Among new parents, baby poo is a hot topic. Though you may speed through diaper changes with eyes and nose averted, even working at top speed, it's hard not to notice how much baby poo varies with each diaper you change.
Babies' developing digestive systems are very sensitive. This means that any changes to your baby's diet affect baby poo. If baby's breastfeeding and you start using breast milk substitutes, expect to see changes. When baby starts eating first foods, you'll notice major changes in baby's poo, too.
What's “normal” baby poo?
All newborn babies have the same first poo: a black, tar-like substance called meconium. After this passes out of your new baby's system, here's what to expect:
Breastfed babies
Mustard colored or yellow-green baby poo containing small, white granules is normal for breastfed babies. As breast milk changes, babies may have dark green or even greenish-black poo temporarily. Changes to mom's diet can affect baby's poo, too.
Breastfed baby poo is normally runny and baby will likely poop after every feeding. What seems like symptoms of diarrhea are actually very normal while your baby is breastfeeding.
Formula fed babies
Formula fed baby's poo is usually yellow-green or tan in color. The iron in fortified formula can turn poo green or greenish black.
Formula fed babies may have firmer poo than breastfed babies, but it should still be very pasty and soft (about the consistency of peanut butter). Although breastfed babies go more often than formula fed babies, all babies tend to poo a lot, especially in the first month.
When starting solids
Once your baby starts taking solid foods, you'll notice baby poo changes dramatically: it will be firmer, darker, and a lot stinkier.
What goes in, comes out looking very similar.
If you feed strained carrots, baby's poo turns orange. Textured foods or foods that are high in fiber (such as peas or raisins) may pass right through into baby's diaper in tact. This is normal as your baby's digestive tract develops and adjusts to new foods.
What's NOT normal baby poo?
Although baby poo varies a lot, sometimes what's in baby's diaper can be cause for concern and a call to your baby's healthcare practitioner:
- Chalky white poo can indicate a lack of bile to aid in digestion.
- Bright red in baby's poo may indicate bleeding near or around the anus, or a dairy allergy.
- Frothy green poo that lasts more than 24 hours could indicate a stomach bug, insufficient lactose intake, or another digestive problem.
- Hard, dry, pellet-like stools your baby has trouble passing signal constipation.
- Baby poo that's looser than normal isn't cause for concern, but a sudden change to very watery stools indicates diarrhea.
- Mucus in your baby's diaper may be related to colic. You'll also notice signs of discomfort that can interfere with your baby's ability to feed as well as poop normally. Read more about colic here.
Changing diapers might not be the most cherished highlight of parenthood, but when you understand the mysteries of baby poo, at least you'll be prepared for any surprises on the changing table.
Need a visual guide? Check out this link.
Anything I didn't mention about baby poo?
Let me know the comments!
My baby is 6 weeks old. I was breast feeding him but switched him to bottle when he was 5 weeks old. When I switched him he went 25 hours without pooping. Now when he poops it is runny, almost looks black. Is that normal? What does it mean?
Hi Phelicia – The color could be from the iron in the formula. Formula is not an optimal food for babies, but if you don’t have the option of breastfeeding, be sure to use an organic milk based formula and supplement it with a high-quality probiotic. Even better, make your own formula so you can make sure the ingredients are the best for your baby.
Mustard colored or yellow-green poo containing small, white granules is this normal for formula feed babier? My daughter is 3 months old and i just notices the change in her poo the past couple of days.
My son is 3 months old. When he was 2 weeks old I stopped producing and had to switch to formula. His stool varies from mustard yellow to dark green. A majority of the time it’s runny.. I didn’t know if I should be concerned or not. He’s a happy baby & doesn’t seem like there’s a problem but his stomach has been bloated as long as I can remember. Should I take him to his pediatrician?
