Grunting and Pushing When Eating

Hi michelle,
put her on soy formula it's better for babies to digest. I had to do it when my son was a baby. Hope it helps

Try switching to both Dr Browns bottles and Good Start Formula. Both helped my gassy son tremendously.

Hi M.. some babies are just gassier then others. you can try mylicon drops to help break up those gas bubbles. You can also try putting her on her back and bending her knees up to her chest, that will help get rid of gas too. As for switching formuls, I'm not a big fan of switching babies unless its absolutely necessary as sometimes that can cause more problems. As for he pooping; yes, when a baby has formula they can go as little as once a day, whereas an exclusively breastfed baby will go up to 8 times a day!! You're doing a great job!!

My daughter did the same thing and I had to change her formula to Enfamil Gentlease. It has proteins that are already broken down. It was like night and day after two feedings. I went through a ton of gas drops before this and nothing seemed to work.
Good luck!! It's tough when they can't tell you what is wrong.

Hi!!! I'm a mother of two sons. My oldest will be 2 in August and my youngest is 2mths, I'm a stay at home Mom. I learned alot from my 1st the 1st is always trial and error so don't get down on yourself! I know what your going through! The first thing you should try if your not doing it already is burping her every ounce, this way the gas doesnt build up. She's prob. fussing like that because she has to burp and thats just her way of letting you know. So try doing before she starts to fuss and the burp will come out easier and she be ready to eat again! Also what makes a big difference in the gas is BOTTLES!! When I brought my newborn home I breastfeed for about 2weeks when I switched to formula I used Dr. Brown's it was working okay but he still had gas and at times I would have to hold his legs up to expell the gas. Next I switched to playtex vent air. He stopped pooping. When he pooped it was soft but even still that is consipation. He wouldnt go for like 2 days and finally when he let out OH MY! So now I have switched to Advent Bottles. Work like magic! He poops everyday 2-3xs and gas comes out real easy! And the nipple is shaped big like your breast so it makes for easier transtion. Give it a try!!! Changing formula isn't really nessacery unless shes crying non-stop which is a sign of colic because she can't digest her food or spitting up excessively( acid reflux*) Went through that w/ my first born. SO TO RECAP ;) TRY BURPING HER EVERY OUNCE, OH AND WHEN YOU DO TRY SITTING HER ON YOUR LAP UP RIGHT LETTING HER LITTLE BODY REST ON YOUR FOREARM BUT STILL SORTA STRAIGHT LIKE SHES SITTING IN A CHAIR, CUP YOUR HAND AND PAT HER BACK AT THE BOTTOM LIKE PARELLE TO HER STOMACH..ALSO TRY DIFFERENT BOTTLES!!! WHO KNOWS ADVENT MAY NOT WORK FOR HER BUT THERE IS DEF. ONE OUT THERE THAT WILL! GODBLESS

I've been having the same problem with my newborn son, Ryan. He is 5 weeks old today and does the exact same thing. He does though have GERD and some stomach spasming issues so he is on actual meds for it. (Zantac and Levsin). He is now on his 3rd formula which we started yesterday and so far so good. I was breastfeeding at first too and we transitioned to just formula. We started out on regular Enfamil Lipil which my daughter was on and had no problems with. Then we went to Enfamil Gentlease. That made him to start fussing during feedings and his gas and poopies smelled like the wrath of God. I mean this kid has a seriously tiny little butt and he could clear a room! Yesterday the pediatrician gave us samples of Enfamil A.R. Lipil to try which is formula with added rice cereal to help keep it down. And so far the fussing during feeding has stopped. And he seems way more content and less gassy then usual. I would check with your pediatrician about the possibility of GERD. Just because they don't spit up doesn't mean they don't have it. My daughter suffered from it too as an infant but she never spit up. For her it traveled up her esophagus enough to burn her but never to actually come out. She would always have a look on her face that she had a bad taste in her mouth. My son has all of these symptoms as well but with spitting up. But he also has not spit up since starting the new formula yesterday. As far as the not pooping on a regular basis, she is old enough now to give prune juice. No more than 1oz per day. Just replace 1oz of water with prune juice and make formula as usual. Before 1 month of age the use apple juice, but one month and old prune juice is fine. Good luck with everything!

