How much should babies poop at 2 months: features of intestinal function in babies

Stool changes

At first it is black or dark green in color - this is the original meconium, which accumulated in the intestines in the womb. It consists of digested organic particles, amniotic fluid, bile and mucus.

The tarry meconium is odorless and does not wash off from diapers. Its release lasts 3 days and is a good sign that everything is fine with the baby’s digestion. If meconium is defecated on days 4 and 5, the baby does not receive enough breast milk and may not be able to suck it out. Consult a lactation specialist about this issue.

If a newborn does not have a bowel movement within 2 days, you should be wary. This may be a sign of Hirschsprung's disease, which is associated with an abnormal development of the colon.

Gradually, the stool becomes mushy and light yellow in color, it increases in volume, and has a milky-sour smell. May contain white lumps and mucus. It is during this transitional stage that colostrum is replaced by transitional milk. Changes occur in the intestines, which will then affect its health.

By 10-14 days, the stool becomes mature - mushy, dark yellow in color. Its shade depends on the mother's diet.

Why does my stool turn green? There may be several reasons for this:

• when exposed to oxygen, it oxidizes and changes color from yellow to green;
• mother’s consumption of green foods (cucumbers) or exotic fruits;
• if you switched your baby from breastfeeding to formula.

Monitoring the number of bowel movements can indicate whether the baby has enough milk. How many times a day does a baby normally poop? When breastfeeding 6-8 times, in fact after each feeding. And with artificial - 3-4 times, the feces may be brownish in color and have an unpleasant odor.

After the first month and until complementary feeding is introduced, the baby may poop once every few days. There is no need to worry here. How long can a newborn go without going to the toilet? Some babies manage to go without a bowel movement for up to 15 days. If the child feels great and gains weight well, then this is considered normal.

Baby (4 months) poops frequently, baby's stool at 4 months

All parents, without exception, are worried about their baby's stool. And this is justified - because by its nature and frequency one can directly judge the child’s health. How many times a day should a 4 month old baby go to the toilet “in a big way”?

During the first months of life, the baby eats exclusively mother's milk or adapted baby food that replaces it. At the same time, the child may poop several times a day, and sometimes after each feeding. But at 3-4 months, many mothers, on the advice of a pediatrician or a personal decision, introduce the first complementary foods, and one of the possible problems is that a 4-month-old baby poops often. First, let's try to figure out which chair really indicates the presence of some problems and the need to solve them?

Diarrhea in infants is defined as loose stools more than 7 times a day. Parents should also be alerted to the presence of mucus in the stool or its constant heterogeneity. A child’s stool can normally be creamy or liquid; when new foods are introduced into the diet, it may change.

If the child feels well, is not capricious for no apparent reason, and does not show other symptoms of illness, there is most likely no reason to worry. Also, a child’s stool at 4 months may change due to teething. If the number of daily bowel movements has increased sharply after the introduction of complementary foods, and their nature has also changed and the child shows anxiety when pooping, you may need to give up fruit purees for a while and return to a milk mono-diet.

Another indicator for assessing the normal frequency of bowel movements in a child under one year old is his monthly weight gain; if the child poops frequently, but at the same time gains enough weight, there is no reason to worry, but if there is underweight, you need to consult a doctor about the problem frequent bowel movements.

In general, frequent bowel movements are much better than constipation, but you must carefully monitor your baby’s condition in order to notice signs of illness in time. If frequent bowel movements are combined with vomiting or the child behaves excitedly, sleeps poorly, cries and there is no way to calm him down, you should immediately go to the hospital. If vomiting occurs several times, you should immediately call an ambulance, since diarrhea combined with vomiting can lead to rapid dehydration of the newborn’s body, which is truly dangerous.

Constipation

What if the baby can’t go to the toilet? He cries a lot, grunts and strains, but he can’t squeeze the poop out of himself? This happens more often with artificial babies, the composition of their feces is close to that of an adult, and the intestines have not yet learned to cope with large volumes.

Infants' food has a unique composition and is absorbed as completely as possible. And you can talk about constipation only if the feces are hard and dry.