Hi Cari – Sorry I missed this question, but I would put him on a high potency probiotic as well as fermented cod liver oil. If you are open to it, I would also consider making your own formula:
http://holisticsquid.com/the-best-formula-for-your-baby/
my son just turned 8 months old and for almost a week now his poop went from normal brownish semi-solid poop to kinda runny mustard yellow poop which he is releasing several times a day which is unlike him. In the begining he seemed to not be feeling good but its been going on for a while now and he seems fine now, so im wondering if there is even anything wrong at all. i stopped feeding him any baby food and juices all together just in case and have just been giving him similac and pedialyte but…. nothings changed. sooo.. is this normal?
My little girl’s poos are consistently green and mucusy. I’m trying my hardest to go off dairy and I have mostly but they are still the same. If it were a dairy allergy wouldn’t there be blood in the stool also? Could green mucusy poos just be her normal or do I need to get to the bottom of this (no pun intended ;))?
My daughter is 11 months and we just resolved her consistently green/runny poo problem that had been going on for many, many months. I had tried various eliminations including a full month of strict dairy and soy free. She sees a chiropractor regularly and started on a high quality infant probiotic but none of it helped with the green/runny poop.
Turned out to be lactose overload/foremilk-hindmilk imbalance. I have to make a point to fully drain each breast before switching to the other side. This usually means only one breast per feeding and sometimes the same breast for 2 feedings in a row.
She had always been a somewhat fussy nurser and also had a lot of gas and intestinal discomfort. We delayed solids until after 8 months because of her poo issues and sensitive tummy. Once we figured out the foemilk-hindmilk issue, her poops have been textbook breastfed normal. Yellowish to brownish with cottage cheese like curds and the consistency of runny peanut butter. She is now eating lots of solids so they cause some variations but no more green/runny poops!
Hi Lexi – Sorry for the delayed reply…Is she having discomfort or any other symptoms? How old she now?
My LO is EBF, 5 months old and has had consistently green mucousy poops Since around 6 or 7 weeks. i tried block feeding because i thought it was a hind/foremilk thing, but it made no difference. Two months ago i eliminated dairy, soy, and gluten from my diet. He was still pooping the same though and he wasnt gaining weight. A 4 months he was only 11lbs and just stayed that way. I tried Dairy/soy/gluten free probiotics but nothing happened. So 2 wks ago i started him on rice cereal 3x a day aS opposed to 1x a day. I give him the Happy Bellies Dairy soy gluten free brand with probiotics. Still his poo was Green and kinda mucousy. Now, i have him on baby food because he is soo hungry all the time. I still breastfeed 6-8x a day But even with the baby food, his poop.is still green and will have mucous in it now and then. I am at my wits end. I am so careful about food labels and hidden allergens, i wonder if some babys poop is just green??? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
At about 2 months old (now 4-1/2 mo) my EBF baby’s poop changed from normal yellow, seedy, several times a day to brownish/yellow, once every 8-10 days, and its foamy. He is incredibly gassy and it smells of rotten eggs. He doesn’t seem to be bothered at all by it, but I of course worry. Thoughts?
Hi Jessica, I’d need to know more about your diet, but a BM every 8-10 days in a newborn is not normal. I’d get him on a probiotic and take him to see a holistic pediatric practitioner.
About my diet. I like to think I eat well. I don’t eat red meat at all. we eat fish, chicken, turkey…to the best of my ability I buy all organic. I stay away from caffeine and artificial sweeteners. Although, I do consume more of that then I should. Does that help? Is there a probiotic you would recommend?
Hi,
My baby girl is two months old. I had breastfed for two weeks but it was no longer an option so I started Formula (BF-1) Morinaga. It made her badly constipated along with gas problems in belly which was swollen for this reason. She passed blackish-green pallets like stool. Getting frustrated by the situation we started buffalo’s milk in the last three days. Baby is quite comfortable with it and there is no constipation passing yellowish semi-solid or runny stools twice a day. Is it normal? We have been confused with large amount of data over the net about dangers of cow or buffalo’s milk during early stages of baby.
Response is highly appreciated.
regards
hi , I have a two month old baby who is breastfed. from yesterday his poo is runny and he is going out almost after every feed. before this he was goin out once or twice a day. is this normal? This morning he made a frothy green poo. he seems normal and is playing well> what should be the cause of this> as I have not changed my diet or had anything different .
