| When you get discharged form the hospital with your | | | | mustard with a seedy appearance. Breast-fed babies |
| first newborn, you do not go home with a mannual on | | | | rarely get constipated. |
| the basic body functions of your baby. When your | | | | Digestion of infant formula produces more waste. |
| baby is born you may wonder what her bowel | | | | Infants who drink formula pass malodorous, firmer, |
| movement patter should be, or what color of stool to | | | | yellow, green, or mocha stools. Since formula is a little |
| worry about. | | | | harder to digest, do not be surprised if your baby gets |
| After birth, it is expected that your baby will produce | | | | constipated. |
| the first stool within 24 hours. The first bowel | | | | Not every baby goes by the textbook though. So |
| movements (BM's) are dark green or black as the | | | | keep in mind that stools in any shade of yellow, |
| baby passes meconium, the substance filling the | | | | yellow-brown, and brown are perfectly normal. |
| intestines before birth. In a few days, you'll notice | | | | I get concerned with 3 colors of stools: red (fresh |
| greenish stools signifying intestinal colonization by the | | | | blood), black beyond the first fed days of life (old |
| friendly bacteria that start to take an active role in | | | | blood), and white (blockage in the bile system). Should |
| digestion. | | | | you notice any of these colors in your infant's diapers, |
| Breast-fed infants typically have more BM's than their | | | | seek evaluation of your pediatric health care provider |
| formula-fed peers because breast milk is digested | | | | immediately. |
| very quickly. Their stools are runny and look like yellow | | | | |