When do babies poop change
What Does Your Baby’s Poop Mean? Chart and Guide| Banner
Everyone poops, but your baby’s poop is particularly fascinating—especially in the first few months of life. You haven’t changed enough diapers, if you haven’t gasped or said, “Woah!” at least once while opening up your baby’s diaper. The range of colors, consistency, size and smells, it’s no wonder it becomes a common topic of discussion between parents and with a child’s primary care provider.
There’s good reason to care a lot about your baby’s poop though. That’s because your baby’s poop can tell you a lot about their health and development.
“It’s important to keep track of the number of poops and color during the first few days and weeks of life as that helps your pediatrician understand how your baby is eating and growing,” said Helene Felman, MD, a pediatrician with Diamond Children’s Multispecialty Services Clinic in Tucson, AZ. “If a baby is pooping regularly, we know they are eating regularly, and growing normally. ”
While every diaper change may uncover a new surprise, you may wonder what is normal and what’s not in the baby poop department. Dr. Feldman helped breakdown what to expect.
The evolution of baby poop: How poops change as baby grows
Newborn poop
The first type of poop your baby will have is called meconium. It’ll look dark, sticky and tarry and will be hard to clean off. After 24 to 48 hours, it will transition to yellow and seedy. Think fancy mustard, like Grey Poupon—no pun intended!
Breastfed poop
Breastfed babies have the most variety in frequency of poops but the color and consistency are typically soft, smooth and mustard-like. It’s more of a puree consistency than a child or adult-type poop. Breastfed babies typically poop after each feeding, but the frequency can go down as they get older. As long as the poop is soft, and not hard balls, it’s not constipation.
Formula-fed poop
Formula-fed babies tend to have slightly more solid poops, still soft, and occur about one to three times daily.
The color also tends to be darker yellow, brown or green.
After introducing solids
Once babies start eating solid foods, around age 6 months, regardless if they’re breastfed or formula-fed, their stools will become more solid and formed. As long as they aren’t producing hard balls, this is normal and not constipation.
Why color matters when it comes to your baby’s poop
While colors like green, dark brown or yellow poops are peculiar, there are really only three colors Dr. Feldman said you should worry about: black, white and red.
“Green, orange, yellow, brown and everything in between are typical for babies,” Dr. Felman said. “Brown and orange are more typical for formula-fed babies, but can occur in breastfed babies as well. The colors of stool for a breastfed baby can also change based on their mother’s diet. But if you see red, black or white stools, call your baby’s doctor right away.”
- Black poops: It could indicate older blood in stool.
- White poops: It could be a sign your baby’s liver isn’t working as it should.
- Red poops: Many times, it could indicate bleeding. It may appear stringy or mucous-like and could be a result of a milk allergy or anal fissures.
“If you see any of these three colors, snap a few photos to show the doctor and hold onto the diaper in case the doctor wants to test the stool,” Dr. Felman said.
For a quick cheat sheet, check out our Baby Poop Guide below:
Is my baby constipated?
Many parents worry about their baby straining and turning red in color when they are passing poop, but as long as the stools are soft and normal in color, don’t worry. According to Dr. Felman, “This happens so often, there is even a medical term for it: infant dyschezia.”
“I ask parents, ‘Have you ever tried pooping while lying down?’ It’s hard to move stool from that position,” Dr. Felman said. “You can help your infant pass their poops by massaging their stomachs and bicycling their legs to help put pressure on their abdomen and push the poop out more easily that way.
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Though not an emergency, if your baby hasn’t pooped in four days, talk to the nurse or doctor to see if there are things you can try to help your baby pass the poop.
The takeaway
Your baby’s poop will be a topic of conversation their first few years of life, but it’s for good reason. Their poop will fluctuate quite a bit as they grow and start eating solids. While most colors and textures are normal, if you’re ever concerned about your baby’s bowel movements, don’t hesitate to call your doctor for advice.
For other parenting tips, check out:
- Four Common Causes for Your Child’s Tummy Ache
- Birth to Five Years: Knowing Your Child’s Developmental Milestones
- Rashes on Children: When Should I Worry?
- Do I Need To Worry If My Baby Has a Flat Head?
Children's Health Parenting Infographics
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The Evolution of Baby Poop – BabySparks
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Your life changes in many ways after you have a baby, including suddenly talking a lot about poop. You just can’t get around it, because from color to frequency to smell, it continually evolves from the newborn days into toddlerhood.
