{"id":1342,"date":"2018-03-12T16:45:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-12T20:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dreambabysleep.com\/?p=1342"},"modified":"2022-08-29T18:05:30","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T18:05:30","slug":"8-remedies-for-constipation-in-babies-and-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dreambabysleep.com\/8-remedies-for-constipation-in-babies-and-children\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Remedies for Constipation in Babies and Children"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Remedies for Constipation in Babies and Children<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Guest blog by Allison Jandu &#8211; Potty Training Expert<\/p>\n<p>Remedies for constipation in babies and children are important to know.&nbsp;Unfortunately, constipation is very common in babies and children. But if you know what to look for and have a couple remedies in your back pocket, the problem can usually be relieved fairly quickly.<\/p>\n<h2>Causes of Constipation in Babies and Children<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Any change in diet, especially from breast milk to formula, and subsequently from breast milk\/formula to solid foods<\/li>\n<li>Too much of certain foods such as bananas, rice, or cheese<\/li>\n<li>Lack of water<\/li>\n<li>Withholding bowel movements<\/li>\n<li>Another underlying medical condition<\/li>\n<li>A possible food allergy such as to milk protein or gluten<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Signs &amp; Symptoms and Constipation in Babies and Children<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Less frequent bowel movements<\/li>\n<li>Hard, dry, or large stools<\/li>\n<li>Pain or discomfort before, during, and\/or after a bowel movement<\/li>\n<li>Firm belly<\/li>\n<li>Fussiness or irritability for no other apparent reason<\/li>\n<li><em>Poor sleep<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Back arching and\/or stiff legs<\/li>\n<li>Blood in stool<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>One of the most important things you can do is be aware of your child\u2019s poop patterns. Pay attention to how frequently they go, so when something changes, you can be prepared to take action as soon as possible to keep the problem from getting worse.<\/p>\n<h2>Before Trying Remedies for Constipation in Babies and Children<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Always contact your pediatrician.<\/li>\n<li>The first recommendation is always pear juice, and if that doesn\u2019t work, prune juice. Contrary to popular belief, never give your child apple juice for constipation, it can actually have the reverse effect.<\/li>\n<li>If your child is eating baby food, try pureed peas, pears, prunes, and papaya. A good rule of thumb is if it starts with a \u201cP\u201d, it will help you poo.<\/li>\n<li>If dietary changes aren\u2019t helping, your doctor will likely suggest a suppository or laxative depending on your child\u2019s age.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Remedies for Constipation in Babies and Children<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>If your little one isn\u2019t keen on drinking a lot of water, try feeding them ice chips. Most children love it and it\u2019s a good way to ensure they are getting extra fluids.<\/li>\n<li>Give your baby a warm bath. Submerge them up to their necks in warm water. The combination of warmth and water pressure can encourage a bowel movement.<\/li>\n<li>Try a belly massage. Using baby oil*, massage in small clockwise circles to relax bowels. *Substitute baby oil for castor oil for extra relief. Warm a couple drops of castor oil between your hands and massage your baby\u2019s abdomen. Put them in an old onesie (castor oil will stain) and leave it on overnight. Often times, this will produce a bowel movement within 12 to 24 hours.<\/li>\n<li>Sit your baby on the toilet when you suspect they need to have a bowel movement. Hold them in a squat position, with their knees near their chest and bottom hovering over the toilet. Rub their back in <em>counter<\/em>-clockwise circles \u2013 this is important so you do not move the blockage further into the intestine. Sometimes good old-fashioned gravity is all that\u2019s needed to help the poop pass and avoid straining. If you can get into this habit early, potty training will be much easier!<\/li>\n<li>If nothing else seems to be helping, try Miralax. For babies 1-year and up, use one half-cap twice a day. It is a tasteless powder that fully dissolves in any beverage, including milk.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I am a professional potty training consultant and a mom of two, one being a chronically constipated 2-year old, so I have more experience in remedies for constipation than most. If you have other questions about constipation or other potty problems, please contact me through my website.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Allison Jandu<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Potty Training Consultant<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pottytrainingconsultant.com\/\">www.pottytrainingconsultant.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Schedule your free 15 min consultation by filling out the form below<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><!-- [if lte IE 8]>\n<script charset=\"utf-8\" type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/js.hsforms.net\/forms\/v2-legacy.js\"><\/script>\n<![endif]--><br \/>\n<b>Have additional question about your toddler and want to learn more toddler sleep tactics? Schedule your <a href=\"https:\/\/dreambabysleep.com\/scheduler\/\">free 15 minute consultation with one of our certified Sleep Experts<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Remedies for Constipation in Babies and Children Guest blog by Allison Jandu &#8211; Potty Training Expert Remedies for constipation in babies and children are important to know.&nbsp;Unfortunately, constipation is very common in babies and children. But if you know what to look for and have a couple remedies in your back pocket, the problem can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6353,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,28,25],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreambabysleep.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1342"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreambabysleep.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreambabysleep.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreambabysleep.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreambabysleep.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1342"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dreambabysleep.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6354,"href":"https:\/\/dreambabysleep.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1342\/revisions\/6354"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreambabysleep.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreambabysleep.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreambabysleep.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreambabysleep.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}