Is It An Allergic Reaction
Allergic reactions can cause raised, swollen bumps, or hives, to appear on the skin.People do not tend to confuse hives with acne. This is because hives is very uncommon under 6 weeks old, does not look like acne, and is usually not confined to the face, neck, and upper chest back as baby acne is.
Babiesâ skin is thinner than adultsâ skin and has fewer oil glands. This makes their skin more vulnerable to injury and irritation.
Adult acne remedies can irritate babiesâ sensitive skin. Caregivers should avoid using OTC remedies unless a dermatologist or pediatrician suggests otherwise.
To treat baby acne at home, keep the skin clean but do not overmoisturize it. A gentle cleanser for sensitive skin can help. Avoid touching or picking at acne, which can make it worse and cause infections.
For most young babies, the fewer things that touch their skin, the better. However, if the baby has dry skin and a face moisturizer may work, it is best to use one that manufacturers have specifically designed for use on baby skin.
Though there is no clinical evidence supporting this claim, some caregivers claim that a breast milk remedy can work. Breast milk is rich in antibodies, and some believe that applying it to a babyâs acne can help clear it up more quickly.
Baby acne typically goes away on its own within a few weeks. If it does not go away, or if it gets worse, a person may wish to consider seeing a doctor.
Which Option Is Better For Colic
Anyone caring for a baby with colic will likely be keen to try anything that might ease the babys discomfort.
Several users of parent-to-parent forums have recommended both gripe water and gas drops as remedies for colic. However, no scientific evidence shows either of them to work. As such, it is up to the caregiver to decide whether to try either remedy and see which, if either, works best for the child.
If a babys symptoms seem to stem more from gas pain, then gas drops might be more effective. If a baby appears in more general discomfort, gripe water might be the better option. However, there is no guarantee that either will make a difference.
Caregivers should remember that there is always a possibility their child could react negatively to any new remedy.
Gripe water products can contain many different ingredients. Be sure to check the label of gripe water to see what it contains. Do not use products that contain alcohol.
Also, some gripe water ingredients remain untested in babies. Ask a doctor to be sure ingredients are safe for a baby before using them.
A new, untried remedy could also cause an allergic reaction. Caregivers should learn the signs that might indicate an infant is having an allergic reaction. If a caregiver suspects an allergic reaction, they should stop using the medicine immediately and seek advice from a doctor.
Signs of an allergic reaction include:
- a rash
- swelling on the face, neck, or tongue
- vomiting
White noise or womb noise
Try a pacifier
Change Formula Or Diet If Breastfeeding
If you suspect your baby has CMPA as mentioned above, changing your diet if youre breastfeeding or trying baby on a different formula could be a game-changer.
A non-milk-based formula may help alleviate some constipation. There are also gentle formulas that have the milk proteins that your baby may be sensitive to already broken down, reducing the incidence of constipation.
If you are exclusively breastfeeding the first thing to cut out is dairy as this is the most common cause. If this doesnt help, a strategic elimination diet is the next step.
Read more about dairy and other food sensitivities and how to deal with them here: My baby is gassy. Is it a sensitivity to dairy or something else?
Recommended Reading: How To Fix Colic In Newborns
What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Infant Constipation
The following signs may indicate your baby is constipated:
-
Your baby has hard bowel movements that look like round, ball-shaped pellets
-
Your baby may arch her back or cry when having difficulty passing a bowel movement. Keep in mind that itâs common for infants to strain when poopingâafter all your baby will most likely be pooping while lying on her back, which isnât that easy to do. If your baby passes a soft bowel movement after straining, she is probably not constipated
-
Your baby’s bowel movements are happening less frequently than normal.
Q When Is It Normal For Breastfed Babies To Stop Pooing As Often
Any age from about three weeks and over, but more commonly from six weeks, breastfed babies may start to space out their poos even as much as a week or more apart. This can seem alarming, but in a healthy baby, its usually nothing to worry about and doesn’t usually suggest that your infant is constipated.
