Constipated 3week old please help

[Babydust13]

Hi all my son is 3 weeks old on Wednesday and is really struggling to go poo. The last time he went was Friday evening but since then he seems to be in some distress when trying to go and all he managed to squeeze out today was a small hard brown pellet poo. He's bottle fed with cow&gate first infant milk and has been since birth. I appreciate any help I'm a first time mum many thanks

He could be dehydrated due to the heat, so my first instinct would be to up the feeds. First of all though, make sure you’re mixing the formula with the right amount of water. If he won’t take any more feed, offer some cooler boiled water perhaps from a teaspoon.
Try moving his legs like he’s riding a bike, or massage his tummy. You could also try a warm bath and switching formula.
It may take a few days to get things moving again, but if things don't improve, speak to your HV or doctor. Your doctor may prescribe a laxative or double check that it's not being caused by any underlying medical conditions.

@Fivemoreminutes1 thanks he gets fed every 2 hours and we just use the ready made stuff. We have tried bicycle legs and tubby his belly as best we can his cord still hasn't fallen off yet so we can't give him a bath.

I can try some water though

I'd get a tub of powder formula and try that - if we use ready made a lot (like when on holiday), a bottle of powder formula usually guarantees a massive poo.

Otherwise can you out him in a brand new nice outfit and be late for something because that works every time for mine.

@Getawriggleon thank you good plan

Hi there,

My baby had the same thing. A couple of things worked

1. Rub Vaseline near baby’s bum hole, it will loosen any tightenings.
2. Dilute the powder formula ever so slightly.

@reimah thank you I'll try that someone else mentioned the Vaseline to me 🙂

You may find switching formulas help. You can maybe try SMA first if not Hipp Organic first? For his current condition, you need to make sure he’s getting enough fluids so give him plenty of warmed up water if you can. Also, rubbing oil or vaseline and triggering with an earbud helps to relieve constipation but you may need to wait a few attempts. Hope this helps.

@MummyofBaby he's still drinking plenty but he does pull his legs up a lot I might try him on SMA but he's only 3 weeks so I don't want to swap to soon the midwife seems to think it can take 4-6 weeks for them to get used to formula I just feel bad because he's not a happy bunny 😢

My baby has a 'poo position' you could try. I sit upright with my knees bent and her back against my thighs, then her knees are pushed up towards her tummy and angled out slightly, I keep her in this position if i need her to do a poo and most of the time it works, although has twice exploded out onto me, but better out than in haha.

@Fleetw00d I'll try that thank you he did do one poo yesterday evening but it wasn't very big and he's gone back to struggling all day today

Look up reflexology for baby constipation. I am totally non-woo, but my HV showed me how to do this for DD1, and it worked a treat! And even if it doesn't, well, your baby's had a nice foot massage.

Agree with pp about reflexology, middle of the foot rub out to inside with thumb for a few times then clockwise circles with thumb then back to out to in. Good luck hope he feels better soon