Bowl Movements in a Newborn

my 3 month old daughter goes every 4 days...and if she doesn't...I mix brown sugar and water, let it cool down and it makes her go, I typically only give half an ounce to an ounce at most so it doesnt throw her electrolytes all off

P. -

My little guy is 5 1/2 weeks and I have the same issue...I tried alimentum (very expensive though) and it didn't really help him. Then I tried sensitive similac (it's an orange label) and he seemed a bit better. My ped told me I could give the baby chamomile tea (make a batch and then put it in the fridge to cool it off) to help relieve the gas as well as help to poop. The tea is a bit bitter, so I put in a small amount of sugar. I feed him 2-3 ounces of the tea throughout the day and supplement (I'm breastfeeding) with the sensitive similac formula and he's much better.

One other thing to note is that it just might take time for this to pass as infants' digestive systems might not be ready yet to digest the formula/milk. Not all babies poop every day. If she's obviously straining to poop, then that's an issue. But if the issue is that she's just not pooping regularly, it just might be that's how she works (my older son was that way - only pooped every 2nd to 3rd day and there was no issue).

Good luck with your new little one!!

I am a mother of two little ones. They are 4 1/2 and 1 1/12.
I would say the drops may help and are very safe and also Gripe water. If you have not heard of Gripe water or have, it is water with herbs added to it such as chamomile. I used to add it to my sons formula because usually such a young baby does not want plain water. These are all safe and when in doubt check with her pediatrician of course for safe doses. I think you can find the Gripe water at places like Babies R Us if I remember correctly. Good Luck! The digestion is always tough the first three months!

i have had much success with mylicon with my daughter. it is safe as it's not digested. she did't have a problem going very often but it decreased the gas and pain i believe she was having. it's worth a try! good luck.

Have you mentioned this problem to the babies doctor or asked him/her about these gas drops??????

Many newborns are lactose intolerant which can cause problems with bowel movements. You may need to alter your diet if you are breastfeeding or change the formula you are using. But why in the world would are you trying 'home remedies' on an infant??? Have you spoken to your peditrician? He/she would be the best person to talk to about your baby's problem. Keep a record of her formula/milk intake and how often she has a b.m. and the consistancy of that movement, and then give the doctor a call.

I gave my daughter those same drops about that frequently, and for the same reason. My doctor had suggested them. She also suggested one tsp of light corn syrup for every 2 oz of formula/breastmilk you're giving the baby. That actually worked better- it got her metabolism working a little faster (think the water used for the formula had to be heated too so the corn syrup kind of dissolved). Ask your doctor... Good luck- I've been there ; )

Hi, before you use the Mylicon Gas Drops, consult your pediatrician...this is for gas and not a baby laxitive. As for the constipation, the Doctor may tell you to try apple/prune juice, or an infant glycerin supossitory. I used to keep these in the house for both of my children when they had problems. But before you do anything, just run it past the pediatrician first. Good luck and remember....this too shall pass :)

Flax seed oil (and ground flax seeds for an older baby) is supposed to be a natural laxative but please ask your pediatrician about this before giving it to a baby so young.

when there's no BM for entire day, what i do is:
Take regular bar of soap, with a sharp knife shave off a tiny piece of soap, almost like a match ( no longer than an inch) and put it inside her little tushy, make sure you put a bit of Vaseline so it goes in smooth. she always poops within a minute. i don't know as far as gas relief drops. check with your pediatrician on that at your 1 month appointment. good luck and congratulations!!!!!

P.- I have the same problem with my 6 week old. I have had that problem since he was about 3 weeks. We have tried putting the "gas" drops in his bottles when we give him formula ( breast pump and bottle and then supplement with formula)However I am not sure it really works. I have tried different formulas but he is already a finiky eater. He doesn't like similac and he won't drink any powdered formula! This past weekend my poor little guy was having so much trouble going that he was screaming and clenching!! However he would pass gas just not pooping for almost 12 hours. I plan on calling his ped. tomorrow because he seems to be in so much pain when he tries to poop. I don't think he is constipated because he does go everyday.....Jenn

If you are feeding your daughter a cow's milk based formula, she may not be able to digest it. You might want to talk to your pediatrician about switching to another formula. I would not give an infant ANYTHING formulated to adults...their systems are not fully developed, even at birth, and you have no idea the side effects, since drugs are usually tested on adults only.

Yes this is safe to do. I had to use those drops for my youngest daughter.

Nanc

Hi P.,

You have received a lot of good advice regarding bowel movements, but I personally, would talk to your pediatrician before trying them...just to be on the safe side...

Instead of giving her something, try gently moving her legs...lay her on her back and move her legs as if she were riding a bike...that helped with our baby. Be gentle, of course.

Best wishes,
J.

my son was exclusively breastfed, and it's perfectly normal for them not to have bowel movements multiple times a day, or even every day. my son had a bowel movement once every 3 or 4 days - perfectly fine. this continued until he started solid food at 6 months. i think if they're fed formula, then the movements should be more frequent, but definitely ask your pediatrician on that one.
we were able to alleviate some of his gas problems by slowly moving his legs around and up into his chest while he was on his back - as if he was pedaling a bike. the motion helped move the food/gas along, and inevitably he would pass gas while we were doing this.

All newborns grunt and make faces and seem to struggle when they are having a bowel movement. You do not have to do anything. Most new parents think that their child is having gas problems. Newborns have immature intestinal systems which will often give them lots of gas. As long as your baby is having at least 1 soft bowel movement a day, there is nothing to worry about. Also many babies have trouble digesting formula since the natural food for them at this age is breast milk. So if you really think your daughter is having unusual digestion problems, you might try cutting out formula if you are feeding it to her. Those gas drops (Mylicon, etc) don't really do anything. They supposedly work by breaking down big gas bubbles into smaller ones, but I never noticed a difference in my son with them. They are safe to give a newborn, but it's probably not going to do anything. That's what my doctor said.

