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| Mieka 4 days old (photo Debbie Rogers) |
Friends of ours have got a little girl keeping them up now. They were lucky with their first-born, a boy. Not so with number two. Margot at Jou Ma se Blerrie Blog also has a Richie who goes into screaming marathons. I really feel for them. I think we still feel the aftershocks of those early not sleeping...
Some calls it colicky babies! It’s definitely got something to do with the little stomachs. Because they wiggle and squirm while screaming at the top of their lungs. And there is not much we can do about it. Gripe water and rocking and breastfeeding and and...
Our paediatrician called Mieka’s "problem" infant dyschezia. A condition to do with the passing of wind, or before the passing of a soft bowel movement. It also gets diagnosed when the infant is healthy and has passed all of their milestones. We could see that Mieka was very uncomfortable after she had her meals. Wind and crying definitely went hand in hand. We called it the “poopies” and it kept us busy until she was about eight months old.
I do not hear it getting mentioned when talking about colicky babies. It is definitely something to consider when the little one screams and you can see that it has something to do with a bowel movement. Especially when it is soft bowel movements...
After we knew what the problem was, we had more sympathy and understanding for our little one. We used to jump on an exercise ball with her, and many a times she fell asleep on her dad’s shoulder... Somehow we made it through those nights. (Big smile!) I now can make lists of sleep tactics!
“This too has passed!”
Gee yes, these things are often unknowns. The princess had evening colic (over stimulation) for about 2 months from 6 to 8 months of age. It was hectic - hysteria every night from about 5 to about 7:30. And then it just stopped.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness...that is something I don't even want to remember. I feel for anybody that has a colicky baby.
ReplyDeleteMy 5 month old son has Dyschezia. I feel so bad for him. I switched him to a hypoallergenic formula thinking it was the cows milk in the formula giving him the problem. But now I don't know if that was it at all. I hate how I am questioning what I'm doing and if I made the right choice.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear! It really is painful to see them suffering. I am sure it won't be long before it will be over... (6 months, hopefully) Know that there is nothing that you can do except than being there for him!
ReplyDeleteHi Karen, glad I came across your blog. I've got a 5 week old baby who strains and cries passing wind/soft stools. I brought her to 3 doctors. One ignored my questions totally, even managed to distract me. The other 2 said it was colic! Everything was colic, colic, colic! I spend 3 weeks looking at my baby cries so badly only to stare at me when she's done with her farts and poops. And as newborns do it often, she cries often too. It disturbs her sleep as she used to strain in her sleep when she's unable to pass anything in her waking hours. Until I came across Infant Dyschezia. So even when she's sleeping she's keeping us awake. It's so sad seeing her like this. Not to mention me and my husband feel like we haven't slept for years. :((
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear! It helps to know what it is! There isnot much that you can do, but give lots of love! It will get better!
DeleteHi Karen, did your daughter have dyschezia for 8 months?
ReplyDeleteYes, she did! Slowly, but surely it got better! If it was not for the wonderful paediatrician that diagnosed it, we would have been at our wit's end! Are you struggling as well, Anon?
DeleteSorry for the repeated posts, my comments weren't showing up at first.
DeleteYes ma'am, we are. My son is 9 1/2 months old and fusses for what seems like forever prior to passing a soft stool. He's had it pretty much since birth. Everything I read on it says the condition resolves after a week or two in an infant 6 months or younger. I feel like his GI specialist has done all he can do to ensure its not a medical issue though. I'm just tired of the fussing! Lol. :-/
It must be so frustrating on you as a parent! I hope it gets better very soon! Good luck! This is the first time that I've heard that it;s gone on for so long. Please let me know when it has passed. I predict you will just realise one day that he has stopped the "fussing"! Good luck!
DeleteHi Karen, this is Anon from the last comment. My name is Julie. Do you have an e-mail address or some form of correspondence besides this blog? I'd really like to chat with you regarding your daughter's symptoms when she had the dyschezia. It seems most people I talk to, their child experienced different symptoms than my son so I'm trying to figure out if I need to get a second opinion on his diagnosis. Thanks so much, in advance, for any information or help you can provide
ReplyDeleteHi Julie You are most welcome to write to me karen toit toit @ gmail dot com (without the spaces)
DeleteHello, it seems my son is experiencing this. He is 5 months old. Can i ask if anyone has used a rectal thermometer to put a temporary end to the suffering. Pediatrician said not too, but i just get fed up with hearing him so uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteAlso, does anyone's child vomit right before they finally manage to poop?
