Baby Poop: The Visual, Scent, Frequency & Behavior of it All

Baby poop gives us a lot of information about a baby’s well being and how well feeding is going. It tells us if the baby is tolerating their food or if they are allergic to it. So it is very important for a parent to pay attention to what their baby’s stools look like.

The Visual
A newborn’s stools begin as black and slimy but quickly turn dark green and then to yellow in the first week of life. The consistency also changes to watery loose seedy or pasty. If a baby is feeling very well in the first week of life, their stool changes to yellow quickly whereas a baby not feeding well will still have green sticky stools. A breast fed baby will have very loose watery stools, the consistency of runny scrambled eggs, while a formula fed baby will have pasty stools like toothpaste. When baby food is started, the color and consistency will change again and can be orange, green, or yellow depending on what they are eating.

The Scent
Newborn baby poop does not have any smell. The scent evolves, as the baby gets older, with the growth of normal intestinal bacteria. Breast-fed baby’s stools do not smell at all while formula fed babies have some odor. Once baby food is introduced, the smell develops in earnest and disposable poop bags are definitely needed.

The Frequency of it All
Stools are very frequent in newborn babies and can occur after every feeding. This is not considered diarrhea and occurs because the baby is on a liquid diet and there is not much debris left over to form the stool material. After several weeks of life, breast-fed infant stools become less frequent because the baby is utilizing most of the nutrients and does not have much left over to stool with. It is completely normal for a 3-8 week old infant to poop only once every 6 days! On the other hand, formula fed babies may only poop once every 3-4 days and this is because the formula does not break down as quickly as breast milk into usable nutrients. Again, after baby food is introduced, the frequency and consistency of stools will change again.

Behavior associated with Pooping
Babies exhibit some really interesting behaviors when they have a bowel movement. They poop from their head to their toes! A baby needs to bear down really hard to go to the bathroom because their muscle tone is not as strong as ours. What you will see is a crinkling up of their face, their face becoming red, a firm abdomen and you will hear grunting, moaning or crying out. Some babies seem like they are having a really hard time with all the noise they make. Some babies become really upset because they don’t like the way it feels to have a bowel movement but once they have gone to the bathroom, all the noise stops and they become quiet.

These are all the normal things about baby poop. There are some abnormal signs to look for. If you notice blood, lots of mucus or white stools, definitely call your pediatrician’s office. Really foul smelling stools and extremely dry, large and hard ones would also be a sign to consult your pediatric office.