Colic and Constipation are Crappy

One thing I wasn't at all prepared for was all the tummy troubles my girls would have. Since they have what the doctors like to call "preemie intestines" everything is very slow moving in there and often they have difficulty going to the bathroom.  After Abigail came home from the NICU she had very bad colic. I ended up putting gas drops in every bottle she drank. She had colic so bad she didn't want to eat at all. I called her GI doc several times with no real help or support so I changed her to soy without his permission. Soy isn't ideal for preemies but I finally got her to start eating again and the colic got better.

Once I got the colic under control my fight changed to constipation. Trying to get her to poo was and still is a hard days work. I am constantly keeping track of when the last time she went was, how much she went, and how hard it was. No one gave me the heads up that this can be a problem for preemies. I wasn't at all prepared.  I also wasn't prepared for all of the constant changing of the formula.
Abigail has been on the following:
Breast milk
Neosure
Gerber Nourish
Soy
Alimentum

She was breast feed until 5 1/2 months but when I went back to work I just couldn't keep up with the pumping and with taking care of twins. We then put on full Neosure with extra calories to help her gain weight.  This is really the time when all the trouble began. To make along story short I once again followed my special mom instincts and changed her GI doc to someone that I liked and felt comfortable with and finally found a formula that seems to work best. She still has a hard time going and I have to give her prune juice and suppositories often to help her go but things finally seem to be on the right track.

My advice is to just hang in there. As they get bigger it does seem to get a little better.

                                                                 Abigail feeling better!