Thanks
Hi my daughter is 3months old and going through same symptoms as yours she would vomit for several minutes before getting successful at pooping i feel your pain you are not alone
DeleteAnd when did you notice it got better for him
DeleteMy daughter got better at about 7-8 months, and hope it is sooner for you!
DeleteThanks alot for sharing
Deletehello all,
ReplyDeletemy 5 months old son is also having the same symptoms. after barium enema and abdominal scan which thankfully did not show anything worrying i was left with a magical words ,,he will grow out of it''.
As he also suffers from reflux, recently he started vomiting if he strains straight after having his bottle.
Lots of patience to all of us, mamas, and please share if you find anything new and valuable to help our little ones (and lets be honest - ourselves as well)
regards
R.
Sorry to hear, R! I know it is a difficult time! As long as you are aware of the "issue" and being there for your little one when he has pain! I would love to hear about new treatments?
DeleteDid he gain weight as hes supposed to with all the vomitting because my
DeleteLO just doesnt stop straining and bringing out stomach content our last weight check she was a bit under weight very stressful for us mamas
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI think my 2 months baby suffer from this too :(
I just want to ask what to do?? I always try not to let her cry..but i read that crying helps her to pass stool..so do i have to let her cry and cry ? :'(
No, please hold her and comfort her! Shame, poor thing!
DeleteWhen the baby is pushing and pushing, should we hold the baby in a certain position or just hold him for comfort and calm him?
DeleteHi JW I would think that you would try to hold the baby in the most comfortable position to make stools easier. Please discuss with your paediatrician and let us know?
DeleteI'm curious if you ever confused these symptoms for silent reflux? We are currently treating our son with Zantac for silent reflux but whenever he is crying he ends up pooping. I wasn't sure if it was a result of the reflux crying or if it is this condition. Now, not all of his poops need a cry to come out so I guess what I'm wondering is if your child ever pooped spontaneously or in their sleep without crying?
ReplyDelete@Rachael M our baby has been on nexium since 2 weeks old, up until then he would poop on his own, but since then, the only way he goes is when I tug at his anus with a wetwipe (gently of course) Has your trouble been resolved yet?
ReplyDeleteSorry, Rachael, I can't remember. But, this too, has passed!
ReplyDeleteHi Karen, my daughter is 2 months old and strains while pooping. She used to poop 7 times a day earlier and now is ooping one time a day. Should I help her poop while holding her in squatting position or let her lie down normally
ReplyDeleteHi U This does not sound like infant dyschezia. It can definitely help to keep her in a squatting position. I would ask for help from the experts. Maybe she has a bit of constipation? Good luck, there! It's awful if we see our little one's struggling. Let me know what helped?
DeleteMy daughter is 9 months and since birth has been very unsettled. One of the things she do quite often is stiffen butt, legs, fists and makes a sound like pushing she turns red but no wind or stool. Her stools are normal. She seems in distress a lot of the time and arches her back and cries a lot stiffening etc. Sometimes she is a happy playful baby that seems totally normal. She is not crawling yet but she sits and plays. Neurologist have done tests to her still waiting for results. But no diagnosis. I came across Infant Dyschezia and seems like this other than my daughter is 9 months but I always had the feeling it was related to tummy pressure I hope it passes soon . Thanks for sharing your story.
ReplyDeleteHi Anon I hope it passes very soon. It sounds like infant dyschezia and maybe you should ask your pediatrician about it?
DeletePlease notify me if you have any improvement!!
DeleteGreat post!
ReplyDeleteHi I think my 3 month old is currently experiencing this. She used to pass to stool w no difficulty, however just a week ago, i’ve noticed that she would wake up fussy, arching her back around 12 midnight and at first, i thought she’s just hungry so i try to breastfeed her but once she latches, suddenly she would strain and pass soft stool. Once that happens, I would lay her flat and then she would strain from 10-30min with just little to normal amount of liquid stool. I’m just really concerned as she is exclusively breastfed but has hard time passing soft/liquid stool for a week already. And she used to poop 2-3x a day but now it’s around 6-8x a day w little to normal amount of poop.
ReplyDeleteI’m really worried w what my baby’s experiencing if it’s constipation or whatnot. Other than this, she’s normally happy baby. I just hope she’ll feel better soon. I just can’t bring her to hospital right away to have her check due to pandemic we are experiencing / spread of Corona Virus.
