Have you noticed yet that being a mom requires you to “read between the lines”? You have to take in all the information that you see, not hear, and fill in the blank. Constipation can be tricky because bowel patterns vary in children just as they do in adults. One child (baby or infant) may go two or three days without a bowel movement and still be perfectly fine, while another might have relatively frequent bowel movements but still have difficulty passing the stool.
It could even happen where the child’s constipation goes unnoticed because he passes a small stool each day, while a buildup of stool develops in his colon. So here is where you get to put on your detective hat and put together all the symptoms that your child is showing and figure out if he has constipation.
Signals to suspect constipation:
- Newborn: firm stools less than once a day, though keep in mind that can be normal in some exclusively breastfed infants.
- Infant or toddler: stools that are hard and compact, with three or four days between bowel movements
- At any age, stools that are large, hard and dry, and associated with painful bowel movements
- Soiling between bowel movements
- And obviously, blood in or on the outside of the stool
Keep in Mind:
- Constipation due to breastmilk is highly unusual. If your breastfed child is constipated it is probably due to a reason other than diet. Don’t stop breastfeeding, but talk to your doctor if this is your situation.
- You’ll most likely encounter mild or occasional episodes of constipation when you are changing your child’s diet. This could be because you introduce solid foods, or a specific food. The older the child gets, it could also mean they might not have enough water. (Don’t stop breastfeeding or giving formula up to 12 months).
What to do?:
- Alter their diet: You can call your pediatrician’s office and ask the nurse if small amounts of water or prune juice is suitable for your child’s age. If your child is consuming solid foods (it can even be mashed baby food) increase the intake of fruits such as prunes and pears. You can also increase the amount of high-fiber foods in his daily diet. Foods with high-fiber include prunes, apricots, plums, raisins, peas, beans, broccoli, and even high fiber whole grain cereals. Try and cut back on foods such as rice, bananas and cereals or breads that are not high in fiber.
- If you do choose to alter their diet, you must remember to also increase their water/clear liquids!! If you are pumping them full of fiber but not increasing their liquids, the food will just “lump” up in their colon. . . which obviously doesn’t help the situation.
- If changes in baby’s diet doesn’t help the constipation, I’d consult with your pediatrician. Depending on your pediatrician’s medical practices, some might recommend at this point to give a stool softener or laxative. This becomes where you get to make the choice of what you think is best for your baby. When my son experienced severe constipation I talked to my pediatrician and local pharmacist about the laxative. I chose the Pedia-Lax brand. They come in little wax like sticks. Both my pediatrician and pharmacist said it isn’t harmful, all it does is pull water into the colon to help your baby push the stool out. When I tried it, my son had a bowel movement within the first 3 minutes. I later learned that it can cause stomach cramping, so I opted to use a little more natural technique, see below.
- I found that you can use Vasoline or Cocconut Oil. The days I notice my son might have mild constipation I slather a good amount of either vasoline or cocconut oil on his cute little bum. It works every time. I also make sure I increase his water intake and the healthy foods listed above!
- If you choose to use stool softeners, only do so when they are younger. When you start to approach the age where they “know” or can “remember” what you are doing, I would advice against this treatment. The reason? Because they will remember that if they don’t poop, mom has to put something up their bum. It’s uncomfortable, and embarrassing for the child. In that case they will associate pooping with bad. They will be more likely to hold the poop in.
- If you child is older, you can give Mira-lax (most kids don’t like the taste of Metamucil). But I would ask your doctor about your particular child if this is okay for them.
I hate to see my sweet baby sick, so I try and do whatever I can to help him out! Hopefully you picked out a thing or two about constipation that might help you and your sweet baby!
Post a comment below about what other “sick baby” remedies you’d like to know more about!
