son is 5 weeks & almost always poos 'live'!!

[Maria2007]

Hi everyone,

I'm writing with a question which I can't seem to figure the answer for! I really hope the more experienced mums here on mumsnet will be able to help...

I have a 5 week old son, and he's exclusively breastfed so far (I'm mentioning this just in case it's relevant). What has been puzzling me & DP, is the way he is with his pooing. Since the beginning, & as the time passes much more, my baby prefers to poo while we're changing his nappy. In the beginning, he often pooed while being breastfed, but now he more & more 'holds' it- we can tell he's holding it because he grunts & thrashes about & cries out & farts! and then once we've put him on the changing mat he visibly relaxes. Then, once we take off his nappy he always poos, and often explosively (since he's been holding it).

At the beginning we thought this was 'cute'- he only did it around 4 am when my DP changes him. But now it's becoming more of a concern since his grunting & protesting keeps us (and him) awake at night. He goes often for 2 hours grunting & straining like that, until DP or me take mercy on him, change him & let him poo. During the day it's less of a hassle, but still concerns me in case we're doing something wrong & encouraging bad habits.

I'm worried about this, plus it means much less sleep (not that we get much anyway lol)... so please, anyone who has advice, I'd love to hear it!

Maria

Bit puzzled why this is a problem?

You would have to change him if he pooed in his nappy anyway, so why not just change him when he starts grunting and let him poo? Also why leave him for two hours before going to him in the night?

I think you'll just have to go with it for the time being. Everything changes so quickly at this age, he will probably be pooing in his nappy happily soon enough.

forgot to say - maybe get yourself some flat terry nappies to lay underneath him when you take his nappy off - then when he poos you can just rinse off and chuck in the washing machine ready for next time.

both of mine did this. May just be that he's windy as you describe and the action of you holding his legs up which in turn puts a bit of pressure on his tummy results in a blowout. Also doesn't a blast of cold air ancourage them to go? (ds always would wee)

Maybe try leaving his nappy on but raise his legs as if you were changing him and massage his tummy v gently in circle movements above and below belly button (as though you are outlining intestine) Also gently cycling the legs can be a good movement to release trapped wind

Or why not hold him over a little potty and let him poo straight into that as soon as he starts grunting - saves on nappies and washing. I wish my DS had been so clear on his need for a poo.

At 5 weeks old, I'd def be responding straightaway to him in the night so that you all get back to sleep faster.

Thanks for the responses. We've been massaging him & raising his legs, when changing him, & yes, that helps him fart & then poo (while he's being changed).

When he grunts at night this happens in his sleep (he sleeps between us in our bed for now) & often he goes back to sleep immediately & then grunts & cries out again on & off, & again drops off to sleep... so we don't want to wake him, plus we're very tired, especially when this happens at 4 am or so, & keep hoping he'll go back to sleep.

mine used to do this. i thought it was rather cool as he only did one a day early in the morning and it was so much easier to clean up than one that had squished around in a nappy for a while.

saddly it has not lasted as teething has put a stop to one a day.

I would just help him poo into a teeny potty or onto something you can flush tbh. Surely better to encourage him to be clean and recognise his bodies signals even if he is just a wee dot.

Message withdrawn

Sounds like a typical baby of his age to me. DS is 15wo and still exactly like this - it's just 'colic' really, tummy spasms and trapped wind IMO. Have you tried gripe water or infacol? After 4 days of the latter at full dose my DS gets a far better night's sleep (it has a cumulative effect so you don't see the full benefit for a few days - if it helps keep it up). I am very sceptical about infacol tbh but it has helped DS and us (he sleeps in our bed too ) - didn't work with my first two as well.

What is the problem, he is telling you when he wants to poo and making it very clear he doesn't want to do it in a nappy and sit in it, if he can avoid it ?

Don't forget he is not yet 'diaper trained', like older babies and toddlers who over time become trained to use nappies happily as a toilet.

He still has the natural instinct to try and stay clean. It is natural for newborn babies to do their best to not wee/poo until they are naked, to not dirty their nest as such.

If you hold him over the toilet or potty at the first sign of a grunt, he will poo straight away and feel much better. Plus you won't have to deal with the poo in a nappy and all over his bottom.

Seems like a win, win situation

Hi again everyone,

Thanks for your comments & suggestions... to be honest, we're not prepared at this point to use a little potty, we would prefer if gradually he learnt to poo in his nappy. But mainly, what's worrying me is whether the grunting & straining has to do with trapped wind, & also I'm worried by the fact that when this happens it seems to disturb his sleep. E.g. 1 hour after falling asleep at night he will sometimes start straining/groaning while he's still asleep.

In any case, he's generally going through a fussy (colicky?) period, with a lot of crying fits every day, & he needs lots of rocking, soothing, singing, breastfeeding etc to settle. So I'll just go with the flow with the poo thing too, hoping that in time his digestive system will settle & this will pass. I'm convinced this is not just him not liking to poo in his nappy (although that may be part of it); I think it also has to do with trapped wind etc.

Anyway, thanks again for your comments. Any other ideas/advice is of course much appreciated...

Yes, if you ignore his grunting signals, he will stop cueing you by 6 months or so and will be 'diaper training' i.e. Happy to sit in a pooey nappy.

Oh, crying fits straight upon wakening are properly linked to a full bladder too. I pop my 5 week old son on a potty when he wakes and he always wees and stops crying the moment he starts weeing.

Some babies are very sensitive to their eliminations and it sounds like your son is one of the sensitive ones.

All the best, I hope it resolves and you get more sleep and a happier baby asap

My DS always went while changing as a newborn, remember grabbing nappy bags for him to poo in! Ended up getting a potty just to catch it in for an easy life, and before we knew it he was doing all poos in the potty. He never grunted though as far as I remember, but waited till I offered him the potty opportunity at my convenience, but will look out for signalling with future DCs!
Would be interested to see next time if it has an effect on those first few weeks of fussy behaviour- was it down to him not wanting to go in his nappy?!

infacol is great for helping with trapped wind.

well I've tried infacol for a few days now but it doesn't seem to be making a difference...
For now we're going with the flow & changing our boy during the night when he grunts/strains. I have to say his pooing/changing times (especially at night) are his happiest. He gives us these fantastic big smiles after he's done the deed
...But during the day it's getting better. Fewer poos, & always in nappy. He's 6 and a half weeks now, by the way.