Constipated 5 week old :(

jrp884 · February 2015

My poor little man has been dealing with constipation for about 2 weeks now. He has produced poop everyday but it's been the consistency of play-dough and like little nuggets. And he is clearly struggling getting them out - cries in pain while pushing. Called our pediatrician after the first couple days - they said to just wait it out and give it another week (at the time we had just switched to strictly formula feeding and they said this can happen when diets change and most times babies will regulate on their own again). I waited a week and still nothing had changed so I called back. This time they suggested giving 1 oz of apple or pear juice per day per month of age. I only had apple juice on had so for two days I gave him 1 oz of apple juice in the morning. Still no change in his poop. Called back AGAIN - this time they suggested giving the juice 2-3 times per day. Gave it another two days and still no change. Went out and bought pear juice to see if that would be better than the apple. I gave him 1 oz of pear juice yesterday and about an hour later he produced a nice soft poop and he had no trouble getting it out! YAY! So now my question is do I stop giving him the juice now that he's had a normal poop? Or do I keep going for a period of time to be sure that he's having regular normal poops? I did give him another ounce this morning at his 4:00am feeding and another ounce around 12noon this afternoon. So far he hasn't pooped again. He got a little fussy this afternoon and it looked like he was straining to poop again and having a hard time...

To throw another wrench in the mix, we've not been consistent with the brand of formula we've been using either... He started on a can of Similac that I got as a free sample. Once that ran out, I bought generic Target brand formula that had the same ingredients as Similac. This was about the time he started having the constipation issues. So in the mix of all this, that can was running out so I bought another can of actual Similac again and that's what he's been getting for the last 4 days or so. I'm sure that has been contributing to the problem also...

I'm planning to call our pediatrician again on Monday when they're back open but just thought I'd see what advice others have in the meantime.

mandyreads · March 2015

I don't *think* switching between generics and name brand formulas matter as much. But I could be wrong.
Have you tried massaging his belly? Or moving his legs like he is riding a bike? Those helped my 2nd daughter. She was on soy and so constipated for a few weeks. She finally worked it out and didn't gave any.more problems.
I was worried my 4th daughter would have the same problem once she went on soy a couple wks ago. But so far so good.

PrimRoseMama · March 2015

jrp884 said:
My poor little man has been dealing with constipation for about 2 weeks now. He has produced poop everyday but it's been the consistency of play-dough and like little nuggets. And he is clearly struggling getting them out - cries in pain while pushing. Called our pediatrician after the first couple days - they said to just wait it out and give it another week (at the time we had just switched to strictly formula feeding and they said this can happen when diets change and most times babies will regulate on their own again). I waited a week and still nothing had changed so I called back. This time they suggested giving 1 oz of apple or pear juice per day per month of age. I only had apple juice on had so for two days I gave him 1 oz of apple juice in the morning. Still no change in his poop. Called back AGAIN - this time they suggested giving the juice 2-3 times per day. Gave it another two days and still no change. Went out and bought pear juice to see if that would be better than the apple. I gave him 1 oz of pear juice yesterday and about an hour later he produced a nice soft poop and he had no trouble getting it out! YAY! So now my question is do I stop giving him the juice now that he's had a normal poop? Or do I keep going for a period of time to be sure that he's having regular normal poops? I did give him another ounce this morning at his 4:00am feeding and another ounce around 12noon this afternoon. So far he hasn't pooped again. He got a little fussy this afternoon and it looked like he was straining to poop again and having a hard time...

To throw another wrench in the mix, we've not been consistent with the brand of formula we've been using either... He started on a can of Similac that I got as a free sample. Once that ran out, I bought generic Target brand formula that had the same ingredients as Similac. This was about the time he started having the constipation issues. So in the mix of all this, that can was running out so I bought another can of actual Similac again and that's what he's been getting for the last 4 days or so. I'm sure that has been contributing to the problem also...

I'm planning to call our pediatrician again on Monday when they're back open but just thought I'd see what advice others have in the meantime.

Only give the prune or pear juice as needed for constipation.

Pick a brand & stick with it. Really. We had great success with DD & Similac Sensitive. The more you switch the harder it is on baby's gut.

How are you measuring the scoop? If you are leveling & packing the scoop off then baby could be getting too much formula powder. This can cause constipation. The powder should remain loose in the scoop.

Also, after you bathe baby take some lotion or coconut oil. You can help baby's gut by rubbing just below the belly button in a counter clockwise motion. Baby may express discomfort but it can help move stool along. You can also rub baby's back & bicycle his legs to help with gas etc.

Tummy time can help. As much wiggle time & movement as possible.

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Constipated 5 week old :(

Re: Constipated 5 week old :(

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