Diarrhea in breastfed baby?

Question

My daughter is 3 weeks old and for the past few days, I noticed her stools were getting runnier...they were a thick kind of watery and they still had little chunks in it so I wasn't too worried, then her p**p went back to the soft, yellow mushy stuff it had been for a day. Now... its more runny... it still has little chunks in it but seems runnier.... it doesn't happen all the time because sometimes I find it is more formed than others. Is this normal? Sometimes, the p**p looks like its really watery urine.. The doctor said that breastfed babies to have diarrhea is not that common and that she is growing well so shes not concerned... just wondering if anyone has had this experience?

How am I supposed to know when its diarrhea?

Oh, and all her p**p smells the same..

Answer 1

http://www.mother-2-mother.com/normal.ht...

These liquid stools are not diarrhea. Diarrhea in the breastfed baby is rare. A baby who has diarrhea would have stools that are very frequent, usually green and full of mucus (and/or specks of blood), and almost always foul smelling.

http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/p...

Frequent Watery Stool often "Greener" than usual

How can you spot diarrhea in a baby who has loose frequent stools every day?  This type of p**p is "diarrhea" in a breastfed baby.  It can be due to a virus, a bowel infection, stress, anxiety or a food intolerance.

Green, frothy stools

This can be a result of a hindmilk/foremilk imbalance. A true imbalance is rare. It is often seen accompanying a forceful letdown. Lactation consultants will help moms find a nursing pattern which works to combat this problem.  If letdown it too forceful in the early weeks, the solution can be to allow milk to leak into a cloth diaper during letdown, then latch baby back on.  Feeding two to three times off the same side may also show improvement. Caution should be used with same side feeding as it can decrease supply.

Green, mucousy stool

This can be a result of a virus. Often the only sign we see of a virus is in the green stool. This is evidence of malabsorption in the intestines. Watch for how many days and with what consistency it is occurring. With a virus, it will run its course over a few days and begin to improve.

Another cause of malabsorption in the intestines can be teething. The profuse saliva of a teething baby can cause irritation in the intestines interfering with proper absorption.  When babies teethe, we can see lots of drooling.  Large quantities of saliva is swallowed which can irritate the intestines causing runny, acidic stools. This can also cause a rash in the diaper area.  

Answer 2

if your baby is exclusively breastfed, this is totally normal, nothing to worry about... an exclusively breastfed baby will neither have diarrhea nor constipation :)

Answer 3

It sounds pretty normal to me.  Diarrhea is determined by the frequency...so if she starts going a lot more frequently and it is really watery, you'll know it is diarrhea.

Answer 4

Well when my daughter was that age I did breastfed, and she also had the stoles that you are describing. I know doctors have their own opinions. But this is just something I believe. When we breastfed our babies their bowl movements are runny. There is no way to get around that. So don't worry to much. If she is still eating and digesting everything. (Not throwing it up) She should be just fine.

Answer 5

its not diarrhea. breastfed babies have very liquidy p**p. my baby is almost 9 months and just starting to have thicker, peanut buttery p**p (sorry if TMI) because she has been eating more food.  

Answer 6

an advice nurse told me that what is diahrreah in adults is actually normal in young infants esp. breastfed ones. Breastfed babies tend to have runny p**p even with seeds in them and can be anywhere from dark brown or green to light yellow. My baby is almost 8 weeks and she still has runny bowel movements everyday at leastn once usually twice and shes breastfed too and also fed formula. and shes evry healthy and growing very well. so dont worry it sounds normal esp for a infant that young who is breastfed.

Answer 7

It would be really unusual to have diarrhea in a breastfed baby unless she was really ill.  And if it was diarrhea, you'd notice a very distinctly different (foul) smell!!

Sounds like pretty normal baby p**p to me.  The changes in consistency can be chalked up to her swallowing more saliva, or getting more foremilk/hindmilk to whatever you are eating in your diet.

Congrats on your new baby!!

Answer 8

That sounds like normal breastfed baby p**p to me.