Natural Remedies for Soothing Baby's Bowels

Sometimes, even our little ones have digestive issues. It can be really hard to figure out what’s going on when their diet is pretty much breast milk and mushy vegetables, fruits or cereal.

Often it is easiest and provides the quickest relief to give your baby some soothing herbs to calm things down. Here are a few of the best remedies for common baby digestive upsets, however we strongly recommend considering evaluating offending foods in your diet first if you are nursing and/or pumping. Also before you introduce anything to your baby other than breastmilk or formula you should discuss it with your health care provider first.

Constipation

You can make a tea from fennel seed and dandelion root by by placing a few teaspoons of each herb in a 2 cups of water. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, then allow to cool. Drop about a teaspoon of the tea in your baby’s mouth every half an hour throughout the day.

It will soften up your baby’s stool gradually so there is no sudden blowout that’s messy and uncomfortable for your baby. You can refrigerate the tea while not in use and continue giving it until your baby’s constipation is cleared up, the tea should be used within 24-48hrs. Discard the remaining tea after 48hrs and prepare a new batch of tea.

You can also do the same with simple ginger or peppermint teas when you’re in a bind for more harder to obtain herbs. When it comes to babies and young children, remember less is more.

Also abdominal massage is a simple technique that can be done using just some coconut oil to help get digestion moving and eliminate trapped gasses, you can find a nice photo tutorial here.

Keep in mind that it is perfectly normal for a newborn or infant to go up to a week without a bowel movement, especially if they’re exclusively breastfed.

Diarrhea

Create a small mixture of honey and dried ginger root powder. You can dissolve it in a drink or let them simply suck it off of your finger or a baby spoon every hour. Remember honey should not be given to infants under one year of age.

Probiotics and prebiotics can help to restore the gut flora of good bacteria, 70% of the immune system is located in the GI tract amazingly enough. This is why it's crucial to restore gut flora after bout of diarrhea. If you are exclusively breastfeeding then increase your intake of probiotics and fermented foods to enrich your bacterial balance, your breastmilk is one of the best things to keep your baby's gut healthy. For the baby that isn't exclusively breastfed you can offer a probiotic supplement or choose formula that contains probiotics as well. Try choosing a probiotic with 2-3 strains according to this Australian study.

Gas & Bloating

A great remedy for baby gas is with Asafoetida powder. Create a runny poultice with a pinch of the powder in 2 teaspoons of water. Then rub it counter clockwise on your baby’s belly and abdomen a few times a day.

Gently exercise your baby's legs in a cycling motion, similar to riding a bicycle. Allow an hour duration between feeding and using the "bicycle legs" technique. This will help expel gas and bloating. See the video below for a demonstration.

Spitting Up

Most reflux issues with babies are based on the mother’s diet while she’s breastfeeding. It can be difficult to determine what foods are affecting her milk, but common culprits are dairy, acidic foods like citrus and tomatos and chocolate. Try eliminating those from your diet while nursing to see if it helps.

There’s also a natural salt supplement called Nat Phos 6x that is excellent for gas and bloating. Dissolve ½ a tablet in your breastmilk and feed it to your baby at the end of their nursing sitting. Within a few days, it should calm your baby’s stomach with the natural salt levels that infants often are lacking.

Another thing to consider when a baby is gassy and fussy beyond diet of mom or baby is "over-active let down" if mom is nursing, this can be easily resolved thankfully.

Also another amazing resource is a pediatric chiropractor, you can find one near you here at ICPA. Studies prove chiropractic adjustments help reduce and/or eliminate reflux, colic and abdominal pain - additionally with many other childhood related conditions.

More Resources

It’s hard not knowing exactly how your baby is feeling, and quite how to help them. But there are plenty of places to help you with recognizing what symptoms are important to know in taking care of your baby.

How is your baby’s digestion doing after using some of these herbal treatments?

The information on this website has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any disease.

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Natural Remedies for Soothing Baby's Bowels