Need Advice for 1 Month Old Breastfed Baby Who Wakes Himself Straining to Potty

according to my doctor, he's learning to poop. Before babies learn, thing just come out. Then they realize that they can force it out like we do. When they begin learning, they tighten up their bottom making it extremely difficult to get anything out. it's normal and ok. let him work it out. :)

My daughter too is having this problem. I have been told by the ER doctor and many moms that this is very normal in newborns, so I have tried not worry too much. But if you get some good advice I would love it if you could pass it on.

Have a 15 month old and breastfed for the first time. My other two children were bottle fed. When this happens to my 15 month old at about the same age as your baby, I freaked. However, my dr told me it is normal and to give the baby mylacon drops freq or try a little prune juice from a bottle and it will relieve the gas or pressure and he will go potty a lot easier. Hope this advice helps. D.

It looks he has some constipation issue. Try giving him babies magic tea and also drink it by yourself to pass its contents through your milk.

We experienced major bowel problems with our first son (now age six and totally healthy) and the pediatric gastroenterologists we saw told us that OTC gas drops have some undesirable side effects--specifically, gas. (This was discouraging news to me).
A bit of gentle "bicycling" when he was awake helped some. My other two boys have been fine, and I have learned that human milk has a natural laxative effect so I didn't worry much when it took a day or so between poops as long as there was a mostly normal stooling pattern.
There's a possibility of "anal stenosis," which my first son had. . . this basically means he had a tight bum. (I told my husband it was from his side ;) The anus and rectum form seperately in utero and then fuse together. Sometimes the ring of tissue where they fuse is a bit tight and takes awhile to loosen up to the right tightness to hold stool but pass it when needed. MOstly it's just the passage of time that helps this, although some doctors will manually check for stenosis and adjust it if it's really causing problems. (They just stick their pinky finger in your baby's bottom, which is uncomfortable and undignified for everyone, so I only say that as a last resort if you're sure that's the issue--something to ask about at your appointment).
I suspect your baby is just learning about all the sensations that come with mortality. . . your milk really is the superior infant food, so good work for giving him that. The straining should stop soon. If there's not non-stop crying with the straining, you're probably still well within the range of normal. Hang in there!

I had my 5th child 3 mo. ago and my new pediatrician explained better than I have ever heard. Babies bodies are just trying to adjust to life outside the womb. they dont know how to use the sphyncter muscle at the rectum to know to relax it to poop so they strain and grunt because they are pushing down on a closed door so to speak. It isn't hurting them and they will figure it out. I asked about people I have heard about that have newborn breawstfed babies needing suppositories and he said, 'doctors will tell them that if it will make them feel better they can give a suppository' and most parents are worried and want their kid to poop so they do it but it isn't necessary. However, all my babies have been exclusively breastfed and I can tell you that the straining and grunting goes away about 2-3 months of age. If you use formula and there is constipation, that is a whole other matter to consider but breastfed, wait it out. I never found the gas drops to help with the straining but I know some people swear by them. I used them on first 3 kids and don't think they did much. good luck and congrats to you!!

Hi! first every child is different so you should see the doctor. I had this kind of thing happen to to of my boys, they were both caused by different thing and fixed in different ways. my oldest got colic when he was born to the extent that he lost weight, and later developed a very sensitive stomach. He got gas bubbles in his intestines that would not work themselves out, and he wouldn't fart. he also woke himelf in the night. Two things helped him Simithicon (a gas releaving liquid found in the baby section of some stores or healthfood stores. And massaging his back counterclockwise, or the stomach clockwise. ( this is the natural directions of movment for the intestines. My fourth child Got constipated at an early age, And his body got in the habit of holding back, even after the constipation was gone. his body kept packing it until he couldn't go at all. we took him to three doctors, tried all there medications, (one of which was so bad it made his stomach cramp and burn, so he couldn't eat and lost weight) This continued for over a year, until I tried a Cumbacca mushroom it's a yeast that you make into a drink. you can find it on the internet or I can give you some. It settled his stomach, and kept his stool soft untill his body learned to release on it's own.

