Baby Poop

Yes, it is very true that what the mother eats when breastfeeding affects the health/poop of the baby.

For those who are not parents yet, the talk of poop would be gross but for the parents, it is a daily duty. In fact, since the kid cannot speak and let us know what the problem is, it is poop which gives the indication of what is going on firsthand. So, watch out, count the frequency, check the consistency and all regularly.

How many times should the baby poop -- there is no fixed number of times. Breast-fed babies can poop every time they are fed, sometimes a couple of times a day, sometimes more. It varies from baby to baby. It is common for the newborns to go 10 times a day or not go for 2 to 3 days at a stretch. It is just not an issue. It might be a big cause of concern for new parents but doctor's just wont even bother to look at the baby for such concerns like 10 times a day or none in 2 days. However, it is a cause of concern if the baby poops 10 times in a couple of hours or so. If the baby is happy, playing well, no change in behavior or anything, then it is perfectly alright if the baby is not pooping for a couple of days.. maybe she is just taking a break.

However, if the baby is gassy 2 things to check are
**change the bottle if you are feeding with a bottle.
**change the diet of the mother if breast-feeding, avoid dairy in mother's intake and see. If that helps, then maybe the mother should go easy on it first.

It is not really true that if you drink ample of milk, milk will be there amply for the baby. It is enough that the mom keeps herself hydrated with water, juice, butter milk whatever and if the baby is gassy and not drinking milk helps with gassiness then it should be avoided.

If the baby is still gassy in spite of all this, then it is just fine if the baby is happy but do mention it to the doctor if it is abnormally frequent or smelly.

As a newborn the baby's poop would be dark, black, deep green and sticky and many times in a day.. it is just normal. In telugu we call it mattu.. make sure you wipe the bottom clean with a soft cloth and not let any residue to be left at the bottom. Cotton balls dipped in lukewarm water would be best. If using a diaper change it very frequently say a couple of hours at least to avoid rash. Hygiene there is a must.

Color of the poop
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If the baby or the mom is fed Beets, carrot, peas, or any iron-fortified formula or cereal, then the color of the poop invariably changes. So, it is not a cause of concern. Only if you see mucous, pus, or blood streaks is a cause of concern. It is equally important to keep a tab of what is coming out just like the care taken to see what is going in.

the green colour(bile)secreated by liver gives green colour to the stool...when it goes down it changes to yellow... when there is a fast intestine transit there is no time to change the colour of the stool..so it remains as green... so dont worry if the stool is green, it is pretty pretty common.