Newborn constipation?

Question

My son is 1.5 months old. He is breastfed, he usually has lots of problems with gas, he burps a lot, spits up, gets very uncomfortabole with passing gas and stool and now he hasn't pass movement in 3 days. He tried many times, usually whenever he wakes up he grunts and strains to push without a result, sometimes he passes gas in the end. Doctor told me earlier that he cannot suck efficiently and he swqallows lots of air, thus I try to burp him every 3-5 min while feeding. When I asked him about his movement the doctor said he may getting not enough milk. Someone please tell me what to do with his movement and his bloating problem.

Answer 1

Give him 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of Milk of Magnesia OR
Use Infant Suppositories. LUBE it up good with vasoline.

Why not pump your breast-milk then bottle feed it to him?

Breast feed PLUS bottle feed. Soy Formula. 50/50 or 75/25

Change YOUR diet. Eliminate things that will make him constipated. YOU drink more WATER.

Answer 2

It is perfectly normal for a breastfed baby to go a few days or up to a week without a bowel movement. As long as the baby has at least 6 wet diapers each day then he is probably fine. And when he does poop it should be a yellow color and look kind of like cottage cheese. I wouldn't be worried that he isn't getting enough milk unless the poop is a green color.

Also it is totally normal for a newborn baby to have gas and strain when he makes a movement. His body is immature and the muscles that push the bowels are weak. By pushing and straining he's getting those muscles in shape. As he gets older and your milk supply regulates, the gas and straining will decrease.

Answer 3

When my son was that small, he had problem with poo poo too so I gave him few drop of water after I fed him everytimes (about 2-3 teaspoons of water). It helped.
Can he suck well with the bottle? If so, maybe you can use the milk plump to get the breast milk out and feed him with the bottle. Get the brand like Dr brown that helps to lower the air intake. Also, the plump will keep stimulate the breast and keep the milk supply since your son is having trouble to suck.
Unless there is no choice, you can consider give him some formular. However, the iron also will make him constipated so I added a little water. But don't stop the breastfeeding. Once he is fine, you can stop the formular.
My friend taught me the above tips and it may not agree with the doctor. So it is up to you to try or not.

Answer 4

Keep consulting your doctor about specifics. If you lose confidence in your current doctor, change to one that you trust.

Though my opinion is not professional, I base my opinion on a LOT of experience with babies. The symptoms you describe sound like colic. Nobody knows the precise cause of colic, and the list of symptoms is quite large. The bloating, passing gas, burping, belching, spitting up after eating, constipation, and crying, etc., all fit into the list.

If the symptoms intensify for any reason, seek medical help immediately. Any time that the symptoms present with a fever, seek medical help. If the constant crying begins to wear on you or other family members, causing excessive frustration or anger, until you can seek help from your doctor, call a friend or family member to come help your for a while.

Unfortunately, colic has no sure-fire cures. You will hear as many “treatments” or tricks as there are mothers in the world. The tricks I find the most effective include gently massaging the abdomen, using the fingers, moving them in a waving motion from the top right of the abdomen towards the lower right, working up to the upper left and down to the lower left. Continue the massaging action into the extreme lower abdomen towards the waist. (This works great on older kids with tummy-aches.)When you the baby straining, gently place your palm over the abdomen, allowing the baby to push against your hand. You may try “standing the baby up” while attempting to have a bowel movement. While trying to “stand,” the baby uses his or her legs to push, which helps to move the solid waste. You can accomplish the same thing when while the baby lays on her or his back by gently grasping each foot and pressing the knees of the baby up towards his or chest. The baby will then push against your hands while straining to move her or his bowels.

