I do remember giving Mayah & Jeremiah massages when they were babies. I used to do this as part of their bedtime routine, just after they had their bath. It really helped to calm them down and get them settled for bed. However, with Judah I’ve had to step up my game and try the baby massage for constipation.
Why did I decide to try the baby massage for constipation?
My plan was to breastfeed Judah exclusively. I tried exclusively breastfeeding with Mayah, but then my dad passed away when she was 4 months and I had to travel out of the country for his funeral. The GP advised against travelling with Mayah as she was very little and it was very hot there. So I ended up leaving her with her grandma for 4 days. While I was away, I ensured I kept my supply up by expressing regularly (I threw away the expressed milk due to storage challenges).
By the time I got back, Mayah had gotten used to formula and refused my breast milk. It was quite upsetting for me, especially because I had expressed enough breastmilk to keep her going, but her nan wasn’t interested. She gave her formula milk throughout the period when I was away, so when I returned, my breastmilk was strange to her.
With Jeremiah, I already made up my mind to do the combination/mixed feeding method. This was because I was told that boys ate a lot and to do both for my own sanity, so that baby gets enough food to settle and I get enough rest. It all went pretty smoothly I must say. He slept through the night, waking up once to feed. There were no issues – he was happy, I was happy.
The only thing I noticed was that it was such a pain expressing milk – Surely, I can’t be the only woman in the world who feels like a cow when expressing? I had the double electric pump and I absolutely hated the process. Waking up at early hours of the morning to express – when he wasn’t feeding off me, the electric pump was. I barely had the time to do anything else.
When I found out I was pregnant with Judah, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with regards to feeding him. I had spoken to a few other mums over the years and had been told that breastfeeding exclusively, on demand, without expressing, was the easiest and best way to feed baby. I also remember when Mayah had really bad reflux as a baby, I took her to see her GP. He said to me, “why are you feeding her from a bottle? Feed her directly from the breast and you will notice she won’t have the reflux or spit up as much”.
So I decided to try this method with Judah – no bottles, no expressing, just good ol’ breastmilk straight from the source, “as nature intended”. Well, let’s just say that this plan went out of the window due to the complications we had with Judah. If you haven’t been following the Judah story, you can catch up here. Judah was on formula milk from day 1 to help with clearing the jaundice. Once the jaundice had cleared and we were discharged back home, I decided to switch back to my original plan – 100% breastmilk. All seemed to be going well as my supply was up & running and Judah was feeding very well. He was content.
Day 5 was the first time I heard it, the worst cry ever, that cry cuts straight into your soul. It’s a scream-like piercing cry which immediately tells you baby is pain. I could tell Judah was in pain, but why? He was screaming with his hands in the air, fists clenched up tight, eyes shut tight and legs in the air. I immediately picked him up, offered him the breast, he wasn’t interested. Tried to burp him, nothing. It was at this point I went to my trusted NHS website to see if I could figure out what the issue was.
We are told that it’s ok and not uncommon for babies not to poo everyday, in fact, some can go as long as 5 days. so I wasn’t concerned that he hadn’t pooped in 2 days. Before that, he was doing the sticky meconium poo which was fine. After doing some research, I figured out that due to the piercing screams, it had to be either gas or constipation. So I laid him down on his back and gently felt his tummy – it felt bloated. So I knew that I had to do something immediately to get him to poop.
Signs to watch out for to tell if your baby is constipated:
- If they haven’t done a poo in a few days. This doesn’t always mean they are constipated but can confirm that they are when combined with other signs
- If they are grunting or straining, like they want to poo but there’s nothing/barely anything coming out
- If they manage to poo but it’s very hard and small in bits, like pebbles
- If you are not sure, you should reach out to your GP or Health visitor for advice
This was the first time I noticed he was constipated and I tried different ways (some of which are listed below) to get him to poop. I was actually surprised that while I was breast-feeding exclusively, he had another episode of constipation but his doctor said this was probably because of the iron supplements he was on.
If you are following Judah’s story, you will realise that I had to switch again to mixed feeding for him because his iron was low and the doctors advised to do that, so he could get extra iron from the iron fortified formula. This was in addition to the iron and folic acid supplements he was on. We experienced constipation about 3 more times where I had to intervene to help him poo.
He is no longer on the iron & folic acid supplements. We now only give him formula milk once a day and haven’t had an episode of constipation recently (phew!).
How to do a baby massage for constipation
Before I started the massage, I gave him a nice warm bath and used a night time baby bath wash. This helped to relax his muscles and calm him down. I then did the massage using body lotion on his skin. There were times I did the massage with his clothes on, so it’s really up to you how you want to do it. You could also try both ways to see which works best for your baby.
The massage process is as follows:
- First I laid him flat on his back (he was still screaming at this point)
- Then I gently rubbed his tummy with both my hands in a circular clockwise motion (as soon as I started this, he stopped crying. Could be that he was intrigued as to what I was up to or it was working to relieve the discomfort already)
- After, I slid my right hand gently down his tummy from above his belly button down to his nappy and then repeated with my left hand. Did this about 5 times
- I then held his legs and gently rocked him from side to side i.e. hold both legs about 90 degrees, move them slightly to the left, back to the middle and then slightly to the right
- After this, I gently moved his legs up in the air like he’s riding a bicycle, while pushing his feet gently towards his belly
And that’s it. He was all calm by the time I was done and a few hours later, he did a massive poop. 🙂
Other ways to get your baby to poop
The baby massage may not always work on it’s own so I’ve listed below 5 other ways I have tried and works. You can use these to supplement the baby massage and also use them to prevent your baby getting constipated in the first place.
- A warm bath: this works so well as it relaxes their muscles and calms them down
- A little water to drink: I was actually shocked when the GP suggested this. I thought we weren’t allowed to give babies under 6 months old water. Make sure you use cooled boiled water and only a little bit (I used the 2.5ml spoon that comes with Calpol. You can also use a syringe, your baby will enjoy sucking on it while you gently push little amounts of water at a time into their mouth). You can double check with your GP on the best way to do this
- Vaseline: This was another tip I got from a doctor. You can dip a cotton bud (q tip) in Vaseline and gently rub the tip around the baby’s anus to stimulate the muscles to do their job
- Formula: If your baby is on formula, are you preparing it properly? i.e. using the right number of scoops/ml and are you remembering to level the scoops as per the instructions? You could also try changing the formula brand, just in case
- Diet: If your baby is older and on solids, ensure they are eating enough fibre – cereal, fruits & vegetables
If your baby is still constipated, best to check with your doctor. Your doctor might prescribe some laxative or suggest you use some paracetamol (When Judah’s poop was pebble like and he was crying, the doctor advised us to give him some paracetamol as his anus might be hurting or have a little tear). They will also want to check to make sure that the constipation is not a symptom of an underlying condition.
Hope you found this helpful. Feel free to leave a comment or message me if you have any questions.