... I could do with some advice/reassurance please.
I suspect my daughter is constipated, I was hoping that someone here will know how to make her regular again, or at least reassure me that steps already taken are correct and will work?
Background: beautiful daughter born 5 weeks early via emergency C-section, daughter and mam doing well. Six weeks old now. Bottle fed (despite hopes of breastfeeding nothing happened, breastfeeding is now a sore subject so best not mentioned to partner). Baby was on Cow and Gate no1 formula.
Steps taken so far:
Changed formula to C&G Comfort milk 24 hours ago.
Tried some prune juice diluted with water.
Tried apple juice diluted with water.
Tried cotton bud with Vaseline (rewarded with poo, but poo was harder than usual).
Tried just water in bottle (boiled and cooled).
None of the above have really worked.
Baby is not happy, I am not happy! Baby has a hard stomach and is spending time straining, screwing up her face and arching her back, possibly in pain. She cries now, I imagine in discomfort. She does pee like a racehorse, many many wet nappies!
Midwives and Health visitors, more interested in criticizing us and each other than actually helping.
Its been three weeks since regular bowel movements, although its been a developing situation with less poo every day... now I'm worried!
Any Ideas on how to fix baby? anything I could do better?
Thanks in advance. Rhys

Try brown sugar in water and see the GP.

thank you betterbemoreorganised, haven't tried brown sugar. Doctor appointment booked for tomorrow as I am getting worried now!

I too have lived through the misery that is a badly constipated baby. I am a medical scientist, so not in the least bit woo. However, when DD1 was suffering, a health visitor showed me how to do a foot massage (reflexology) - her take on it was 'well, if it doesn't help her poo, at least she'll have had a nice foot rub'. At this point, the baby had not pooed for 3 days.

Reader, 20 minutes after the foot massage, DD pooed for Britain. She was my first baby, and I could not believe I could be so happy to see someone else poo, even knowing that I was responsible for cleaning it up. Google baby constipation foot massage, and you'll get the instructions. And the wort thing that happens is your baby gets a nice foot massage...

Good luck!

Have you tried massaging her tummy? Circles round her tummy button, strokes from top to bottom and legs to tummy and repeat. There's videos on you tube....
In the end our GP gave us lactulose which worked after a day.

What always worked for my dd's was laying without nappy on for while to kick legs then repeatedly wipe bottom with warm water and cotton wool, within no time that got them going

Rubbing stomach and cycling legs help

Thanks Poledra, I will have a look at the reflexology foot rubs. I am the same, can't believe I am hoping for poo!
Thanks JJPP123 I have been rubbing her stomach but will check out youtube to ensure I have the right technique.
Thanks Inging, will try the warm water and cotton wool.
Thanks FanellaMaxwellsPony I'm going to keep trying the rubbing and will continue with cycle legs.
Thanks for all the advice, I will try everything suggested this evening.
Thank You
Rhys

Massage the soles of her feet. Works every time.

My (breastfed) baby didn’t poo naturally between weeks 2-8, once a week we would have to use a pessary to induce it.
Then specialist doctor told me to go dairy free (ignored this), give her daily laxatives (ignored this) and use a probiotic drop daily called Bio Gaia - bought this, and from the next day for the last 5 weeks she poos mostly every day!
For us, a miracle product. Of course it may not work for you... good luck!

Thanks for all your help, I am not sure which of the tips above worked, but they did work! I spent 4 hours massaging feet, massaging stomach, fed water and juice, continued feeding the C&G comfort milk. I was "rewarded" by the most horrific nappy ever filled in the history of parenting! I mean it was really bad... A 4 puke nappy (me puking not baby!) However (my personal trauma apart), it was great to see that baby was working properly again!
Thank you
Rhys

Thanks 123456kent I will get some of the Gaia stuff to try.
Thanks lightcola I massaged her feet for hours... Not sure if I hit the reiki points but something certainly worked!
Weirdly I am usually terrified of feet... Can't even look at em, but baby's feet don't bother me!