Is this normal for a week old baby? Re bowel movements [Content warning: opening post contains nappy photo]

[Shadowolive]

Hello,

Currently a FTM so everything is quite overwhelming and after a traumatic birth, I'm anxious about everything.

I just wondered is it normal for baby not to have a large bowel movement each day? I have attached an image of what has been passed. Baby is 8 days old. He is also suffering from nappy rash too.

Thank you for any advice

I don't remember mine having a large bowel movement each day, more little and often. And bright yellow from BM although i understand formula poo is different. has he passed his meconium yet?
For the nappy rash, I would use only cotton pads and water (we used cooled boiled which im sure is OTT) for the first few months as the wipes can be harsh on their skin. They wee and poo a lot in these first days too so I recommend once his skin is dry from the water, to put a barrier cream on each change to protect the sore area from wee/poo. We put a barrier cream (bepanthem) on for every change even though youre told not to bother..

Yeah he had meconium, then transitioned and this is his current colour. Yeah he is formula fed exclusively.

Yeah we have been using cotton wool and pads. When did it clear for you?

it totally depends, sometimes it can just clear up over night, some times a bit longer. Does he feel comfortable in himself? no squirming or tummy ache? Sometimes a sore bum can be an indication of an intolerance too (often this can be how people discover their kid has a dairy intolerance). I am not a medical professional though. To be honest, if you are super anxious and your newborn has nappy rash you can take him to GP. They will not be cross with you and you wont be the first mum to do this. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable. Good luck and congrats btw x

Sorry I can't help with the poo but yellow metanium is amazing for nappy rash. It's almost always cleared it up overnight for us. Don't use it as an everyday barrier, just to treat the rash.

Also if nappy rash doesn't improve don't feel silly asking your GP. DD 11months had it awfully for almost three weeks. It turned out there was also something fungal like thrush (we had been on a warm holiday) and an antifungal cream cleared it up in a day. I felt so awful for letting it go on that long trying to treat with water and metanium!

for nappy rash try:
sudocrem care and repair
weleda nappy cream

nothing else worked for us. Had it once and never again. Use weleda every day

Babies should be pooing atleast two times a day, and the poo should be the size of a £2 coin as a minimum. Many babies will have much more that then. They should be weeing about 6-7 times a day too by a week.

Formula can cause constipation for some babies though. I would talk to your midwife.

If you are worried it’s best to call the midwife or health visitor if you have their details already. Congratulations on your baby

Talk to your midwife. I'm wondering if there's an allergy of some sort as I've never seen nappy rash in a baby that young. How much is he drinking and how often? Is he definitely taking in enough fluids? I exclusively formula fed all my own children and foster children and personally I've never had any of them experience constipation.

Nappy rash looks very sore.

Have you being using wipes or plain water? Are you using a barrier cream?

For now use plain water for cleaning, the thinest layer of metanium possible until it clears up. Obviously make sure they’re changed as soon as you can after pooing. If it doesn’t clear up within a couple of days it maybe fungal although it doesn’t look like it from what I can see. Bepanthen is a good barrier cream for when they don’t have a rash.

Poo looks a little thick but I didn’t ff at that age and my kids had allergies so they’re poo wasn’t normal.