Hi Anon I feel for you. The best would be to have baby checked at paediatrician. But it is difficult during this time. Trust your gut and if she is still happy and healthy, just give her lots of love.
DeleteMy 5 month old is experiencing these symptoms and has since shortly after birth. I keep getting told he will grow out of it. At what point should I press for more to be done to rule out medical issues? He grunts and pushes and sometimes will start “talking” away before he poops. He also has gas that wakes him up aaalll night. Does this sound similar to your situation, Karen? Also were others’ babies breastfed? Mine is, and I’m wondering if something in my diet could be causing all of this. Ughhh just so frustrated!
ReplyDeleteHi Kaitlin
DeleteI am not a medical doctor. If you are at all unsure about his condition, please discuss it with a doctor/specialist, and mention infant dyschezia. My baby was also breastfed, and she had terrible diarrhoea because of grapes that I was eating. Up until this day the pediatricians and dieticians looks at me funny, but when I stopped eating it, the condition stopped. With infant dyschezia it looks like they are straining while the poop is soft and not supposed to make them suffer so much... I hope it gets better soon!
With guidance from GI, I removed the top 6 allergens from my diet and my daughter stopped having gas issues and no occult blood in stool. She would cry and be uncomfortable for hours until she pooped. GI then said it's a combination of her having reflux and infanttile dyschezia. She's on Milk of Magnesia and it has helped but she still has trouble with staying asleep for naps and wakes wanting to suck or stay close to stay asleep. Has anyone experienced incomplete feeds because of DI? I had to work really hard to be abke to breastfeed her but am now being encouraged to give her elemental formula, so I am not trying to nurse and pump since she isn't nursing fully from her discomfort. It seems to start about 10-15 mins into nursing and she will then refuse to eat, not even from the bottle. She wants to the beat before napping or wakes hungry into her nap. Trying to better understand if ID is causing the feeding issues that started right after she proved she's capable of taking full feeds at the breast and bottle.
DeleteI have the same problm with my 5 weeks daughter, she struggles trying to push but only to fart with no pooping ND this happens at night oh my God my body is too painful
ReplyDeleteShe cries alot trying to poo, what should one do
Sorry to hear, Unknown. Please take it up with your doctor at the six week check-up. I so hope they have found something by now that works?
DeleteYes that is him! Thank you for the reply. At least I know I’m not alone!
ReplyDeleteHi, Kaitlin. This post of mine is still on top after all these years. It shows that so many people are struggling with the same thing. You are definitely not alone. Best wishes
DeletePut your knees up and face baby towards you lying back on knees, push their knees up slightly. We call it poo position.
ReplyDeleteBuy the Frida baby windii.
Allow baby to breastfeed while straining.
Stimulate anus, push knees up to belly.
Thanks for the tip, Anon
DeleteMy son is 8 months and has infant dyschezia diagnosed at 5 months old. I have booked another appointment as this seems to be a long time to have bot coirdinated these actions yet. Paed said fine to stimulate anus but I find he is then worse and I read it's not good as they rely on the stimulation. I've just about lost my mind. And I cry for him. Sleep is terrible. I'm glad to see this post. He sometimes passes wind when relaxed in my arms. It seems related to the sphincter only.
ReplyDeleteHi! Any improvement since this post? I just realized my 10 month has this, (thought she has just been constipated but has soft stools). We have been having her poop in the squat position the past week, hope it helps soon!
DeleteHi Ashley. Has your baby managed to poop easily now?
DeleteIt sad to see up till now there hasn’t been any solution for this. My LO is 4weeks old and started experiencing ID at 3 weeks. He is EBF and it breaks my heart to see him straining to poo and pass wind. Sometimes he does it while he’s asleep till he wakes and then starts screaming. These goes on for hours.especially at night we do this till the next morning. I just want this to be over soon I’m an FTM and it’s painful seeing my LO in so much discomfort. All what the midwives/paeds keep saying is colic colic but they should know about this and find a solution.
ReplyDeleteDoes your baby not take full feeds because of stopping to squirm and cry? My daughter is 5 months old and has been breast fed, but I'm having to pump because she won't nurse fully. I've been encouraged to start her on hypo-allergenic formula. She wakes every 40 mins into naps and wants to suck for comfort or nursing.
