Constipation, Colic and Reflux

Hi Ladies,
I am tearing my hair out at present as my little Lucy has all the above.
Lucy is 8 weeks old and exclusively Breastfed. ( 6 weeks premmie ) Her nappies are very wet so supply is not an issue. And when she passes wind OMG you almost fall over backwards from the smell l!!!

She is just sooooooo miserable and screams for a majority of the day. We have her on Losec, zantac and coloxal ( we were on suppositories but Dr said we could stop them ).


What I am VERY uncertain about is the constipation as I was under the belief that babies did not get consitpated whilst Breastfed????? also when she opens her bowels they are not 'consipated poos' but noraml Breastfed poos. ( Who knew poo could be so interesting lol !!!)

I just want to help her setlle as she is becoming more and more unsettled and the technique that worked yesterday does not today etc.... She just appears in soo much pain from the reflux can anyone give me anymore ideas on how to calm her??

Thanks Em

It doesn't sound like she's constipated at all, as long as the poos she does are the consistency you describe. Bf babies do slow down in their poo-ing (I'm not sure how it works with premature, but that age would be the right age for it to start to happen in a full-term bubba). My bf baby went 17 days once without a poo! There's no problem, it just means that your baby is absorbing so much of the nutrients from your bm without much waste. As long as her poos stay as you describe, I think constipation is not an issue. If she starts to become dehydrated in any way, I would take her to a dr, but nothing of what you say makes it sound like that's the case.

She could be screaming for any number of reasons. If the reflux medication has not stopped this happening, I'd suggest you get a second opinion. Once she's thoroughly checked out, at least you can rule out medical complications.

Have you tried wearing her in a sling? Is there any time that she seems more unsettled? How are her weight gains?

Sorry to ask so many questions!

PS Fabulous name, Lucys are the best!

It doesn't sound like constipation. My DD is exclusively BF and only poo's every 3-4 days sometimes longer. She fluffs alot inbetween and they are very smelly, she remains happy though.
I would stop all the things you have her on for constipation and see if this helps.
It could be something they call silent reflux, which I think is where milk comes up and goes back down again causing pain.
I would seek a 2nd opinion too from a GP who you know is good with babies.
And as Jennifer13 said, try a sling and check the weight gain.
Sleeping them slightly upright can help too.
Good luck....

My bub is also on Losec 20mg a day, and Losec can cause constipation as it is one of the side effects - it would say this on your leaflet in the medication box. My bub is constipated at the moment, as she is screaming at night trying to pass wind, and when she does it really smells. I am taking her back to the dr on Monday to see if we can get some Domperidone as this is the drug that helps their constipation.
It does not matter if you bub is breastfed or not, it is just a side effect of the Losec medication.
Hope this helps you out ! Try feeling her tummy when she is screaming and see if it rock hard? If it is try giving it a little massage too to help it ;)

Gee hun, what a difficult time you are having. You must be exhausted :hug: 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.

I would take her for a second opinion. Unfortunetly it can take a few weeks for the medication to work properly and start healing any damage but if it has been then you really need to see another dr as there could be something else in play here. I do find it strange that both losec and zantac are being used in combination as they both do the same thing, I have heard of it but usually once zantac doesnt continue to work, then losec is introduced instead as it is a stronger medication. I would stop using the coloxyl, if the stools are normal then its not constipation. You can try also using mylanta either before a feed or after, its puts a coating on the stomach valve and throat so any random acid wont burn as much. DD is on 1.5mls 3 times a day but you should get the dose given by a gp.

Also what is the weight of bub and the dosage you are using, so you can compare with others. Their weight and growth will make a difference to the dosage. DD is 6kg and having 2ml of zantac twice a day, with the mylanta. This has been increased basically every two weeks for the last six as she has stacked on some weight and she keeps showing breakthrough symptons.

I agree with a pp, I think colic is something the professionals name something they cant diagnose, afterall they cant even explain what colic is. IMO some babies are just very unsettled and it takes time for them to adjust to their new world.

Hi,

It sounds like you are going through a tough time. I was wondering, what have your baby's growth patterns like>? Is she gaining weight? How often is she fed in 24hours? Does she tend to have one breast or two?