How to Help Your Baby with Constipation

Once your baby starts eating baby food, it's time for the bowels to change. When your baby was exclusively breastfed, you didn't have to worry at all about her bowels--the poop seemed to be reliable and soft. Now that food has been introduced to the baby's system, the bowels can seem more random, and sometimes the baby can really struggle. Paying attention to the types of fruits and vegetables you give her as well as increasing the amount of fluid offered to her with each meal can make a difference in her bowel movements.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Prune juice
• Water
• Apricots
• Prunes
• Pears

1. Try giving her some pureed prunes with each meal if it's been a few days and your baby hasn't gone poop.

2. When feeding meals, give water in a sippy cup and help him to drink through the meal. Some babies' intestines absorb more water than others, and these babies need to drink more to keep bowels soft. Also try prune juice with a little apple juice mixed in.

3. Cut back on pastas and feed more green vegetables, like broccoli, peas, grean beans.

4. Add fruits like pears and apricots and cut back on applesauce and bananas, since these can bind the intestine more.

5. Cut back on grains, like toast and rice. Avoid potatoes and cheeses for a few days. Stick to more liquids and bowel-friendly fruits and vegetables and you'll have success.

Tips & Warnings

• Prune juice is rather strong, so be prepared for some stinky diapers. You can always add water to dilute the prune juice.
• Contact your physician if you have any concern about the length of time between poops.