Quick Remedies to Use if Your Baby is Constipated
Constipation is common in young babies because of a lack of bowel movement. This can be a source of concern for most parents. The baby might not be constipated at times because they need more time to set a bowel movement schedule. Furthermore, the baby’s stool is always easily passed and soft even when they aren’t constipated.
Signs of Constipation in Babies
One way to tell that your infant is constipated is if they are fussy more often. On the other hand, you can check their stool and detect whether they are having difficulty or seem uncomfortable. In case your baby passes stool, it might be dry and hard. Since an infant’s stool ought to be soft, this will be an easy way to know that the baby is indeed constipated.
Other additional signs of constipation in babies include:
- Clenching their buttocks
- Less than three bowel movements each week
- Blood in the stool
- Bloating and belly pain
- Pain during bowel movement
However, even if your baby might be displaying some of these signs, it’s advisable to understand that not all babies get bowel movements daily. It’s, therefore, best to assess your child for a longer period, approximately a week before you treat constipation. Healthy babies can also have soft or hard stools, all of which ought to be easy to pass.
What to Do When Your Baby is Constipated
When you detect signs of constipation in your baby, there are a few baby constipation relief strategies to consider. If you are currently breastfeeding your baby, you can try to switch up the diet. For example, the baby can be allergic to something you’re consuming. Adjusting your diet can help alleviate constipation, but this is uncommon.
Furthermore, you can try bottle feeding your baby to see whether they will improve. Feeding your baby solid foods can also cause constipation, but some foods can also improve the situation. If you started feeding your baby, you could add some high fiber foods like:
- Skinless apples
- Peaches
- Prunes
- Pears
- Broccoli
You can as well consider pureed foods for a baby that’s over six months old. Purees are perfect when the baby hasn’t fully made the transition to solid foods. Upping the fluids will also be another way of ensuring proper hydration. This will increase bowel movements.
The most common fluids to use should be water and milk. However, pear and prune juice can work for babies over six months.
Why Parents Shouldn’t Worry
As a parent, you most likely watch every aspect of your baby’s growth. Therefore, you might tend to be worried when your child ends up constipated. However, this shouldn’t be a large concern because it’s something that you can easily fix. You can try different meals or even change your diet.
This can help you and your baby to lead a healthy life. Besides, this will help you learn about the different traits of your baby. That is, some meals that will be of help to them and things that they might be allergic to. Likewise, you can be of help to other parents whose babies are constipated.