Highlights:
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Here’s what you can expect to discover in your little one’s diaper, right up until she’s pooping in the potty.
First Poop
The first time your baby poops, it’s called meconium. Meconium is greenish-black and has a tar-like consistency. It’s everything your baby ingested in utero, including amniotic fluid, mucus, and skin cells. Luckily it doesn’t smell, because it takes some effort to clean it from her bum.
2 to 4 Days Old
Within 2-4 days, your baby’s poop should transition from meconium to a dark green, thinner version, and get progressively lighter and thinner from there.
1 to 6 Weeks Old
During this stage your baby may poop after every feeding, simply because her digestive tract is brand-new.
If she’s breastfed, her poops will be mustard yellow, seedy, and runny, and not particularly smelly.
Formula-fed babies’ poop can be mustard yellow, greenish-brown, or tan, and the consistency of hummus (sorry if we just ruined hummus for you). It’s smellier than breastfed babies’ poop, but not as smelly as it will be when she starts eating solid food.
6 Weeks to Starting Solid Food
When your baby is about six weeks old and her digestive tract is more developed, she’ll start pooping less.
If your breastfed baby only poops once every few to several days, don’t panic! Breastmilk is digested differently than formula, and infrequent poops at this stage are common.
Formula-fed babies may poop more often than their breast-fed counterparts, about once a day.
Whether she’s breast or bottle-fed, if your baby seems uncomfortable, has a hard belly, or her poop is hard, dry or pebble-shaped, she may be constipated (see below).
After Starting Solid Food
When your baby starts solid food, her poop will become brown or dark brown, thicker but still mushy, and smellier.
Some days it may be orange (hello sweet potatoes), dotted with undigested food (like corn kernels), or even red (if she eats beets). If it’s an odd color that doesn’t connect to anything she’s eaten, check our poop color cheat sheet and give your pediatrician a call.
About Constipation
It’s not uncommon for babies to experience brief periods of constipation, or for potty-training toddlers to become constipated due to fear of pooping in a toilet. You should always talk to your pediatrician about ongoing or frequent bouts of constipation, but for occasional trouble pooping these at-home measures may help:
- If your baby hasn’t started solid foods, try upping her hydration by slightly increasing her intake of breastmilk or formula.
- If your baby has started solid foods, try increasing her intake of water, whole grains, vegetables, or “P” foods like prunes, plums, peaches and pears.
- Babies who aren’t crawling yet may benefit from “bicycle legs” (peddle their legs to and from their chest, as if they’re riding a bike).
- A warm bath may relax the muscles that push poop out.
- VERY OCCASIONALLY (and with the green light from your pediatrician) you may consider rectal stimulation or a glycerine suppository.
Aside from learning about the rainbow of poop colors, you can read about what different poop textures and consistencies mean here.
BabySparks
norm, how many times a day, color
So many experiences are connected with how a newborn baby "walks big". Mom is worried about the frequency of the stool, its color, consistency. So how do you determine if the crumbs are all right with digestion? Perhaps he needs help?
Many mothers know that it is very important to monitor the baby's stool, and during the examination, the pediatrician is always interested in how the baby walks in a big way. This information is one of the most important points in diagnosing the health of the crumbs.
Unfortunately, quite often mothers mistakenly interpret the completely natural and safe states of the baby. And because of these mistakes, they can start unnecessary treatment and worry about the baby for no good reason. So let's figure out how a baby's chair should look like and when to worry and when not.
Immediately after childbirth
When the baby is in the mother's tummy, he receives all the necessary substances and trace elements through the umbilical cord. The digestive system of the crumbs does not work, but his stomach is not empty. The baby sucks his fingers, opens his mouth and thus swallows a small amount of amniotic fluid. When the baby is born, this substance will be in his intestines and will gradually come out as the baby is attached to the chest and his digestive system begins to work.
So, the first stool of the baby is meconium: dark, plasticine-like feces. So the baby recovers the first day or two. Sometimes it gives him discomfort: the baby worries, cries, pushes, before he manages to go big.
However, this is not always the case - many children recover easily, only slightly pushing.