DeleteDoes your baby not take full feeds because of stopping to squirm and cry? My daughter is 5 months old and has been breast fed, but I'm having to pump because she won't nurse fully. I've been encouraged to start her on hypo-allergenic formula. She wakes every 40 mins into naps and wants to suck for comfort or nursing.
DeleteMy 8 weeks child is suffering from dyschezia since she was 3 weeks I took her to the doctor they explained everything to me but it's painful having to watch my baby go through this for a long time
ReplyDeleteWe are experiencing the same with our 8 weeks old son. The poo position mentioned by anonymous indeed helps when he is awake. Sometimes though he is asleep while straining and grunting and it is difficult to wake him up.
ReplyDeleteHi, we’ve been battling Dyschezia for a while now and our son is gradually getting better on his own (we have tried helping him with his knees held up and keeping him as calm as possible - sometimes it worked and sometimes not... there were many different phases)
ReplyDeleteHe’s now started pooping with a bit more ease during the day - often when feeding or distracted as he is most relaxed.
I wondered what everyone’s experience of night time is like though. Our boy tends to manage to stay asleep - I don’t know how - while he strains, grunts, chews his hands, gouges his face... it’s horrid to watch and I have to wear earplugs to sleep next to him and even then he wakes me on an hourly basis. Are other parents with infants suffering from dyschezia experiencing this? We had been doing shifts of looking after him at night but now my partner can’t afford to not be back at work anymore.
My son is the same. He needs help pooping during the day by sitting him up and just distracting him to make sure he is relaxed. Sometimes feeding him helps too, he is EBF. He is usually able to poop in just 15-20 minutes or so without the crying during daytime but night time is harder because he falls asleep in between grunting/straining.
DeleteAs soon as i hear him grunting at night i sit him up and try to keep him awake until he passes gas or stool. I position his legs close to his stomach like he’s squatting and it helps him a lot. Feeding him to help him relax and poop doesn’t help at night coz he just ends up sleeping and then he’ll wake up an hour later doing the same thing. It does take a lot longer at night tho, sometimes it would even go for an hour but at least we get about 3 hours of sleep after that instead of me just letting him grunt/strain all night i feel like he’s not getting enough sleep that way. He is also on Gerber Soothe Probiotics per his Pedia’s advice. I feel like it helps him somewhat. When he wasn’t on probiotics he would wake up every hour. Now he can sleep for 3 hours straight on a good night or 2 hours on not so good nights.
I'm so grateful I found this. Very one kept saying colic but my gut told me otherwise
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear!
DeleteAny tips for 8-9 month old. Got diagnosed with ID at 6 weeks we call him the squirm master @5 month we were told some take longer. millions of massages bisycle legs squats later he still finds it so hard puts him of solid food as it stimulates digestion.
ReplyDeleteAlways soft stool smelly farts and after 10-15 mins pushing not always successful. When will he learn when should i get worried ( not to say i am worried every time he starts pushing and grunting). It seems so hard and there seems nothing i can do to help.
Did your little one manage to poop easily? I have a 7 months baby girl who finds it so difficult to poop.
DeleteOMG. My son is 4 months old today and struggles so much. He doesn't understand that he needs to relax, so he stiffens his whole body and shoots his legs straight out. He locks them at the knee, so I can't even try to bend him into a squatting position. I'm so tired and fall asleep with podcasts in my ears, because he grunts most of the night (even though he's asleep). I am literally taking it day by day, because there's nothing else to do.
ReplyDeleteThe stools are soft, but the smell is like something out of a horror movie - lol. I think because he goes a few days in between that just consist of him grunting. GP dismissed it as adjustment to his formula, but I'm going to insist on a GI consult if this doesn't resolve soon.
Thanks for this post!
ReplyDeleteMy baby is 8weeks old and has been diagnosed with dyschezia. Ped suggested ri use microlax enema on alternate days if he doesn't poop. He used to go 4-6 times a day. Now we are lucky if he goes once in 2 days. He is always grunting and screaming, day and night just to have a soft poop. Any idea when it will be over? He is also on coloxyl to prevent the poop from becoming too hard.
My baby is 5.5 months today, has dyschezia since birth. I’m hoping it’ll pass. Many sources said by 3-4 months they’ll improve. This is the first source i’ve come across where the babies have crossed 5-6month of age with this issue. I’m glad I came across this! I would have lost my mind going down the rabbit hole trying to find answers. Thank you
ReplyDelete