Constipation in breastfed newborn

This takes me back 25 years! My second was a hungry baby, but got constipated at about 3 weeks. An older PH nurse showed me how to bathe him in a bath with lots of water, as opposed to the few inches recommended. His tummy was massaged gently for up to 5 minutes, which isn't as easy as it sounds! I was also advised to drink at least a litre of extra fluids, either milk or water.
You are doing a great job and in even a few weeks, you will have forgotten all this as new joys appear. First real smile, babbles in response to you, the need for bigger babygros, etc....
Enjoy this time as it really is so very short and before you know it you'll be waving that bundle of fun off to College.

Couchkitten

Sound like your having a rough time. Hang in there it all starts to get better soon. People are dead right on the water - that is very out of date advice from your phn. Constipation in babies looks like pepples so I think your totally right about it being wind. It's interesting that the baby claimed down in the morning. Maybe he just wanted boob. I found my LO fed almost constantly at times until about 8 weeks.

Try and join a breastfeeding support group. It was my lifeline. In general formula feeding is so much the norm that many people in our lives can be giving advise that is damaging to feeding. Good luck!

spottybananas

Oh sorry I thought it was a gp that told you to give him water but it was midwife and phn wasn't it.

The ball of fury was reserved for nappy changes and bathtime for the first few months. I have photos of him bright red and bawling during both activities. He loves baths now but still wails being dried and dressed, still whinges during some nappy changes.

jlm29

You're doing great! Well done. It's hard going when sleep is scarce, but it gets easier. Cuidiu are a great resource- they might have a breastfeeding support group in your area? And I'm sure if you have any questions they'd be very happy to take phone calls.
Good luck!

dori_dormer

I remember my boy going nuts at nappy changes too. He was a february baby and I think going from warm arms and baby grow to the relative cold and nakedness was a shock! We had a plastic changing mat and put a towel over it so it wouldn't be so cold against his bum.
My boy was also a savage feeder too and didn't sleep more than 2 hrs straight until well past 6 months. I remember the exhaustion well!
It might help to cosleeper, just look up safe practices first!

dori_dormer

I remember my boy going nuts at nappy changes too. He was a february baby and I think going from warm arms and baby grow to the relative cold and nakedness was a shock! We had a plastic changing mat and put a towel over it so it wouldn't be so cold against his bum.
My boy was also a savage feeder too and didn't sleep more than 2 hrs straight until well past 6 months. I remember the exhaustion well!
It might help to cosleeper, just look up safe practices first!

Little Miss Cutie

Our little man finds changing time very upsetting unless he wants it changed. I find letting him lie on the mat for a minute or two before we start chaning him helps keep him calm.

This has also really helped with his wind, less crying seems to equal less wind.

We are trying to figure it out daily too Pooch, day 15 today

Toots

When my little guy was 2 weeks old, he didn't poop for 7 days. He was obviously in pain and nothing we did would work, he was taking his feeds (I was worried that he wasn't so I had expressed some milk and gave him a bottle to make sure) and was having plenty of wet nappies. Also he was farting for Ireland, and they were absolutely stinking. At about 2am one night when he was screaming the house down, I rang the maternity hospital in floods of tears and spoke to a midwife who told me what I'd described was textbook constipation. She told me to get an orange, squeeze it, filter the juice through a muslin, and put a teaspoon of it in a bottle with 5 tsps of water. She said if that didn't work within a few hours I was to bring him in so they could check him over.

Well just to give a bit of advice to any parent who is advised to do this, I'd recommend wrapping your child in some sort of tarpaulin because it's a very effective constipation reliever! About 15 mins after drinking it, there was a rumble from his nappy, and he erupted like a volcano. It was EVERYWHERE! It came out the arms, neck, and leg holes of his onesie, it was all over me, the couch, the floor, everywhere. When I saw how much there was, it was no wonder the poor child was roaring in agony.

He was very colicky and I remember walking the floor for hours with him - my whole family joined in! My dad was particularly good at calming him, he'd put him on his shoulder and do laps of their dining room table singing to him. Apparently he did the exact same thing with me when I was that size. I found holding him like this worked wonders, although each baby is different.



Without a doubt the first few weeks are the hardest, so do try not to despair, you're doing a great job. If it is colic, don't be too worried if none of the colic remedies work - none did for me - but it does settle down as they get a bit older. I think by the 8 week mark it wasn't totally gone, but had definitely improved.

Couchkitten

We always held our LO like that when she was fussy. I saw a mother of 10 do it with a baby and thought that this was a lady who knew what she was doing! A swing was also magic!

Neyite

srobinson wrote: »

Shocking advice, just shocking. "Eat loads of green veg and dose them with gripe water"

Can't believe this post has not been removed, utterly shocking advice. Ireland's relationship with proper breastfeeding is in the 1950s

Mod:

if you have a problem with a post, you report it. Giving out on a thread is unlikely to ensure a moderator notices it.



OP, we have a wonderful community of parents here that are ready to share their knowledge, and I'm sympathetic myself given I had a colicky breastfed newborn. But I'm afraid that suggestions on this thread are veering towards medical advice, especially since your baby is so new. You should really only deviate from formula/milk in a baby that tiny on medical advice.

The only advice I can give you is to consult with all medical professionals that you can, and I hope you find a solution soon. But for now, I have to lock this thread, I'm sorry.