10 Day Old Had Green Watery, Shooting Poop

by Brian
(St. Catharines, ON, Canada)

Our baby has gone from breast feeding to formula and has been on the 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 diaper was off. Is she possibly getting too much formula?

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Baby Help Line:

Watery, Smelly Poop In Newborn

It doesn't sound like there is much of a problem here. It is normal for baby's poop to be watery because their whole diet is liquid.

Formulafed 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, which means that there is blood in it.

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 acutally 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 nothing to worry about.

If your baby was only breastfed for three days, it is not possible to compare the stools now when formulafed 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.

I hope this helps,

Paula

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