5 week old Grey bloated

[Quinton34]

I have a 5 week old Grey and he is bloated, I am switching from the wrong esbilac to fox valley 20/50, he has not pooped in three feedings, I have tried the warm water trick, it didn't work. Any advice?

[CritterMom]

This is from one of our most experienced members in regards to a bloating issue with another formula but the method will be the same:

The trick for me seemed to be getting in as much water, as quickly as possible, once you see and feel the hardness in the belly. Not sugar water or Pedilyte, but plain water. I did this every hour (giving about .2-.3 ml) and ensure you stimulate after each, for 2 reasons. 1. You have to get that water out of the bladder, and it will burst if you don't. 2. You want that water to start working on the crud in the belly. After 8-10 hours, you should start seeing some movement out of the bowel (they will continue to poop, but you will start to see it more watery, which is what you want). At that time, start introducing diluted formula at the ratio of 25% Esbilac, 75% water. Feed this for the first half day. The second half day, I bumped up the ration to 50/50. I fed this for a day and then went to 75% Esbilac, 25% water and introduced full food the next day (and the blockage was gone!). So far, I am at 100% success rate. One note though. I check my pinkies after every feeding, so see if their bellies are hard or squishy. I would suggest everyone get in the habit of checking them after every feeding as habit and you can't go wrong in catching them before they bloat up. Once they take on that angry red color on their bellies (this is when their system goes septic), they are gone and can't be saved, so the trick is to catch them before this happens (hence, getting in the habit to see if their tummies are hard or not).

Make sure the water you are using is warmed just like you do the formula. Also, make sure the baby is warm - he needs to have the container he is living in sitting on a heating pad set on low. They have to be warm in order to digest.

You can use the FV20/50 in place of the Esbilac above when you start back on formula but make sure you dilute as shown. Mix the formula according to the directions, THN add the additional water to dilute.

Going from one formula to another quickly is never a good idea. It can take several days to slowly transition from one to another, by mixing the formulas together and slowly increasing the ratio of new to old.