My 17 month old has had pellet like poop about half of the time since he started solids. I took him to s ND who kinda dismissed it. Any ideas on what to do to help with constipation? Thanks so much!
Ummmm my 14 month old has a runny poops but this last poop was a brownish red color and idk if it was just because of the dyes in the juice/kool aid or if I need to bring her in???? Please help me I’m kinda worried don’t want to take a rectal temp cause I don’t want to harm her if it is something with her anus!
hi cassie, did you every find out about his runny poop? Please share. My 14 month baby boy has has runny/loose/watery poop wince the past 2 weeks and it causes and worsens his diaper rashes.
thanks
Hi ..My 3 months old baby often passes motion after every feed. Is this normal ? I breastfeed and also give formula milk(Isomil) . Initially i was using Dexolac and since he became lacose intolerant dr suggested to use Isomil(Soy) . From last 2 weeks I started using this Isomil and from that he is pooing after everyfeed , even if i breast feed.bcoz of which he became too lean ..can someone help me out ?>
Please try to stay away from soy… it is very bad especially for babies. Read up online about soy formulas. There are some great recipes for making you own. Take a look at the Winston Price Foundation recipe. Babies going after every feed is normal though.
Hi my named Fiona and my little manes name is Isaac
and im wondering what the snotty slimy stuff is in there
poo and what is it and why they get it
is there a reason to be scared????
My almost 3 months old and formula-fed baby boys poop is watery yellow and has white granules. He seems to have no problem in his mood, his behavior is normal. My only problem is his poop. Is there something wrong?
HI
I was wondering if you give some advice and hopefully alleviate my worry. My daughter is 9 months old and since I started her on solids she has had bowel movement problems. She was breastfed exclusively before this and is still breastfeed during the night and 4 – 5 feed during the day. I started her on very minimal solids just before she was 6 months old and built up from then on home made purées. Her bowels first starting shutting off when she’d have bread, pasta or potatoes and offered alternative foods. It became so bad that she became very constipated, hard stools , pain and blood and had to have an enema and was on lactulose. Then the lactulose stopped working and I tried prunes and prune juice as an alternative to get her bowels moving, her reaction to the prunes was an enormously filled nappy of dark sticky stool every 3 – 4 days. After a suggestion form my health visitor that she may need to be referred to a dietician my GP has refused telling me that it’s completely normal and not to worry. I’ve had two mums suggesting the ‘safefail/elimination diet’ to see if there are any intolerances and since my own sister has severe reactions to salicylates and we have the athritis/asthma gene in the family I’m giving it a go and only in the 6th day.
I personally have regular BM and my son has never had any problems either so this is a new one on me. I’m worried since I’m well aware of the dangers of re-absorption of toxins into the bowels if BM aren’t regular. On top of this I have the guilt feeling that because I was in an abusive relationship during my pregnancy and the first three months of her life that this may have affected the development of her bowels or that this stool retention is due to emotional stress.
Any advice would be great, thank you.
Just put your hands on the tummy and pray to God and tell God to take control over everything that is going on in there. It may seems like a Joke but believe me or not it Works. Just monitor it for another week.
My baby 7 Weaks old & she is breast feeding she has runny yellow poos with fishy smell , is it normal ?
My baby 7 Weaks old & she is breast feeding she has runny yellow poos with fishy smell, is it normal?
My son is 2 months old and his dr recently changed his formula from enfamil gentlease to prosobee. I just changed his diaper and his poop was hard amd pellet like, is that normal if not what can i do?
My 14 month old’s poop is a very light “hummus” like color. It has been this way for a few weeks (mainly since he has been drinking solely homo milk). We are not sure if this is a cause for concern and need to bring him in to the doctor??
I need some advice my daughter poop is watery and yellow whats this mean ?
