9 day old baby hasn't pooped in over 48 hours

[irnbr00]

She seems so uncomfortable. Her last poo was Tuesday at 4am. She was only doing one poo a day before that but we're nearing 3 days and still nothing. I rang the midwife this morning and they said to ask the GP. Took her to doctors and he said that they can go a week without emptying their bowels? I know he's a professional but that doesn't seem right for such a young baby that is FF.

She keeps straining and whinging and just looks/sounds so miserable while doing it. I've tried all the massages and bicycle legs, nothing is working. I'm getting so upset that I can't help her 🙁

She is happily taking her bottle around every 3 hours without issue, still having lots of wet nappies.

Midwife is out to see us tomorrow so will probably ask for a second opinion, im just so concerned for her. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Did anything help to relieve LO?

I had a similar call to the doctor, we kept the massages going and that plus a vibrating bouncer chair eventually worked.

DS once went 8 days without pooping when he was about 3-4 weeks old, he was breast fed though. Doctor wouldn’t even see him until it has been a week. I can’t actually remember what the doctor suggested as DS did a massive poo half way through the appointment to discuss his lack of bowel movements! He never went that long again, but a day or two is normal when they’re tiny.

You could try taking baby to a cranio-sacral therapist. It's the gentlest touch, I promise, and it can work very quickly!

My baby was FF also and used to go 7 days without going. The car seat always seemed to help, I think the position of it? Also a vibrating bouncer chair. If that fails put baby in a really nice outfit and they will go 😅

completely missed that baby is FF (🙄 teach me to be on Mumsnet & watching tv!)
formula can be trickier to digest & slower to pass = thicker/pastier stools, but discomfort isn’t great/expected & still might be worth discussing with an IBCLC (I often support bottle feeding families) - will leave the “wrong” info incase anyone else comes to this thread with similar prob with a breastfed baby
As an IBCLC I’d suggest asking for some feeding support - what you’re describing are signs that baby may not be transferring milk effectively & is not pooping because they’re not getting enough milk & would be unhappy/unsettled because of this as well - would hope you’re still being seen by MW’s & would suggest contacting them asap & asking for infant feeding support, or use the find an IBCLC feature on the LCGB.org website to find a properly qualified lactation consultant local to you - they’ll often be able to offer a little free support/advice before you commit to paying to see them or may even offer free/cheap to access drop-in groups oxx

Baby is formula fed by the looks of it

Yup 🤦🏻‍♀️!

Hi OP, sorry to hear about your little one’s distress. We had a very similar situation with our new born last year. She was FF and didn’t poo for a couple of days, she was straining and passed tiny rock solid rabbit lumps with a bit of blood so at A&E the doctor prescribed lactulose and glycerol suppositories. We used these for a couple of weeks and it helped. We also swapped her formula from Kendamil to Cow and Gate. I think the Kendamil was a bit rich for her and harder to digest. We were also allowed to give her an ounce or so of water to help pass stools.

If the massages and exercises are not helping then please go back and emphasise that your little one is in distress. I really hope things improve for you and your baby very very soon.

Sounds odd but I had a similar situation with my second. I got a bit desperate and found some reflexology videos to help constipated babies. It worked in epic fashion! It can’t hurt to try, although also do keep on trying the midwife.

Thanks everyone, she still hasn't managed to poo yet bless her. Had the midwife around this morning for her day 10 checkup and she said the same as the GP, that it can take them a while. We had been using the premade kendamil formula just to get used to everything as we were gathering our bearings but she advised making up a bottle with formula powder as it might help her to go. She also recommended we get some infacol to see if that helps. Was advised if bub still hasn't done anything by Monday then go back to the GP. Me and her dad are absolutely desperate for her to go, everytime she strains we strain with her 😅 but alas, no luck yet. I wouldn't mind so much if she was calm and content but every so often all hell breaks loose and she just looks so uncomfortable and she becomes an angry, red, screaming potato. Fingers crossed she does one today!

We hybrid fed our little bumble bee due to her size and I always noticed on the nights we used formula she wouldn't poo or would poo significantly less. She also got VERY gassy. Now that my milk has caught up with demand we use it a lot less and I express so DH can still feed her. Have you tried altering the temperature of her formula? Apparently that can affect their tummy.

We're keeping our fingers crossed for you.

Has she been yet @irnbr00? Things that usually help are the Tiger in the Tree hold, tummy massage (you can usually find some good videos on YouTube for this), a bath, putting them in a sling and going for a walk. Don’t use a baby carrier though as I think it’s the closeness, movement and slight compression of the sling that helps get things moving.

@ExplodingSmittensYes she has! Making up a bottle of formula instead of using the premade stuff and giving her a bath was the trick! Of course she decided to do the biggest poop ever after I had got her all clean and in new pyjamas, but I've never been so excited to smell poo in all my life 😂