by Many new parents wonder what’s normal and what’s not when it comes to diapering their newborn. Here’s what you can expect during your baby’s first few days.
In the first few days after birth, your baby’s first bowel movement will be a substance known as meconium. This thick black or dark green substance fills their intestines before birth, and once excreted, the stools turn yellow-green.
Due to the immature digestive system, baby stools vary in color and consistency. If your baby is breastfed, their stool should soon turn into a yellow liquid mixed with some particles. Before they start eating solid food, the consistency of their stools may range from very soft to loose and runny. If they are feeding with formula, their stools will usually be tan or yellow. They will be harder than a breastfed baby, but should not be harder than soft clay. Green stools are not uncommon either, and they should not alarm you.
Whether your baby is breastfed or bottle-fed, hard or very dry stools can be a sign that they are not getting enough fluid or are losing too much fluid due to illness, fever, or fever. Once solids are introduced, hard then may indicate that she ate too much constipating food, such as cereal or milk, before the system can handle it. (Whole milk is not recommended for babies younger than 12 months.)
Here are some other points to keep in mind about bowel movements:
- It is normal for the color and consistency of your stool to change occasionally. For example, if the digestion process is slowed down by foods that require more effort to digest (such as large amounts of grains), stool may turn green; Or if the baby is given iron supplements, the stools may turn dark brown. If there is mild irritation to the anus, blood may appear on the outside of the stool. However, if there is a large amount of blood, mucus, or water in your stool, call your pediatrician immediately. These symptoms may require your doctor’s attention.
- Since a baby’s stools are usually soft and somewhat runny, it’s not always easy to tell when a baby has mild diarrhea. The obvious signs are a sudden increase in frequency (more than one bowel movement per eating) and an abnormally high amount of liquid in the stool. Diarrhea can be a sign of an intestinal infection, or it can be caused by a change in the baby’s diet. If babies are being breastfed, they can even get diarrhea due to a change in the mother’s diet.
- The main problem with diarrhea is the possibility of dehydration. If you have a fever and your baby is less than three months old, call your pediatrician. If your baby is over three months old and has a fever that lasts more than a day, check her urine volume and rectal temperature; Then report your findings to your doctor for consideration. Make sure your baby continues to be fed regularly. As with anything else, if they just look unwell, let your doctor know.
Babies vary widely in the frequency of their bowel movements. Many people have bowel movements shortly after each feeding. This is the result of the stomach colic reflex, where the digestive system becomes active whenever the stomach is full of food.
By three to six weeks of age, some breastfed babies have only one bowel movement a week and are still normal. Breast milk removes very little solid waste from a child’s digestive system. As long as the stools are soft and your baby is normal, gaining weight steadily and breastfeeding regularly, unusual stools should not be considered a problem. Babies with this breast-fed stool variant, if it’s been a few days, will usually have a lot of stool (so have plenty of wipes ready to clean up).
If your baby is formula fed, they should have a bowel movement at least once a day. If they are less than this and look nervous, they may be constipated. Consult your pediatrician for advice on how to handle this issue.
