Mom Tips! Baby Constipation Solutions

Babies get constipated sometimes. It’s just a fact of life. But as a mom, there are baby constipation solutions you can use!

My second son got constipated a lot! My little one (we call him Hbomb) was a mess trying to pass a stool that were often hard and dry.

Hbomb’s constipation went beyond just the general straining to poop, which all babies do due to their weak abdominal muscles, posture and general immaturity of their digestive system. He was uncomfortable!

Be sure to check out even more of my helpful parenting tips, too!

Mom Tips! Baby Constipation Solutions

Baby Constipation Solutions: Physical Options

To try to help your baby have a bowel movement, you can use physical movement, such as bicycling his legs or gently pumping his legs toward his body (like he was doing squats, but on his back).

\You can also put a warm towel on your baby’s tummy.

Both of these tips help relax the muscles and loosen the stool.

Another trick is to use rectal stimulation.

The first time the doctor mentioned this to me, I had a “what the” moment.

Basically, you stimulate a reflex that causes the baby to stool.

We used a dab of petroleum jelly and a rectal thermometer.

Baby Constipation Solutions: Nutritional Options

Another way to get your baby to have a bowel movement is to use nutrition to draw fluid into the intestine, which helps loosen the stool.

If your baby isn’t on solid foods yet, you can use fruit juices, such as prune, apple or pear.

My Hbomb loved apple juice as an option.

Be aware that fruit does add sugar to your baby’s diet, so be sure to use the juice in only small amounts.

If your baby is eating solid foods, you can feed him prunes, pears, plums and apricots.

These fruits provide the same benefit of juice but without the added sugar.

Another good option, and one I wish had been available when Hbomb was an infant, are specifically designed infant formulas that can help promote comfortable stools with prebiotics.

Prebiotics are a type of carbohydrate, also found in breast milk, that help to feed good bacteria in the digestive system.

Over the Counter Products

There are also over the counter products for infants that consist of glycerin suppositories and osmotic-type laxatives.

However, consult with your child’s healthcare provider before using these products.

They are usually only recommended by a pediatrician if dietary changes are not effective.

We certainly worked closely with my son’s healthcare provider and tried every angle of Hbomb’s diet (as well as the physical tricks) before trying any of the other products when necessary.

To be honest, at the end of the day we ended up using Miralax for a while, which significantly helped my son, along with the dietary changes we made.