P.,

When my son was an infant, he also had problems moving his bowels, and was always full of gas. He also had colic, and would keep us up until all hours of the night walking the floor with him, because of the pain in his stomach. We tried several different formulas, and nothing seemed to help. The only way he was able to have a bowel movement was if we used a glycerin suppository every day, which would enable him to go. Needless to say, all of us were miserable and getting no sleep at all!

My grandmother, who raised 5 children, came to visit, and told me to pick up a bottle of liquid Phillips Milk of Magnesia at the pharmacy, and put a tablespoon of it into his bedtime bottle every night, until he was old enough to begin eating fruits and vegetables. I tried it, and his bowel problems were gone within 3 days... no more colic, no more gas, and regular, normal bowel movements, every single day!

Give it a try....you'll be amazed at the results!

My newph was that way. They ended up trying different formulas. Have you tired that? They also tried a type of oil in his bottle that helped a lot too. I will find out the type of oil if u would like. Best of luck

my son had the same problem . what i did i gave him prume baby juice at least 1ounce inbeteen feeding..

Hi P.,

Congratulations first of all, sounds like the baby is constipated. Not sure if she is formula fed or breastfed. Whatever the case, she probably needs some water or something due to the high starch diet. I would talk with the pediatrician about it. Good luck

gas drops are made with sugar, which can make a newborn more gassy. suggestion for a bowel movement, get the glycerin (?) stick and wiggle it a bit in the anus, that should help. btw, they are very thin.
from mom of 2 girls, ages 14 and 9.

Dont try home remedies she is too little. Take her to a doctor, there might be a serious problem.

i have had the same problem with both my son who is 3 years old and my 2 month old daugher... my pediation suggested to give her a two ounce bottle of half infant pear juice and half water once a day and as it worked you can back off the pear juice my kids loved it and it worked like a charm...
good luck

please discuss this with your pedi, at this young age, you need to be careful with any home remedies. they can actually cause more problems for the baby if you are adding things that her body isnt ready to handle. as far as the drops, you would def want to speak to your pedi as the drops should be used sporadically as needed, not as a daily treatment. and you would want to make sure medically there isnt something going on that you missed. i try to not give my baby too much in the early months, but i would never give them something EVERY single day.
also, make sure you explain your problem in detail. for example, breastfed babies can go days without a bowel movement. it is possible that she may go less than you think she should. how do you know she is having trouble? constipation is only when there are actually round pellet like balls for a bowel movement. if its not balls and/or very hard, its not constipation. you would need to know whether she is actually having problems with bowel movements versus having gas. they are two separate things needing two different remedies. are you sure she isnt just colicky? my daughter screamed for an hour or two everyday around 5-7 pm. sometimes with colic, they bring there legs up and look like they are in pain. and make sure its nothing to do with eating, like the discomfort constantly right after a feeding, then that would be a problem with the formula.

sorry i cant be more specific as i dont know the specifics. your doctor will(should) ask questions to get all the specifics. just dont over/under exaggerate the problem, just describe what you see honestly and let him come up with things versus you asking if its this or that. good luck. around 3-4 months all this newborn stuff usually gets worked out.

Please speak to your doctor first. My son was constipated for his first 2-3 mos. We were advised to give him 1-2 ounces of prune juice. This helped!

Are you breast feeding? Your diet could affect this. Is she getting enough water? It might be the formula if she is bottle fed. here are drops called "Colic Calm" I have heard of. Also I have heard of mixing a teaspoon of flax oil in with the formula. I found that warm baths helped my twins, keeping the water below the waist. Did you ask your pediatrician?

P., try gripe water (make sure its without alcohol, little remedies makes it). It really helped with my daughter when she was about 4 weeks.

I P. I was just writing someone about this. My daughter had the same problem, I was told by my doctor to give very little amounts of water with a drop a drop of corn syrup. I would ask your doctor first. But this helped me a lot. I would start with a 1/2 of bottled water and see how it goes. Since she is so little like my was she is 6 now. You don't want them to joke, as first it will be a little scary but just ask your doctor first. Good Luck! :)

Have you called your pediatrician?

When my oldest was a baby, she had a terrible time with bowel movements. It turns out she was getting too much iron. All infant products seem to have iron in them any more. We switched to a low-iron formula and started giving her watered down apple juice and she eventualloy out-grew the problem.

I think the first thing you should do is consult your baby girl's doctor. When my son was born he was allergic to cow's milk, so we had to give him soy milk, under the instructions of his doctor. After that he was fine.

It may help.
C.

uhm i wouldnt try any home remedies, she is too little. check with your pediatrician about using suppositories for infants.

You can get something from Mrs. Greens or most Vitamin Shops called Grip Water. It is all natural. I used it for my two boys and recently gave it as a gift for my cousins newborn. She said she gives it to him whenever he has gas and it helps alot and is very safe. It has usage instructions on the bottle. Good luck.
P.S. - regarding formula, I gave my kids breastmilk, but whenever I had to give formula as a supplement, there was a product by Similac called Alimentum. This was very expensive but was the closest to breastmilk that could be bought. I think it could be Dr. prescribed for colicy babies. Check it out with your Dr.
N., NY

Please do not try ANY home remedies! Call your pediatrician. It is likely something simple like changing formulas, but please do not give your 4 week old any foods she has not had yet or put anything up her butt! You could make it worse or make her sick.