Green?

It isn't what you think. My 1 month old daughter is exclusively breastfed. Two evenings ago she began having very bright green bowel movements. As any parent can tell you, when you have an infant, you obsess more over what comes out of them than you would like to admit.

With breastfed babies, green can be normal or it can mean something else. It becomes a mystery to solve. Is there a frothiness to it in addition to the color? No...so it can't be a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. Is she moving her bowels more frequently, and is it more watery than normal (along with the green color)? Yes...it can be due to a virus, a bowel infection, stress, anxiety or a food intolerance.

But which is it?

I am a babywearer, so stress and anxiety is unlikely. I have not eaten any new foods, so food intolerance is not high on my list of suspects. The family has, however, had some sort of bug running through the house for about a week, so perhaps she has a virus or something like that.

She is not presenting with a fever, and is not dehydrated, so we'll watch her and take the advice of her pediatrition. She is much better off continuing to breastfeed than anything. She receives antibodies from my milk, as well as nourishment and a feeling of safety and security.

I love breastfeeding.