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I think there's a lot of variability to newborn poop. If she's happy, eating and sleeping well, not gassy, and not in distress, it is very, VERY, likely that everything is fine.

@SeptMomma12: Correct. We eliminiated dairy and soy and her symptoms improved but didn't get totally better. When we eliminated the additional items she was symptom free for the most part (we would see mucus every now and then but probably because I ate something on the bad list unknowingly)

Yes but I didn't realize it until my LO had blood in his diaper. I thought he just had normal baby gas ! I cut dairy and soy and saw a drastic change. I slowly added soy back but kept away from dairy until I weaned.

Like @Baby Boy Mom:, my LOs improved when I eliminated dairy - as in, the colicky spells decreased, the blowouts reduced, sleep got marginally better, congestion cleared up somewhat - but it wasn't until I eliminated soy as well that things really became normal. They still had reflux, congestion, mucousy poop, and extreme crying spells with soy in my diet.

I switched to hypoallergenic formula in the end. I wasn't committed enough to stick with that MSPI bfing diet for the long haul, and I just wanted them to feel better immediately (which they did - like night and day). I don't have any regrets, although it was a hard decision to make at the time. Do what feels right for you!

@SeptMomma12: I eliminated everything and read the ingredient list on EVERYTHING. It sucks. In hindsight, I would have maybe just eliminated the big things (milk, cheese, etc) and see how that goes. The positive is that you lose your baby weight pretty quickly! I saw such a drastic change in my LO that it was kind of a no-brainer for me, though. I could tell he felt so much better when I changed my diet.

some of my go-to meals:
smoothies made with coconut milk
no bake energy balls (recipe is all over internet!)
salads with avocado, grilled chicken, veggies, and a balsamic dressing
OREOS! they are diary and soy free!
Lots of fresh fruit and grilled vegetables

You kind of get the hang of it after a while!

My intuition was correct, but LOs stools tested positive for blood, so that was also a dead giveaway. It wasn't visible to the eye at first, so you should take a poopy diaper to your doctor for a test anyway--they just take a smear of poop from the diaper in a couple of places and put it on a little test pad and wait a minute or two--then it tells you if there's blood present. Easy peasy and just takes a sec.

After that, I eliminated all dairy and soy 100% at the same time, because my LO had a really bad feeding aversion at that point and I was desperate to try anything. You have to read labels because EVERYTHING has soy in it. Then after I'd done that a few weeks, I added a few things back in to see if LO had a reaction--which she did--so then I eliminated them again.

She couldn't have dairy or soy, even soy lecithin (which some babies can tolerate) until she was well after a year old. Somewhere around 14-15 months she was able to tolerate soy oil and lecithin. Now, she can even have small amounts of soy protein, but dairy proteins still made her have really bad eczema flare ups, so we continue to stay away now at age 2.

I didn't stop EPing, but I'll warn you, it's very very frustrating at first because I was used to eating so many packaged foods and honestly, almost all packaged foods have either dairy or soy. But once I found my "safe foods"--and I found a lot---I got used to it and honestly, didn't feel deprived at all.

I didn't even lose weight--I found that many substitutes that were dairy and soy free. Trader Joe's has a tons of stuff, as does Whole Foods.

@beloved: I'm pretty sure on the day I weaned I ate an entire pizza, a carton of ice cream, and cake. No shame!

@Truth Bombs: I found out that Papa John's pizza can be ordered without cheese, and their crust, sausage, and veggies toppings are all totally dairy and soy free (no fillers).

I had MANY parties where my friends were eating pizza and I ordered my own cheese-free Papa Johns.

I have an entire mental list of fast food I could eat that was dairy/soy free. I have a knack for finding unhealthy MSPI friendly foods.

@Anagram: I was gluten free too and gluten free soy free dairy free pizza just isn't pizza any more in my mind! HA!

LO had some mucous-y stools and sometimes they would be green. She was also colicky/gassy. She was breastfed but we also supplemented with formula so it was hard to know what was the culprit. I never did an elimination diet because I felt like unless we also switched to a hypoallergenic formula in conjunction it wouldn't matter. Our pediatrician did not think it was MSPI because he said her symptoms would be a lot more severe.

Ultimately we tried a few different formulas and she did really well with Similac Total Comfort so we stuck with that (plus breastfeeding with me eating a typical diet) and her diapers and gas improved. If it were MSPI it wouldn't have helped because it is a dairy based formula but it is gentler. When she started solids, she did totally fine with dairy and at 11 months we introduced cow's milk with no issues. Though she does have eczema and I have wondered if any dietary sensitivities affect it. We've never done an elimination diet though because she has not had really severe flare ups really until recently. We are going to the doctor tomorrow for her eczema (our third pediatrician - we have had a hard time finding one we love!) and I am going to ask about allergy testing.

