Tummy Trouble

OMG, its my 50th post-what a milestone. I feel so accomplished! I won't bore you with more of my son's antics and poop incidents, but I will let you in on a little secret for how to deal with stomach issues in children. Ultimately this post will involve poop talk as well, but my son's poop is not the focus.

Now first, you must recognize that there are lots of different kinds of stomach issues.

First, there is the basic tummy ache which can be a result of constipation or bloating. Believe it or not, kids can still poop everyday and still be considered constipated. To ease this type of tummy trouble try the following things:

1) Massage their belly to expel some of the gas and to move things around.

2) A hot water bottle wrapped in a blanket and placed on their belly helps relax those tight muscles. This will provide some comfort.

3) Give them a bath. This also helps relax their tight bellies and if there is a poop backup, the warm water will help move things along.

4) Also in the realm of moving things along are these two tricks. Take your child's temperature rectally. This can help them poop and is perfectly safe to do every once in a while. You can also fill a plastic water bottle with warm water and squirt it into your child's bottom.

Then there is the dreaded stomach flu or viral infection of some kind that causes explosive poop and/or vomiting. For this type of tummy trouble, try the following remedies:

1) The BRATT diet is the only way to go when you have a house of disease. The BRATT diet stands for Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Tea and Toast. Eating these food when you can't stop pooping will help stop you up and these foods are all very bland and easy to hold down so that you won't keep throwing up.

2) To prevent dehydration in children who are experiencing this type of tummy trouble, give them watered down apple juice, Gatorade, or you can give them the syrup from a can of pears of peaches. The sugar helps coat the stomach so the liquid will not just sit in your child's tummy the way water does and it will not churn up their tummy the way milk does. You can also warm up a packet of jello and let your child drink that. It's very easy on the tummy. Popsicles also work well.

3) Be sure to avoid DAIRY, especially milk. Dairy is very hard to digest and even more disgusting when your child vomits it up-trust me I know from experience.

Next time your little one is experiencing tummy issues find out why and try one of the solutions listed here.