Right, so yesterday we looked at why your baby would arch backwards during the feed as well as in between feeds. Today, I want to look at the other end and discuss why your baby will pull his or her legs up.
When your baby is lying on his or her back with legs out stretched, the rectum is curled up, so will not allow anything to pass into the baby’s nappy/diaper.
However, when your baby pulls his or her legs up or when you are changing baby’s nappy/diaper and pull the legs up, the rectum is straight, so anything waiting to pop out will do so – which is why new moms are often surprised with a projectile poo! 
The long and short of this story, is that your baby will pull up his or her legs when experiencing a cramp in the gut, often caused by trapped wind or if your baby needs to have a bowel movement or is suffering constipation.
Babies will often fill their nappies during a feed in the first 3-4 weeks. This is a natural reaction as the milk that your baby takes in during a feed, nudges waste from previous feeds out, shortly after the baby begins to feed.
If your baby is passing less than 12 bowel movements in a day and the stool is yellow and of a runny consistancy, your baby is fine – not suffering from diarrhoea. However, if your baby’s stools change to a spinach green colour and is presenting with clear mucus blobs, you should be aware that your baby’s gut or intestine is being irritated and need to take action.
Spinach green poos will tell you that your baby is either suffering a fore milk -hind milk imbalance or that your baby is suffering a viral infection or possibly even reaction to your diet.
**This is not applicable to babies younger than 10 days as baby’s poo will naturally graduate from black to green to brown to yellow by day 8-10**
I was going to cover both ends together tomorrow – but I know you are bright enough to put the two together – so we will look at something else instead.
Hope this helps!
Much love for now,
Geraldine
