11x11”

Your baby's sucking muscles are now strong, they are ready to nurse! Your baby is also swallowing amniotic fluid which will become meconium, your baby's first stool (poop). Meconium is brownish/blackish/greenish in color and has a tarry consistency. It is thought that meconium is sterile (does not contain beneficial or harmful microbes) because the baby hasn't been exposed to them through the vaginal canal or through breastmilk. Meconium is like a "placeholder," holding the bowels open as they develop.