Help - could formula milk be giving my baby constipation?

[grover]

Hi,

Please could someone help. I have an 11 day old baby and i had fully intended to breast feed - but my baby does not latch on and after he started losing weight, i started feeding him on Cow and Gate Infant milk. I am finding that he strains when pooing - could the formula milk be making him constipated? I feel so guilty for not being able to breast feed and am thinking of changing to full time expressing. What do you guys think? Is it the formula or could it be something else? He is not like that all the time and generally i have been mixing feeds between formula and expressed breast milk. I am producing a tiny amount and am wondering whether it is worth it.

Please could someone help me with the straining while trying to poo query? He goes completely red and i feel so sorry for him. This is my first baby, so am i being over cautious?

 

[Charlotte-j]

it could be his formula, may be worth trying another kind. If you're giving breast milk too i recommend giving aptamil a try

 

[lilbumpblue]

Yes hun it could well be his formula...SMA gold is very good!

 

[WW1]

Yes hun it could well be his formula...SMA gold is very good!

SMA made my LO horribly constipated. My GP said it was the worst she knew of for causing constipation - of course it doesn't cause it in all little ones.

We switched to aptimil and have had no problems at all. It sorted out the constipation pretty quickly.

In terms of expressing full time, if you're able to do it (and want to) then that's great but it is quite a commitment. I expressed for the first month and simply wasn't able to get my supply up enough to exclusively express. It might be worth speaking to someone who has expressed and ask their opinions (there was an "ask a mum" thread about it recently so it's probably worth having a look there). Please remember though, if you can't express enough or decide you don't want to, you're still feeding your LO and they will be just fine!


I hope you find a method of feeding that you and your LO are comfortable with

 

[blahblahblah]

Aptamil caused my LO to have constipation when he was little. Babies do strain a bit when pooing though, so it doesn't necessarily mean there is a problem. If there seems to be pain or the poos come out solid, that is a better indication.

If it is constipation you could try offering a little cool boiled water, but if is proper constipation you need to give it regularly for it to keep having an effect. This is usually HV's first suggestion for constipated babies.

The second option would be to try Comfort formula, which also helps things to keep moving. Because it's thicker though LO's consumption may drop, so it's best to chat to HV before switching.

Re the expressing - only you can make that decision. When I tried to express 30 mins produced 1/2 oz, and it just didn't seem worth it. If you're keen to continue, maybe you would do better with a different type of pump - that's one to ask in the BF section though really.

 

[IvyBaby]

Don't give up, hun, Lexi refused to breast feed for a week or so after hospital because I had to express due to sore and bleeding nipples, so I thought that 'the train's gone' for us but one day when she was hungry I decided to just give it another try and suddenly she latched on and fed! Keep offering the breast and hopefully she will get there.

 

[grover]

Hi,

Many thanks for all your posts. I am expressing but my milk supply is quickly drying up, even though i am taking fenugreek etc. to increase it. I can't keep up with the amount he needs. Its heartbreaking to spend an hour expressing and get 10 ml out!!

We went to the doctors yesterday and he didn't think Veer was constipated - he had 3 poo nappies yesterday, although only 1 today. He strains a lot when going to the loo. I might try giving him some water between feeds to get things moving a bit more easier for him. Its horrible watching him struggle and get upset. I might add a bit of fennel seeds to the water, as that is good for stomach.

We have given him Infacol to help with wind etc. and that seems to be helping.