I need baby help!

[Lisa loves Pooh]

check with you doctor. My youngest was tested and tested and it was determined---she just didn't go much. Like once every 2 weeks. They said as soon as she had solids, that would change and it did.

Before taking advice--check with the pediatrician.

My doctors final diagnois--my dd was on the far left of the bell curve and it wasn't constipation b/c she had nothing that need going, KWIM?

ETA: She was this way from day 1 until about 8 months or so old.

 

[MoniqueU]

My oldest daughter went a week or more between going. The dr said this was perfectly normal and not to worry but I still did and used suppositories if she didnt go for a certain number of days. I can't remember how long this lasted precisely but it was a couple of months at least.

 

[ElizaB39]

She is breast fed but I'm having to supplement with formula because she kept losing weight after she came home from the hospital. She's not losing anymore so we'll see what the ped says about still supplementing tomorrow. She finally went and it was definitely "pebble" like - not "soft serve" like normal. I've given her some gas drops and I'll try to get her to drink some water after her next feeding.

Thanks for all the help!

My DS was breast fed and did get constipated. It does happen (didn't read posts so don't know if this has been stated).

I used kid suppositories and what it really did was "move the muscle". I held the suppository in for a few minutes and then it would come out right before the poo did. Sorry for the graphics.

ETA: I knew he was const because he was crying, not wanting to breast feed and making the "poopy" face.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

It is never a good idea to give a children supposetories when they don't require it.

Op--talk to you ped.!

 

[ElizaB39]

It is never a good idea to give a children supposetories when they don't require it.

Op--talk to you ped.!

Yes you are right. Call the ped first. I did call mine and this is what he recommended.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Yes you are right. Call the ped first. I did call mine and this is what he recommended.

That's fine--I just feel that after the lecture on not turning it into a BF/Formula debate b/c the doctor may have suggested something...I felt compelled to bring up that really OP shouldn't do things for her baby to make her do anything unless specifically cleared with the ped re: water, suppositories, et cetera.

I know what it is like with a fussy baby who won't go and I remember clear as day wanting to do these very things and was told explicity not to as there was nothing wrong with my daughter as indicated by test results.

Sometimes our good advice for our babes--isn't good advice for others.


That's all.

 

[DisneyPhD]

I don't think the OP asked opinions on bottle/breast feeding, but rather constipation. Not knowing the full cirumstance on why the infant is being supplemented, anyone would be amiss to make such a generalized comment as to stop the formula. You don't know

Breast milk is natural laxitive. The iron in formula is the number one reason for constapation. The OP says she was only giving the formlua because baby had lost weight (a natrual thing) and was no longer doing it. Clearly anyone should talk to their Doctor. That is why we have them. Suplamenting with formlua can actually reduce your milk supply, causing more problems then it fixes.

While some bf babies can be constapated, it is very rare in ones that are exculsivly bf. It also can be as many people have stated, that lack of bm does not always mean constpatoin. However checking with your Doc is always a good thing.

 

[justhat]

This isn't really about the specific problem, just about the debate over whether or not water is safe. My ped (actually 3 of them in our group) said never give a baby who is breastfed water cause it can basically dilute their blood, and their kidneys can't process the water, and they can actually 'drown'. Not sure how that applies to formula fed babies, but if this baby is primarily breastfed then I wouldn't mess with water till I asked my dr.

DisneyPhD, it might be that the baby lost too much weight that she has to supplement. That happened with Madison, she lost 11% of her body weight at her first appt. which was 4 days after she was born. Her dr said that they don't like to see babies loose more than 10% of their weight so we had to supplement too. After 1 night of supplementing (she still nursed, but I did not have any milk so she was literally getting drops) she gained 5 ounces by the next day. I felt horrible that I was so caught up in trying to get her to nurse that I was starving her. All she did was sleep all day and scream when she woke up and the dr said the sleeping was her body trying to conserve energy since she wasn't getting any food. I would pump and literally get maybe 1/2 oz. total from both sides after 40 minutes of pumping per side. Once my milk came in 2 days later I would get 4 oz. per side in just 10 minutes of pumping so at that point we were able to cut out the formula.

Madison did poop with every diaper till she was about 8 weeks old or so, then she went to every 7-10 days, which I loved. But since your baby's was pebbly, I'd go ahead and ask the dr.

 

[MrsKreamer]

I would also NOT give your baby water at that age. My mom was baffled when I told her this b/c they were told to give us water in between feeding. Now drs say it can be harmful. Ds went through the constipation thing too. He was only on formula by the time he got it though. I was told it was b/c of too much iron in the formula and their systems can't handle it. Don't do anything until you confirm it with your doctor.

 

[mermaidlady]

While it is true that babies lose weight after birth they should be back to birth weight by 2 weeks old. This baby is three weeks and if baby is still losing weight supplemental feedings are necessary. When I worked in the peds office we often recommended karo syrup.

 

[dcgrumpy]

The OP said the baby "kept losing weight" which to me sound different than the normal weight a baby loses in the first few days. None of mine kept losing weight once they were home from the hospital.

 

[mariolatry]

It is never a good idea to give a children supposetories when they don't require it.

Op--talk to you ped.!

I think she just means glycerin suppositories, which work mostly by stimulating the reflex and melting to provide a little bit of lubrication for the poop to come out.

 

[dcgrumpy]

The iron in formula is the number one reason for constapation

actually recent studies show that iron doesn't effect babies the same as adults and iron does not cause constipation in infants.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I think she just means glycerin suppositories, which work mostly by stimulating the reflex and melting to provide a little bit of lubrication for the poop to come out.

thanks..I didn't suspect that it was anything but those. We've used them with ped suggestion when she was a toddler and I know that sometimes babies are given them. But just the same--make sure there's stuff to come out before helping it along, KWIM?

In my circumstance--had I posted the same precise post 3 years ago...that suggestion, had I followed it, would have done more harm than good to my daughter and could have impaired her ability to go on her own.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

And the water thing---I think it is hyponetremia (sp?)--it dilutes the sodium levels in the body. Symptoms can mimic dehydration and the worst thing to do is give water b/c it makes the problem worse. Probably why it is not advised for nursed infants.


ETA for a link on this topic as an FYI:

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00032470.htm

The rest of the stuff I found was research and studies. You can google "hyponatremia infants" if you are interested. I didn't find anything specific to water supplementation and bf--but was simply providing some info on the topic.

Carry on.

OP--I hope your baby is better soon!