10 Week Old with Green Poo. Is That Normal?

Updated on September 22, 2008
A.L. asks from San Mateo, CA
23 answers

My 10 week old son has been breast and formula fed since he was born. The past week his stools have been a soupy green. He doesn't have a fever and otherwise seems fine. I know formula can make poo green, but he's taken formula for a while now and all of a sudden this is happening. Has this happened to anyone else?

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E.E.

answers from San Francisco on

It happened to us around that age, too. He had blood in his stool and it was mucousy at first. Then it was just green for a couple weeks. The docs tested his stool for everything but all was normal. He just had a stomach bug and it went away eventually.

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E.G.

answers from San Francisco on

A.,
My son is 6 months old and has only been breast fed. He has had some green stools on and off since he was born. I think it just depends on what I eat, or if his digestive system is going through a change. I have not noticed any change in my son's health or mood when he has green stools. I hope this helps!

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T.P.

answers from Sacramento on

Same thing happened to me with my little one around this time. She was exclusively breast fed and the combo of green and soupy turned out to be allergies and lactose intollerance. When seeing the lactation consultant, her first recommendation was to cut out all dairy - 100%. That helped a little but I still noticed some green tint and she would fuss at the breast at times. Turned out soy (which too often is a replacement for dairy) was another problem for her. I ended up going off all high allergins and discovered it was wheat, soy, and dairy. Once this was all out of my diet she completely changed in eating temperment and stool. :) By the way, I always ate a lot of green foods and it never changed her stool to the green and soupy it was when she had before. hope this helps.

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P.G.

answers from Modesto on

Before you get all worried about yours son's green poop watery like that- relax and thing about how you are feeding him, are you nursing him 2x a day, then bottle feed the 2x a day or did something change in his pattern- this can just be something he is reacting too.. my son was an exclusive nursed baby, both were, and I went thru this as well. At first I freaked out, then after all the protocol of seeing his doc and worrying- was ALL FOR NOTHING.. i started noticing the change and responded well with consistency and wha-la the child was back to "normal" with pooping anyways.. Hope this helps, and like I always say.. this too shall pass.

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S.E.

answers from San Francisco on

I'd create a log of feeding times and dirty diapers-think back as best you can to the start of the greens. Then call the dr. and ask about it. It never hurts to ask.
s

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N.K.

answers from San Francisco on

Green poo is very normal. Take a look at this site that has a poop color decoder.

http://www.squidoo.com/babypoop

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N.D.

answers from San Francisco on

It is not considered "the Norm" I have been told by other mothers that it is diahrrea, so to be careful of dehydration. (though my babies never had an issue with dehydration when they had green poop) Advice from our pediatrician indicated that it could be a sign that the baby is fighting off a mild virus. With that he said there really isn't anything to do to treat unless it becomes worse or continues more than a week to ten days. Again the recommendation is to be careful of dehydration. Checking for temperatures etc.
I didn't supplement water at that age....but I know other mothers do. Just need to trust your mommy instincts on your best course of action.
Congrats on your new baby!

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K.W.

answers from San Francisco on

My son's was a BIRGHT crazy YELLOW when he was berastfed only and when we started to introduce the formula it turned a weird green color too.......it might just be his system adjusting, taking what it needs and getting rid of the rest.

I wouldn't be too worried, but if it's bothering you, I would talk to you dr. maybe take a photo to shwo them ha ha

NEVER in all of my days did I think I would suggest to someone to take photo's of their childs poo ha ha.

-K.

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A.C.

answers from San Francisco on

My daughter is on formula and breastmilk. I notice that her poops are yellow, except on days when she gets less breastmilk (when they turn greenish). The pediatrician said it is the iron in the formula and it is normal.

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S.B.

answers from San Francisco on

If I remember correctly, green poo is an indication that your baby is sick. My son had green poo when he was 4 months old. I took him to the doctor, and after testing his stool, we found out there was blood in it, possibly due to a food allergy. I stopped eating ALL known allergins (since I was still nursing him), like dairy, wheat, and soy. We even saw a pediatric gastroenterologist. After a few months, his stool returned to normal. Your son may not have the same cause, but I highly recommend you see his pediatrician because this is not normal. Good luck!

