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[Tristis]

My daughter's doctor is out of town and the nurses in her office aren't being very much help. This is my first child, so maybe I'm worrying too much and this may be a dumb question, but this is really bothering me. Cassie has been having one bowel movement a day for the past 2-3 days. I'm pretty sure she is constipated. She fusses and makes the faces and sounds she does when she is normally trying to poop, but then whines some more and acts really aggravated. It wakes her up frequently and I hate seeing her like this. Is this normal for a newborn?

If it makes any difference, she is formula and breast fed.

[Mummoth]

It sounds normal to me... I noticed my daughter being more fussy/gassy, pooping less and also spitting up more the last 3 - 4 days. I think it's a growth spurt. Babies that are formula fed can get constipated, but since you're doing both I don't know... if she were constipated the poops would be solid/hard, right?

[Tristis]

Not entirely solid, and it's green. Maybe constipation wasn't the right word. It just seems like she is having problems pooping. Every 10 or so minutes she wakes up fussing, acting like she's trying to go but it just won't happen. :( Not sure what I can do for her to ease her discomfort at least a little. I'm thinking of switching formulas.

[aeterna]

As stated, formula can be constipating, so if she's having a lot of trouble you certainly could consider switching brands.

I'm wondering, since you said she is on both formula and bm, did you have a hard time/slow start breastfeeding? I had a very slow start with my DS and we started supplementing with formula, but he was still not having poos for a couple days. My ped figured it was just that he didn't have much extra going through his system yet. And sure enough, after a week or so he started having more regular poos.

Just a thought... mine was fussy too, but didn't seem to be in pain. If your DD looks like she's in pain, I'd call a nurse hotline or something if your ped is still unavailable.

[Mummoth]

I don't know what to suggest other than if she'll let you bicycle her legs or try rocking her like she's in a rocking chair that can sometimes help a baby go.

Green poop is unusual... they used to say for breast-fed babies it's a sign that the baby isn't getting enough hind-milk (which is higher in fat/comes later in the feeding) but I think thats outdated information and I don't know how or if that applies for formula too. 

The only other thing I can think of is since this has started, have you had any different foods than usual? Some people notice their baby gets gassy after they drink a lot of coffee or a lot of tomatoey things (it could be anything) It seems weird that enough of something would get through your milk to bug the baby, but apparently it can happen.

When does her doctor get back? For now I'd just keep track of wet diapers, as long as she's hydrated it's not an emergency. It sucks that she's uncomfortable but it might just take some time to figure out what's bothering her. Try not to worry too much, she's probably making it look a lot worse than it feels, babies can be pretty dramatic, they don't have any life experience to compare a little fart bubble to!

[onetwoten]

DD often has trouble pooping-- like you said, she's not constipated, just still having some trouble learning to use the right muscles. Bicycling sometimes works. I find having her stretched/spread out works sometimes-- she can't poop if she's swaddled. DH is the best for getting her to poop though, but this will be based on your DS's development. DD is 6 weeks old and has very good head control. He sits down reclined, and gets her to stand on his tummy, legs slightly apart. He waits until she relaxes, so she's sitting in a squat position, and he takes her hands (for some reason, holding her under the armpits doesn't work, it has to be the hands, with her kind of dangling). Once she starts trying to push again a bit, he'll pull up on her arms to help her stand, and she'll stretch and reach for 10 seconds or so, and then she'll sigh and sit back down into a squat. 

I don't know what it is about that routine, but it works almost everytime and gets her moving again. 

[LilMomma83]

My little girl hasn't been pooping much either...though when she does it is orange and thick but not solid (she is mostly breastfed, with just a teeny bit of formula) her ped said he believe in her case it is a combination of not pooping often (can be normal depending on age for a breastfed baby) and formula making it more solid. Not sure if that is what is going on with your LO or not, just sharing our experience.