constant straining and grunting~need advice please

[countrycountess]

I need some advice, please. DD is 3 weeks old and as of mid last week she is constantly straining and grunting to pass gas and stools. Her sweet little baby noises have turned into red faced grunt fests. She is pulling her knees up and grunting and straining something awful and its nearly all the time. She is no longer sleeping peacfully but instead wakes every half hour or so; straining miserably.

About the same time all this started, her formula was changed from powdered to concentrate, but still the same brand etc. We thought we would just give her time to adjust since it was the same formula (only concentrate instead of powder) but its been a week and there is no end in sight.

I am begining to fear it isn't just gas, or the formula, but I don't know. She did well with the premix stuff at the hospital, no grunting then. She is not constipated. Her stools are like yogurt, and regular, at least twice a day but she strains nearly all day and all night. Like she is trying ever so hard to poop gravel or something harder. I'm afraid she is going to hurt herself just from all the straining. Her little belly button is half in and half out and I can't help but wonder if it isn't from pushing so hard and so often???

The only relief she seems to get is from laying on my chest or across my legs, on her tummy, and constantly patting her back and/or butt.

Any experience with the same symptoms? What to do???? BTW she is a great burper and eater. She takes 4 oz every 3 hours and burps well after every 2 oz. I need some suggestions, please. I hate to see my sweet girl like this. I call her my little pony...from all the grunting and squealing, she sounds just like a tired, braying pony, poor babe. Heeeeeelp.

Oh yeah and this... yesterday she was just sitting quietly on my lap, out of nowhere, milk starts *pouring* out both nostrils and her mouth! This scared me silly, it happened in the wierdest way. It looked like something out of the movies, as if she sprung a leak, it just started pouring out her mouth and nose at the same time, with no gag, no heaving, nothing, just milk rushing out of her face. I've never seen or heard anything like this, please tell me its normal, it happens. right?

[MCKH]

I am not sure because I've not formula fed, but 4 ounces every 3 hours seems like an awful lot of food for a newborn. I think the average for newborns is closer to 20-24 ounces in a day (of breastmilk.) It could be that you are just overfeeding and she's uncomfortable with that full of a tummy. Remember that a baby will continue to take food from a bottle long past the point of satiety; just because they swallow it doesn't mean they need it. Maybe try 2 ounces every 2 hours (closer to a normal breastfeeding schedule) and see if that helps.

[starry_mama]

Sounds like a milk allergy to me.

[VickV]

Olivia has done the 'milk outta the nose' thing a couple times - it seems completely effortless on her part - she's just lying there and woosh! My assumption is that she's overfull when that happens, since she doesn't spit up with her normal burps, even the wet-sounding ones.

Olivia is doing a lot of the grunting and straining stuff you describe. And she cries a lot more than Isabel did at this age, which is wicked frustrating when I have a high-needs toddler wanting me too Unlike your DD, tho, Olivia absolutely *sucks* at burping, and I've had to resort to Mylicon drops to help her.

Have you asked your ped for input? I'm going to be asking about the likelihood of Olivia's issues being related to dairy in my diet, since Isabel had some sensitivities when she was an infant, then outgrew them, then regained them when she was around 18 months. For her it's dairy and soy, but since I'm not a vegetarian this time around, my soy intake is minimal. What kind of formula are you using?

[minsca]

I wish I could help you, but I don't know about the straining ect, as it's never happened to me. However I do know that if i overfed both of my girls they would do the milk streaming out mouth and nose. At least I assumed it was from overfeeding because it was always after they would nurse for quite a while and then be fussy and I would feed them some more (thinking they were still hungry). Once they finally seemed to puke everything out of their system they were content. I have since learned that fussy after eating tons, usually means that they need to burp some more... not get fed more. Dumb me finally figured that out just a couple of weeks ago.

[countrycountess]

toh....similac advance with iron. ped said give the mylicon which I am starting today, and seemed totally unconcerned... which is actually a relief!i had dh bring home some powdered formula. i swear the bottles are just half full of nothing but bubbles when its the concentrate and only a few bubbles with the powdered. i am really betting/praying that going back to powdered will make a big diff, and i hope so!!

when she came home from hospital she was on 4 oz every 3 hours 24/7, still is, she was comfy with it then and seems to be now. I did have the same thought though, but she demands all 4 ounces at each feeding,demands would be putting it lightly.

