My three-week-old baby is constipated. How can I make her feel better?

Question

My three-week-old doesn't poop everyday and her doctor said that's normal, as long as she goes at least once every five days or so. I know she's constipated because I hear her straining and sometimes she cries out in pain. Is there any way to make her feel better?

I think she's constipated because the last bowel movement she had was hard and it took her at least fifteen minutes to make it. They're usually pretty loose.

She's bottle-fed and yes, her formula is iron-fortified. My doctor told me about rectal-stim (sticking a Q-tip up her bum), but I'm a new mother, first-timer, and I hate hearing my little one cry out in pain!

Answer 1

half prune or apple juice with water.

and use glycrine supositoires. my dr tol us to try it and it worked.

Answer 2

Do you bottle feed her? If you do I am assuming youare using a brand that is iron fortified? That is why she is having such a hard time. The extra iron is constipating her. What you can do is make her bottle and put in a little Karo Corn Syrup. I know.....I thought it was nuts too! But our doc recommended it and I have heard of it in others since then. Don't use a lot. She is 3 weeks old...probably drinking 2-3 ounces....I would use at the most 1/2 a tsp. But by all means check w/ your doc first. They also make baby suppositories.

Answer 3

My son was that way. It is very painful for both parties, i know. His bowel would come to the opening, where i could see it, I would take a q-tip with vaseline on the tip, hold his legs up just like i was changing him, closer to his stomach and would have to dig it out. leave some vaseline on exit, so that it may help baby next time. I had to do this forever. He was unable to drink formula, so I would give him 2 percent milk-4 oz bottle with 1 Tablespoon dark kayro syrup, that helps keep the bowels loose. Wouldnt hurt to put some in formula, just to try. Make warm, so that the syrup mixes well. Hope this helps.

Barb

Answer 4

Well, to make her feel better use warm towels and place them on her belly. To help her poop better u may want to ask the doctor about changing formulas. I am no expert but I had two boys and both were constipated and colicky. The towel thing helped a little bit but the changing of formula is what really did it. U can also try Mylecin drops. The are an over the counter anti gas. Hope this helps!!

Answer 5

You need to talk to the doctor about it. Tell her that it took so long as was so hard. Our doc told us to make sure he was getting enough fluids and then she wanted us to try a little prune juice--like he would drink that. The she told us to get some kind of over the counter mineral oil. Even with a teaspoon, he had diarrhea for days, so if you try that, I would only do a couple of drops in the formula and see if it works. However, it may not be abnormal for a movement to take so long and be difficult to get out for a 3-week-old. She isn't used to having to do it at all.

Answer 6

If her poop isn't hard she isn't constipated. Sorry, nothing you can say will make is so.
"1. a condition of the bowels in which the feces are dry and hardened and evacuation is difficult and infrequent. "
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/constipation

Straining and crying out in pain aren't diagnostic either, babies have a lot of trouble with digestion when they are new. Their bodies have never done it before so it doesn't quite know how, and the baby doesn't know how it is supposed to feel. Babies also frequently strain just to try out their muscles.

Treatment for constipation in a 3 week old even when they are severely constipated is dangerous. It is far to easy to cause diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration in the blink of an eye. Dehydration in a baby under 6 weeks is extremely dangerous.

The ONLY treatments that are safe are infant massage and warm baths.

Giving your baby anything other than breastmilk or formula under six weeks of age is dangerous. This includes medications, teas, juice, corn syrup/Karo syrup (which may be linked to infant botulism), and water. Even water can cause water intoxication in one so young, which can lead to serious problems.

Likewise inserting hard objects into your babies rectum is dangerous. You could consider gently rubbing the outside of the rectum with Vaseline, but never insert anything into the babies rectum that wasn't designed to go in there, and even then only do so under the advice of a physician.

Switching formula, if that is what you are feeding, is likely only to cause worse problems.

Please listen to your doctor, many babies do not poop every day. It is normal for breastfed babies to go up to 7, and formula fed babies to go up to 4. They use up all of their food. Their diet doesn't contain indigestible fiber, it is a liquid only diet.

Please let her be for at least another three weeks and then discuss it with your doctor again. But to me, your baby sounds just fine.

Answer 7

if her bowels are hard and she is straining try switching formulas, my daughter was constipated for the first 3 weeks and so she would throw up everthing she ate since it had no where else to go, after trying (almost) every formula on the market my doctor suggested trying soy formula, it did the trick and stayed on it till she was done w/ formula. my doctor said it was some kind of cows milk alergy (in regular formula's). Iron fortified can also bind them up, another option is low iron. I would check w/ your babys doctor before doing anything though.

Answer 8

Give her about 1-2 ounces of water. Or put about a spoon of Kayro syrup in her bottle. Both of these work great for my son who is 2 months old. Also, the Doc said to give him a little prune juice.

Answer 9

If your baby is feed by a bottle you can try to put a teaspoon of dark karo syrup in the bottle. that will help. But listen to the Dr by daughter is breast feed and the first few months we would only get a poopy about once a week. She may just have gass if she is straining try gass dropps.

Answer 10

Give the baby water that helps. Also maybe it's her formula that's causing the constipation. At food for less or Target they have the one time use packages. Try chaging it. Similac Advance 20 works well for my son.

Answer 11

My Dr prescribed infant suppositories but that has been many years ago. I would recommend following the Dr.'s instructions.
Doctors treat infants and children way different than they did 20 years ago.