Constipation, Colic and Reflux

[MantaRay]

Gee hun, what a difficult time you are having. You must be exhausted Here are some more ideas about the issues you've raised:

Constipation - I also agree that this doesn't sound like constipation. For it to be constipation, the poos would be hard. Also, breastmilk is one of the best laxatives around, so just by feeding you are doing the best you can to prevent and resolve constipation.

Colic - colic is not a diagnosis. I was lucky enough this week to be at a presentation by the American paediatrician who wrote "Colic Solved" and he described colic as a term used by paeds when they don't know what's wrong. He says that about 50% of the "colic" cases referred to him are solvable problems like reflux or milk-protein allergy. I would really suggest getting a copy of his book, there is lot of helpful information in it.

Reflux - I wonder what the reason for the losec is? It sounds like it's not really helping, which might suggest that reflux isn't the problem at all. What were the signs of reflux that your little one had reflux? Reflux can be very difficult to diagnose. Milk protein intolerance can often have the same signs, plus often some blood in the stools. This can be resolved by cutting milk solids out of your diet, and usually it resolves between the 3rd month and 1 year, whereas the average age for reflux to resolve is 18 months. If you are wanting to try cutting the milk proteins out to see what happens, it takes about 4 weeks to see a difference, and this should be done with a dietician to ensure you cut all milk solids out (you will find these in very unexpected foods), and also to make sure you are meeting all your nutritional needs at the same time.

If your DD does have reflux, it might help to keep her upright for 30mins after every feed. A sling that your baby is upright in can be a very useful tool! Sometimes giving smaller feeds more often can help too. These babies generally don't do well lying on their back, even with the mattress raised, so some mums find that lying the baby on their left side helps. Other mums do lie their baby on their tummy (I did with DS2) but if you decide to do this, know that it is against the SIDS guidelines so you might like to use a baby movement monitor as well, and only do this if you are comfortable doing so. Car seats also put reflux babies in a position that can be painful, so if your baby doesn't like the car, this would be why.

All the best with getting through this very difficult time.