To read the first part of this article, go to Baby Stool.
In the days following birth, babies will expel their first stool which is called meconium. This stool is thick, sticky, and so dark green that it’s almost black. As a comparison, it looks a bit like molasses.
Meconium is a substance accumulated in the baby’s intestine when it’s in the mother’s uterus. Meconium doesn’t really smell (thank goodness!!! 😊). By drinking milk after birth, the baby will eliminate the meconium, leading to transition stool, stool that will go from dark green to light green, sometimes fluorescent green then to a mustard yellow. You will often see a strange mix of all these colours in their diaper (cute, right?).
Don’t be surprised to see blacker stool if the baby is taking iron supplements. Iron changes the colour, but it remains normal under these conditions. Also, if you note the presence of blood filaments or small coagulated lumps of blood in your baby’s stool, don’t panic immediately. Check if Mom has wounds on her nipples. Is this your case? If yes, your baby might be swallowing blood from the wound when they suck, which ends up coming out the other end. Your baby might also have an anal wound. Sometimes the wound is visible on the outside of the anus, but it could also be internal. An internal wound is more likely if the baby screams its head off when it passes gas or when they pass stool, as it irritates the wound on passage. To help them, you can apply a thick layer of Ihle’s Paste to the area. You can also apply it internally using a Q-tip with the paste on the cotton head. Ihle’s Paste is more opaque than cream, and it will protect the wound when passing gas and stool. It will help soothe your baby. If the paste is ineffective, consult your doctor to make sure that it’s not due to another issue.
If the baby repeatedly has blood in its stool without a physically visible reason, this isn’t normal. It could be a sign of an allergy. The health history, the family, the birthing process, etc. need to be analysed to try to understand the situation and provide you with the appropriate recommendations.
Le sang dans les selles peut être en lien avec une fissure anale, une intolérance ou allergie (souvent protéine bovine) ou bien une infection quelconque (bactérie, viral ou parasite).
Finally, a young baby’s white or colourless stool should be investigated.
Breastfeeding Baby
A breastfed baby’s stool will almost always have a colour varying from yellow to green, and this until they start eating solid food. Stool will then change to colours appearing more brownish.
Bottle-Fed Baby
A baby fed with commercial formulas will have stool where the colour will be associated with the formula they drink. As such, some formulas cause forest green stool, while others lime green or even khaki or yellow.
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Prenez note que des selles d’un bébé de couleur blanche, grise ou beige (décolorées) doivent être montrées rapidement au médecin traitant pour la vérification de la fonction hépatique de votre bébé (le foie).
L’odeur des selles de bébé
Bébé allaité
Tant que le bébé ne mange pas de solides, l’odeur des selles n’est pas très prononcée avec le lait maternel. Mais les gaz peuvent ajouter aux odeurs, ce qui n’est pas toujours très agréable disons‑le, hihihi!
Bottle-Fed Baby
Pour l’odeur des selles de bébé nourri aux formules artificielles, c’est en général assez nauséabond et encore plus avec les préparations commerciales hydrolysées.
Pour la suite de ce billet, rendez-vous à la fréquence des selles de bébé.