I would contact your doctor immediately. He or she would be your safest bet to answer this question. You don't want to switch to Soy with out consulting your doctor. I have a friend whose son was allergic to soy. They didn't know it and gave him soy formula. He ended up in the hospital with dehydration because he didn't absorb any of it. He just pooped it all out. Please contact your doctor before switching and see what he or she says. I do not feel comfortable giving advice when a medical professional should be involved.

I dont think there is anything that ever said not to change formulas

The issues you describe seem related to iron in the formula. This causes some constipation and overall digestive unhappiness.
You should consult your doctor before going the soy or lactose intolerant route. This issue is very rare and unless your have very particular genetic characteristics this should be ruled out.

You can try a low iron formula, and consider an organic formula since the ingredients(as well as the milk) tend to be more digestible.

Massage a great way to get the digestion moving as well as a great way to promote proprioception and neuromotor development. Plan for one or two sessions a day. We have found sweet almond oil to be best for our babies, this can be found in most health food stores. There are many books and websites that give good instructions on baby massage.

There is a chance that your bottles are causing the gas. Make sure you have bottles that vent air into the bottle and avoid taking air in the baby.

Good luck.

Hi! My son had the same problem. i also nursed him but when he started getting more formula than breast milk, he had a terrible time pooping and often tried to go for 2-3 days before actually going. i was really concerned b/c he seemed like he was in a lot of pain (grunting, pushing, turning red...). my doctor said he had a tight sphincter. after giving him an exam, it seemed to help. they also told me to add an extra ounce of water to his bottles. this also helped. like you the stools were soft so i didnt think that anything would help but it did. Good luck!

Sounds like she's not breaking down the formula into usable bits. Do you really need to stop giving her breast milk? Breast milk is the perfect food for your baby.

S. Hoehner
www.sharethecause.com/detoxqueen

I had nothing but problems when I used formula with my first child. They get gassy, have problems pooping and even get constipated. I believe it was the formula that made my beautiful baby so cranky. Have you considered pumping your breast milk for continued feeding? After all breast milk is the best choice for your baby as it is perfect. Your breast milk actually changes to accomodate your babies needs. How brilliant is that? Your baby isn't constipated yet but the decrease in going is a sure sign that it's coming. Yes, it's from the formula.

It's so important that baby gets the first 6-8 weeks of breast milk any way but I would seriously consider continuing to pump for the health of your baby.

Editing my response to really emphasize the breast feeding! After reading all the other responses and how these babies had to be given this medication or that....that is scarey! Every medicine we take must go through our liver and holy smokes do these little babies need all this so early on? Babies have problems and need to be switched from formula to formula because the stuff is NOT the same as breast milk! I've never heard of a baby needing a different mommy's breast milk. Yikes! BREAST IS BEST!!

the change in bowels habits is probably from the transition from breast to bottle, but sounds like she is having some issues tolerating the formula. try a lactose-free one. Enfamil makes one. do not try the nutramigen (the ones that have the milk protein broken down already). use it for at least 3 days before you decide if it is better or not. if not, then try the nutramigen or something similar.

Hi M.! I of course would ask your Daughter's doctor before switching formulas, but if there was ever one that you really should try it is Enfamil's Gentlease! This formula not only helps out with gassy tummys (my Daughter had these same troubles at 3 weeks) but it also helps with poops too! Give it time to work, every formula needs a week to a week n' a half. But I swear by it, and we've tried her on different formulas, mostly just the same version but in a store brand and not Enfamil but we continue to find that Enfamil's Gentlease is the best there is! You may also want to try Mylicon (and with gas drops, less expensive store brands work just as well) gas drops with every bottle too! During my Daughter's colic stage we went through lots of bottles of gas drops!