The poo, when it comes, will be soft and easy to pass because of the way the gastro-colic reflex has changed. This is the reflex that is stimulated by food going into the top of the digestive tract causing a reflex action at the other end and its very sensitive in a newborn. So its quite normal for a new baby to poo virtually every time he feeds.
As your baby gets a bit older, that reflex is nothing like as sensitive, and they can hang on to their poo, storing it in the lower bowel for some time. This is why you sometimes get a very large amount of poo when your baby does finally go!
Don’t Miss: What Temperature Water For Newborn Bath
Types Of Baby Poop Smells
- Newborn baby poop The first few days, the poop of your newborn baby will be completely free of any smell. The bacteria add the odour of poop that helps digest the food. Thus, until the baby doesn’t have any milk in the stomach and starts passing, the poop is odourless.
- Breastfed baby poop smell Once the bacteria is introduced to the baby’s gut via breastmilk, the poop starts to smell. The poop smell of exclusively breastfed babies is not foul and pungent. Instead, it is mildly sour and sometimes even sweet-smelling poop. If the baby had a stomach infection, the poop might foul smell.
- Formula-fed baby poop smell The poop of formula-fed babies smells a bit unpleasant. As formula milk is human-made, it is not as easy to digest as breast milk and thus has a different enzyme structure needed to digest the milk. That leads to a strong unpleasant smell.
- Solid Foods and baby poop smell Once the baby is introduced to solid foods, the smell and consistency will start changing, and it will slowly resemble the texture and odour of a grown-up poop.
What Can Cause Infant Constipation
Constipation is rare in young babies, particularly in those who are not yet eating solid foods. Itâs more likely to occur in your baby once you introduce solids. Your babyâs pattern of bowel movements will vary depending on his age and what heâs eaten recently.In very rare cases, your babyâs constipation may be caused by an underlying condition, such as Hirschsprung’s disease, hypothyroidism, or cystic fibrosis. Contact his healthcare provider if you think your baby has constipation due to of any of these conditions, or if you have any questions about your baby’s symptoms.
You May Like: How To Know If A Newborn Is Constipated
How Often Should A Newborn Poop
Early on, breastfed babies usually have on average one poopy diaper for every day of life. In other words, on day one of her life, she’ll poop once, and on day two she’ll poop twice.
Fortunately, this pattern doesn’t usually continue past five days old or so. After day five, the average breastfed newborn will have about five dirty diapers a day, though anywhere in the range from one dirty diaper every few days to several a day is usually normal.
Or not. Some babies will continue to poop several times a day or more throughout the first year. Others will go several days between dirty diapers.
It’s not necessary to continue keeping count after 6 weeks as long as baby is happy and gaining weight. The number may vary from day to day, and that’s perfectly normal too.
Formula-fed babies typically poop three to four times a day, but some go as long as three or four days without a bowel movement. As long as your baby’s poops are soft and passed without a struggle, you don’t have to be concerned. But call your pediatrician if your little one doesn’t poop for more than five days.
What Causes Baby Constipation
Although it’s rare for a baby on an all-liquid diet to experience constipation, it can happen. Exclusively formula-fed babies are much more likely to have trouble from constipation, Dr. Morton says. Formula can firm up poop much more than breast milk can, Dr. Shu adds.
If your baby has a milk-protein allergy or intolerance, they could end up constipated. A milk-based formula could cause this, as well as the dairy in Mom’s diet that’s passed through the breast milk. This also carries over to any other kinds of dairy an older baby could consume, such as yogurt and cheese.
- RELATED:What Causes Green Baby Poop?
When a baby is around 6 months, pediatricians often give parents the green light to offer an array of foods. What your infant eats will largely determine the kind of poop you can expect, Dr. Shu says. And many different foods could contribute to constipation. Start by considering your ABCsapplesauce, bananas, and cereal, Dr. Morton says. Too much of any of these, especially rice cereal, can get you into trouble. When you start introducing table foods, it might be even harder to pinpoint the constipation culprit.
