So, my 4-week old had yellowish poop while I was giving him breastmilk and supplementing with formule. I stopped the breastmilk and went completely to formula. The poop was still yellow. Then, he seemed to be experiencing gas, and I started giving him gas drops. His bowel movements started having a little bit of green in them. I stopped the drops and switched to a formula that promised to reduce gas, and now his bms are completely green. They look like a mud mask you would use on your face (nice thought, I know, but I want the color to come across). I am guessing this is normal baby poop?
No, no, I did not stop pumping because of this. I am asking about the green poop, sorry if that was confusing. I was trying to show the progression of colors and what (I think) may have caused them. Also, the formula we are using now is the Enfamil Gentlease. As soon as I started giving him that, the bms turned dark green. I meant to mention that to see if anyone else used that formula and had the same results. Thank you for all of the responses...sorry about the confusion!
Hi J.,
I have a 3 yr old daughter who was only breastfed and a 4 month old who has been breastfed and supplemented with formula. The green, mudmask poop is totally normal and it's from the formula. That's one negative aspect of formula, the poop is WAY smellier and nastier than the yellow, sweet smelling breastmilk poop. ;0( Good luck!
I just wanted to relay my story (may have no relevance to yours!): My oldest daughter was formula fed and started having green poops shortly after being switched to formula at 6 weeks (I pumped and gave her breast milk in a bottle until then--she had a weak suck and couldn't nurse). She also seemed to have a LOT of tummy trouble. We tried several formulas and finally ended up on lactose-free, but she continued with green poops and frequent tummy aches. Fast forward to my third daughter 8 years later...she was exclusively breast fed, but I noticed at about two weeks that her poops were green instead of yellow and that she seemed very 'colicky'. She also had a rash in her diaper area and on her face. I finally read somewhere that sometimes these reactions can be due to a milk allergy. I completely eliminated dairy from my diet, and she was like a new baby in a matter of two days. It was like a miracle! And yes, it turned out that when she was three I took her for allergy testing because she had a constantly stuffy nose, and she turned up positive for milk allergy. This is different from lactose intolerance--it is an allergy to the protein in the milk, not the lactose. Fortunately she is outgrowing it, but it was really bad when she was an infant. Our pediatrician always said about both girls that the green poops and tummy problems were just normal baby behavior. But, he was wrong! Since you are formula-feeding already it may be difficult to find something non-dairy to feed your son...often the soy formula causes a reaction as well. Has your milk completely dried up? If not, would it be possible to go back to nursing on a dairy-free diet for awhile to see if it makes a difference? Otherwise, I would suggest talking to your pediatrician about the best choice of formula, or perhaps a lactation consultant. Good luck!
Hi! I am just hoping you did not stop breastfeeding due to the color of poop? It might be just the way you worded it, but that is how it read to me. I would also not give gas drops or any medication without consulting your doctor.
Oh my goodness, I hope you did not stop breastfeeding because of this. Please, please, please give him breastmilk if you can. It is SO much better for him than formula. Babies have a wide range of normal when it comes to poop. Unless it's diarrhea, it's probably normal. Don't hesitate to call your pediatrician's nurse line if you're concerned, though. That's what they're there for and it's usually free unless it's after hours. I can't stress enough how much better breastmilk is.
Sounds normal to me. My daughters poo can be yellow or green or both at times.
My twins had the same experience - I was nursing and had to supplement since I was feeding two babies and they weren't gaining weight, part of the time their poop would be the yellow, seedy breastmilk poop & others it would be the green poop that is attributed to formula. According to our pediatrician, if it is not watery and there is no mucus, you are fine. Once they were solely on formula, they would still have the yellow, seedy poop several times a week and when I asked our pediatrician about it, she said that the quality of formulas have come so far that they often produce the same poops that breastmilk does.
All three of my kids had problems with gas - the nurse in the hospital when my daughter was born told us to put a warm compress or even a warm washcloth on her tummy and then swaddle her - it was amazing! Within 5 minutes of doing this, she would start to pass her gas and you could just see her relaxing - it worked with the twins as well. I just bought some kid-sized ice packs that could also be warmed and warm them in hot water for about 2-3 minutes and it did the trick! There are also several websites with 'exercises' you can do with your babies' legs to help them dispel the gas.
Good luck to you and congratulations on the birth of your son!
Does it smell funny? Sounds like your son is not responding well to the formula. We ended up switching to soy formula. Many moms will disagree with soy but it works for us.
My son is a soy boy now. He gets silk soy. We tried cows milk at one and had issues.
I would buy small containers and try different formulas. Call your doctor and discuss different options.
Sounds like his belly may not be liking the formula your using. Maybe try Gentlease and see if that helps out some.
definatly normal baby poop. eventually it wont be such mush all the time then the smell really comes into play. you should look it up and learn a bit more about this.
It sounds completely normal. I have a 4 month old that has the same type of green pasty poop you describe. Sometimes she will have green with some yellow towards the end. Her poop was yellow when I breastfed but since she's been on formula, it has been green with a little yellow in it occasionally.
My daughter had really painful gas problems when I first put her on formula (Similac Advance) so we kept switching until we found one that seems to agree with her. She is now on Nestle Good Start and she's like a totally new baby on it. She is so happy now and even when she has gas, it doesn't seem to bother her at all. She used to be in terrible pain before on the Similac.
If you son keeps having gas pains, try gripe water. It's all natural and I used to mix it in with my daugther's bottle and it helped quite a bit. Of course finding a formula that agreed with her worked better but we used the gripe water until we found the Good STart.
uh, not necessarily normal... If its green and *mucousy*, it might be a sign of a food intolerance, virus, or intestinal irritation. Its worth a call to your pediatrician's office and ask the nurse. However, just to calm your immediate worries: green with a good consistency (and with no stringy mucous) can be considered normal.
Here's a link to a website that describes various newborn poop and colors (I know! The things you find on the web?!)
http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/pediatricks/poop.asp
There is a FABULOUS book co-authored by Austin Peditrician Ari Brown, MD called Baby 411
According to Dr. Brown (in my 7 year old version of the text):
"1) Once your baby starts to eat, his poop will change colors and texture.
2) Breastfed babies often have yellow, watery seedy poop.
3) Formula fed babies often have green, pastey strained-peas poop.
4) Any shade of yellow, green or brown is normal.
5) Stool freguently can vary from once every feeding to once a week. The frequency is not an indication of constipation - the texture is.
6) All babies turn red and grunt when they poop, not just yours."
I cannot say enough about this book! It saved me many a sleepless night. It is now my standard baby shower gift for to-be parents. Ooops! Just gave away my perfect gift idea :-)
Best wishes to you and your little one!
H
Yes very normal. Just wait until your baby starts solids. You will see an array of colors.
Yellow is a very normal and good color for a newborn who is breastfeeding.
Baby poo can be any color from green to brown to yellow. They are now enriching the formulas with DHA and ARA to make them as close as possible to BM. This is the cause of the color of the poo. If you are concerned, see the Dr.
