What is the normal bowel movement for a breastfed baby? Do breastfed babies need calcium supplements?

As long as the breastfed baby is fed properly, they will generally not suffer from malnutrition. The baby's physical condition can be seen from the baby's stool. So, what is the normal stool of a breastfed baby? Do breastfed babies need calcium supplements?

What is normal bowel movement for breastfed babies?

The baby's health can be seen from his stool, but the stool of breastfed babies is different from that of formula-fed babies. The following editor will introduce to you what the normal stool of a breastfed baby looks like and what the stool of a formula-fed baby looks like.

Normal stool shape and frequency

The stool of a breastfed baby is golden yellow, occasionally slightly green and relatively thin; or ointment-like, uniform, sour and without foam. Usually, the number of bowel movements is more frequent during the neonatal period, generally 2-5 times a day, but some babies have 7-8 bowel movements a day. As the child grows older, the number of bowel movements will gradually decrease, and after 2-3 months, the number of bowel movements will decrease to 1-2 times a day. Therefore, if a breastfed baby has thinner stools and more frequent stools, parents do not need to worry as long as the baby is in good spirits, is feeding well, and has normal height and weight growth.

If the baby is fed formula, the stool is usually light yellow or earthy yellow, dry, rough, like a hard paste, and often has an unpleasant fecal odor. If the milk contains a lot of sugar, the stool may become soft and have a slightly corrupt odor, and the amount of stool is also larger each time. Sometimes the stool is mixed with grayish white "milk curds".

Don't compare with other children, because each child has his or her own growth trajectory, and different children have different bowel movements. But if you usually only have 1-2 bowel movements a day, and suddenly increase to 5-6 times, you should consider whether you are sick.

How to tell your baby's health from his stool

When breastfeeding, careful parents can understand the quality of breast milk and whether the mother's nutrition is appropriate by observing the newborn's stool, so as to adjust the diet structure and breastfeed scientifically. For example:

If the feces of newborns are yellow, and the feces and water are separated, and the frequency of bowel movements increases, it means that the newborns have indigestion, indicating that the breast milk contains too much sugar. Because excessive fermentation of sugar causes newborns to have intestinal bloating, foamy stools, and a strong sour taste, mothers should limit their sugar intake and appropriately control their starch intake.

When there is too much fat in breast milk, the newborn will have more frequent bowel movements and undigested food in the stool. At this time, you can shorten the time of each feeding and let the baby eat the first half of the breast milk. This is because the first half of breast milk has more protein, is easy to digest, and is rich in nutrition, while the second half has more fat and is difficult to digest. If necessary, the mother can drink a large glass of light salt water half an hour to an hour before feeding to dilute the breast milk, and then breastfeed the child.

When there is too much protein in breast milk or the protein is not digested well, the newborn's stool will have hard lumps and a foul odor like rotten eggs. At this time, the mother should pay attention to limiting the intake of foods with high protein content such as eggs, lean meat, soy products, and milk.

When breastfeeding is insufficient, the stool is green, small in volume, frequent, and green and mucous, and the newborn often cries because of hunger. In this case, the stool can return to normal as long as the baby is fed enough.

When the intestines are infected, the stool will be loose or watery with mucus, and have a fishy purulent smell. At this time, you need to take your baby to the hospital for treatment.

In short, mothers should carefully observe the physical changes of their babies, and if any abnormalities are found, the causes should be found out in time.

Abnormal bowel movements

If your stool has the following conditions, it is considered abnormal and should be taken seriously, and you should consult a doctor as soon as possible:

① The stool is yellow watery, egg drop soup-like, or green watery;

② The stool contains mucus, pus and blood;

③There is blood on the surface of the stool;

④The stool is jam-like or tar-like;

⑤ The stool is lime-like, or light yellow, shiny, and can slide up and down in the toilet bowl.

Do breastfed babies need calcium supplements?

Breastfeeding is a more scientific and traditional way of feeding. Many parents are worried that breastfed babies will be calcium deficient and affect their growth and development, so they want to supplement calcium for their babies. So do breastfed babies need calcium supplements? What are the symptoms of calcium deficiency in babies? The following will answer these questions for you.

No calcium supplement required

Breastfed babies generally do not need calcium supplements because breast milk is rich in calcium, so breastfed babies rarely have calcium deficiency. This type of situation where calcium supplementation is not needed is mainly for full-term babies under six months old who are exclusively breastfed, and the premise is that the mother is not calcium deficient. If the mother is calcium deficient, the breastfed baby is also prone to calcium deficiency. Therefore, mothers should supplement calcium appropriately during pregnancy and lactation to avoid calcium deficiency in the baby.

Symptoms of calcium deficiency

There are many symptoms of calcium deficiency in babies. Symptom 1: Difficulty falling asleep, shallow sleep, easy to wake up, often restless, crying for no reason. Symptom 2: Easy to sweat, even if the temperature is low, you will sweat a lot. Symptom 3: Hair grows sparsely, yellowish, easy to fall out, and often has baldness on the back of the head. Symptom 4: Teething comes late and the teeth grow slowly. Symptom 5: Reticence, dull behavior, body movements and language skills are worse than those of children of the same age.

Do breastfed babies need calcium supplements? Generally speaking, babies under six months old who are exclusively breastfed do not need calcium supplements, because breast milk has a high calcium content and can meet the baby's calcium needs. If the baby shows symptoms of calcium deficiency, parents must pay attention to it. In order for the child to grow and develop normally, calcium supplements should be given in time when the child is calcium deficient.