Here it is. The moment we’ve all been waiting for. The day you finally get to bring your baby home after waiting for what probably seemed like the longest 9 months ever! With baby donned in their ‘coming home from the hospital outfit’, and your car seat safely installed the way you practiced a hundred times, you are finally en route to home sweet home.
I’m sure you’ve imagined those first few moments at home with baby to be magic. Maybe you’ve even fantasized about bonding with your baby, skin-to-skin, in the comfort of your own bed, or having guests over to whisper sweet nothings to your newest addition as they meet for first time.
Here at Northeast Doulas we are here to tell you what nobody else will.
Bringing home baby kinda stinks.
Babies are notorious for throwing parents off with their digestive systems.
We’ll start with gas.
Many parents know to expect an influx of gas when baby is earth side. However, most parents are not educated on the why behind it. So we’ll start with that.
As with all gas, the cause is linked to too much air intake. It is normal for infants and newborns to consume lots of air while learning how to breastfeed OR bottle feed.
You can try to avoid this by keeping the baby’s head higher than the baby’s stomach during feeding. You can also tilt the bottle upwards and use a nursing pillow for extra support if necessary.
To help baby with the discomfort that gas brings, try laying baby down on his or her back and massage their tummy. In this same position you can hold on to baby’s feet and move their legs in circles as if they were riding a bike. This can help coax the gas out of their system.
There are also a variety of remedies you may consult with your doctor about to help provide your little one some relief.
From gas, we move on to bigger, stinkier, things… the inaugural diaper change.
You may be surprised when you open up your babies first diaper and find a tarry, black, motor oil like substance staring back at you.
DO NOT PANIC. This is called Meconium.
Meconium is the earliest stool of an infant mammal. Unlike later feces, meconium is composed of materials ingested during the time the infant spends in the uterus: intestinal epithelial cells, lanugo, mucus, amniotic fluid, bile, and water.
If you have questions about your baby’s intake, their diaper is full of answers. The poop of a breastfed newborn comes in various textures and colors based on days of life and the make up of the produced milk. ProDoula offer’s a Laminated Breastfeeding Poop Chart that indicates what breastfed infant stool should look like and can help reduce cause for alarm.
There is a strong chance that your baby’s diaper will continue to surprise you until they begin having normal bowel movements.
If you’re looking to get even more of the ‘Scoop on the Poop’, be sure to consult with your pediatrician.
