Formula, cramps & constipation

Hi Anthea!

I honestly dont know much about formula except that my girl likes Nan and doesnt like S26 - R104 later its too late to find this out!

Hope someone will help answer your question here, otherwise why not give your clinic sister / breastfeeding consultant a call and see if they can give some advice?

If you want, go to the welcome thread and introduce yourself. There's lots of pretoria mums here with babies similar to your LO's age

Novalac IT worked for my LO - she got extremely constipated on the NAn when i had to introduce formula for day feeds. I still breastfeed first and last feeds. However i am going through 2 tins of Novalac a week - which is more expensive than regular formula's. Does anyone know of a formula that will not cause constipation (i.e. similar to the Novalac IT) but which is not as expensive?

i wonder if the number 2 NAN wont make her so constipated?

this is a bit of a late response i suppose, but thought i would share...

In our antenatal classes, the midwife said that NAN is the fomrula that they have had the least cases of constipation with.

Interestingly, my sisters LO [born Nov 2010] was allergic to NAN and becoming very constipated and dehydrated. Drs put her on Novolac IT and it has worked like a bomb!!!! The dr said they should try wean her slowly back onto NAN, but the minute they use anything but Novolak IT she screams with cramps...

Hope you find a solution that works for your baby

PS - my LO has been on NAN since 6 weeks and his tummy works like clockwork!

I totally agree with the ladies.

Changing formula can make it a whole lot worse and Dylan was also cosnstipated yet the doc did not make us change from S26!

We were told to use laxette 5ml per day and probiotics 5drops per day. Laxette is bought at the pharmacy and is perfectly safe to use.

I still suggest your friend takes her lo for a checkup. The baby may need an enema like Dylan did to clear him properly first.

Never add formula to hot water. warm milk causes constipation and she shouldn't pack the formula in the scoop. It should be very loose. Shake the tin before making a bottle.

Laxet can be bought off the shelf. You can get syrup or powders, and like Vix said its not absorbed my the body, also doesn't cause the cramping that a laxitive will cause. We still give it to Em if need be. I know nothing about formula, so cant give any advice there.

Girly- changing formula can actually make the constipation worse. Novalac AC sounds like the answer to constipation but it's basically a regular formula with extra glucose to retain water in the stool as it passes, it's basically an expensive version of sticking to your regular formula and giving 5ml Lacson/laxette per day.

I know it seems like you're doing baby with meds everyday but Lacson/laxette doesn't get absorbed by the body at all it simply lubricates the stool in order to pass. It's so harmless you can give as much as you like so if there's bulk that won't pass on a 5ml dose then give a once off dose of 10ml. It can be given to newborns.

They say S26 Gold is as close to breast milk as you will find in a formula so if you can afford it stick to it, NAN is no less likely to cause cramps and constipation.

Make sure you always prepare formula with COOLED boiled water and only heat the bottles in WARM water. Never use boiling water for either because it breaks down all the fats which will then lead to constipation. Same goes for Breast Milk, NEVER warrm in boiling water.

Also tummy massage with orange oil should help the cramps and do the bicycle movements with the legs to help the bowel movements.

Thanks. What is Laxette? Can u get it OTC? Doc gave buscopan for cramps but they still fight it every night despite the meds.
Baby never latched. Only ever got expressed breastmilk and lack of stimulation the milk production never improved. The constipation has started since stopping the expressed milk but the cramps have been an issue since taking her home. I really think they need to try another formula rather than treating cramps with meds.

With K started giving one bottle nan formula a day before returning to work. Give it before bed time and she wakes up with cramps every night since giving it. So formula does cause cramps cos she never has with breastmilk.