The newborn does not go to the toilet, what should I do? Over time, everything will get better, but in the meantime, do more often to prevent such phenomena. Gives a good effect:

1. Tummy massage - stroke your tummy clockwise. Movement of the hands in this direction helps to expel gases, which are the main cause of discomfort. Start with light touches and gradually intensify. Pay special attention to the area on the left side of the lower abdomen - this is where the large intestine is located. In the area of ​​the right hypochondrium, where the liver is located, on the contrary, be very delicate.
2. Then press the baby's legs to the tummy and hold them in this position for 20-40 seconds, then return them back. Repeat 10 times.
3. Perform the “bicycle” exercise - alternately bend and unbend your baby’s legs. At the same time, you can hum to him a cheerful song “We are going, going, going...”.
4. Complete the gymnastics with stroking movements of the tummy.

As a result of this complex, intestinal motility increases, gases are released, and constipation disappears. To perform a massage, no special skills are required, and the best therapeutic effect will be provided by mother’s warm hands.

Cause for concern

Parents should be alert to:

• loose, foamy stools – may be a sign of lactase deficiency;
• liquid, mushy stool with a lot of mucus indicates dysbacteriosis;
• watery stools (more than 12 times a day) interspersed with blood or mucus, especially if there is vomiting and fever - this is an intestinal infection.

I hope, dear parents, I have helped you understand the situations when your child needs help, and when it is better not to interfere with the natural development of digestion.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate, I am always ready to answer them. Share the article with your friends on social networks, and don’t forget to subscribe to blog updates. I wish that your little ones always have peace and tranquility in their tummy!

A child’s stool is one of the most important indicators of health. Normally, a newborn baby poops quite often. The frequency, color, and consistency of stool may vary. Sometimes there may be no bowel movement at all. What should the stool look like during breastfeeding and bottle feeding? And when should you see a doctor? We will answer these questions below.

• While breastfeeding?
• With artificial feeding?
• When should you worry?
• What to do?

If artificial feeding

It must be admitted that while being bottle-fed, a newborn poops less often. This happens because the formula, unlike breast milk, is thicker, which means it takes longer to digest.

Formula-fed babies are more likely to suffer from constipation

In the beginning, the frequency of stool in most cases will coincide with the frequency of feedings: approximately every 3-4 hours. Due to the fact that the feces of artificial babies are denser and move more slowly through the intestines, such children often suffer from constipation (read about what constipation is and how to treat it here). Unlike breastfed babies, delaying stool for a day in bottle-fed babies is a signal to action. You may have to work hard to find the right mixture.

While breastfeeding?

Even in the maternity hospital, medical staff tell the young mother about the importance of the baby’s stool. In the first days of a child's life, instead of normal stool, the child will pass meconium. Meconium is the original stool that is black-green in color and viscous in consistency.

Within a few days, the child begins to form transitional stool, liquid consistency, yellow-green in color. And at the same time, the rhythm of bowel movement is formed. Stool can be immediately after feeding, or during it, maybe once every 1-2 days, or 10 times a day. And this will be a variant of the norm, since each child’s body reacts individually. At the same time, the child should not be bothered by anything, he should be calm, feces should pass easily, without straining the child.

First week

Usually, a couple of days after birth, the meconium will have run out, but it is normal if it takes longer. After all, the child accumulated original feces throughout the entire period of intrauterine development and it must be completely expelled. How long does a newborn poop? After changing meconium to regular stool, the baby does not poop very often, up to three times a day.

With artificial feeding?

The frequency of stool of a newborn baby with artificial feeding also varies from 1 to 10 times a day. As mentioned above, this happens because each child has his own version of the norm. At the same time, most often these babies have stool 1-3 times a day. And the frequency of bowel movements in a newborn normally decreases when complementary foods are introduced into his diet.

While the baby eats only formula, the stool does not smell at all or has a slightly sour smell. Its color can vary from yellow to green. Sometimes mothers notice the stool of a newborn baby on artificial feeding with an impurity, namely, with white lumps. Their appearance is a sign that the mixture is not completely absorbed, not completely digested. But this phenomenon is usually temporary. And isolated white lumps should not scare parents.

Loose stools in formula-fed babies are not common, since formulas contain less water than breast milk.

