If you’re not already a diaper duty expert, don’t worry – you will be soon! New parents are often shocked by just how many diapers they change in a day. That means you’ll have no shortage of opportunities to inspect a broad spectrum of stools and get insight into your baby’s health. For peace of mind, here are some things to remember the next time you look in a diaper and wonder: “Um, is that normal?”
Poop Frequency
Let’s talk about newborns. In the first few days, many babies have one or two bowel movements daily. By the end of the first week, your little one could pass as many as five to ten stools per day. It’s also common for newborns to poop after every feeding.
If this seems like an overwhelming amount, don’t panic – this is likely normal. Rest assured that stool frequency will often slow down as babies continue to develop over their first month of life.
Appearance
You might notice the color and consistency of your baby’s bowel movements change rapidly during their first days, weeks, and months. A stool can come in a wide variety of shades, typically ranging between yellow, green and brown – most of which may be perfectly normal.
- Meconium refers to your baby’s first bowel movements, typically within 24-hours after birth. You may find meconium unsettling due to its tar-like, sticky consistency. Take it as a good sign that the bowels are doing their job!
- Transition stools mark the shift away from meconium around day three through five to regular stools around day six. Transition stools are loose, yellow-green, and have a watery consistency.
Feeding Variations
Baby poop can also differ depending on what they consume during feedings.
- Breastfed babies often produce yellow, seedy stool that looks like mustard. It is also more common for breastfed babies to have runny, mushier stools.
- Formula-fed babies have bowel movements that are more brown or green. These are often soft, but less watery than you’d find in a breastfed baby’s poop.
What is Normal?
Any deviation from the above doesn’t necessarily mean your baby is at risk. As a best practice, photograph any perceived abnormalities for reference during medical consults. Want a simple way to keep your pediatrician in the loop? Use the Marble app to conveniently track and forward any updates or concerns directly to your baby’s care team. Although you likely have little to worry about, some diaper duty findings may signal a visit to a doctor:
- Delayed transition stools could indicate that your baby may not be eating enough or might have an underlying issue.
- Alarming colours in stools are typically nothing to worry about. Find shades of red in a diaper? It probably doesn’t mean baby is bleeding. Newborns can pass blood swallowed during birth, or from feeding on cracked nipples. If you are suffering from cracked nipples with persistent redness beyond three consecutive days, speak with your doctor or pediatrician for relief.
- Constipation: In the early days, fewer than one poop per day might mean your baby isn’t eating enough. At the six-week mark, the frequency may be as low as one bowel movement per day, or even once every two to three days. Speak with a doctor if your little one doesn’t poop for more than three consecutive days.
- Diarrhea: If you notice your baby’s poop is more frequent, watery, and greener than average, it could be diarrhea. Dehydration, diaper rash, and discomfort are all common symptoms of diarrhea to discuss with your MD.
While you might not consider your baby’s poop cycle a sentimental milestone, tracking transition stools and monitoring diaper contents is an insightful and worthwhile practice. Demystify the baby development process with the Marble app! Download Marble now to easily track day-to-day milestones and get access to evidence-backed resources for everything you need to parent with confidence.
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