Baby fever in a newborn infant, up to three months of age, is cause for immediate attention. Take the baby’s temperature, preferably rectally. If the baby’s temperature is at 100.4 Degrees Fahrenheit, or higher, immediately contact your Doctor’s office. Do not give any medications without first having approval of your Doctor. If it is outside your Doctor’s normal office hours, either call his emergency number, or the emergency room at your local hospital.

Infants under three months of age are more vulnerable to infections due to their immature immune system. Your Doctor will want to evaluate any other symptoms you are noticing, so make sure you are prepared for his questions. He will likely ask about the baby’s skin appearance, recent urination and bowel movements, and how well the baby is eating.

Don’t panic, fever can also be caused by dehydration, over bundling, and many other more minor issues. This is the reason your Doctor will quiz you about eating and urination, to determine if dehydration could be the culprit.

For babies over three months of age, but less than 6 months, the magic number in a baby fever is 101 degrees. If the infant exceeds 101 degrees, call the Doctor or emergency room and explain the situation. Children in this age are able to start using acetaminophen (Children’s Tylenol) to bring down their fever. Don’t jump to using acetaminophen without consulting your Doctor. You want to minimize the use of medications in young children. For a low level fever, your Doctor may prefer it just follow its course.

After 6 months of age, the level of baby fever to watch for is 102 degrees. At this fever level, you need to call the Doctor, and inform him of all symptoms. Most likely you will be requested to bring your child in for an office visit. After 6 months of age, both acetaminophen or ibuprofen may be recommended to control fever, and aches associated with illness.

In all cases, avoid giving your infant aspirin. Aspirin can lead to Reye’s syndrome, a serious condition.

The recommended type of thermometer for all infants is a digital thermometer. You will have the most accurate readings when taken rectally. Make sure to clean the thermometer thoroughly with alcohol, or cool soapy water both before and after usage. There are also wonderful digital thermometers which work by reading temperatures in the ear, pacifier thermometers, and other fast working thermometers to make determining the severity of the baby fever very easy, and fast.

The most important portion of dealing with baby fever is to remain calm, and if you have concerns call your baby’s Doctor. They are happy to help you understand what is happening with your infant, and will quickly have you on the right track.

A few of the signs of constipation can include:

1. Less than 3 bowel movements in one week.
2. If your baby is not wanting to eat.
3. Excessive crying and discomfort, accompanying the lack of bowel movements.
4. Your babies belly feels harder than normal.

Baby constipation is often not identified by the lack of bowel movements, but by the passage of hard, dry, pellet baby poop. This is an indication your baby is lacking in either dietary fiber, or may be slightly dehydrated.

If you are seeing the dry poo, then you may want to start by increasing fluids. Adding a few ounces of water to your babies daily diet can help alleviate dehydration. For older infants, adding prune, apple, or pear juice can help tremendously.

It is very rare for baby constipation to take place in babies who are only breast fed. A common time for babies to develop constipation is when they experience a change in their diets. Changing from breast feeding to formula, can trigger constipation. When you first start feeding a baby food, most commonly rice cereal, your baby may also develop constipation.

If the baby constipation is occurring after changes in the diet, you may need to consider changing formulas, or types of cereals. Rice cereal has very low amounts of fiber, which can lead to more opportunity for baby constipation. Switching to an oat or barley based cereal, with higher fiber, usually corrects the problem. Our babies react differently to different formula recipes. Consult your Doctor for advice on changing formulas if you have recurring bouts with constipation.

You may hear some people claim iron in the formula is the culprit leading to baby constipation. Iron is essential for your baby, and has been shown to cause no increase in cases of constipation. Do not choose a formula without iron, just because your baby is becoming constipated.

When moving your baby from strained baby foods, up to finger foods, and table foods, is another common time constipation may strike. These foods have less moisture, and you need to make sure to increase your babies intake of water, or juice to offset the change.

For stubborn episodes of baby constipation, you may need to encourage additional movement. Crawling is an excellent method to break loose the bowels. For smaller infants, you can help them exercise and stimulate their bowels, by moving their legs in a motion similar to crawling.

In more extreme cases, your Doctor may recommend or prescribe using a suppository. Do not consider a laxative or suppository without your Doctor’s advice, you could be asking for major problems.

When baby constipation strikes your household, the most important thing to keep in mind is hydration. Make sure your baby has plenty of fluids, and most times their bodies will correct themselves. If baby constipation persists, contact your Doctor’s office.