For my daughter, pooping ain't easy. At her four-month check up, we received the green light from our pediatrician to introduce soft solids. She said our baby could eat avocados, oatmeal and sweet potatoes. She forgot to tell us after introducing foods, your baby will most likely become constipated...
For my daughter, pooping ain’t easy. At her four-month check up, we received the green light from our pediatrician to introduce soft solids. She said our baby could eat avocados, oatmeal and sweet potatoes. She forgot to tell us after introducing foods, your baby will most likely become constipated. Well, we had been down this road before. A few days after our baby came home, we were nervous wrecks because since we left the hospital, she hadn’t had a poop. By day four of her life, she should’ve had six to eight wet diapers and one or two soiled diapers. We were good on wet, nothing on soil. To get things moving, my mother massaged my baby’s stomach, my Big Momma suggested rubbing her down with olive oil, but our doc said wait. If she doesn’t go after the seventh day, call her. The thought of possibly going to the seventh day was wrenching. So we listened to Big Momma and doused her with olive oil, especially on her bottom. Within a few hours, our daughter had enough poop for all of us. We felt like throwing a party. It was too early in our newborn’s life to smile, but you could see the joy in her eyes. She was poopalicious. What’s so funny about all of this is I have vivid memories of my mother telling me how important is it to “use the bathroom.” As a child, I hated it, especially if I had to “use it” in public. Forget it. I’d hold it for hours. Now with the thought of my daughter not “using it” regularly, I’m fearful of the damage affecting her little intestines. So I’ve decided to encourage her that poop is good, not embarrassing. We read “Everyone Poops.” I announce when I’m going to the bathroom in a happy voice “Mommy’s going to the potty!” I came up with a jingle: I like poop I like pee It’s diaper time with Jily! Baby Breaking News Alert! Her dad just text me–“we have poop!” What a relief! Tell me how you manage diaper duty. For more Baby on Board stories from Cori Murray, click here