One of my all time favorite stories is when one of my godchildren had a bad colic episode. The baby had just celebrated his one-month birthday, and his parents were exhausted from the constant crying. Per prior arrangement, they asked me to stay with him one evening while they went out for a quiet meal. The baby and I decided to make a trip to Wal-Mart to pick up a package of diapers and other necessities. Despite my winning personality, the baby continued to cry and let me know what he thought about my driving. When we arrived at Wal-Mart, I secured his baby seat in the buggy and began my long walk through the parking lot. Just before we arrived at the doors, I detected a rather foul odor. Upon closer inspection, I discovered the cure for current colic episode. The baby, buggy, and the car seat all needed cleaning, but in the end, the baby and I did not complain. After cleaning everything, we enjoyed a nice leisurely stroll through the store. Imagine the look of utter surprise when the parents arrived home to find a sleeping child and quiet house. Until the baby grew out of the colic-period, the shopping carts and the various stores provided much needed relief for parents and for the baby.

Congratulations on the new baby! Good luck!

Will D
Enterprise AL

Answer 5

It is quite normal for a 6 week old breastfed baby to sometimes go a few days without having a bowel movement.

Interrupting his nursing to burp him every few minutes will not help his gas - in fact, it will probably make it worse. He will get frustrated and cry, and this will give him more gas :(

Breastfed babies usually do best when you let them finish the first breast first, without interruption. Watch the baby, not the clock!
After he has finished the first side (coming off all by himself,) then you can burp him and change his diaper. Always offer him the other side too.

Lots of babies make a huge fuss about having a bowel movement, but that is not a sign of you not having enough milk or him not suckling efficiently.

Is he gaining well?
Healthy?
Generally happy?
If so, there probably isn't much wrong.

If you are still concerned about this, please go to see somebody who knows about breastfeeding issues.
To find a local La Leche League Group or Leader, please go to:
http://www.lalecheleague.org/contact.html
LLL Leaders do not charge for services.

If there is no LLL Leader in your neighbourhood, you might want to see a board certified (IBCLC) lactation consultant. LCs usually charge for services. To find a local LC go to http://www.ilca.org

Answer 6

For breastfeeding mothers, newborn constipation is not really an issue, because although your baby may grunt and groan and squish up her face, she is probably not constipated.
Constipation is when your baby's stool is really firmly formed or shaped like hard pellets. In this case, you should talk to your doctor.

But if you are concerned about newborn constipation because your baby only has a bowel movement every two or three days, stop worrying and start rejoicing! (smile)

As long as your baby's stools are not hard, it doesn't matter how often they poop. And consider yourself lucky if it's only every few days.

I once had a friend who was very concerned about her daughter. She was about four months old as I recall and had not had a bowel movement in 13 days! She was exclusively breastfed so her doctor wasn't worried, but my poor friend was beside herself. Finally on day 14, she pooped the mother of all poops. Helen had her hands full - pun intended!

-from (http://www.pregnancy-leads-to-new-babies.com/Newborn-Constipation.html)

Also try
http://www.rubinstein-taybi.org/bluebook/constipation.html

Hope that helped.

Answer 7

Its not very common for breastfed babies to be so constipated, since breastmilk has natural laxative properties. You could try giving him some gas (Mylicon) drops, but I would ask your doctor about it first. Also. it sometimes helps to kinda "bicycle" his legs and scrunch them up to his belly. And rub your hand on his belly in a circular motion. It may help him pass the gas a little easier.

Answer 8

You could try pumping his milk and give it to him that way. I had that problem also so I would supplement sometimes. The gas could also be caused if you eat spicy food or chocolate. Every baby is different. I eventually had to go with a formula and give up breast milk for this reason. Good luck!

Answer 9

When that happens at our house, we usually mix some karo syrup in the bottle with the baby's milk. Not pancake syrup mind you, just plain old karo syrup. works like a charm. He usually poops within a few hours. If he's really badly constipated, you might have to do it a couple of times before it works.

Answer 10

try small doses of Mylecon drops for the gas. You also probably need to get the suppositories for babies and cut it long ways into thirds this will lubricate the stool and help him pass it. If the problem continues you should probably try pumping and mixing the breast milk half and half with soy formula