The new mom in this Q&A has a baby that experiences explosive poops. Sounds familiar? Let’s take a look at when this is normal and not.
Mom’s Question:
I have a 6-week-old breastfed baby with explosive poops. They are also watery. This started recently, and now he has explosive poops that fill his diaper and often leak out the sides. They are yellow and curd-like but watery.
Is it normal for a breastfed baby to have explosive poops?
Thanks,
New mom :-)
Easy Baby Life:
Breastfed Baby With Explosive Poops
Congratulations on your new baby :)
Breastfed babies definitely tend to have far looser poop than babies who are bottle-fed… and the yellow/curd-like appearance you describe is absolutely normal.
Normal Poop in Breastfed Babies
To sort out your situation, let’s first take a look at what normal poop is like in breastfed babies.
Baby Pooping Frequency
Babies’ pooping habits change quite a lot over the first year.
When newborns have started to eat more, breastfed babies tend to poop after every feeding. At around one month old, however, this usually slows down.
At 6 weeks, some breastfed babies start pooping less often than once per day. They grow very quickly and digest all the milk.
You can read more about baby poop frequency in this article.
Baby Poop Color and Texture
In principle, all shades of yellow, green, and brown are considered normal for baby poop. Red or black poop is not. You can read more about poop colors here.
The mustard color you describe is the most common.
The texture is usually curd-like or more liquid.
While greenish poop is not considered a cause for alarm, it can indicate a problem. It can, for example, indicate a lactose overload.
If your baby doesn’t empty one breast before switching, she could get too much of the high-sugar “foremilk” compared to the “hindmilk”. This can lead to greenish milk, gas, and explosive poop. La Leche League has a good explanation of lactose overload here.
Other possible reasons for green baby poop are mom taking iron supplements, a tummy upset, or perhaps a digestive issue (maybe YOU had eaten something that doesn’t agree with your baby, particularly if it’s something you didn’t tend to eat when you were pregnant).
Read here about how what you eat while breastfeeding can affect your baby.
Explosive Poop in Babies
A breastfed baby with explosive poops is normal, too, at this age. It is actually parred for the course to have to change diapers and wash your baby’s entire back due to these kinds of explosions…
I remember looking at my 1-month-old baby and considering cutting his clothes to avoid getting poop in his hair…
Not convinced? Watch a few minutes into the video below. You are not alone… :-)
Explosive, Watery Poops – A Sign of Diarrhea?
What may NOT be normal, though, is if the baby has explosive, watery stools, that are more frequent than usual.
Since young babies often tend to poop often, especially if breastfed, it can be tricky to know if a baby has diarrhea or is simply pooping often. You can read about the symptoms of diarrhea in infants here.
And this is where I am not completely sure if your baby is fine or not.
The color and consistency, in general, are completely normal. Explosive stools are too. But since you mention watery stools your baby might actually be ill. Are there any other signs of illness?
So, what to do?
Either way, I think in this situation, the best option would be to discuss this with your doctor – he or she may take a sample of your baby’s stool to check for any problems.
In an older baby, it might be acceptable to wait a day or two and see if things improve, but at 6 weeks, babies can dehydrate very quickly, and it’s always better to be on the safe side.
I hope this helps,
Paula
(Answer reviewed by our Medical Reference Team)
P.S Who else has a breastfed baby with explosive poops? Have you found out why? Leave a comment below to help this mom or discuss the situation!
More On Newborn Babies’ Poop Habits
Who else has a breastfed baby with explosive poops? Have you found out why? Leave a comment below to help this mom or discuss the situation!
Paula Dennholt founded Easy Baby Life in 2006 and has been a passionate parenting and pregnancy writer since then. Her parenting approach and writing are based on studies in cognitive-behavioral models and therapy for children and her experience as a mother and stepmother. Life as a parent has convinced her of how crucial it is to put relationships before rules. She strongly believes in positive parenting and a science-based approach.
Paula cooperates with a team of pediatricians who assist in reviewing and writing articles.
Our baby has gone from breastfeeding to formula and has been on formula for 7 days now. She is eating about 3-4 oz 7-8 times a day, and tonight she had a really smelly, runny green poop, that shot out of her bum while the diaper was off. Is she possibly getting too much formula?
Hi Brian,
It doesn’t sound like there is much of a problem here. If your baby was only breastfed for three days, it is not possible to compare the stools now when formula-fed with before. Mom doesn’t produce much breast milk in the beginning and the baby doesn’t really eat much until at around 5-6 days old.
It is normal for a baby’s poop to be watery because their whole diet is liquid. Formula-fed babies often do have somewhat more solid poop than breastfed babies, but it varies a lot. The consistency of her poop will not be related to how much she eats – but possibly to what she eats.
Don’t worry about giving your baby too much formula. (Unless you mean too much formula in relation to breast milk if your wife still breastfeeds too; breast milk is easier for the baby to digest.) At your baby’s young age, their appetite and how much they need to eat actually increases day by day and it is very important as a parent to not hold back if the baby seems to be hungry. They grow and develop at an amazing speed and need to eat frequently.
The color of the poop isn’t something to worry about unless it is red or black, which means that there is blood in it, and in such case, a doctor’s consultation is definitely needed.
The smell is probably due to the formula; studies have shown that formula poop is a lot more smelly than breast milk poop. (Yes, there are actually research studies on this! :-) )
As for the projectile poop, this is probably caused by gas which builds up in the bowels behind the poop sometimes and comes out at a very inconvenient moment. (Happens to most parents once in a while…)
If your child’s stool is watery and accompanied by fever or persistent vomiting you should go to the doctor immediately. Also, if your baby spits up a lot or gets rashes while eating, you might want to discuss it with a doctor, as it could indicate milk protein allergy or lactose intolerance. Otherwise, as long as your baby is pooping and happy there is likely nothing to worry about. However, if you continue to be worried, certainly talk to your baby’s doctor. No need to take chances with our little ones.
I hope this helps,
Paula
I had a similar problem except it was green and slimy and as I found out I was making too much milk so I expressed just about an ounce off the top before I nursed.
The fore milk is high in lactose and hind milk is high in lacatase, the enzyme used to digest the fore milk. I hope this helps someone. also baby was colicky as a result.
My baby had be going mustard color, but it’s now change to green is that ok?
Yellow is normal, explosive or green indicates the let down could be too fast and baby is consuming fore milk rather than the creamy hind milk, talk to la Leche League 🙂
YES . THIS IS VERY NORMAL FOR THE BABY TO HAVE EXPLOSIVE POOP. MY NEWBORN DOES THE SAME AND SHE IS BREASTFED AND I ASK HER DOCTOR AND SHE SAID THE POOP WAS NORMAL.
Baby is hungry! It’s always the same thing, baby is hungry.