Constipated baby - Formula question

We put DS on to heinz nuture after I stopped bf but it seems to make him constipated a lot, usually if he didn't do a poo for a little while I would water his feed down a bit (he won't drink water on its own) and this seemed to work but this morning he was really bad and screamed like I have never heard before, if my mum hadn't have been here I think I would have been rushing him to hospital it was that bad, he was really straining and going purple in the face, anyway he then did a really horrible poo but did seem a bit happier for a while. He has been refusing food and when he has had a feed he has only been taking a small amount. I think it might be the type of formula he is on, I have bought a soy based one today but I am wondering whether it is ok just to swap straight to it or do I need to wean from one to the other. When I changed from breast to bottle I did it over a couple of weeks as I was running my supply down.

He has always had green poo since being on formula, is that normal?

We never had any issues when he was bf, or when he was taking ebm through a bottle.

Oh I also got some gripe water today and that has helped settle him.

Any advice greatly appreciated

Not sure sorry, but I do know that soy formula isnt recommended for babies under 6 months.

I think I read somewhere not to switch to soy unless recommended by a doctor/nurse. Why are you thinking of switching to soy? Do you think he is intolerant to the other? Why not try a different brand maybe?
Green poos doesn't sound right to me - maybe ring Plunket and have a chat?
As for switching, def a gradual change is recommeded. Replace 1 feed a day first and build up on that.

I know what you mean! If it's only under med advisement then it should't be on the shelves.
Big hugs. Hope you find a solution soon. I'd still recommend having a chat to someone - either Plunker or maybe your GP?

Cheers guys, think I will ring plunket tomorrow and then swap my tub for a different cows milk one. Might try the Karicare one

I had the same problem - I use karicare gold plus & gripe water on occasion to help if he isn't bringing up wind & this also helps with his #2's too - I found the karicare Gold 1 really constipates ethan.. but karicare Gold plus is not as bad. I haven't tried baby on nurture - but I should get a tin & try it out next shop.

Although it says in many books formula fed babies normally go every day.. some babies just aren't as frequent as others.. 

Good luck

Try giving some cooled boiled water maybe. Does it bother him he dont poo properly?

Daniel has horrible wind on Karicare.. he would scream in pain because he had so much wind. And infacol and gripe water did nothing to help it. So we switched to nurture and he is a lil constipated but it doesn't seem to bother him.

I know what you are going through - we had the same problem. However, how long has he been on it? It took over a week for Charlotte to get used to the formula and then she was fine. However, I switched to the Gold version thinking it would be better for her. Not the case - and I have since learned that the gold versions can tend to make some babies even worse.

I have stuck with the standard Nurture (not gold) one after talking to the doctor about the problems we were having. Even now, Charlotte still has Nurture follow on rather than Toddler milk on the doctors recommendations.

You can also get stuff prescribed from the doctor, which I did, that can be put in their bottles if they are struggling (I think its called Lactulose ?sp). Plus, a tiny bit of prune juice worked for us from about the time Charlotte was 4 months old.

I have soothed my baby from constipation by using baby magic tea. He used to strain and push a lot and after taking this tea he's almost all fine.