Any advice on changing foods?

kryogen

Hi all

I have a 3 week old little girl who has become blocked up lately, as in constipated, over the last few days, 4-5 approx. We are using the SMA gold cap formula and have heard that that has caused constipation problems in the past for others?


Can anyone recommend or give any personal opinions on the subject? First baby and still learning what to do

We have heard that Aptimel is the best alternatve to breast feeding but since we have already started with the SMA would it cause too much upset for her belly to change her?

cbyrd

Congratulations there's so much to learn when you have a baby... my eldest is 10 and i'm still learning!!!
she'll probably fare better on the aptimel if the sma is bunging her up... a quick old fashioned remedy is 4 oz warm water with 4 spoons of sugar :eek: that'll clear the blockage:D and it doesn't do baby any harm (all the sugar) when they need it..it's a tried and tested one from my doctor who was also my mam's doctor..and i'm still round to tell the tale!!:)
hope that helps

Chuchu

Hi and congrats... I know what you're going through.. we are first timers and went through the whole formula changing business ourselves, more because of night time uncomfortableness and general wind probs. Having started on Aptimal we thought it was great until her symptoms got worse. We then tried SMA gold too, and only lasted a few days (yep it backed her up!). We only changed once more to Aptimal Easy Digest and she's happy out on that ever since (11 weeks now).
I know they say not to chop and change but parents of baba know best and we knew right away that the new formula was suiting her better... little warning though: if you do change to Apt easy digest the poos can go totally GREEN for a while!! Good comic value... well you have to get your laughs where you can these days!!

Billiejo

Congratulations.
First Baby and pity they dont come with instructions. The good news is your baby sounds normal.

Constipation in baby's 0 -3/12 is rare even if formula fed.
Some will grunt and strain with every movement although not necessarily constipation. If environment is very warm 1oz of cooled boiled water once a day is sometimes helpful. Adding sugar or anything else may be harmful in the long term.
Formula fed babes tend to have 1 firm bowel movement in a day.
Some may have 1 bowel movement every 3-4 days.
This is not considered abnormal unless stool is hard and pebbley - pellet like.

Check list:
Is baby gaining appropriate weight.
Has at least 6 wet nappies daily.
Is baby crying, irritable and in pain doing poo.
Has FEWER than 3 bowel movements per WEEK.
Foul smelling wind and poo.
A hard belly.
Lastly contact your Public Health Nurse for advice.

cbyrd

Billiejo wrote: »

Congratulations.
First Baby and pity they dont come with instructions. The good news is your baby sounds normal.

Constipation in baby's 0 -3/12 is rare even if formula fed.
Some will grunt and strain with every movement although not necessarily constipation. If environment is very warm 1oz of cooled boiled water once a day is sometimes helpful. Adding sugar or anything else may be harmful in the long term.
Formula fed babes tend to have 1 firm bowel movement in a day.
Some may have 1 bowel movement every 3-4 days.
This is not considered abnormal unless stool is hard and pebbley - pellet like.

Check list:
Is baby gaining appropriate weight.
Has at least 6 wet nappies daily.
Is baby crying, irritable and in pain doing poo.
Has FEWER than 3 bowel movements per WEEK.
Foul smelling wind and poo.
A hard belly.
Lastly contact your Public Health Nurse for advice.

With the sugar thing... i did mean only when baby is constipated.. not all the time... it literally just clears out the blockage without having to resort to a laxative from a chemist which they may be too young for or maybe to hard on their system. some nutriionalists don't advise giving water to babies now under 6 weeks as they should get enough from their bottles or breastfeed.. this is what my brother was told and their little guy is 3 months now.. i breastfed my youngest for 5 months but she put away 16 ozs of water per day as well...:eek: she's 7 now and still drinks it by the bucketload... it was one of the things i couldn't get enough of when pregnant.. this time round too..!! every baby is different and it's a lot of getting used to their habits an needs. one solution doesn't fit all unfortunately it's pure trial and error... i think this is why 2nd babies are easier.. they do say you make all the mistakes on the first..!!!:D:D

Billiejo

Breast fed baby's don't need water. With Formula (artifical feed) is it sometimes necessary.

Kimono-Girl

with our little one she suffered constipation/pains on the normal aptimal after we switched her from breastfeeding (she'd only take breastmilk from a bottle from day 1) so after about two weeks after the changeover and being on the normal aptimal we switched to the easy digest instantly as its the same stuff just a bit thicker.

it worked straight away she loved the taste and hasn't suffered since and to this day i am recommending it and those who i know have tried it have given positive feedback. (as previously mentioned it does however make the poo green and smelly)

if you are interested talk to your PHN or make the switch you will know yourself in how your child re-acts.

also worth mentioning if you do switch to easy digest aptimal we were told to go to the next size up bottle teats as it is thicker than normal aptimal!

Ickle Magoo

Congrats on the new arrival!

My son was on special formula for a while and it played havoc with his wee tum, causing constipation amongst other things.

A little brown sugar dissolved in water & cooled will work to clear a blockage (this was advised by my wee man's paediatrician) but if you think the formula is causing your daughter to be constipated longer term & you can move then definitely try experimenting with different formula and see if another suits your wee one better - it may take a wee while for babs to get used to it. If she is drinking all the formula she requires per day/gaining weight well & would take some water as well, you could try introducing some though she may or may not like the taste.

As cbyrd says, it's all a bit of trial & error at the start & every baby is different, what is normal for one is odd for another - if only they came with a manual!

Best of luck.

stovelid

Billiejo wrote: »

With Formula (artifical feed) is it sometimes necessary.

Why the need to point this out?

Billiejo

stovelid wrote: »

Why the need to point this out?

Sorry Stovelid but point which out?

stovelid

Billiejo wrote: »

Sorry Stovelid but point which out?

Sounded like you were at pains to point out that formula is artificial food, as if to emphasize the point. If it wasn't your intention, I'm sorry.

Billiejo

Thats ok. It wasn't my intension. My profession is Paeds & Child development and we get so used to trying to always use simple truths. However sometimes when the advice is in print it looks so much different.

Ickle Magoo

What kind of formula isn't man-made? Is formula on its own not a simple truth?

Billiejo

Ickle Magoo wrote: »

What kind of formula isn't man-made? Is formula on its own not a simple truth?

All Formula for baby food is a chemical compound and is certainly man made.

Ickle Magoo

Obviously, that's what I said.

The question to you was; since that is the case, why say it twice?! If you are looking for a simple truth then why say formula (= man-made) and then add artificial (which also = man made)?! Makes no sense.

cbyrd

Billiejo wrote: »

Breast fed baby's don't need water. With Formula (artifical feed) is it sometimes necessary.

sorry to disagree billyjo, my experience with my 2 is different, my first was quite happy just to be breastfed but my second wasn't from 5 days she took water and thrived on it... who knows why, all i know is about 10 minutes after a feed she'd be grumbly and about 2ozs cooled boiled water settled her, over time as she got bigger so did this amount, i don't know why and to be honest i didn't question it, when you're faced with a crying baby you'll try anything and the thing that bugs me most is people who say you should never do this or that. some babies are different hence the different brands of everything on the market from formulas to nappies and bottles, one size definately does not fit all. and it was a doctor that told me about the water!! I was also feeding my eldest baby rice from about 3 months and aparently this is a heinous crime aswell, she's almost 11 now and the picture of health.
I don't mean to come across as a know all, i certainly don't it's been very much trial and error over their lifetime but you know, to tell someone you should never or don't do this.. until you've walked that floor with that baby for hours night after night you'll gladly try anything.;)