Advice on 'normal' bowel movements for breast fed and forumla fed babies, plus information on constipation and other irregularities.Discuss baby bowel movements on our forums, right now! Or, post a comment below.What's normal?One of the most common concerns for new parents is whether their baby's bowel movements are normal. While it is important to keep an eye on the consistency and frequency of your baby's stools, this is something that you should try not to become too obsessed about as bowel habits vary greatly between babies and (something you may notice with your baby) even on a day to day basis. Over time as your baby's digestive system begins to establish a routine, you will become attuned to whats normal for your baby.
The first few daysAs your baby's digestive system begins to develop and function in the womb amniotic fluid is swallowed. This collects in baby's intestine as meconium ready to be expelled after birth. Meconium is passed as a dark green/black sticky substance in the first few days of baby's life.
After 2 or 3 days you will begin to notice your baby's stools lighten in colour as milk starts to be digested. The colostrum that breast fed babies first receive from their mothers actually helps to expel the meconium from their system quicker.
Over the next few days you will notice your baby's stools become more yellow in colour as the meconium is passed completely.
The first few weeksAfter meconium has been passed from baby's system and a feeding routine has been established you will notice that your baby's stools become less sticky and vary in colour along the spectrum of yellow, brown and green. As long as there is no blood in baby's stools you shouldn't be too concerned about the colour as this can vary depending on the mother's diet or on what type of formula milk is being used.
In general, breast fed babies pass stools more frequently, often after every feed during the first few weeks. The stools of breast fed babies tend to be looser than those fed on formula and are often a mustard like colour, have a seedy quality and are less odorous. Babies fed exclusively on breast milk are unlikely to become constipated. However, if stools become very green and watery you should check with your doctor as this may either indicate a sensitivity to a particular food in the mother's diet or that too much foremilk is being consumed (this can happen if you switch breasts often during a feed).
Bottle fed babies pass slightly firmer stools that tend to be of a tan colour and peanut butter consistency. It is common for bottle fed babies to pass 4 - 5 stools a day.
After the first monthYour baby will now begin to have fewer bowel movements and it is common for breast fed babies to go a day without passing stools. The frequency of your babies bowel movements shouldn't be a particular cause for concern unless there is no movement for 4 - 5 days or if baby seems to be in pain. You should check consistency of the stools rather than frequency, as solid, pellet like poos may indicate constipation. Ideally your baby should be passing soft poos about the size of a £2 coin.
Many babies grunt, cry, strain or go red when passing stools - this can be normal and doesn't necessarily mean they're constipated. As long as the stools are soft and reasonably regular it should be fine.
On to solidsOnce you start to introduce solids into your baby's diet the frequency and texture of stools will vary widely and they're also more likely to smell. By introducing a range of different types of food gradually into your baby's diet you will be able to detect any irritation in your baby's bowels.
Once the weaning process has started formula fed babies should also be given water to drink to prevent them from becoming dehydrated and constipated, breast fed babies can also be given water but this isn't a necessity as breastmilk is a food and drink all in one.
As long as your baby is passing soft stools reasonably regularly, you should have little cause for concern. However, as always if you are unhappy or unsure about your baby's bowel movements it is always best to seek advice from your health care professional.
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I am a first time mum and I breastfeed for 6 weeks and then introduced a bottle of formulae a day.
My son then started having irregular bowel movements.Since then, He goes out once in 3-5 days and sometimes once every 2 days.I only wanted to use a natural form of relief for him, it was suggested that we could also give him 1 part apple juice and 4 parts boiled water, as well as sugared water. I did try the sugared water (using very little Brown Sugar )and it works...I've also tried Vaseline and it does work as well as Glycerine Suppositories.
anyone else experience this?
i have 4 month old daughter i breastfed her untill 6 weeks old at which point i had to substitute with bottle as she is a hungry little monster and i have low milk supply. i too have been to doctors numerous times and also hospital when referred, health visitors, websites you name it i have asked and they all say colic. i know how frustrating this is for you. mia started with the problem from around four weeks which eliminates the idea of it being because of changing on to bottle. She only passes stools once every three to four days which was also thin and watery as they put her on lactulose and sennakot, and seems to be in pain for a day or two before passing as if building up and regularly was crying in pain almost screeming her little lungs out which is very distressing expecially when u dont get no answers however through trial and error i believe that they only upset her stomach more and so make the problem worse. i decided to stop giving her it which helped slightly i have tried every thing i can she still doesnt go that often once every two days but is more settled and has less boughts of pain and crying. this is due to combination of things i found to work i started by thinning her milk by a scoop which helped a little then by a futher less scoop just untill it seemed to elieviate her symptoms then slowly built back up by half a scoop per week only after changing her milk to cow + gate comfort which is easier to digest. along with this i give her cooled boiled water with a tiny bit of sugar, which was suggested by many of my grandparents generation and seems to help apparently the sugar helps break things down in the gut and also when i notice she is starting to have problems or she is straining badly and in discomfort a little vaseline around her bum and lay her with her legs up to her belly it takes quite a while maybe half hour but definately helps her to get moving not sure if any of this will help but i am a single parent and know how hard it is when you know they are in pain and there is nothing you can do and how frustrating it is seeking professional advice and all you get is colic colic colic hope some of this is useful also along with the sugar and water she has hipp organic fennel tea u can get it off hipp website 3.20 for fourty tea bags a specialist at the hospital suggested it could be a disease that causes bad digestion similar to irritable bowel i took a soiled nappy with me to the doctors and demanded they test it just to rule out the possibility good luck
my baby had same sort of symptoms as yours, im now using Aptimil easy digest. it takes a week or so to get into the babys system but has helped us loads its worth trying.