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Parenting

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Original poster

Prune juice for one month old who's constipated?

22 replies

nellyellz · 28/04/2017 19:17

Hi, my five week old seems constipated. He only has a dirty nappy every four days or so anyway but is in pain just now and bright red every time he strains. I've heard prune juice relieves constipation in babies but is it ok as young as five weeks?

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isthistoonosy · 28/04/2017 19:18

Id not give it to a baby that young. A little water maybe.

Are you breastfeeding or formula?

PotteringAlong · 28/04/2017 19:20

No, not at 5 weeks!

Rosa · 28/04/2017 19:21

no ...no way .

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AnyFucker · 28/04/2017 19:21

No, for Christ's sake

Bringmesunshite · 28/04/2017 19:21

No. Not at 5 weeks. We have it to dd when she was weaned. Speak to a gp.

Phillipa12 · 28/04/2017 19:28

Bicycling their legs and massaging their bottom (the bit were the poo comes out) not nice no, but works a treat and water but not prune juice at this age

Ikillallplants · 28/04/2017 19:28

A older health visitor said that she had recommended a little brown sugar disolved in water for twenty odd years and it worked well. However she had been told she wasn't allowed to recommend that anymore as it hadn't been properly tested. Instead she should recommend a little orange juice watered down but it didn't really work ad well.
The brown sugar worked a treat on dc

Original poster

nellyellz · 28/04/2017 19:29

That's what my mum recommended as well, but I keep reading so many differing things online about all the solutions!

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GuinessPunch · 28/04/2017 19:30

Warm water.

Popskipiekin · 28/04/2017 19:31

As pp said are you breastfeeding or formula? I had severely constipated ebf baby 3/4 weeks. He didn't poo for a week, was getting v concerned. A midwife suggested that I drink huge quantities of orange juice - worked very well!

ColourofMagic · 28/04/2017 19:34

I found me taking lactulose seemed to work for my dd when she was 7 weeks ( I am ebf). Not sure if it was the lactulose or just coincidence though! I worked on the principle that some medicine passes through the milk and it was worth a try.

WellErrr · 28/04/2017 19:35

Breastfeeding or formula?

Either way, no to prune juice, sugar or anything else.

LauraPalmersBodybag · 28/04/2017 19:36

Hi Nelly, their bodies go through a change at around this time that slows down the frequency of poos so they're not going very few hours. At 6 weeks My dd went for 10 days without one - apparently up to 2 weeks isnt that unusual. I spoke to my HV and La Leche League as I was bf and they all said the same. If you think he's in pain, as opposed to just straining (I watched my dd turn as red as a tomato when she eventually pooed, but didn't cry or wail and was fine after) then see your gp.

If you're breastfeeding you can do things like drink fennel tea which has a a natural laxative effect, a teeny tiny amount will pass through your milk and aid your ds.

Either way, I definitely wouldn't advise prune juice as his digestive tract will not be ready to cope with that. Your HV might recommend a tiny amount of sterile water but I don't want you to take just my opinion on that - better to check with a professional.

Mostly though, don't worry, it's perfectly normal and call your doctors surgery if you're concerned.

Original poster

nellyellz · 28/04/2017 19:39

He's combi fed atthe minute, two bottles of formula a day and the rest breast fed and expressed. He usually goes 4-5 days between dirty nappies but this time he really seems in pain, screaming and has been reluctant to feed (either formula or my milk) I know he's going through a leap at the moment so is out of sorts anyway, but he just seems so distressed

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Original poster

nellyellz · 28/04/2017 19:41

Someone recommended fennel tea but said to put it in cooled boiled water for my baby, I thought that would have been too much?

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TheHiphopopotamus · 28/04/2017 19:48

My DS was constipated around five weeks old, which they reckon is common in breastfed babies.

Health visitor recommended a spoonful of cooled boiled water with a couple of drops of freshly squeezed orange. Worked a treat.

That was 12 year ago though, so advice may have changed somewhat.

LauraPalmersBodybag · 28/04/2017 20:46

www.essentialbaby.com.au/baby/baby-care/guide-to-baby-bowel-movements-20110726-1hyac

www.babycenter.com/404_is-it-normal-for-my-baby-to-poop-after-every-feeding_3652446.bc

Just a couple of articles that mention the change as the gut matures - I'd be reluctant to label it constipation just yet. Try some fennel tea once or twice a day and see if that helps him along. I does sound pretty normal though.

Thinking about it, one of my HV team also mentioned a couple of drops of orange juice in sterile water too. I do also remember lots of crying with some of the big poos. Rubbish, but it does pass.

Hth

GuinessPunch · 28/04/2017 20:49

I used to drink 6 cups of fennel tea a day myself.

sarebear1983 · 29/04/2017 06:30

We've just been having similar problems with our 7 week old. The HV said cooled boiled water in a bottle, no more than 120ml in 24 hours. We didn't give him that much but it didn't work. Then we tried it while it was still warm, he took around 10 or 20ml and that worked a treat xx

FartnissEverbeans · 29/04/2017 08:51

Our DS had constipation at around this age. He was EFF and we switched him to comfort milk. Within a day he was sorted and we never had an issue with constipation again.

Our paediatrician said that there's a lot of iron in regular formula and that can leave some babies a bit stuffed up. He recommended comfort milk.

AdmiralSirArchibald · 29/04/2017 08:58

Yes, we switched to comfort milk as well and it worked immediately. Poo slightly more green in colour though!

usernjdhkvdgkb · 29/04/2017 09:06

My oldest suffered at that age I found that the odd ounce of water between feeds help and also laying on a change mat without a happy for a while then lift legs and wipe bottom with cotton wool and warm water and it worked every time it got things moving.

Also HV advised a drop of diluted pure orange juice, not sure if this is current advice though as was 14 years ago

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