I have to wonder in one so young.. perhaps he's just excercising his bowel muscles? If you are exclusiving breastfeeding, then there is no reason he should be plugged up and I would very much avoid suppositories. I do agree with another mom's comment about watching which foods you eat and his reaction to them. If a food makes you gassy, it could very well have the same affect on him. There is a product called Gripe Water, it's a wonderful supplement, safe for all ages and you could probably find it in a health-food store or at drugstore.com.

We had that problem with my first daughter. She was plugged up most of the time. I found this really great natural product called kid-e-reg. I know you can get it at good earth if you have one of those close. It is drops that you put into his mouth right before you feed him and it worked wonders for us. We did suppositories too sometimes and they are great but the drops were our saving grace.
Good luck

If he's having normal, runny poop, then I think the other poster was right about "pushing against a closed door."
My first son strained and cried, then his poop was the consistency of peanut butter. He was exclusively breast fed. They say it's nearly impossible for breast fed babies to get constipated, but he was the exception! So look for peanut-butter poop.
The great thing about new babies is that you have so many doctor's appointments! I had so many questions with my babies that I had to write them down as I thought of them, and saved them up for our next visit. I even called my husband before we went to a doctor's visit to ask him if he could think of any more to ask. He usually remembered some that I'd forgotten. So ask at your next visit!

My son is 6wks. When we were having issues with his movements- the ped had us give him a glycerin suppository. It worked like a charm and he felt much better after!

I have a 6 week old and have the same thing going on. I give her Hyland's Colic Tablets that you can get from a health food store, it is a homepathic remedy. Colic seems to be explained as crying for hours at a time, and my baby does not do that but she does strain, grunt and fusses tremendously when trying to poop. It is the worst around 4-6am and she can't sleep. The Colic tablets have an ingredient called Coloncythis in it which is a natural remedy that helps with stomach cramps. If you hold your baby up putting the palm of you hand pressed firmly against his belly and that pressure calms him, or helps him pass gas then that remedy should work for him. Also bicycling his legs will help along with gently massaging his lower belly. My baby will fuss a lot but it won't be until she actually calms down that she does in fact finally poop. Hope that helps a little! Good luck, it should get easier in the next month or two.

Maybe when that happens you can hold him over a toilet. Hold his legs up and have his back against you - that position can help get it out easier.

A.,

It is reassuring to hear that someone else is going through the same thing that I am going through. I am also a first time mom to a baby boy. Looks like we are one month ahead of you. He was born June 24, 2008. I am having the same problem and it is painful. He is strictly breastfed except one bottle of breast milk at the 10pm hour that my husband gives him so I can get some sleep. I have always thought it was a gas issue. We give him Mylecon drops (which you can give up to 12 times a day). Which have helped a little but not much. He grunts (that is the best way for me to describe it) a lot especially at night. Usually, it is between the hours of 2am - 6am. It sounds like he needs to poop but he simply can't get it out. I have tried pushing his knees up to his chest to see if that will help get the gas out... sometimes it relieves it a little but he still has problems. Our Dr. told us that his sphincter (sp?) hadn't matured yet but he would soon learn how to open it. (That was about a month ago). We go in for our 2 month appt tomorrow where I will talk to the Dr. again.
Like some of the others ladies have said, I would try to take a few things out of your diet: caffeine, any carbonated drinks, tomato base sauces, garlic, onion, spicy. This is a hard one for me. Also, after each feeding really work his legs like he is riding a bicycle and then push his knees up to his chest. You can also try the Mylecon Drops.
I would be interested to hear more of your experience with this and what your Dr. says... so please feel free to send me a message.
Good luck with this.. I know how difficult it is.

Try some over the counter gas drops, my son needed them and he would pass gass like crazy after using them. Watch what you eat. If it makes you bloated and gassy, it will do it to him as well.