pain from pooping

[sarahr]

When my ds (age 3 weeks) poops, he strains and grunts and cries. It takes a long time from when the straining and grunting begins to when he actually gets something out -- 15 to 20 minutes. He's clearly in pain. Is there anything I can do to help him?

[Michigan Mama]

Both of my boys have done this - it's like they are uncomfortable but they just don't know how to get it out... We did sometimes lay them on their backs and bicycle their legs or use their knees (sort of tucked up) to put gentle pressure on their bellies.

Ds2 always did this at night. Where he'd be wiggling, fussing, grunting, for like an hour or two. I couldn't sleep because he kept making sounds and moving around. I'm not sure, but I think it's pretty normal. And thankfully, my now 6 mo old waits until daytime to poop and does it pretty effeciently.

[Mosaic]

My DD did this, too, and I read that it's actually normal and not necessarily a sign of pain at all (though it sure looks like it). Apparently BMs require two muscle groups to work together, and brand new babies aren't always that coordinated. Crying helps acheive enough pressure in the abdomen, and that way the babies only need to get the second muscle group going. Eventually they figure it out and the crying stops, pretty abruptly if I recall correctly.

You may want to check with your ped to be sure, but if the movements seem regular and normal in color, consistency, etc., and you're BFing and not noticing any other signs of gas, food intolerance, etc., I'd bet it's probably just normal.

[marinak1977]

My LO used to do this as well when he was under a month old. I was told he is learning to poop and doesn't nessessarily know how to make this work, so he can be uncomfortable. We were worried at first because he seemed unhappy and in pain, but soon he has figured things out (by about 5-6 weeks) and now when he's pooping we can tell he knows exactly what to do. Hopefully your LO grows out of it soon.