Question
The two-and-a-half-month-old baby has been passing stools with yellow fluid consistently. Apart from the stools being thicker and occurring about ten times a day, the baby is also in good spirits and urination is normal. Is this a case of vomiting and loss of appetite? Shouldn’t normal stools be soft, yellow paste-like? This has been the baby’s stool pattern for one and a half months. Past Treatment and Effectiveness: No treatment has been administered. Assistance Needed: What are the calming methods? How can we predict the baby’s vomiting and loss of appetite?
Answer
Newborns’ stools are usually yellow or golden in color, uniform and soft paste-like, without any odor, and occur more frequently, about 2 to 4 times a day, with some even reaching 7 to 8 times. This condition is known as physiological diarrhea. Parents do not need to worry; this is a normal phenomenon that will disappear as the baby grows to a certain stage. Babies fed primarily on milk tend to have fewer stools, about 1 to 2 times a day, with a slight odor.