Yes, unfortunately. We were diagnosed after I had already eliminated and tried to reintroduce. DD was 8 weeks old when all hell broke loose, and I was desperate to try anything I could think of. You mention that your LO is congested, yes? That was actually the symptom that pushed me over to go dairy-free. She had mucousy poops and cried a ton, but once she also had a stuffy nose that would not quit, I knew it was time. My Lo also has reflux, but it was the combination of the Zantac and eliminating (first dairy, then soy, then beef, then wheat) that did it for us.

I was scared to dive in at first, but I promise, it helps. And at the very least, it won't hurt. If you're willing, I say go for it, and see what happens.

@SeptMomma12: yes I had to eliminate everything. I was bummed about cheese for a few weeks but honestly it wasn't that bad once I got used to it. My favorite replacements were avocado and coconut milk depending on the circumstance.

@SeptMomma12: I will second those who say if she's happy then don't worry. Weird diapers can have lots of explanations and even when my son had blood in his diaper, his GI was not convinced that eliminating foods was necessary because he was happy and growing and otherwise fine. It sounds like you can feel good about doing what you're doing.

Also agree if she is happy, eating, and not puking--- I wouldn't worry about the poop unless you saw blood. My LO has (had? Not sure we're working on it) MSPI and her biggest symptom was complete refusal to eat.

I did give up breastfeeding shortly after the diagnosis but that was sort of just one factor. I always had crappy supply despite a lot of effort and was pumping about 18 oz/day (I was EP'ing) and she was eating around 20-28oz/day so it seemed worth it to me to do the elimination diet. After a few weeks though (which sucked because I'm a really picky eater!) she hit the 4mo sleep regression and with my lack of sleeping my supply tanked to 10oz/day. Since I'd be making only 1/3-1/2 of her needed milk per day it just didn't seem worth all the effort to do the elimination diet for so little milk.

@SeptMomma12: in our case, I was referred to a GI because eliminating hasn't helped the blood in his disper after a week or two. My sons ped wanted him checked out. The GI was unconcerned based on a number of factors but we had regular blood draws to make sure his counts were ok. But also his GI mentioned that there is a lot of disagreement in the field on whether blood in a diaper is serious or not; in our case, we decided to monitor rather than eliminate further. And then his diapers cleared up after another week or so. I have never known whether it was a food intolerance or something else. Looking back, I wonder if it wasn't a lot of stress for nothing in our case.

@Adira: Sickness is really the only "normal" cause of mucus in the stool and the OP said that her daughter's congestion had cleared with the Zantac but the mucus in the stool has continued. If it's an ongoing thing and not just a very rare occurance there's likely something more happening than being sick. Didn't your son turn out to have a milk allergy? If he regularly had mucus in his stool its quite possible that for him, that was the only reaction he had to dairy in your diet. I don't think the OP should do anything until she speaks with her doctor but I also just didn't feel it was good advice for people to tell her that as long as the baby isn't screaming all the time, there's no need to investigate further.

@Truth Bombs: Sickness and swallowing saliva can both cause mucus in the diaper. And based on the picture she posted, it wasn't very much mucus at all. She mentioned there was more yesterday, but with no other symptoms, I really don't think she needs to be worried. Obviously mentioning it to her pediatrician is always a good idea, but I don't think any of us should be convincing her that her child probably has food allergies or an intolerance.

Both my children have allergies. With Xander, he's allergic to milk and rarely (if ever) had mucus in his diaper. He was always a happy contented baby who slept well and didn't fuss much. His allergist did not suggest I remove milk from my diet, despite him being allergic to it and me breastfeeding. If anything, he thought it could help him build up a tolerance and obviously wasn't hurting him any. My other son, Logan, is allergic to peanuts, but the only time he's had mucus in his diaper was when he was sick and congested. Otherwise, my ingestion of peanuts and breastfeeding him doesn't seem to bother him one bit.

I'm not trying to tell the OP she shouldn't investigate anything, especially if her mommy gut is telling her something is up. BUT I don't think she needs to be as worried as she seems to be and I don't think she needs any more encouragement to make her more worried! Her baby is happy and healthy. She should bring up her concerns with her pediatrician.

Sometimes I think people can get a little too carried away with Dr. Google and getting feedback from Hellobee. Hopefully the OP's pediatrician will help alleviate her concerns or investigate further if necessary!