Constipation and breastfeeding.

[Milliemoo18]

Hi, this is my first time breastfeeding and feel like I’m struggling at the minute. My son is 5 weeks old and recently he is struggling with opening his bowels, first thing on a morning he is waking up crying and pushing for 20 minutes is. He does this at different points throughout the day, he is managing dirty nappies but there not without a lot of stress and pushing. I’ve tried massaging him and it doesn’t seem to help, could gripe water help? Also my breast the last two days have been extremely engorged on a morning and hurting, my son struggles to latch on they are that full and then my milk will just come out fast on its own and end up all over. Is this normal? Thank you 😐

When he does poo, are his stools soft? When he’s upset, have you tried putting him in a sling, the gentle pressure can help. Is there any mucus in the nappy?

If you are engorged, there is some information on Kellymom but I would phone one of the Bfing Helplines this morning. Have you got the numbers?

With the engorgement, you can try hand expressing first, just to soften the breast a bit. Just in the area around the nipple - I think it's called reverse pressure softening. Have a look on Kellymom - it really is great. Also, if you then have quite vicious let down, (we had choking - terrifying the first few times!), either adjust position so it's not shooting down his throat, or after the baby's latched on for a second and you can feel the flow starting, remove the breast and allow it to flow into a muslin or something.

Good luck - supply will calm down, so hopefully engorgement will too.

His stools are soft like a yellow mucus, I’ve tried massage, also the bicycle movement with his legs. He’s just constantly straining, especially on a morning, yes I have numbers thank you will give them a ring. Thank you both

If his stools are soft, seedy and mustardy looking then they are fine. If you can see white mucus in them, that may be the sign of an allergy.

If you do the technique mentioned by barney you can also collect the milk in a bottle and freeze it

Let us know how you get on today

We had a lot of problems with my dd being constipated. It is very hot at the moment, it might be worth offering feeds to him more frequently just for a 'drink' as constipation should, in theory, be less troublesome if he has more fluids.

With regards to engorgement, again, can you feed more frequently (I understand it's annoying if he's sleeping at night) or alternatively, try and express a bit out before latching him on.

Is baby baby just grunting and struggling? That’s not pleasant to watch but totally normal OP. If baby is actually crying in pain, that’s different and I’d call 111. Xcisco’s suggestion of offering feeds more in the day is a useful one and make sure you drink plenty yourself