If everything is in order with the baby, he was put to the breast in time and fed on demand, then his stool gradually changes. On the third or fifth day, the baby has the so-called "transitional stool", partly consisting of meconium, which is still in the gastrointestinal tract, partly from digested colostrum and milk. As a rule, streaks appear first in the meconium mass, then the feces gradually turn yellow. By the end of the first week, the baby's stool usually acquires the features of a normal infant: yellow, rather liquid.
When should you worry? If the baby did not go down in a big way in the first two days, it is necessary to consult a doctor. There are children with individual characteristics who will continue to do this less often than most babies. However, the cause of the stool retention should be determined by the doctor. If the crumbs have some kind of problem with intestinal patency, help will be needed immediately, but you should not diagnose your baby without a doctor.
We are at home
On the third or fifth day, the mother receives milk, and the baby has a fairly stable stool by the end of the first week. The literature sometimes says that the stool of newborns is "creamy", and this confuses mothers, who begin to suspect that something is not right with the crumbs. In reality, the stool of a healthy baby is liquid and not always homogeneous. The normal color of feces is yellow and its shades. You may notice lumps, a little mucus - it's not scary. Do not be afraid if the baby's feces have a greenish tint for up to three months due to the immaturity of the liver enzyme systems and the characteristics of bilirubin metabolism, such a condition has the right to be and also does not require treatment.
Many mothers sometimes worry that the baby's stool "suddenly" becomes watery and the baby walks in a big way with abundant gas, a sharp sound. Doctors in this case often suspect lactase deficiency. In reality, things usually go like this.
In the period from 3 weeks to a month and a half, the baby has frequent growth spurts, so at certain moments the baby literally “hangs on the chest” to help the mother produce more milk. Within a day or a few, the baby needs to breastfeed more often and longer than before, and the mother begins to suspect that there is not enough milk. As a result, she often begins to shift the baby from one breast to another, and the baby receives mostly "forward" milk, which comes at the beginning of feeding from each breast. This milk is rich in carbohydrates and proteins, the baby is actively growing from it, however, the stool is liquid and gassy because of this milk (sometimes the “result” looks frothy if the baby is held over a pot or basin when he needs to clear out, and the mother can observe the consistency chair). In this situation, there is no need to panic - just the baby does not need to be constantly shifted from one breast to another, fearing that he is starving. Give the baby the opportunity to get "hind" milk, rich in fats, which will not cause flatulence and stay longer in the intestines.
In this situation (when the baby suddenly begins to clearly suck more milk), the mother may feel insecure and start drinking lactic teas. From this, more carbohydrates again begin to flow into her milk and the baby's stool becomes more liquid and with gases.
Similar problems due to "front" milk occur in the case of improper attachment to the breast, as a result of which the baby swallows the air and interrupts feeding itself, or simply cannot get "hind" milk. The best way out in this situation is to consult with a breastfeeding specialist to correct the application technique and stop panicking that the baby "does not have enough milk."
In short, don't worry if your baby has problems with this type of stool. Of course, the flora of his intestines is unstable, it is just beginning to be established - it takes at least three to four months. Your task is simply to feed the baby on demand and correctly and not to rush to treat him for imaginary diseases.
Delayed stool
Mothers worry not only about the appearance of the stool, but also because of its periodicity.
How often should the baby "do things"? Normally, the baby walks in a big way several times a day, usually after feeding. However, in some children, the norm may be a chair and once a day, and even once every few days. Typically, these children have an anatomically weak anterior abdominal wall and intestinal motility. Such a periodicity of the stool can be considered the norm, if the baby still walks more regularly, the stool is of normal consistency and, in general, the baby is cheerful and cheerful and does not suffer from colic. It's not worth worrying. However, if the baby is allergic, then you need to do everything possible so that he goes to the toilet at least once a day. Atopic dermatitis is much more severe if the baby does not empty the intestines often enough - consult a doctor about this.
Babies also have physiological delays in stool at the age of one and a half to five months. Here it is important to monitor the condition of the baby. If he experiences discomfort, you should consult a doctor.
Children can hold back their stools for psychological reasons, just as adults sometimes cannot go to the toilet if they are nervous. Do not panic because of a one-time problem, but if the problem persists or recurs, consult your doctor.
However, in babies there are not just "delays" of the stool, but also real constipation. Constipation is called not only when the baby does not go to the toilet at all, but also feces "peas", overdried, when a bowel movement is difficult. What could be the reason?
