Trying, trying, trying...

I have a 3mo. old (8/13) born two months early. He is able to poop every few days but will be trying (straining, red face etc...) consistently for a number of hours if not at least a full day before he is able to actually poop. At Drs. suggestion, I've tried the juices, prune & apple but he is not able to tolerate them. Dr. also recommended Carnation Good Start instead of Enfamil but he is unable to burp w/the new formula. Does anyone have any suggestions or have you had a similar situation?

Thanks in advance...

[jerseygirl07067]

My 4 week old has the same problem. And I breastfeed, and have limited dairy in my diet (sigh- I LOVE cheese unfortunately). The grunting goes on for hours and it affects her ability to sleep too! I am seeing the pediatrician on friday and I will be bringing this up. If I learn anything new I will let you know!

Mary

This may not be the case with your DS, but FWIW, lots of babies grunt and turn red and pass gas in order to poop. It may not mean he's consitpated. Some babies can go days without pooping. Only if the poop he passes are hard is he consitpated. If he has pain related to the gas, you can try bicycling his legs to help relieve it. Also, if he doesn't burp with the Carnation, or it's just delayed, it may not be a problem unless he is in pain or is spitting up as a result. Not an expert here, but I know sometimes my son wouldn't burp for a long time and later he would. As long as I tried to burp him, and as long as it didn't seem to cause pain or cause spitting up, I just didn't worry too much about it.

My 11-weeker does this, too, since about 6 weeks old, so I would also appreciate help with this. He typically starts pushing at 5AM at which I have to put him in bed with me holding him in a crunched up position for his comfort. He can push for hours several times a day and screams with some of the gas he passes. This can go on from two to six days until he poops. It makes him miserable. I've also been told he isn't "constipated" unless when he finally poops and it comes out firm/hard, and was also told by the phone nurse if he's breastfed, which he is, that he'll work it out eventually himself. But why should he (and I) have to suffer like this from day to day, week to week? Already giving him Mylicon for the gas, but can't help him much since he about bites my finger off when I offer it to him to suck for comfort (doesn't like the pacifiers) and he even bites down on his own fists and forearms. We do lots of bike pedaling and bouncing up and down.

[denvergal]

my ds did this at the 3 month mark. to me and dh's alarm, he didn't poop for 4 days and he seemed miserable. we took him to the dr and all she said was that it was normal for bf babies. what happens is, around this time, many babies forget how to poo. they push and push but they don't realize that they have to push but at the same time, relax the sphincter muscle or else it's like pushing against a wall and all they end up doing is passing gas. sounds kinda cute and sad at the same time, huh? well, then she said that eventually they figure it out and that since it doesn't harm them, there was nothing we could do. gosh, that was frustrating to hear since, in the meantime, we were all suffering. so, we told everyone we knew about it, in order to find some sort of resolution and at a friend's suggestion, we did the following: *warning this is going to sound really strange and unpleasant but it really, really works!* (you might want to get one other person to help to hold baby's legs)

-put baby down on back, making sure that there is a diaper underneath his bottom.
-have you or someone else tuck baby's legs in toward tummy (this position makes it easier for them to push.)
-take an infant/pediatric suppository (look for the solid glycerin ones)
-coat baby's anus and suppository liberally with KY jelly.
-insert suppository in about 1/3 to 3/4 of the way in and keep twisting the suppository. do not insert the entire suppository.
-you will feel baby pushing but keep it inserted and twisting until you feel the poop coming.
-once, you feel it and see it, you can let go.
ok...i know it sounds really unpleasant but it works. the reason it works is because the pressure of the suppository, forces that sphincter muscle to relax and at the same time the pressure of it and the twisting motion makes the baby want to push. i know of people that actually inserted the suppository and left it in but i was really not comfortable with the idea of doing that to a 3 month old especially since it wasn't a constipation problem. it doesn't hurt the baby and my ds didn't even cry. and i've told another one of my friend's who did the same thing and she had success too!

I have read your message and the replies you have received and it all sounded so familiar. I have a 5 month old who used to have the exact same problem. We also tried juices, corn syrup...and the dreaded suppository (which did work). I think that I finally figured out what our problem was- an imbalance of foremilk and hindmilk. I was pumping and feeding my baby with a bottle. I noticed that the milk I was pumping was thinner looking than it used to be and found a posting on the La Leche League website that basically described the problem my baby was having (and you describe here). I switched to Carnation Good Start Formula and my baby was better in a few days and is now totally regular (including now that he is eating oatmeal!!). The website also described how to "correct" the imbalance (which I did not try). Anyway, I hope that may help. I so remember how my heart would sink every time I would hear him strain and then cry in his sleep because he was so uncomfortable! Good Luck.