[Throkmorton]

Wow, she's a big eater! DD is the same age and with supplement and breastmilk she is taking roughly 15-18 oz/day of formula plus around 4-8 oz of breast milk, depending on whether are are having a good boob day.

Anyways, I do have some suggestions because I went through the exact same thing with my older DD. Some suggestions may be obvious but I would rather tell you something you know than skip something helpful.

First, don't mix each bottle separately. Mix a day's worth and keep it in the fridge. That way, the bubbles have a chance to settle and she will have way less gas.
Is she fussing while eating? She may need a different speed of nipple. MY older DD took a newborn nipple until she was a year because anything faster was too fast and she would barf everywhere and get really bad gas, whereas my piggy DS took the fastest nipples we could find and took in a lot of air with a slower nipple, also causing gas.

Second, if you are using a formula with DHA and ARA, switch to the regular version. All 3 of my kids have not tolerated DHA and ARA formulas well and apparently this is a common problem

If the grunting and straining continue to be an issue and it's not just a weird stage, consider switching to a formula with more broken-down proteins. My DD wouldn't tolerate any milk-based formula except the *shudder* Goodstart. I would absolutely try this before switching to soy.

[blue_salsify]

my first daughter also had the 'pushies' when she needed to poop. it was hard to see her struggle. i never found a solid cause and it seemed to me that she just had 'immature digestion' aka: infant dyschezia. she was BF'd.

the only thing that seemed to help was holding her in football position on her tummy and gently bouncing. she also got very stinky gas when i ate chocolate that didn't go away until around 8mo.

good luck

[clintonhillmama]

don't have any advice about the grunting, but-

when ds1 had jaundice, my ex-ped had me formula feed for 24 hours (which didn't work btw). i was giving him 3 oz per feed, and he SPEWED all over me several times - which sent me into hysterical tears the first few times! - and then i realized i was overfeeding him.

even this babe is a serious eater - and i have so much milk, she just keeps going and going. and then she spits up all over me after! and out the nose, sometimes too.

you'd think they would know when to stop.... but apparently not!

[countrycountess]

Originally Posted by Throkmorton

Wow, she's a big eater! DD is the same age and with supplement and breastmilk she is taking roughly 15-18 oz/day of formula plus around 4-8 oz of breast milk, depending on whether are are having a good boob day.

Anyways, I do have some suggestions because I went through the exact same thing with my older DD. Some suggestions may be obvious but I would rather tell you something you know than skip something helpful.

First, don't mix each bottle separately. Mix a day's worth and keep it in the fridge. That way, the bubbles have a chance to settle and she will have way less gas.
Is she fussing while eating? She may need a different speed of nipple. MY older DD took a newborn nipple until she was a year because anything faster was too fast and she would barf everywhere and get really bad gas, whereas my piggy DS took the fastest nipples we could find and took in a lot of air with a slower nipple, also causing gas.

Second, if you are using a formula with DHA and ARA, switch to the regular version. All 3 of my kids have not tolerated DHA and ARA formulas well and apparently this is a common problem

If the grunting and straining continue to be an issue and it's not just a weird stage, consider switching to a formula with more broken-down proteins. My DD wouldn't tolerate any milk-based formula except the *shudder* Goodstart. I would absolutely try this before switching to soy.

Thank you for the advice. I do mix each days formula in the morning and we are actually using the slow flow nipples they gave us in hospital, I made fast friends with the head nurse, who sent me home with a bag full of enfimil nipples. This is great advice though, it makes sense. I also make the formula with hot water so it "melts" instead of having to shake it so hard. It dissolves well when stirred in hot water.

Just within the last 2 feedings she is MUCH more quieted. She actually slept a full 4 hours too, without grunting! I don't know if it was the Mylicon drops or the change back to powdered but she seems to be doing better already, thank God.

Many pp's addressing over feeding though..too many to be taken lightly. I think it may be a good idea to *try* to trim her back by .5 ounce at a time, until we get to 3oz/3hrs. Thanks again for the great advice, wish me luck!