Grunting and straining day and night, dyschezia?

My LO had this, he is 11 weeks old now. It sounds awful. But apparently it’s how they move their digestive system. He stopped doing this around 2 weeks ago. Nothing helped us either and our GP always said it’s “normal” but it’s horrible to watch them do it. You’re not alone in this and remember these things don’t last forever❤️

@Milly thank you for your reply it is really reassuring to know your little one grew out of it not too long away for us. Did your child do this for a long time? Sometimes it feels like all day and night. He is peaceful when sleeping unless he is due a feed and then it starts about 20 mins before and doesnt subside until he’s passed gas or a stool x

That’s what this community is all about, to never feel alone!❤️ Yes he had it from about a week old, on top of that we are battling reflux, which unfortunately he still has. But since his grunting stopped he seems a lot more comfortable. Night was the worse, it took us ages to settle him as he was just going red in the face and looked like he had trapped gas, we also tried all the above but nothing else worked! Hopefully won’t be too long until it stops for you. You probably won’t even realise they’ve stopped ❤️❤️

Literally could’ve written this myself! Our boy is the exact same!x

My little guy was like this. Finally figured out he has food intolerances. Took dairy out of my diet when he was 2 months old and he improved so much. He still had a hard time at night and eventually when we also took egg completely out of my diet, he finally doesn't struggle at night anymore at 7 months old. He had soft/runny poops but they had a lot of mucus and smelled bad.

My boy had infant dyschezia (diagnosed by Paeds Consultant). It does sound like it could be that but also have you considered CMPA? My boy's was masked by his dyschezia for quite a while and the soft stools, especially runny are a symptom.

my little one did this my doctor told me that they don’t know how to work the muscles around their butt yet so it’s hard for them but there is nothing wrong. he just had to learn how to use it, he is now 10 weeks and stopped struggling about a week or so ago.

We’ve been to see the GP and showed videos etc. they think potentially silent reflux and have prescribed gaviscon. Feels like it’s just process of elimination for everyone as it all presents so similarly. I might cut out dairy too just to be safe x

Try not to introduce to many different things at this age, we regret swapping and changing a lot of things quickly. My LO is on gaviscon, but this caused his to have constipation so is also on movicol, we repeat the same routine everyday with him and he is so much better! If you’re not happy with what the GP has said or provided then keep on pushing them, you know your LO better than anyone else 💙

My son was exactly like this and still does occasionally do this, he is now 7.5 weeks old and it does seem to have gotten better although his poos are still quite smelly and runny but have been told it’s “normal” 🙄 just trying ride the newborn trenches and keep telling myself things will get easier and it’s not forever!

@Milly can I ask what routine you use? We started the gaviscon last night. Two sachets a day we are starting with for when he is most unsettled but can see the constipation starting already. He doesn’t seem uncomfortable with it yet but conscious it could be an accumulative effect! X

@Laura (Lor) sorry to read this it’s awful to watch isn’t it. We have been prescribed gaviscon as the doctor suspects silent reflux so I’ll let you know how we get on! After first night he did seem a bit sicky and constipated, but the above symptoms calmed down massively so not too sure what to think! We are going to stick with two sachets a day to see if we can get a good balance but worth considering with your doctor xx

We are on the maximum dosage of gaviscon for our LO, he has half a sachet with each bottle (6oz every 3 hours) I make up his bottle with his gaviscon in the rapidcool, once made and cool I let it sit for 5 minutes. Whilst I let it settle, I change him. Then swirl the bottle for a few seconds before his feed. Feeding can take up to 40 minutes with his reflux, with plenty of breaks and breaks for winding him. Letting him be in control, Keeping him upright for at least half an hour after his feed to make sure it goes down comfortably for him. For his last bottle of the day, he has a full sachet in his formula, this is because he sleeps through for nearly 10 hours, just to ensure he has no spills during the evening and he’s more comfortable! Hope this helps? Try and do what’s best for you both, every momma and baby are different 💙

@Milly this is so helpful!! I need to get better at keeping him upright after feeds, I do for about ten mins but I’ll increase that! Thank you for sharing x

Don’t get me wrong it’s tiresome, if you’re struggling to do this, we did in the first few weeks, we got a support pillow to relieve strain from your shoulders xx

Ahh see we had the doctor yesterday as our 7week old is snotty and got a cough (picked up by all of us by his big brother😅) and she wasn’t really that worried and said it was normal though if it keeps carrying on then it would be gaviscon given but with our eldest it didn’t do anything except cause more problems for his constipation so I was in a predicament on whether I should carry on with it or stop as he was already in so much pain with his belly. But I really hope it does help him and does the world of good for him as like you say it’s awful watching them struggle!xx

Incog silent reflux is another symptom of CMPA so I would say cutting out dairy to see would be a good shout x

My LO is worse at night time. Gets really distressed when trying to pass wind or poo, it's like he's really struggling. When he does poo, it's loose, so he's not constipated. He's nearly 6 months old and the doctor is still continuing to say it's 'normal' and that he's still learning to use his digestive system. :(

@Kirsty what a shame bless him. Hopefully it’ll get better for him asap

@Milly hey what type of support pillow are you referring to? X