If breastfeeding

Days after birth. The original stool should be meconium. It is resinous both in color and consistency, slightly sticky, and has no odor. It is very important that the meconium passes within the first 24 hours after birth.

The next 4-5 days are the so-called transition period. If there was initially a lot of meconium in the intestines, the baby may continue to poop with it. Since feeding is just being established, and the baby first receives colostrum in small portions, and milk arrives only on days 3-4, babies poop 1 to 3 times a day.

Second week. Stool is daily, but the number of bowel movements ranges from 1 to 10 per day. During the first three weeks, the composition of milk is not constant; it changes along with the baby’s needs. It is completely normal for your baby to poop every time after feeding. But by the end of the second week, intestinal colic and increased gas formation usually begin, making adjustments to the digestive process.

When breastfeeding, the number of bowel movements per day varies from 10 to 1 or even every other day

Until the sixth week. Mother's milk imparts a slight laxative effect to a month-old baby, so he poops as many times as he eats. During this period, it is believed that if the baby has stool less than 4 times a day, it means that he is not getting enough, there is not enough milk and lactation must be urgently stimulated. To do this, it is best to contact a breastfeeding specialist.

We recommend reading: Diarrhea in an infant

At 1.5-2 months. It would seem that everything was going well, when suddenly the baby begins to have bowel movements less often, once every 2 or even 3 days. In medicine, this phenomenon is called an enzyme crisis. Breast milk is renewed again, and the baby’s digestive system tries to adapt by producing suitable enzymes. Such a restructuring can take several weeks, but from the outside it seems that the baby has become constipated.

After debugging, the child’s body chooses an individual emptying mode for itself. In most cases, the act of defecation is carried out 1-2 times a day. However, there are children who still prefer to poop up to 5 times a day. We repeat that if there are no other suspicious symptoms, there is no need to worry.

6 months. The time when the first complementary foods are introduced. The baby’s enzyme system is already ready for new tastings, so the stool becomes similar to “adult”, with a characteristic pungent odor, shaped.

When should you worry?

As mentioned above, newborn babies can go to the toilet from 1 to 10 times. At the same time, the child should not be bothered by anything. When should parents see a doctor?

1. Loose, foamy stools (lactose intolerance).
2. Liquid, pasty stool with a lot of mucus (dysbacteriosis).
3. Watery stools (more than 12 times a day) interspersed with blood or mucus. The addition of symptoms such as fever and vomiting (intestinal infection).
4. An admixture of blood and pus.

At what week of pregnancy does the tissue take on its full appearance?

The development of lung tissue is completed only by the 36th week of gestation. By this period, the amount of surfactant becomes sufficient for normal breathing of a child who has left the mother’s womb. When a fetus is born prematurely, an insufficient level of this substance is associated with respiratory disorders that require certain medical attention.

Do you turn to specialists for treatment?

Yes, it’s faster than looking for something that could be a symptom of 10-20 diseases.

38.14%

Usually we don’t contact them, we remove the symptoms and everything goes away on its own.

21.76%

We only treat ourselves, and it’s bad to self-medicate, but sometimes it’s better and faster than going to see a doctor (making an appointment, queues, unclear prescriptions), you can help yourself faster.

40.1%

Voted: 409

What to do?

Let's consider the most common situations:

1. Change in the amount of stool. A decrease in the amount of stool during constipation or fasting, an increase in the amount during overeating. Parents need to pay attention to the color and consistency of the stool, and the smell. In any case, you should consult a doctor for a possible examination.
2. Irregular bowel movements. A child may have normal bowel movements followed by diarrhea or constipation, and this alternation occurs on an ongoing basis. The most likely causes are irrational feeding, for example, overfeeding, and intestinal dysbiosis, which requires consultation with a doctor.
3. Immediate medical attention is required in the following cases:

- black chair;

- loose stools and elevated body temperature;

- instead of feces, pink mucus comes out;

How often should a child go to the toilet? If a child walks once every 2-3 days, is this constipation? Are there any tests that would confirm or refute this diagnosis? D. K ovalchuk, Kirovo-Chepetsk

Pediatrician Tatyana KOROSTYLEVA answers:

— Stool should be regular, at least once every 2 days (at least 6 times a week in children under 3 years old and at least 3 times a week in children over 3 years old), preferably daily at the same time. Chronic constipation is said to occur when a child rarely goes to the toilet for 3 months, while defecation itself is difficult, and there remains a feeling of incomplete bowel movement. Constipation is considered to be those cases when a child goes to the toilet every day, but strains a lot, the stool is very thick in consistency, and bowel movements are painful.

