How To Deal With Baby Poop: What’s Normal

How To Deal With Baby Poop

There are few topics of conversation as frequent among parents of newborns as poop. The stools of newborns are often discussed in my office: how often, how much, what color, what consistency, what smell, and even how they feel.

Nevertheless, parents are wise to pay attention to the baby’s motion, even though they are obsessive about it. Stools provide useful information about the health of their baby.

It is important to remember that newborn poop varies significantly, not just from baby to baby but also from day to day within the same baby. 

Baby motion: Things to look out for

In general, all descriptions of baby poop will eventually be considered normal. It’s important to identify abnormal stool and reach out to your baby’s doctor about it. Let’s take a closer look at each of those characteristics.

1. Frequency

Parents emphasize this characteristic the most, and it is the most variable. My advice to parents is to not worry too much about how often their newborn poops, as long as the baby poop is soft and painless. No matter if they go seven times a day or once every seven days, it would be fine. It would be fine as long as the stool was soft and painless.

Although breast-fed babies tend to poop more frequently in their early days after birth, sometimes infrequent stools can occur even after breastfeeding. There is no need to change the mother’s diet or take therapeutic action on the baby if the infant is not in pain and the stool is soft.

2. Amount

Similarly, there is great variation in the amount of baby poop. Some rare disorders, however, can interfere with or prevent normal bowel movements. When a baby’s first stool passes very late, it may indicate that they have a health problem. You should notify your baby’s doctor if you notice this.

A baby’s motion volume is usually directly related to how much breast milk or formula he or she takes after the first few days. It’s important to remember that despite the fact that the amount in does not match the amount out, the bottom line is always growth. All is well if your baby is growing normally, seems content, does not have an ever-protruding abdomen, seems satisfied after eating, and appears to be developing normally.

3. Color

After birth, stools may still be dominated by meconium in the first few days. Those are the black, tarry, sticky stools babies produce while in the womb. But these quickly change to a more “normal” hue, such as brown or yellow.

It seems that parents get very worried when their children’s stools are green or dark brown. Parents should only worry about red, black, and white stool colours when their newborns are born.

Anaemia may result in bleeding from a milk protein allergy or a condition such as haemorrhoids or anal fissures, which are small superficial cuts on the anus.

Blood in the baby motion indicates an older blood source higher in the digestive tract, such as bleeding from the oesophagus or swallowing blood from mom’s nipple.

Gray or clay-coloured stools (or white or clay stools) may indicate liver trouble. It is common for babies with liver disease to be jaundiced (yellow-skinned). When your newborn produces white stools, call your doctor immediately. This can be difficult to notice in darker-skinned babies, and an obvious sign of jaundice anyway. When your newborn produces white stools, make sure you call your doctor immediately.

4. Consistency

Newborn stools are typically described as being the consistency of mustard after the meconium stools have been passed. These baby poop will gradually become more solid with time.

Formula-fed babies are usually more comfortable than breast-fed babies. However, their stools are probably seedier. What you see are the so-called “seeds” of milk fat, which is perfectly normal. In formula-fed babies, stools are typically firmer and more like peanut butter in terms of consistency.

The baby’s stools may be extremely loose and watery if they are not absorbing nutrients properly. Allergic reactions to milk proteins or other conditions can result in loose stools. These can sometimes be due to gastrointestinal infections. Most of these illnesses are viral, and they clear up without medical treatment. However, newborns are usually susceptible to dehydration during such episodes. You should seek medical attention if your infant seems ill.

True constipation may be indicated by very hard stools. Medical problems can cause this, but it’s more likely caused by something benign, like an incorrect formula.

Similarly, mucus in the baby motion may indicate infection or improper digestion, or it may be caused by an unpalatable formula. If your baby’s poop contains mucus, call your paediatrician.

Your paediatrician should be contacted if you notice any of these warning signs or if you are otherwise concerned with your baby’s stool consistency. To demonstrate how loose or hard the stools are, take a picture in the diaper or bring in a fresh diaper to your doctor.

5. Smell

Baby’s stools have very little smell for the first few days. As their guts become colonized with bacteria, their stools become more pungent. There is nothing abnormal about this. Infants who are breastfed rarely have stinky stools, while formula-fed babies often have a stronger smell. There are not many things we can do about poop, except smell it.

An extremely foul-smelling stool may indicate insufficient absorption of nutrients in some cases. In this circumstance, if the infant grows fine and the stool colour and consistency are normal, then this could just be a normal occurrence.

6. Feel

You don’t have to feel the stool. Instead, we should focus on how the baby feels, not how the stool feels. The first few months are a challenging time for infants. They often grimace and blush when passing a stool. There is nothing unusual about it. However, if the baby is truly crying every time he or she poop, be sure to contact your doctor. Harder stool may simply be a sign of harder digestion, but it could also mean that there is something wrong with the anatomy of the rectum.

The Takeaway

The stool of newborns is highly variable. Consult your baby’s doctor if you are concerned.

Poop colour varies from baby to baby. Aside from feeding and age, parenting can also play into the overall colour and consistency. Your paediatrician can offer advice if you ever have concerns about your baby’s bowel movements. Additionally, if your baby has diarrhoea and a fever, you should take him to the paediatrician. You can find more information about baby food and related topics by visiting Yummy Valley’s blog.

Constipation is usually accompanied by hard, dry stools. When your baby vomits or otherwise looks ill, that could indicate dehydration. If you suspect that your baby is dehydrated, consult your paediatrician.