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Children's health

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Original poster

Constipated 2 week old - any ideas how to help things move along?

14 replies

MrsHD · 13/01/2009 08:44

Our two week old developed constipation and/or trapped wind yesterday evening and was yelling in pain. He's not usually a colicky baby and normally produces the right sort of number of pooey nappies. He's mainly breastfed with the odd formula top-up every few days, but the constipation doesn't seem linked to formula. We had a rough evening then he slept on me most of the night and this morning things finally blew and he's more or less comfy again.

Going to talk to the pharmacist this morning and am waiting for a call back from the midwife, but does anyone have any ideas for how we could soothe the pain another time or help things move through for him? Are there painkillers available for such young children? Just thought if the pain went he could relax, sleep and let things move through.

Anyway sorry for the ramble. Thanks for any advice.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

PuzzleRocks · 13/01/2009 09:23

Bumping for you.

MrsHappy · 13/01/2009 09:25

I think you need to see the GP.
I am not trying to be alarmist, but you need to be sure there is no underlying physical reason for this.
It could well be the formula, but you need to be sure.

elizabethsmum · 13/01/2009 16:59

This happened with our DD when she was about 4 weeks old. We were advised by Neonatal nurses (who we were under at the time) to give cooled boiled water. If that didn't work then told to add a drop of orange juice (i just squeezed a couple of drops from a satsuma!) this did have the desired effect!! We were told that this was common in breastfed babies (although she had been regular prior to this.

Would agree with OP to get it checked out though HTH

elizabethsmum · 13/01/2009 17:00

meant to add drops of orange juice to water

waspriceyp · 13/01/2009 17:02

I second the orange juice in warm water, hard to get them to take it though.
Try a bit of massage on the tummy after a nice warm bath. Might get things moving a bit.

BlueSapphire77 · 13/01/2009 17:03

My son had to have something from the doc's. Was due to breastfeeding apparently..But was 11 years ago now so can't think what the stuff was called...I've slept since then

Olihan · 13/01/2009 17:06

How is he doing weight wise? Is he still doing plenty of wet nappies? Without being alarmist, at 2 weeks a lack of poo could indicate a problem with how much milk he's getting. How happy are you with his latch and bfing?

mad4mybaby · 13/01/2009 21:04

saw my gp for my 7 week old last week and he said soft brown sugar (def not white) and melt in some warm water. That worked within an hour. The gp can also prescribe lactulose. My ds couldnt have that as dairy intolerant. Saw paed (for something else) monday and she prescribed docusol which on the label says not for under 6 months although she has given a smaller dosage...

thisisyesterday · 13/01/2009 21:07

it could well be the formula tbh.

gybegirl · 13/01/2009 21:15

Go and see the GP any time you're concerned. They're really happy to see little babies. Would try and BF as much as possible to try and up his fluid intake.

primigravida · 14/01/2009 06:58

Formula is usually the culprit wrt constipation in babies so try and cut down on the formula and eat lots of dried apricots and prunes and other high fibre foods yourself to pass through the breast milk in order to get things moving. The sleeping thing is really hard but it does get better. Baby hammocks can be really good, I wish we'd got one sooner.

seeker · 14/01/2009 07:12

I KNOW you're not doing this, but just in case. Are you sure you're not making formula too "strong"? My ds had a few bottles of formula when he was much older than your baby, and I put the powder in the bottle then topped it up to the proper level with water instead of measuring the water first then adding the powder. He was incredibly constipated almost immediately - and he was 6 months old. Worth checking - even though I'm sure you've got more sense than I did!

ILovePudding · 14/01/2009 07:14

How long was it between your ds's poos? Was the poo that he did in small little pellets, or was it normal and loose?

If the poo was normal consistency then it might not be constipation, and more likely trapped wind.

It's quite normal for bf babies to go for long periods without having a poo, eg 7 days wouldn't necessarily be cause for concern.

dd was a windy baby and we used to give her infacol drops before her breastfeeds - worked a charm.

Def have a chat to your doc, you don't want to be giving laxatives if he's not constipated.

MrsHappy · 14/01/2009 07:29

There is one thing on this thread that I think needs clarification.

It is usual for breastfed babies to go some days without a poo, but that usually does not happen until 6+ weeks. If there is a physical problem with the baby causing constipation my understanding (from a paeds specialist) is that it will usually manifest itself within the first month of life.

This is why I suggest you see the GP to rule out any such problem. If there is one, messing about with brown sugar, fruit juice or whatever might not be a great idea.

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