My dd has really suffered with this and has been miserable! My health visitor suggested the following: give her a little cooled boiled water, nice warm baths and the massage technique suggested by previous poster. I also bumped into my mw in town and she recommended that I should drink lots of orange juice (not sure if you are breast or bottle feeding?) Anyway, don't know exactly which of these worked but something did. Just prepare for the explosion!!! xx

I was going to say about the tummy massage. When my oldest was a baby he also was constipated and my nan rubbed his tummy. Within a couple of mins he's been!

3fl oz of cooled boiled water with half a teaspoon of brown sugar r 1 fl oz of pure orange such as tropicana diluted with 4 fl oz of cooled boiled water - advice source, my GP.

Both are fine to use on a 3 week old.

Vicky :D

my lo's are now 1yr and 2yrs but i did the cooled boiled water thing when they were bubs. always give water before a milk feed or if they wont drink water, try watering down your formula (if thats was your baby's drinking!) according to how much you think they are constipated.

Thank you.  I am just trying this out now chelle.

Hiya! My DD has been the same, the health visitor taught me a massage technique and it worked a treat. Starting from your left use two fingers to move in a circle from her right hip across under her belly button down past her left hip then across above her pubic bone area, repeat 5 times then lift her legs into the nappy changing position and back down again 5 times then do her belly again. Evie exploded everywhere after a few minutes of doing this! Use a bit of baby/olive oil as massage oil and make sure you work from YOUR left to right (clockwise) otherwise you push everything the wrong way! Good Luck! 

My wee boy is 17 weeks tomorrow and is the same.  He was going every feed, like my other 2 which were also breast fed, then at about 3-4 weeks he started straining and only going every 2-4 days and very distressed with it.  Went to dr who said that some breast fed babies can go for a week because there is very little waste with breast milk.  He now goes once a day, even though I have started him on solids.  All I would say is if your baby continues to strain then avoid bananas when weaing cos it constipates them even more.

My DD was 3 weeks old Friday just gone and I have noticed that after a feed she seems to really struggle to go a poo for ages although she is going enough but she really seems to strain to try and go.  I am breastfeeding.  Boiled water that has been cooled has been suggested to me.  Does anyone have any advice please.