I have a 12 month old baby and the past few days she has been h ving crystal like clear chunks in her pee diapers. I dont know if it is coming from her pee or bum but these are hard clear chunks and there was one the size of 2 Peas put together and I picked it up to feel it and it was as hard as a rock and completely clear see through. And there is tiny ones all over her bum also. Did she swollow something or is this normal. Im scared
Is her diaper overly wet? These granules come out of the disposable diaper sometimes,are you sure it’s her .or the absorbency crystals from the diaper itself.
Hi Misty – Thanks for your comment. Sounds like this might be part of the diaper?
My daughter is 9 months old and I was curious when is it safe to introduce yogurt or greek yogurt to your children her pediatrician said not until 18 months and others say as soon as 6 months any thoughts?
My LO is 8 months and a week and for the past 2 days her poo has been pale. Although she eats normally (a little solids, baby cereal and breast milk) and she feels fine but the color is giving me concern.
Hi, my son is 3 1/2 months old and he has had diarrhea for a straight two weeks and before that he has never really had a normal poo, it always had mucous and looked lime shreds of spinach in the poop.he use to be in a lot of pain it seemed like and now has calmed down.I do have him on probiotics with is not helping his diarrhea. I believe that he has bowel issues because when he was first born he had pooped before he came out but he did not poop the two days in the hospital and I was struggling with breastfeeding so he did not eat much, so they sent him to a different hospital to get xray. They put it off to see if he goes while there he got to eat more because I pump while I was there and the next day he went. But they wouldn’t let use leave, they said he could have something wrong with him so the did two drays,had home drink dye,and did two biopsy in the anus.and in the end he was fine but ever since then he has had problems with his stomach and bowels. So if you can’t let me know what I can do for him that is natural and wont harm him, I would appreciate it so much 🙂
just tonight ive already changed my son 4 times within 20mims his poos are runny as n yellow n has little yellow stuff what to do ??
My son is 21mon and has really hard brown reddish brown hard rabbit turds Whats cosing it?? Can u help
Hi Jessica – It’s hard to say without knowing more about your sons health history. I would contact your sons healthcare practitioner.
Hi Emily,
My daughter is 6 1/2 weeks old and I just started supplementing her with a bottle of the Weston Price homemade formula at night while continuing to breast feed at all other times. She has not pooped since she had the first bottle almost 2 days ago… I’m beginning to get worried. Do you know if that is a common side effect with this formula? Is there anything I can do to help her?
I have a 4 month old his on formula and his poop is hard and a
greenish color and he cries when he poops
My 8 months 2 weeks old baby boy had sudden diarrhea 15 days ago, where the reason was told to be lactose intolerance. Hence we cut down with formula, cerelac and continued breastfeeding. He was prescribed with toxim – O and pediatric ORS with zinc, zymosaf for reducing subestances. All this and he recovered. Again , it has been 5 days now that he is passing stools after every breast feed which has blood. This time my pediatric said that the issue is same and to cut over diary in my diet and stop his breast feed completely for 24hrs – 48 hrs. Now he is addicted to breastfeeds and refuses to bottle feed, hence even after understanding the consequences, I have to breast feed him at least thrice daily, for 5-15mins. Would this lead to his recovery at all? There can be delay, but he will be normal right. I am worried, please help me, GOD and you lovely people here. Please…..
what color consider healthy?
Hello my name is cybilina and my baby is 7 months and i put her on hole milk is that a bad thing
Hi Cybilina, I don’t usually recommend whole milk at this age. However, if it is working for you, and she is not having any adverse reactions, it should be ok. If she isn’t eating solids, the whole milk may not meet all of her nutritional needs. Here is a link to the first foods you should introduce to your baby.
Hello..my baby is 4 months 8 days old..His poo is frothy green in colour for about 10 days…Nd I started semi solids for past 15 days…I think this may be the reason for green poo..so plz advice Nd help me out…
Thank you..
Hi Sushmita, since I am not your health practitioner, I cannot give you medical advice. It is probably due to the semi solids. I would cut that out for now and go and see a healthcare practitioner that can assist you with your questions.
