What are normal bowel movements for formula-fed babies?
Parents spend a lot of time wondering and worrying about whether their infant’s bowel movements are “normal.” In fact, there’s really no such thing. Babies’ bowel habits are as individual as they are, and over time you’ll get to know your baby’s routine. That said, there is a typical pattern to look for in any baby’s bowel habits. During the first few days of life, your baby will pass meconium, the thick, black or dark green substance that was in his intestines before he was born. Once the meconium has passed, the bowel movements of a formula-fed baby are typically yellow, tan, brown, or green. As long as there isn’t blood in the stool, any color is normal. A formula-fed baby’s stool is a little bit firmer than a breastfed baby’s, about the consistency of peanut butter. If it’s much harder than that, it may be a sign of constipation, and you should tell your pediatrician. If you’re worried about constipation and your baby is younger than 4 months old, don’t feed him anything other than
