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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

constipation in 2 week old - what can i do?

17 replies

iampgatlast · 20/02/2008 18:17

hi ladies

i have a 2 week old baby boy, he has been fine up until a couple of days ago. he is constantly crying and straining passing lots of wind but not actually doing the business so to speak. i can see where he has tried to go in his nappy. he is getting very upset and agitated.
what can i do to get him to go to the loo or atleast make it easier for him?

he is on formula btw

thanks

OP posts:

WigWamBam · 20/02/2008 18:19

Lie him on his back and move his legs as if he were riding a bicycle.

Massage his tummy gently in clockwise circles.

Pop him in a warm bath.

Lulumama · 20/02/2008 18:22

i suggested those things too, on your other thread! they do help

when did he last poo and what was it like?

i presume you are using the first milk and making it up according to the instructions

you said on your other thread he will not take to breastfeeding, if you would like to try to get him back on the breast, it might not be too late

if you stick with formula, and he carries on not pooing for more than another day or two, i would call the MW if you are still under her care or your HV

Original poster

iampgatlast · 20/02/2008 18:25

thanks lulumama i read your post on the other thread.

yes i am using cow and gate 1st milk formula and making up 3oz with 3 scoops as the instructions state.

he will latch onto the breast but he will not suck, he just takes my nipple into his mouth and cries constantly. i tried for 2 days whilst in hospital and ended up giving him formula. when i got him home he was still rooting for the breast so i tried again but he still would not suck.

he last went to the loo at 4am this morning having gone 24 hours with only weeing, it was a lot harder than normal but still a yellowy browny colour.

he is my first baby and i am just at a loss with what to do

OP posts:

Original poster

iampgatlast · 20/02/2008 18:26

with regards to the breast feeding, he is latching on correctly just will not suck.

OP posts:

Lulumama · 20/02/2008 18:28

the first thing that i would suggest is that if you feel you would like to breastfeed,is to get some help NOW

i can do a link in a bit to Hunker's blog, it has the numbers for all the breastfeeding helplines

if he has pooed then that is good.. but i would keep an eye

speak to the MW tonight to see if she can offer any advice re getting him latched on and feeding

also, youir local branch of NCT should have a breast feeding counsellor you can talk to

Lulumama · 20/02/2008 18:30

sorry xposted there

it might be that as he has had abottle, he is not sure how to suck at the breast as sucking at a bottle is totally different technique to the breast

you could try feeding him in the bath, or being naked in bed and having lots of skin to skin and letting him find the breast himself?

not an expert on this however!

tiktok · 20/02/2008 19:02

iampgatlast - if you want to bf, it is not too late. Call one of the helplines, and speak to someone. In the meantime, let him come to the breast as and when and don't make a big deal about whether or not he is sucking....sometimes, holding babies skin to skin, co-bathing, self-attaching...it just happens

Speak to HV about the constipation. This needs a medical opinion.

seeker · 20/02/2008 19:13

A friend of mine had this problem with her dd. It turned out that she was putting the formula into the bottle first then topping up to the measuring line with water, rather than measuring the the wather then adding the powder. She was making the formula too strong by mistake and her dd was very constipated. I don't suppose for a moment you're
doing this, but I thought I'd mention it...

Original poster

iampgatlast · 20/02/2008 19:14

lulumama - i felt really strongly that i wanted to breastfeed, however the 2 days i was in hospital this is all i tried. we laid side by side and he latched on (he had not had a bottle at all at this point) but he just used my nipple as comfort in his mouth and just would not feed. the day i was coming home he still had not fed and they were not going to let me home until he had which is when we put him on his first bottle. when we got home i tried again complete skin to skin but still no joy. hence giving in and formula feeding as he was frustrated as he wasnt feeding. he still roots for the breast now when he is hungry but my milk has come in and gone so just assumed it was too late.

i am in touch with my local nct group so willmake some phonecalls tomorrow.

tiktok i am seeing health visitor tomorrow so will definately mention his constipation to them.

for now i am going to have a bath with him and see if i can settle him a bit.

thanks for all of your advice, will keep you updated.

OP posts:

Original poster

iampgatlast · 20/02/2008 19:15

seeker, i make the bottles by putting the cooled boiled water in first up to the 3oz mark then adding the 3 scoops.
i follow the instructions to a T.

OP posts:

seeker · 20/02/2008 19:17

I'm sure you do - I just thought it was worth mentioning it because of what happened to my friend. Hope you didn't mind!

Original poster

iampgatlast · 20/02/2008 19:25

no not at all - i am grateful for any suggestions/help/advice.

OP posts:

LIZS · 20/02/2008 19:28

maybe the formula doesn't agree with him ? SMA, for example, can cause constipation in some and not others.

Original poster

iampgatlast · 20/02/2008 19:29

he has been on cow and gate since day one, is it possible that it can affect him 10 days down the line? his poos have been fine up until the day before yesterday.

OP posts:

bubblagirl · 20/02/2008 19:42

formula milk is known to cause constipation feed cooled boiled water between feeds

if constipated feed boiled water but not cold warm this helps

and i also found putting small amount of vaseline on my ds bottom holding legs into belly and just rubbing with damp cotten wool helped soften it enough for him to push out

i used to have to do this often as when it gets hard they tend to suck it back in vaseline helps to soften area and help them go

once my ds started drinking more water it did sort the problem out but he always appeared constipated for ages until this

Lulumama · 20/02/2008 20:10

it is not too late to relactate, let us know how he gets on

i bet he does a mahoosive poo after the bath !

shouldalistenedtomymum · 20/02/2008 21:26

yes, gentle bicycle motions with his legs helps. re baby latching on but not sucking, have you tried gently expressing the milk into his mouth? my ds was a little lazy at first, would latch on for an hour at a time (ouch!) but kept falling asleep & didn't seem to get much. lactation consultant told me "some babies are like flowers that need to be watered" and suggested that I gently squeeze my breast to express the milk while he was feeding. just a suggestion. worked for me.

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