When I was a new mom and brought my daughter home from the hospital, I knew nothing. If you follow me, you’ve heard me say this before and it’s the absolute truth.

I was a nursing mom and it worked out for me and I’m thankful. I know it doesn’t work for everyone nor does everyone want to nurse. Mamas, do you.

Each time I nursed my daughter she pooped. And I’m not talking little poop I’m talking BIG poop. 75% of the time the poop went up her back and I had to change her clothes. This meant I was changing her clothes like five times a day. Seriously.

One day in her first two weeks of life, I remember she was particularly cranky and she hadn’t pooped all day. By midafternoon, I was a bit concerned. She was grumpy and she hadn’t pooped when my normal experience (of 10 days) was her pooping eight times a day.

I called the doctor’s office in a bit of a panic and talked to one of the nurses. I explained the situation. What happened next was a bit unsettling.

The nurse I was speaking to, using a bit of a stern voice, told me it was completely normal for babies not to poop and sometimes babies would go a whole week without pooping.

I listened to her. I felt ashamed that I even called, AND there was this part of me that thought yeah but “We’re talking about my baby and I know my baby better than anyone. This isn’t normal.”

I really was calling the doctor’s office to see if there were things that I could do. I was hoping that they could point me in a direction where I could take action and help my daughter.

Now I know countless tools to turn to if I were in the same situation.  At that point though I still knew nothing.

I called my friend Toni who was a nurse from Germany, and regularly turned to home remedies that have been passed from generation to generation in her country and in her family. She told me to put backstrap molasses and some of my breastmilk in a bottle and to feed it to my daughter.

I remember hearing her words and I remember asking her, “Are you sure it’s OK to do that? Are you sure I’m not going to break her?”

Finally in desperation, and still feeling scared about it, I did as she suggested. My baby gobbled it up, without hesitation I might add. And within an hour, you guessed it she pooped, AND pooped big.

She’s 22 now I definitely did not break her,  AND, I sure wish this remedy was common knowledge and not something I had to search for.

So, mamas – that’s why I do what I do. I want to share what I’ve learned over the years in taking care of my kids so you can take care of your kids without guilt, shame, compromise, or confusion. I want you to be able to mom, without learning things the hard way. I want you to follow me so I can redeem all the things I learned the hard way. AND I want to know how things work out for you.

Additional things that I’ve learned that can help if poop is too fast or too slow or things like this:

• You can do a baby massage and rotate over the tummy and a clockwise pattern.
• You can also do some lower body exercise. With your baby laying on her back, grab her little feet and push her little knees up and pull them down and pretend that you’re making her legs run. This is going to actually be fun and you might laugh a little bit.
• We use doTERRA DigestZen, when things are too fast are too slow. For babies, I would definitely dilute it in a carrier oil and apply it to the bottom of the feet and also in a circular clockwise motion over the tummy.
• Brew fennel tea and feed this to baby in between feedings.
• A warm bath can help relax the muscles and may promote bowel movements in infants.