Regular constipation is usually caused by improper feeding of the crumbs. However, this condition can also occur if the mother does everything right, but she has her own health problems, for example, with the thyroid gland. Medications can also be the cause of constipation. For example, intestinal weakness is provoked by all kinds of sedative mixtures and drugs, which are often prescribed to children by neurologists at an early age. Even cough medicines or tooth gels can cause constipation.
In any case, the doctor should deal with this. You should not give your baby medicines and laxatives on your own, or act on it mechanically with an enema or gas tube. It is better to discuss with the doctor the issues of feeding, drug treatment and the lifestyle of the baby - so you can understand the problem.
Weaning time
Of course, when you start to introduce complementary foods, the baby's stool pattern changes. First of all, you need to remember that the task of the first complementary foods (at 5, 6 months) is not to feed, but to help adapt to new tastes, to new food. Give the baby complementary foods in the amount of "lick" and only gradually move on to doses "with a marigold" or "half a teaspoon". Recall that you need to introduce one product into the diet of crumbs so that you can understand how and what the baby reacts to. Quite often, as soon as we give the baby “with a fingernail” some food, it is not digested - we find the product in the feces almost in its original form.
Within one or two days, this is normal, the baby’s body has not figured out the new component in the stomach, but if this continues on the third day, the product must be removed from the diet, since it is obvious that the baby is not yet ready to accept it. You need to take a break for a week or two, without offering the baby anything but the breast, then try again with another product.
The baby's body can also react more violently, for example, with loose stools and abdominal pain, and sometimes with allergies. In this case, you also need to cancel the product and keep the baby breastfed so that the gastrointestinal tract calms down.
When you introduce protein to your baby, he may react with constipation. To avoid this, you need to remember simple rules. Proteins require more liquid, so if this is your baby's first food (for example, cottage cheese), give him more breast milk. If you started introducing proteins when the baby is already drinking liquid, provide him with a drink.
Do not worry about the fact that the introduction of new products has to be postponed - nothing terrible will happen to the baby. And be especially calm about the opinion that at 6-7 months the child needs to be given meat products so that he grows well. Not all children are able to absorb such a protein; for many, even a homogenized meat product at this age will lead to constipation and overload the kidneys. Let the baby eat breast milk for a longer time and receive vegetables and fruits as complementary foods - this way you will avoid many problems with the stool.
In general, mothers' concern about baby's stool is quite justified: after all, this is an important diagnostic symptom that allows you to understand a lot about the baby's condition. However, it must be remembered that not all situations require intervention, and most problems can be solved simply by correcting feeding mistakes. Do not rush to treat the baby and resort to medication, start with a diet.
Text: Anna Babina
Consultant: Olga Ivanovna Tkach, pediatrician, Center for Traditional Obstetrics
Changes in the child's stool from birth to 1 year
— Olesya Vladimirovna, tell us, does the stool of a child on breastfeeding and artificial feeding differ and what caused these differences?
- The first stool after the baby is born is meconium.
It is approximately the same for everyone - thick, viscous and green due to the large amount of bilirubin. And then the child begins to eat mother's milk or a mixture, and depending on the type of nutrition, a stool is formed in him.
What is the difference between the feces of an artificial baby and the feces of a breastfed baby?
- First of all, color: many mixtures give a greenish coloration, and a breastfed baby will have yellowish stools.
- Secondly, the consistency: the stool is thin in an infant with mother's food and thicker, pasty when using the mixture.
- And, finally, frequency: after all, with artificial feeding, the baby poops less often.
— What is a normal stool for a breastfed baby?
— Analyzing the baby's feces in breast milk, we take into account its color, texture, smell, the presence of certain impurities or their absence.
- So, color: yellow, brownish or orange.
If the baby's well-being is in order and only the color worries the mother, then, with a high degree of probability, everything is fine with the baby. - Consistency: is liquid in the first weeks, then gradually mushy. Normal liquid stool should not be confused with diarrhea. With diarrhea, the stool becomes watery, frequent, acquires an unpleasant odor. May be accompanied by regurgitation, vomiting and fever.
- Now let's talk about impurities and how to distinguish the norm from the pathology. Most often, mothers are worried about white lumps in the stool . In a small amount, they are not a pathology. But their increase indicates that the gastrointestinal tract of the child does not quite cope with the digestion of food - either the baby overeats, or the nursing mother consumes a lot of fatty foods.
