Constipated 6 Week Old Baby

[DonnaD]

I wonder if any of you other Mum's can help?

My sister (almost certainly G intolerant or celiac and gluten-free) has a baby (6lbs 11ox 3 weeks early, skinny and jaundice) who from birth has had terrible colic, does not settle, hardly sleeps he looks in pain, it is very hard to get any wind up. He was on formula as my sister could not feed him. He has been changed to a lactose free prescription formula but now has chronic constipation and is still miserable. Goat milk formula didn't help much either. My sister was not gluten-free during the pregnancy. He is gaining weight OK.

My sister's older son is about to be tested for coeliac as he has stopped growing (last 4 pairs of shoes all the same size ) and had a rare intestinal bleeding problem that totally cleared up going DF. (this was when we all though we just had IBS and milk intolerance before my daughter was DX by biopsy last year) so he was not tested for coeliac then as the doctors did not suspect it as he was on the top centile.

Have any of you ladies had a similar problem? and if so did you find a formula (not soy because of the dangers especially for a boy) Also did you manage to find any medication to help? He is only really happy being carried around but my sis has fibro too and is worn out, not getting any sleep and on her own.

I can't help thinking we have a tiny coeliac/G intolerant in tha making....

[youngmum3nz]

hi there

im currently dealing with something slightly similar with my son whos 12 weeks old. we had an unplanned home birth, which the midwives missed by about 20mins! thankfully my best gluten-free made it there 10mins before to catch the baby. then at 2 days we were rushed to a city hospital with a suspected twisted bowel (which i think may be causing our problems now) he went on formula at 9 days due to alot of stress and thats when things started to get interesting. Hes never had a problem with constipation as he has had chronic diahrea the majority of the time since starting formula (my other two have had problems with constipation as babies, apart from prescription laxatives diluted prune juice or a sugar water mixture that i cant remember the amounts off are usually helpful) he has also been diagnosed as lactose intolerant by a stool test but after waiting 7 wks to see a paediatrican thru the public system were going private (fri 9th) as our GP wouldnt even change his formula (his symptoms have become extreme hes been in alot of pain) although my saving grace has been a mum from my daughters kindy giving me an unopened tin of lactose free formula so fingers crossed it works! he also has reflux and did have colic for a time. Im not sure what they have where you live but in new zealand they have colic drops and gripe water which is meant to help bring up wind. I cant comment on the gluten thing at that age as i have no clue but my only advice would be if youre worried about the health of the baby then take him back to the doctor until youre happy with a diagnosis or treatment. anyway hope that helps alittle! sorry for rambling.

[TCA]

Neither of my kids could/can tolerate any formula and both had/have a dairy allergy and celiac. My son outgrew his allergy, but daughter still has hers. They both had intestinal bleeding as a reaction to the dairy allergy. The most common formulas for sensitive kids are Nutramagen, Alimentum, Pregestimil, Elecare and Neocate. Those are in the US, not positive about UK. My kids couldn't even tolerate those, so I'm on a gluten-free, dairy free diet for my daugther who's breastfed now. She gets very constipated with gluten and dairy exposure.

Trust me, I know how hard it is to pump and relactate, but it's the only thing that has helped my daughter. If your sister is willing to try that with dietary restrictions it would probably make a world of difference. It's also MUCH cheaper than those expensive formulas!!! I've been pumping for 13.5 mos. for my daughter and it's made all the difference in the world in her health.

Is your sister willing to go gluten-free? It sounds like all of them need to be tested. I do hope they all feel better soon!

[chrissy]

could possibly be infant reflux---my baby had a really bad case of reflux that required surgery. i kind of think that the word colic means "i don't know what is wrong with your baby."

[Fiddle-Faddle]

My first was also 3 weeks early, very tiny, and constipated on formula. I had been on magnesium sulfate for preeclampsia--and magnesium sulfate inhibits milk production. I spent 5 days pumping round the clock every 3 hours before I got a drop of colostrum, and yes, I was told that I simply couldn't feed my baby. But as soon as I was able to pump an ounce, I chucked the bottles--and my baby thrived. If your sister's baby is only 6 weeks old, it's not too late for her to lactate! It may very well be the only thing that works. She can ask for help from any lactation consultant at her hospital where she delivered, or she can contact the La Leche League. Or she can try both, and go with whoever seems nicer (some are nicer than others, just like nurses)

I wish her lots of luck....

Just wanted to add that my second baby also was only happy when carried. I wore him in a sling for the first year, and slept with him on my chest or on my arm--it was the ONLY way he would sleep, but as long as I got to sleep, too, I didn't care. (It also made nursing so much easier!)

When he was a year old, he was suddenly fine not being carried, and I switched him from my bed to his brother's.

[Guest tracey and emma]

Hi my daughter has very server gastric reflux and it could be that i agree with the others.

It could possibly be a silent reflux with means that the stomach contence is moving up and down tube that takes food from the mouth to the stomach. This contains stomach acid which causes a feeling which some say is like heart burn.

Other symtoms could be:

Runny nose

coughing

colic like symtoms

Vomiting (not in all cases this is miss understood)

constipation

diorrhea

bad breath

these are all possible symtoms.

It is very common at this age because there are 2 muscles that close the entrance to the stomach and some times in small childern they are not developed properly.

It is very offten misss diagnosed as colic, most infants grow out of it by 4 to 9 mths old. There are medications that quite easly correct this problem, but proving it can be quite hard sometimes. Also reflux can be a secondry problem to celiacs!

I would talk to you Doctor about it, hope this helps just though i would explain reflux some times it helps.

tracey