There are many reasons for the appearance of constipation: heredity (half of children with constipation and parents suffer from chronic constipation), functional constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, previous infectious diseases, gastroduodenitis and duodenitis. The reason may also be the child’s shyness, which he experiences in a new environment - getting used to kindergarten or school.

To understand whether these difficulties are temporary or not, what their cause is, you must carefully observe your child for a while: how many times a day does he go to the toilet, how? The doctor will be able to form a more complete picture by listening to you and having the results of stool tests for worm eggs and dysbacteriosis (after intestinal infections or the use of antibiotics, disturbances in the intestinal microflora can occur), and an ultrasound of the abdominal organs. Sometimes digital examination of the rectum and radiocontrast irrigography are necessary. Depending on the causes of constipation, its duration, and the age of the child, treatment is prescribed.

You cannot self-medicate long-term constipation; if you, without consulting a doctor, start constantly giving your child laxatives, you may become accustomed to them, and they will be required in larger and larger quantities. Don’t take risks, let your doctor advise you which remedy and for how long to take. In addition to laxatives, antispasmodics, choleretic drugs, and sometimes enemas or laxative suppositories may also be prescribed. Correctly, and most importantly, it is necessary to get rid of constipation in time in order to avoid the occurrence of problems with the gastrointestinal tract.

Children with good physical activity, whose diet includes plenty of foods with dietary fiber, and who drink enough fluids, are much less likely to suffer from constipation. The task of parents is to provide them with all this. Dietary fiber is wheat bran, fruits, rolled oats, rice. Sour milk, fruit juices, black bread made from wholemeal flour, sour fruits, honey, vegetables and vegetable dishes, buckwheat and barley cereals also help to empty the intestines.

How many times a day should an infant go to the toilet?

It would seem that all the worries and fears are behind us: the pregnancy went well, the birth was also without complications, and the baby arrived strong and healthy. And here, against the backdrop of general prosperity, new stresses await young mothers and fathers. However, they can hardly be called stress - these are normal problems and experiences associated with a new person and his life activities!

However, some parents downright panic when their baby is a month or two old, for example, for several days he cannot go big. So let's figure out how many times a day an infant should go to the toilet ? And in general, are there clearly defined medical standards?

How many times does a newborn poop?

Let's start with the fact that a baby's stool can tell a lot about his state of health, and, first of all, the gastrointestinal tract. By the consistency, smell and color of a child's stool, you can even determine what his mother ate. Answering the burning question for young parents: how many times does a newborn poop per day, we will answer that there are no established uniform standards, and there cannot be!

When a baby is just born and in the first month of his life, he can poop up to 10 times a day. Why? That is exactly how many times a day he eats. Let's immediately make a reservation that babies who do not lack breast milk poop more often than those who are fed with infant formula. If for some reason the formula is not suitable for the baby, then he may not walk for up to two or three days. And this is not a reason to panic. You can only start to worry if your baby has a “hard” tummy, has gas, and is fussy, which indicates discomfort or even pain.

Mild constipation in a baby can occur at the end of the first month of life, when the young body, or rather the digestive tract, fully adapts to external conditions. Or rather, it’s not even constipation, but a slight retention of stool. If this happens, wait a day or two, most likely after this period of time everything will work out. However, if you then notice fairly hard poop in the diaper, then most likely your child still has constipation.

If the baby is constipated, first of all, the nursing mother needs to reconsider her daily diet. As we wrote above, the consistency and color of a baby’s stool, while he is exclusively breastfed, reflect what his mother ate. If the baby cannot go to the toilet while being bottle-fed, then the milk formula probably needs to be changed. Talk to your pediatrician about which commercial formula is best.

