What’s Up With This Poop?

As a parent, you often find yourself thinking about and googling things you probably never thought you would. One of these things is poop.

Whether you’re a first-time mom, or a mom of three, it’s guaranteed that every once in a while you’ll see your child’s poop and think, “Is that normal?” The reality is that poop comes in all different colors, textures, and sizes, most of which are absolutely normal. But, we know simply saying that won’t quell your curiosity (and sometimes concern), so here’s the basics of what you need to know.

Newborn baby poop is usually greenish/black and has a consistency similar to tar. After a few stools, you’ll start to notice a change. Breastfed babies often have yellow, green or brown poop which can be seedy, mushy or even watery. Formula fed babies, on the other hand, will have slightly darker and more solid stool. During these early stages, you could be changing diapers up to twelve times or so a day, or you could also find that you’re only changing three. Both are normal, but you will find that baby goes less and less as time goes on.

Now, fast forward a bit out of newborn stage. You’ve introduced your baby, toddler, or child to a wide variety of foods that will impact what their daily (or sometimes 3X daily) number twos look like. Adding variety means that sometimes you end up with poop you could color with, thanks to a handful of brightly colored cotton candy or a toddler’s insatiable love for carrots. It could look like soft blobs or a crackly sausage, and just about everything in between.

So, with so many representations of normal, what should you look out for? If you see any of the below, it might be time to check in with the doctor.

•      Blood (this one’s obvious, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t include)
•      Hard dry stools or your baby pushing hard to go
•      Extremely water stool that continues
•      Babies pooping less than once per day
•      Dark black, deep red, white and gray stools

While there might be an easy explanation for each of the above, it’s always better to be safe than sorry, so see a doctor if you’re concerned. And a word of advice, if you find yourself googling these things, perhaps do so with an incognito window or the ads you get for the next week might be a little disgusting…