Laxatives for babies

[FirstMumToBe]

Help!!
My baby is 12 weeks on Tuesday and was given laxatives on Thursday just gone as he was constipated and hadn’t had a poo for 5 days, the laxatives worked and he pood!! Hurray! (Never imagined myself getting excited about poo - but I did).
I gave him the laxatives on Thursday and Friday, but then weren’t too sure whether I should carry on giving them as the doctors said it was whether I felt he still needed them or not.
So since Friday he hasn’t done one poo ☹️ He just keeps throwing up and I’ve tried giving him an ounce of cooled boiled water and he’s just throwing that back up.
I’m debating taking him back to the doctors, but don’t want to if it’s unnecessary... any advice or help?!
He’s EBF if that has anything to do with it and I haven’t changed my diet.
Thanks x

On one hand, the laxatives might have really cleared things out so it could take a day or two for normal bowel movements to resume. How frequently is he throwing up? I think, given his age, I would go back to the doctor's for advice

@maremaremare he’s never really been a sickly baby but now it’s after every feed and then bringing quite a lot of sick up in between feeds. He used to always go once or more a day since he was born but gone the complete opposite, but I don’t know whether he’s still abit constipated because he’s crying in pain some parts of the day and there’s no reason really ☹️
Will ring doctors again tomorrow

Breast fed babies shouldn't get constipated! Going once a week for BF babies is quite normal. Does her maybe have a bit of reflux? If he's just sick but it doesn't bother him then it'll usually resolve jtself

I think you should get him seen asap OP that is a lot of fluid loss for a young baby. I would be worried that he is getting dehydrated and or low on sugars and salts. Also the pain shows something is wrong. Phone 111 to see whether they advise OOH appt or A&E.

Needs to be seen. Please.

I think I’m going to go doctors tomorrow, he’s just had a quick feed but his belly is making the most horrible noises, I feel so sorry for him ☹️ He’s taking a while to settle and that’s not like him!
I’ve tried googling it and it’s coming up with nothing 🤦🏽‍♀️

My baby is EBF and went 12 days without pooing. He’s now going every 5-7 days. I’ve seen the gp and hv and no ones concerned so I’m surprised yours was given laxitives. It’s the fluid loss which is the danger. Does he have regular wet nappies? Is the soft bit in his head sunken? If he’s getting dehydrated , that can get serious very quickly.

He has been crying in pain and before the laxatives he was going from 9 in the morning till 2/3ish in the afternoon without a feed and he also sleeps through at night so wasn’t feeding much, his nappies are constantly wet, I feel like I’m having to change him as soon as I’ve put a clean nappy on 🤦🏽‍♀️
It’s horrible to see when he’s crying in pain, I just don’t know what to do ☹️

Same here. EBF babies go without a poo for very long period. It is confusing because in the first weeks they poo several times a day and then all of a sudden, they stop for days even a week. But it is normal, so, a laxative as a one off is ok, but of your baby is throwing up, it might be something else.
Does he have reflux, is he vomiting straight after feeding?

If he's crying in pain, vomiting and feeding less than usual you need to get him seen ASAP.

Breastfed babies can go 10-14 days with out a poo from 6 weeks old. As long as it's soft and yellow when they do go it's fine and very normal.

What laxatives did they give? They will upset his tummy and have side effects. Lactulose give terrible wind and stomach gurgling. The wind can be quite painful.

I would do some tummy massage to help ease things and feed regularly. Breast milk is a laxative in it own right. Feeding stimulate peristalsis in the bowel to keep things moving.

Yes of course breast fed babies can go ages without pooing. But the OP is also describing decreased feeding, pain, and vomiting. Which is NOT normal. I really hope the baby has been checked out properly by now.

Hi all, I have taken him today to get weighed and spoke to the health visitor there and asked for advice, he’s not lost any weight which is good but he’s still not pooing and is in a lot of pain, they have said I can carry on giving him lactulose to help him poo, but I think I’m going to go back to the doctors as he has vomited a lot more tonight, it’s usually at night when he’s at his worse ☹️
It’s awful, but because he’s having regular wet nappies he’s unlikely to be dehydrated!

If lactulose gives him wind and his belly sounds horrendous am I ok giving him gripe water aswell?

You know another Mum had this, her baby was allergic to dairy so she had to adjust her diet, will try to find the thread.

Found it..

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/breast_and_bottle_feeding/3269904-Newborn-with-milk-protein-intolerance

Thank you @welshmist but he’s just turned 12 weeks now, Could an intolerance just come on like this? I have his 12 weeks injections tomorrow so will mention it to them too, it’s breaking my heart seeing him like this :(

Here is an interesting website for you.

cowsmilkproteinallergysupport.webs.com/symptoms

My Midwife recommended pre-mixed Aptamil. Apparently it has a "higher level of vitamin C which gets things moving"

Also warm (no longer boiling) pre-boiled water really, really helped my DD at that age

Also, I laid her down on bed with legs bent right back (after gentle massage on tummy) and voila! Was like an ice cream machine! Sorry!!

Been reading about a mum who ate prawns, which made her baby ill, wasn`t until she ate them a few times she made the connection. Perhaps with this hot weather you are eating something you did not eat before, or did not eat in any quantity?

Is your baby breast fed? Necausebthe regularity of every few days is totally normal. We went though this exact thing and have stopped the lactulose as it was completely unescessary. The definition of constipation for bf babies isn't that they haven't pooed for five days. It's what the stools are like. If they are normal baby poo consistency and happening every few days (up to around 10 is very common!) then they are not constipated! I'm really annoyed that we have our baby unnecessary medication based on a couple of GPs who didnt understand this and finally saw a number of other medics and professionals who were aghast that our baby had been given various laxatives for very normal bowel.habits.

It sounds far more like they have reflux/trapped wind/colic than any sort of bum problems. Have you tried winding more after feeds, infacol and or gripe water, different feeding position, maybe reassessing if your latch is causing them to take more air in, etc? I honestly think this is much more likely to be the problem. Good luck.

Yes my baby’s breastfed, we also found out yesterday he is tongue tied could that cause a baby to be more colicky/windy? They’ve referred him to get it cut anyway!
I have started giving him gripe water but not much improvement yet and his trumps stink 🤢 !!!

A tongue tie can definitely cause wind. It can effect the latch allowing more air to be swallowed. Great you are getting it divided. Both mine had tongue ties and it definitely helped.

Yes tongue tie can cause wind. EBF babies very rarely get constipated and if your son's poo was soft when he went, it isn't constipation. It does sound to me more like wind pains.

I would probably not give the lactulose again but focus on winding thoroughly after every feed (try a few different techniques and keep at it for at least a few mins even if he burps straightaway) and doing wind massage. "Tiger in the tree position" (Google it) may comfort him if it is wind pain. If the symptoms of cows milk intolerance sound familiar you could also trial going dairy free for a few weeks. It's not the most fun you can have but it's perfectly doable and nicer than the horrible hypoallergenic formula.

All this is assuming you're not worried about dehydration - if you see signs of that do get baby in front of a HCP quick smart.