Normal newborn stool and diarrhea

When a baby is exclusively breastfed, his stool is usually yellow-green, quite bright in color, and odorous. If a mother eats vegetables and fruits, the baby's stool may turn green. Nothing wrong with that. Artificial babies' stool, on the other hand, is darker brownish in color and has a stronger odor. In both cases, the consistency of baby stool should be neither too liquid nor too hard. Ideally, normal newborn stool should be mushy.

During the first month of life, the baby may “poop” very often, but if the stool is normal (mushy), the baby has a normal temperature and feels well, there is no reason to worry. Parents need to worry if the stool is watery, the baby is capricious and refuses to eat. Diarrhea for a baby can pose quite a serious danger, as it leads to dehydration. At the first real sign of diarrhea or constipation, call a doctor.

The editors of World-of-parents.ru wish you and your kids health. Do not forget to take care and protect your children from the first days of life.

How many times a day does a baby poop?

Of course, first of all, it’s worth figuring out how many times a baby should poop at 2 months. The question is very difficult - it is impossible to give a definite answer here. This is influenced by a really large number of factors: the presence of healthy sleep, the psychological climate in the family, the mother’s nutrition, the presence of pathologies of pregnancy and childbirth. Therefore, the spread can be very large - from 10–12 times a day to once every two or three days.

The main thing here is not to panic. Already by the 5th–7th day of life, the child develops a certain rhythm. It is not at all difficult to notice his mother spending whole days with him. After observing the regularity of bowel movements for a week or two, she already knows how many times the child should poop. Up to 2 months the picture remains approximately the same - of course, in the absence of any diseases. Natural changes occur gradually. At 2–4 months, your baby will poop 3–6 times a day. Every six months - about 2-3 times. And per year this figure will be reduced to 1–2. Throughout this time, the number of “sessions” changes smoothly and gradually. Any sudden disruption, either downward or upward, should attract the attention of parents.

The initial period of defecation in newborns

There are several stages in the formation of normal stool in newborns. For example, immediately after birth, due to the fact that, while in the womb, the baby swallows a little amniotic fluid, which after birth is released along with meconium. The color of the baby's stool is dark, with a plasticine consistency. This, as a rule, lasts a day or two, while the baby experiences unpleasant sensations before the bowel movement; he may even start crying, while pushing. But this is not a rule, that is, sometimes these first times go quite unproblematically.

If in the future the baby receives the required amount of breast milk, and is fed properly, then the stool begins to change. Its consistency changes, streaks can already be observed in the excreted meconium, after a week the stool completely changes (liquefies) and acquires the yellowish color familiar to children.

Normal stool appearance

Young mothers should know that the baby’s stool, after a week, can be of different consistency, it is not always even uniform, its color is yellowish or shades of yellow. Sometimes, even due to the same amniotic fluid or some other minor reasons, the baby’s stool may be mixed with mucus, sometimes with lumps. This is all normal, and there is no need to be alarmed about this. Sometimes even, due to the immaturity of the liver enzyme system, the color of the stool may be greenish. In this case, you should not panic either.

There is also no need to worry about the frequency of bowel movements. It all depends on the baby’s physiology; this is an individual indicator for babies. You need to understand that the baby’s body is at the stage of formation, and the process of defecation is also at the same stage. If the baby does not have anxiety, there is no colic, the stool is at least rare, but at the same time of adequate consistency, then there is no reason to worry. You should only start to worry if the baby is allergic to something, then the mother should try to have the baby defecate at least once a day. If this does not happen, you should definitely consult a doctor.

Reasons for lack of stool, constipation

The cause of stool retention in children from one month to five months can also be of a psychological nature. In these cases, it is also necessary to consult a doctor. In newborns, constipation is also a problem. In them, this manifests itself not only in the form of delayed bowel movements, but also in the form of pea-shaped stools, dry consistency, and the process itself is difficult for the baby. The reason for this is poor nutrition, or the mother herself has some health problems, for example with the thyroid gland, and this is reflected in the milk, which in turn enters the baby’s body. This causes the reactions described above in the baby’s body.

If your long-awaited baby experiences some of the phenomena and reactions listed a little above, be sure to contact your pediatrician. Do not start self-treatment. It is better to check the baby’s well-being once again in order to avoid further negative consequences.