Urine or urination

The baby should urinate at least 4 to 6 times a day. Your urine output may change in hot weather or when you are sick. Urinating should not be painful. If you notice any symptoms of pain in your baby, you should consult your doctor or pediatrician. In a healthy child, the urine is yellow; if the baby is not drinking enough fluid, the urine will be more concentrated.

The presence of blood stains or changes in urine color is not normal; the pediatrician should be consulted immediately.

Depositions

The first bowel movements of a newborn baby are called meconium and it is the substance that the baby had in his intestines before he was born. These stools are thick, black or dark green and disappear on the third or fourth day.

When the baby is breastfed, the stools are mustard yellow in color with the presence of seed-like balls. Its consistency is soft liquid until the baby begins to eat other foods. If he is formula-fed, his stools are yellow-brown and a little firmer.

If the stool of a baby who is only fed milk is hard or drier, it may be a sign that he is not receiving enough fluid, or that he is losing fluid due to illness, fever, or heat. You should consult your doctor or pediatrician.

In a breastfed baby from 3 to 6 weeks, it is normal for several days to go by without having a bowel movement. This is not considered a symptom of constipation if the consistency is soft. It is considered abnormal if more than a week passes without producing bowel movements.

If your baby is formula-fed, he or she should produce at least one bowel movement per day. If this does not occur and the baby has to strain to produce bowel movements, constipation may occur.

Once complementary feeding begins, stools change color and consistency and cases of constipation may occur depending on the type of food you are consuming.

When to consult the doctor or pediatrician?

• If there are large amounts of blood or mucus in the stool.
• If the stools are a little more liquid and there is a sudden increase in frequency (the baby may have diarrhea).
• In case of constipation.