Hello, My daughter was breastfed for the first year. When I switched her milk to cows milk, she got constipated. I then switched her milk and tried Goat Milk. We did Goat milk for about 3-4 months but she was still constipated. Now, she’s on Organic Almond milk and she is still constipated. I dont know what to do, I told her Dr and he said it’s normal which i know its not ! Any help would be appreciated. I feel like milk in general is making her constipated.
Hi Cassandra, have you tried raw cow’s milk?
Hi my daughter is 1 yr old she is motion problem is going to green color motion what reason & what solution solve the problem
my baby is 3months and 2 weeks and the poo is running and bit darker as usual with a milky particles. what’s the cause?
Hey. My daughter is now 1 and she is still Breastfed. When she started solids her poop more often changed colours and texture. The other day it was the concerning hummus pale poop. This lasted a couple days. Now it’s back to the normal brown. But it’s never consistant.. its runny, hard, light, dark. Until the other day is didn’t think anything of it. Please help.
Thank you
Hi there, my baby is one month and 4days old, I breast feed him and give formula ,I was first using S26 formula for some days and all was fine and he was pooing, but then he stopped pooing , so we changed his formula to Similac ,I read it is very close to breast milk ,but he still has not made a poo, it’s been 2weeks since he last pooped on his own, I’ve just been helping him from time to time using a small cotton bud with caster oil, he just fart and wee a lot and his fart smells very bad ,the colour of his poo is greenish to yellow, and when I help him the poo that comes out first is sticky and the rest that follows is soft, he doesn’t cry or show any sign that it’s hurting, but sometimes I see him pressing like he wants to poo, but nothing happens, please help
Hi Liza, thank you for reaching out. Unfortunately, as I am not your healthcare practitioner, I cannot give you medical advice. I would urge you to go and see your healthcare practitioner so that you can get some peace of mind.
My baby does grey colour poo once in a morning why is it so
So my little mam is 7 months old today and he has been having trouble pooping since he was 3 months i hate seeimg him in pain but when he does poop or trys is clay like and sometimes has a little blood from were its coming out and sometime he will strian so hard it turns his face so red and i change him n nothing will b there is there anything i can do to help him.?? The dr tells me to just feed him less of this and more of that and it hasnt helped any….im a first time mommy and it upsets me n i think he has baby reflux cuz when he feeds everytime he throws up alot any advice
Hi my exclusively breastfed baby is on solids now but his poops are like rocks they come out the color of the foods he’s been eating . My LO tries and makes faces when he’s pooping what can I do ??
my baby 4 months and I have started to give him rice cereal. He has not yet pooped its been 3 days is that normal. He usually poops everyday?.
Hi Jennifer, firstly your baby’s poo habits will naturally change when you start solids and that in itself is normal. However, there are two posts here that may assist you in assessing your baby’s needs. The first addresses when you should start solids: http://holisticsquid.com/starting-baby-on-solids/ and the second is the types of food you should start with: http://holisticsquid.com/3-first-foods-that-your-baby-needs/. I hope these help! xoxo Emily
Weird looking that aren’t mushy ( sorry for details) I read a lot about bananas !
My baby is 9 months and was eating banana since 5 months never had this issue. Plus those strings look nothing like normal and in abundance look like synthetic threads!!
My baby also had a fever under 102 I consult with the doctor. ( we were thinking about teething )
After she was fever free the next day I noticed these kind of diaper ( with black strings all over in it!! All the same size and shape) then next day afte—- rash( on the Belly and back very few in face) .
Now I can’t sleep putting all of it together.
Thinking I need to bring her in to see a doc first thing in the morning..
any one had anything similar
Please share.
I granddaughter has a poopy diaper every diaper change she has been changed to milk from Formula 1 about 2 months ago but none of the diapers are solid they are all normally very loose it has been months since she’s had a salad bowel movement is there something to be concerned about or is it just regular or what can I use to help make that more salad
Hi! I have a 3 and half month old… she is a breastfeed baby, she would usually poop on every feeding but since she turn 3 months she only poops 3 times a day. So I started giving her baby cereal, like 5 spoons and it’s more milk than cereal, I make it very runny. Idk if she is not full through out the day. Or something else might be wrong g for her not to poop as much as she used to