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A.C.

answers from Sacramento on

my pediatrician reccomended probiotics. if you formula feed sometimes, carnation goodstart has it in the green can. you can also buy it in the refrig. secion of wholefoods, "primadophilous for children." It is like the good cultures found in yogurt and is supposed to improve digestion.

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D.T.

answers from San Francisco on

This happened to my baby too and he was exclusively breast fed. It means there are bile salts coming out in his poop. Meaning - his food is moving through him fast. Go to www.kellymom.com and do a search it will tell you more. Just watch for blood. Try to give him more breast milk in place of formula. His digestive system is still immature and this can happen. He could also be getting too much foremilk and not enough of the higher fat hindmilk. Make sure he empties one breast fully before switching sides. Congratulations on your new love!

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L.M.

answers from Sacramento on

Green poop is normal at this age. I have been giving pediatric advice for years and I know that the colors of "FALL" are normal. Sometimes when it is green it means that they are digesting the "milk" faster than normal so he might be ready to increase the amount in his feedings. Over the first 6 months babies digestive systems change many times so you will notice other changes in color and consistency as he grows. Any dark stool should be checked, it usually will look pretty black, that could be a sign of blood in the stool. Take Care.

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L.E.

answers from Sacramento on

I had the same experience at that age. My mother-law said that green poo was a sign of gas. I asked the doc and he said it is totally normal and not to worry about it. They moved back toward yellow at 12-15 weeks. (baby is now 5 months and is entirely fed breastmilk)

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B.M.

answers from Salinas on

I just had a poop conversation with the pediatrician last week about poop color. Call the dr if it is bloody, black or white. Green is pretty normal for a baby thats a few weeks old. It took a long time for my daughters poop to turn the yellow seedy color.

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R.V.

answers from San Francisco on

Is it possibly something your eating? Alot of salad maybe or green beans. I'd run it by the doctor too. Oh by the way, congradulations on your baby.

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D.V.

answers from San Francisco on

For breast fed babies green poo can be the result of more foremilk and less hindmilk. This means more of the earlier milk and less of the later milk. If you are alternating sides during a fed try leaving your kiddo on one side for a longer period of time. The hindmilk is the higher in fat and more "filling" breastmilk.

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B.S.

answers from Sacramento on

Green poo is very normal in babies, there is nothing to worry about.

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C.S.

answers from San Francisco on

Like the other posters said, it could be something you ate or he could be sick. But this happened to one of my kids when I made a change in vitamins and herbs I was taking.
Good luck,
C.

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M.E.

answers from San Francisco on

This happened to me when ever I ate spinich or peas and it would last a couple days after I ate those foods. Keeping a food log is good though. And it never hurts to ask your doctor too, but he may ask you what you've been eating. You just have to remember that what you eat gets past on to the baby one way or another.

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J.R.

answers from Redding on

Hello A.,

I agree with Tina and Sonny . . . my son had green poo as well and cutting my dairy consumption helped a lot (he is exclusively breasfed). There is a section in the book "Baby Matters" that talks about food allergies and the effects on babies. Quite interesting. The big picture is that if your baby has a food allergy, the food (whether you or the baby eats it) causes some changes in the way the intestine will behave. The intestine may be more permeable to the (for example) dairy protein and the food may go through the intestine more quickly and hence the green poo. Several babies may be affected by, for example, dairy products since it is not human milk and thus it is believe that green poo is normal. Hope this help!! By the way, stopping my dairy consumption surprisingly had very positive effects on myself as well.

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T.S.

answers from Sacramento on

When my son was an infant the nurse said that the green could come from me consuming cafine. If you've been drinking coffee or eating chocolate, that could be it. Even now, my son's poop turns green when he eats a lot of berries (blueberries in particular)! It's certainly nothing to worry about.

Continue enjoying motherhood!

T.

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A.C.

answers from San Francisco on

Normal, normal, normal. I would not worry. I have 4 kids 6 and under and they all had green bm's at some point.

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