thanks MIL....

amt0312

my LO had an issue with constipation last week after switching over to formula, so the Dr. told us to give her watered down prune juice until she was going 1-2 x day and then to cut down the prune juice. Well, it worked and she's been going 1-2 x day with no problems and her BMs have been very loose (not watery) and totally normal. Whew!

Well....the prune juice makes her insanely gassy, which is fine to deal with if I know she is constipated. Well, last night MIL, despite me telling her specifically that she had 2 bms that day and they were totally normal and she wouldn't need prune juice that night, decided that DD was constipated and gave her prune juice. Well, guess who has been up since 3am grunting and farting and unable to be soothed because of the prune juice. It's literally nonstop and she hasn't gotten good sleep. And I'm the one who has to be up with her! 

Is it possible for a baby to get constipated within a matter of hours? I'm leaning towards saying no, but I need some back up info for when I tell her to please not give LO prune juice unnecessarily. MIL seems to be obsessed with baby's GI system and keeps telling me all about her gastro-colic reflexes. Every time she's the least bit fussy, she's like "oh she's got gas pains mom, what are you gonna do about it." 

Sorry...incoherent rant over....

Hmvbaby14

Ugh! How frustrating! I'd be pissed if my MIL did that.

joshsmandy

I'm afraid I would be hiding that prune juice when MIL was over.

kiki1978

My mom seems to be obsessed with DS gastrointestinal system. As of now she thinks he is having stomach spasms and needs to be on medication.  I don't think you can get constipated in a couple of hours.

peanutmuse

Whether or not constipation could occur within a few hrs is moot. Your MIL did precisely the opposite of what you told her to do without consulting you. That shit does not fly. No pun intended.

MarkandAbbi

I would be calling her while up with LO. Just to say hi and that you would love the company while LO is miserable.....hope your LO feels better.

worleygirl

No it can't happen in hours. And true infant constipation involves hard pebbles so if there were regular Poops that day the prune juice was definitely unnecessary. I would be irate that she disregarded your wishes. Mild Infant gastro distress is part of having a baby. Sorry you are dealing with that.

chicki1012

Wow I feel sorry for a lot of U who's MIL's are just a piece of work. I guess I'm sort of one of the lucky ones cause my MIL lives 5 hours away but when she comes to visit, all she wants to do is if some baby time. She doesn't say anything about anything and my MIL and I get along and I love her to death. I don't think she would ever tell me what is better and so on about parenting. But yeah I would be sooo damn livid if my MIL did some of the things u girls have been mentioning. Anyone out their actually like their MIL???

MamaP19

My MIL is great but my mom drives me crazy with unnecessary worrying. DS hardly ever spits up. He was sleeping in his swing the other day and spit up a little. My mom ran over, picked him up, and of course woke him up, and acted like it was the end of the world. She also obsessively asks about his weight. I wasn't able to BF DD because my milk never came in. I am EBF DS but my mom constantly worries about my supply even though the Ped and LC say he is doing fine and he has plenty of wet and dirty diapers every day. She can be so helpful and I appreciate her concern, but she stresses me out beyond belief over absolutely nothing. 

amt0312

This morning (since MIL is visiting and staying with us), my MIL came down at 6 am and I told her about the excessive gassiness and the terrible night she had. I nicely mentioned that I suspected it was the prune juice and she just acted as though she had done nothing wrong. Uggghh, The prune juice is getting hidden :-)

On a lighter note, she did take the baby and tell me to go get a few hours of sleep. That was really nice and probably made up for her indiscretion last night! 

While I probably could have been more firm in how I approached her this morning, I just really don't want to start any issues while she is here. I was, however, very firm the other day when she asked if she could wrap DD in a huge adult sized fleece blanket and stick her in the RNP to nap with it because "she likes fuzzy blankets". I was like, uuuuuhhhhh absolutely not. Hasn't she heard of SIDS? DH's sister has young kids and she helped out when they were newborns! How has she completely missed all the SIDS recs in the past 30 years?? 

peanutmuse

amt0312 said:

I was, however, very firm the other day when she asked if she could wrap DD in a huge adult sized fleece blanket and stick her in the RNP to nap with it because "she likes fuzzy blankets". I was like, uuuuuhhhhh absolutely not. Hasn't she heard of SIDS? DH's sister has young kids and she helped out when they were newborns! How has she completely missed all the SIDS recs in the past 30 years?? 

That sounds more like a suffocation issue than a SIDS issue.

ashybear

@chicki1012 I'm another lucky one with an amazing MIL. She's completely laid back, and helpful without ever being bossy or judgy. I love her even more because Jude is her 7th grandchild, and she is just as excited about and present for him as any of her earlier ones.

nolagal79

Just want to say that I am super jealous of you ladies with awesome MIL's. I was not fortunate enough to get on that boat. My inky saving grace is that she lives 9 hours away!

Hmvbaby14

My MIL is also not problematic. She comes over to help when I need her, and never overstays her welcome. She doesn't tell us what to do or that we're doing something wrong. She also threw me an amazing baby shower.
My mom on the other hand is a different story. She came when DS was born and I basically had to send her home after a week and a half ( she lives in NY, I live in FL) because she was not helpful AT ALL. She always waited to be asked to do something and then had to ask 20 questions about it. She is coming to visit again in 3 weeks and I will be having a little convo with her ahead of time about what I need her to do.

worleygirl

@hmvbaby14 this is my mom exactly! She tries to help but asks so many questions. It's like she needs constant reassurance. DH is going on a ski trip for 5 days at the end of the month and we've been joking I will have 3 kids to take care of when mom comes to help. She's the kindest person in the world though and I love her to pieces.

CeeJC121013

I'm glad she somewhat made up for it.

Yep. Add me to the list of people with a great MIL but an exhausting mother. And father. And GMIL. If my dad doesn't like what you're naming your kid, he'll just call then something else completely different that he likes. No joke. I have refused to let him do that with my own kids, and that's the reason my sister is keeping the name of her kid a secret until he's born.

Hmvbaby14

@worleygirl We joke about the same thing!!! My mom never used to be so helpless which is why it's so annoying! She's also very emotional. I know when I talk to her about how I'd like her to help cook and clean and not be on her phone facebooking or playing words with friends the whole time she will probably cry. I love her so much but it's really putting a wedge in our relationship. I hope me talking to her helps. :-/

chicki1012

@ashybear

i just realized we are one of the 2 that our LOs have the same birthdays.