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Submitted by: Baby Help Line

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Hi Terry! Congratulations to your little baby boy! To answer your questions, I'll start with the easiest one. An umbilical hernia almost always gets better also without treatment although it can take a few years for it to disappear. Sometimes surgery is needed, but that is very rare. Also, they are usually completely painless. So most likely you don't have to worry, but do ask straight out and tell the health care provider that you are worried. It is very natural that you are and it is their job to help you! Regarding your baby's poo, I do think it sounds as if he poops a little bit too seldom, at least if he is formula fed. If he is breastfed you don't have to worry at all; then it is completely normal. If he is formula fed, you can try to make sure you don't put too much powder in the formula, you can feed him less each time and a bit more often, and you can even consider hydrosalyte formula to help him digest it more easily. The straining as such is normal for a newborn baby, however. <a href="http://www.easybabylife.com/baby-not-pooping.html">Find more symptoms and remedies for constipation here.</a> Personally I would not give prune juice to such a small baby unless absolutely necessary. Try changing the formula first and the other tips above. Good luck! /Paula

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Submitted by: Amanda Bargmann

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When my son was little, he also experienced a lot of straining and difficulty. My dad had a great idea, of putting a small amount of Karo syrup in a bottle of water. This seemed to work very well. The other suggestion is to use a small sock filled with uncooked rice, and heating it on the microwave and placing it on the baby's tummy. Both of these helped my son when he was little.

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Submitted by: Kate

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I was in the same position as you, although my baby was just a little bit older than yours. It was agonizing for me to watch him in pain. My doctor said not to use Karo (although I've read that it works as well) and to try a little bit of prune juice mixed with his formula. (I used maybe a half an ounce of juice for every 2 ounces of formula). I did that for a few days and then stopped, and he did much better after that. I've read that babies sometimes clench their bum at the same time as they're pushing because they don't understand exactly how it works yet. Maybe the prune juice somehow helped him to "let go." This is obviously a phase, and they learn and grow out of it. Best of luck to you!!

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Submitted by: Anonymous

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My daughter was having problems pooping regular and our pediatrician sent us to a Pediactric Surgeon to have her rectum looked at. In premature babies, it is very common that they have a tight rectum and can't relax enough to let the poop out. The doctor gives an instrument that helps dialate the rectum so that she does not have problems her whole life with pooping. They teach you how to slowly dialate and relax the rectum muscles- it only takes a few weeks. Spend the money and have a specialist make sure your baby is ok...don't follow home remedies. Isn't your child worth every penny to make sure it's healthy?

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