- A small amount of mucus does not bother us either, it may be a variant of the norm. But its abundance may indicate a violation of the intestinal flora or its inflammation and still requires examination.
- Blood in the stool is an alarming symptom. It can appear with constipation and diarrhea due to injury to the intestinal vessels, and may be the result of inflammation of the intestine or anal fissure. In any case, it is important to consult a doctor without delay.
— What kind of stool can be considered normal for an infant on infant formula?
- In the crumbs receiving the mixture, we evaluate the same parameters as when breastfeeding: color, texture, smell, presence / absence of inclusions.
- Colour: may be yellowish or green - don't be alarmed, some mixtures cause this coloration.
- Consistency : thicker than when breastfeeding, but the stool is still loose.
- Odour: can be slightly acidic.
- Inclusions: The stool should not contain much mucus or streaks of blood or undigested pieces of food.
— How does food affect baby's stool?
- If a child eats breast milk, then his stool largely depends on what his mother eats.
If a breastfeeding woman abuses fatty, fried foods, white lumps appear in her baby's stool. The abundance of bread and buns in the mother's diet leads to constipation and bloating of the baby, and the predominance of raw vegetables and fruits can lead to thinning of his stool. Sweets can cause stomach rumbling.
— What other reasons are there for changing stools?
— The most serious stool disorders in newborns are caused by congenital diseases such as celiac disease and lactase deficiency.
With celiac disease , the child's body lacks an enzyme that helps digest gluten: they are rich in rye, rice, barley. As a rule, before the introduction of complementary foods, we do not even know about this disease. But when rice porridge or bread appears in the diet, the intestines become inflamed in such a child, which is manifested by diarrhea, pain and rumbling in the abdomen.
In case of lactase deficiency another deficiency is lack of lactase, a special enzyme that helps digest milk sugar - lactose.
We notice such a disease literally from the first day for foamy and profuse diarrhea.
— How does a child's stool normally change from birth to a year?
— The frequency of defecation decreases with age. If a newborn could poop 10 times a day, then a one-year-old does this, as a rule, 1-2 times. The chair itself becomes thicker, acquires shape and brown color.
What can a baby's stool tell a doctor?
- Let's talk about stool frequency and regularity. What should they be?
- In the first month of his life, the baby sometimes poops as often as it is applied to the breast. As it grows, the frequency of stool decreases, but, in my opinion, it should not be less than once a day.
- Prolonged lack of bowel movements - when to run to the doctor?
- This question is extremely debatable. There are pediatricians who claim that breast milk can be completely absorbed, so the baby may not poop for several days.
I do not share their opinion and I believe that the chair should be at least once a day, and preferably several. It is not uncommon for newborns to poop after each feeding, and this is good.
This may be a malnutrition of a nursing mother, digestive disorders or intestinal microflora in a baby.
The so-called "false constipation" deserves special attention - in such cases, there is no stool due to the mother's lack of milk. Some pediatricians call such constipation hungry. A similar problem can be suspected in children who gain weight poorly, sleep for a long time or, on the contrary, often ask to breastfeed, are naughty.
- Traditional methods of dealing with constipation - why should they be treated with caution? Grandmothers advise to supplement, give the baby a drop of sour juice, put an enema ...
- I categorically do not recommend using folk remedies. What experienced relatives will not advise a young mother - and a bar of soap, and a cotton swab, and the tip of a thermometer, and early feeding with prunes, and sour juice.
But the latter is not only ineffective, but also dangerous - you can injure the delicate intestinal mucosa, provoke indigestion! I am even against water enemas, especially on a regular basis. Now there are good tools - microclysters in the form of a gel, effective and safe.
— How does MAMAKO ® Premium mixtures with goat milk help normalize a child's stool?
- Let's start with the fact that these mixtures are based on goat's milk, which is digested and absorbed more easily than cow's.
In addition, MAMAKO ® Premium contains pre- and probiotics that help restore the balance of intestinal microflora. And nucleotides that stimulate the maturation of the intestinal epithelium and the settlement of the intestines with the right, beneficial bacteria.
Another important point is the absence of palm oil. The manufacturer replaced it with milk fat palmitic acid, which reduced the likelihood of stool problems.
— When is a doctor indispensable?
— It is important to consult a doctor without delay if the child regularly suffers from constipation or, on the contrary, thinning and frequent stools.
