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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

4.5 week old breasted baby poops 3-4 times a day - normal?

31 replies

EmC1983 · 12/02/2014 17:24

I'm confused, is it normal for baby to feed this much? Information read in different places seems to differ widely!!

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Original poster

EmC1983 · 12/02/2014 17:25

I of course meant poo not feed!! Baby brain on the main post! Title is correct! Ha!

OP posts:

Cakebaker35 · 12/02/2014 17:28

Yes! Basically only worry if it's very explosive and watery. Also if its green colour it can mean they're not getting the full fat milk when feeding just the more watery foremilk.

PandaG · 12/02/2014 17:28

normal ranges from once every 10 days, to 10 times a day iirc

TheScience · 12/02/2014 17:29

Oh yes, DS used to poo about 10 times a day!

From about 6 weeks onwards, some EBF babies can start going only every few days.

naty1 · 12/02/2014 18:48

Mine used to. At least about 5 times to start with i thought it was some sort of allergy but although there was a soya allergy at 20m she still goes at least once every day usually 2-3 times so think it must be her.
How i envy some bf babies mums with 1 every few days.
Its always when you want to go out.
It is in normal range but the question is is it normal for your baby which is hard to tell.

Forester · 12/02/2014 18:53

It was always one in one out for my DD. A friends DD could go days.

Original poster

EmC1983 · 12/02/2014 19:14

She used to be 1 feed in 1 poop out but it's lessened in past few weeks to 3/4 a day. Look of it hasn't changed or anything like that. She's a happy baby, bit colicky in the evenings. Good to know its common for that type of frequency at this age. Thanks all.

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tiktok · 12/02/2014 19:22

Cakebaker - "Also if its green colour it can mean they're not getting the full fat milk when feeding just the more watery foremilk."

Not really right....this is about the least likely reason, and green poo is on the normal spectrum, and mostly, mothers don't need to worry :)

OP - your baby's normal.

Cakebaker35 · 12/02/2014 19:27

Just repeating what I was told by GP, hv and breast feeding consultant...

Original poster

EmC1983 · 12/02/2014 19:30

My bsby hasn't had any green poo, just good old mustard colour as a bf baby should have :)

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Coveredinweetabix · 12/02/2014 22:28

DC1 only did one poo every 8-10 days when ebf, did a couple a week when being weaned, increased to every other day when I stopped bfing and now, age 4, goes once a day, usually between 3pm & 4pm
DC2, on the other hand, did at least 4 poos a day whilst being ebf and it wasn't unusual for him to do 7 or 8, had no change on being weaned or when I stopped bfing but, age 18mths, suddenly dropped to one massive one a day, usually between 6pm & 7pm. I have changed so many more nappies with DC2, have spent so much more on nappies and, until recently, found it really frustrating if we were going away for the weekend or similar as I had no idea how many he'd need whereas DD had one for overnight, one for the morning, one for the afternoon & one for the evening.
So, yes, entirely normal.

tiktok · 12/02/2014 23:35

cakebaker sorry you were so misled by people who should know better.

ZingSweetApple · 13/02/2014 00:28

4 times a day or 4 times a week - no problem, as long as they wee regularly!

as other's said the colour is important - green means not enough milk going through.

white and dark are no good either - can't remember what those mean

mustard colour with tiny "sesame seeds" are the good poops!

ZingSweetApple · 13/02/2014 00:31

tiktok

the green poo was very true for some of mine who had problems putting the weight on due to tongue tie!

so a very valid point.

green can also mean an infection - IIRC

tiktok · 13/02/2014 07:59

I am not saying green poo can't mean something negative. I am saying most cases are fine and within normal.

ZingSweetApple · 13/02/2014 11:30

ah, interesting.

I was always told it's ok in the first few days but once BF is established the colour should change to mustard.
if it doesn't or reverts back to green after mustard colour it's a problem.

frustrating that there seems to be no definite answer - like with most things!

Boosiehs · 13/02/2014 11:43

My EBF DS had very green poo, and was told by BF consultant I mustn't have been feeding long enough off each boob nd utterly freaked me out.

GP said this was bollox and he was entirely normal.

MrsEllsmore · 13/02/2014 11:44

My ds has had green poo for 5 days now, he has a slight cold but gp says green poo its nothing to worry about.

Notonthisplanet · 13/02/2014 15:07

My 11 week old ebf goes from mustard poo to green poo all the time, it's nothing to worry about. I read a parenting book once that warned you will be obsessed by all the different colours of poo a baby will have

ZingSweetApple · 13/02/2014 15:16

this is why we need MN!

and they should invent a poo-colour chart.

I'd call it "Poo-lux"

Cakebaker35 · 13/02/2014 17:44

The NCT provide a poo colour chart, I couldn't believe it but then we studied it all the time, madness!

Just to clarify I wasn't told green poo was terrible or serious, just told that it could mean slightly less fat getting through but nothing to worry about. Did not mean to start a green poo alert but that's what it seems to have turned into Sorry OP your thread got a bit hijacked.

tiktok · 13/02/2014 18:10

Good clarification, Cake, thanks :)

The NCT factsheet is for babies up to about a week. After that age, you're on your own!

Green poo is a very frequent worry on the mumsnet boards - at least once a week, often more.

In a baby who is thriving, it is not significant. It can mean the baby is fighting an infection ( but is not actually ill with the infection).

All it is, is a reflection of the speed of transit through the gut. Poo turns yellow when it's been in the lower bowel a little while - if it comes through a bit faster, it's not had time to turn yellow and it is green or greenish.

If the milk the baby has had is lower in fat content, it goes through the gut faster ('cos fat slows down the transit time). This doesn't matter - the baby gets what he needs from the milk just fine, unless there is something else going on (metabolic disorder, baby not feeding effectively) but in these situations the baby is not well and you get other signs and symptoms of this.

Most babies who poo green are normal, healthy babies, getting the 'full fat' they need and thriving.

Probably all babies have the occasional green poo, and some babies always poo green.

ZingSweetApple · 13/02/2014 18:32

tiktok

you're right the big difference is what else is also going on.

mine were not putting on weight so clearly the colour was and indication of that - so I guess that is what I know to watch out for.

for a healthy, thriving baby it's not worth mentioning.

I'm glad I learnt something new today - thanks!

Original poster

EmC1983 · 14/02/2014 06:49

Glad to see my original post about poo frequency has cleared up other issues for other people too! ;)

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Original poster

EmC1983 · 14/02/2014 11:17

Id like to ask something else about her poo now!! It's quite an orange colour, is that ok?

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