Read Also: Why Is My Newborn Constipated
Dont Give Up On Getting Your Kid To Eat Better
Dont give up on creating a healthy lifestyle for your kids. Your child may be a picky eater, but thats why its so important that you try and establish a plan to help create a healthy lifestyle for the whole family.
So check out our video series on how to help picky eating to get kids eating a larger variety of foods to prevent constipation. Here are some fun videos to help promote healthy eating:
A Warm Bath Can Help A Newborn Poop Instantly
A less invasive method of helping babies poop instantly when constipated is to put them in a warm bath.
The warm water will help them relax the muscles of their anus and can relieve stomach cramps that may be making your baby hold on to a bowel movement.
STEP 1: Hold baby in a reclined position just as if youre bathing her
STEP 2: Gently pour water over babys tummy
STEP 3: If And when you notice that your baby is ready to poop dont interrupt! Let her poop in the water, then dump the bath water and contents straight into the toilet.
STEP 4: clean and disinfect the bathtub after your baby is done, and give them a regular bath to clean up.
Don’t Miss: What If My Newborn Is Constipated
Why Sugars Can Be So Troublesome
Sugar is everywhere, from that juice pack to those fruit snacks its hard to keep sweets at bay. Foods high in sugars are problematic when it comes to digestion. If your child has too much sugar, the likely chance is theyre not getting enough fiber . Most sugary treats dont have the necessary amount of fiber needed to properly digest and excrete excess waist.
Imitators Of Constipation: Normal Patterns And Stools
- Breastfed and Over 1 Month Old. Stools every 4-7 days that are soft, large and pain-free can be normal. Caution: before 1 month old, not stooling enough can mean not getting enough breast milk.
- Straining in Babies. Grunting or straining while pushing out a stool is normal in young babies. They are learning to relax their anus after 9 months of keeping it closed. It’s also hard to pass stool lying on their back with no help from gravity. Babies also become red in the face and draw up their legs during straining. This is normal.
- Brief straining under 10 minutes can occur at times at any age.
- Large Stools. Size relates to the amount of food eaten. Large eaters have larger stools.
- Hard or Dry Stools. Also can be normal if passed easily without too much straining. Often, this relates to poor fiber intake. Some children even have small, dry rabbit-pellet-like stools.
Don’t Miss: How Many Bottles Do You Need For A Newborn
Why Is It So Hard For Newborns To Poop
One of the main reasons that a baby struggles to go to the toilet is a change in diet, you have to remember they have been in the mothers tummy for 9 months only eating one source of food most of the time the change in diet causes a backup in your newborn. Some parents stop breastfeeding quite early for various reasons like the baby seems to be more hungry than the mother is producing milk or just out of choice, When the mother starts to give the newborn formula this can be another reason why they struggle to go as the shear change in consistency of the milk they are getting is different.
Another reason is Dehydration which can be the lack of fluids that you give you newborn I know that some professionals really limit the amount of water you should give your newborn however others can give you a diet plan that includes water as part of the diet.
Signs Of Constipation In Babies
In addition to the symptoms mentioned above, youll probably notice a few other signs of baby constipation. Irritability and a decreased appetite, which might disappear shortly after baby passes a large stool, are often telltale clues.
Worried about all that moaning and groaning? Take a deep breath its perfectly normal and isnt a sign of constipation in babies. Grunting and straining to push out a stool is normal in young babies. Its difficult for them to pass a bowel movement while lying flat on their backs and not getting any benefit from gravity, says Trina Blythe, MD, a pediatrician at Progress West Hospital in OFallon, Missouri.
Babies bodies often need time to figure out the whole pooping process, like learning how to relax their pelvic floor to have a bowel movement. A lot of parents come in and think their child is constipated, when what theyre really dealing with is infant dyscheziaa condition in which an otherwise normal, healthy infant will have at least 10 minutes of straining, crying, irritability and maybe turning red or purple in the face while trying to have a bowel movement, Santo Domingo explains. These symptoms continue until baby finally goesbut the resulting stool is actually soft.
Recommended Reading: How Is A Newborn Hearing Test Done