Question
The five-and-a-half-month-old baby has had frequent bowel movements at night for a week. The baby has been passing yellow stools at night for the past week, while always passing green stools during the day. The baby has been eating breast milk and carrot puree. What’s going on? The baby used to not have to urinate at night, but now it does every night.
Answer
There are several different reasons why a young infant might have green stools again. Breastfed infants can pass green stools. If the baby is feeding well and appears healthy overall, this can be considered ’normal’. The cause may be due to an incomplete intestinal function in young infants, which is a temporary condition that will improve as the baby grows. Some babies may pass green stools again if they are not well-fed; hunger can slow down intestinal movement, and the baby may cry and be restless, which can be distinguished from the above situation.