The complete guide to baby's poop for parents

Is your child’s pooping habits bothering you? Learn about how to help baby poop here.

Before you become a parent, talking about poop in everyday conversations is unheard of. But the moment you have a child, poop permeates everything… including conversations. “My baby hasn’t pooped in days. My baby pooped five times today. How to help baby poop? Why is my baby’s poop green? IS MY BABY’S POOP NORMAL?”

These are just a few among the many poop-related questions and problems parents ask and face on a daily basis. That’s why we’re here to help with our super guide on everything baby poop-related!

How to help baby poop? Is baby’s poop even normal? Find out now! Image source: File photo

Normal baby poop, according to age

When you become a parent, not only are you less grossed out by the thought of poop, but you also begin to understand that it’s part of having a healthy body. We expect it and we worry if, at some point, our baby stops pooping regularly.

When my newborn couldn’t poop 24 hours after birth, I was so distressed. I remember praying so hard that he would do it so that we could already be discharged from the hospital. From then on, I learned to monitor my baby’s pooping habits and check if his poop is normal or I should be concerned.

So before we jump on to the topic of how to help baby poop, here are some things we need to learn about our child’s poop – what’s normal and what’s not.

Newborn poop

Your brand-new baby’s first poop (usually within the first 24 hours of his birth) will look remarkably un-poopy. It resembles tar, both in color and consistency. There’s a name for this first poop too: meconium.

Meconium must be passed because it is made up of everything your baby ingested while in your womb, like skin cells, mucus, and amniotic fluid. After all the meconium leaves your baby’s body, his stools will become softer and lighter in color.

If you are worried about how to help your baby poop out all that meconium (that is, if he hasn’t within 24 hours), don’t help to ask help from the nurses in the maternity ward.

Your breastfed baby’s poop

If your baby is exclusively breastfed, don’t be surprised if his poop looks like cream cheese with seedy mustard mixed through! It may even look like diarrhea, but unless your baby is showing or experiencing other symptoms (e.g. fever, more cranky than usual), there’s no need to worry.

Breastfed baby poop looks disgusting but doesn’t smell terrible. It might also take on the shade of food you last ate, e.g. spinach = greenish-yellow poop. If you have cracked nipples, don’t be surprised if your breastfed baby’s poo is tinged with blood.

This can be easily sorted by speaking to a lactation consultant or doctor and you’ll notice the red in your baby’s poop fades away.

Sometimes, breastfed babies go for long periods without pooping (even up to seven days). Now, before you get worried about how to help baby poop in this instance, remember that it’s quite normal. This is because breast milk is so beautifully digestible that there’s little waste that accumulates and passes out as stools.

However, if you notice that your baby is in a lot of discomfort or his tummy is badly distended, then you should bring your baby to a pediatrician without delay.

Your formula-fed baby’s poop

If your baby drinks formula milk, then his poop will be different in both smell and texture than a breastfed baby’s.

A formula-fed baby’s poop will be a brownish-yellow color and have a pasty, almost peanut-butter-like texture. Their poop is also more formed and smellier than that of breastfed babies. You’ll also notice that they pass stools more frequently and regularly than a breastfed baby.

As with a breastfed baby, if you are worried that your baby hasn’t passed stools for a long time and are wondering how to help baby poop, it’s always good to consult a pediatrician.

Here’s a quick baby poop chart by age, according to Healthline:

An older baby’s poop

Once your baby starts solids at around six months of age, you’ll notice changes in his poop too, whether he’s breastfed or formula-fed.

Don’t be surprised if his stools take on the color of whatever he has been eating, whether that’s broccoli-green or beetroot-red! You may also notice pieces of undigested food in his poop (e.g. corn kernels). Nothing to fret about here – it’s normal.

Solid food intake may also herald constipation in your baby. To avoid this, offer your baby foods that are rich in fiber, such as avocado and papaya. You can also introduce water now. A few sips of water (or even breast milk) after a meal will help keep his poop nice and soft.

As much as possible, avoid constipating foods such as white bread, cheese, carrots, and white rice.

Poop issues in babies can cause much discomfort and even pain. Image source: File photo

Baby poop issues: How to help baby poop?

It’s a question all moms will ask themselves or someone else at some point: how to help baby poop? Usually, this is preceded by an extended bout of constipation or other tummy issues.

Constipation is a condition where the baby finds it difficult to poop. But since it’s normal for babies to not poop in a day, the best way to find out if your child has constipation is to look at his poop. If it is hard and dark, your baby may be constipated.

According to Dr. Maria Belen Vitug-Sales, a pediatrician from the Makati Medical Center, we should be wary of constipation as this can cause discomfort and be very traumatic for babies.

“The problem with constipation, the stool is very hard, so it’s hard to pass. That makes it traumatizing for babies, they are scared because it’s painful, so they hold on. They don’t want to poo, so they hold it in which makes everything worse,” she said.

The good news is that there usually is a solution (or two) to most poopy problems, including constipation and flatulence. On our website, you’ll find that we have good resources about what to do when the baby has diarrhea or constipation. You may even try to give your baby a tummy massage to help the baby poop.

However, there are red-flagged baby poop problems that warrant an immediate trip to the doctor:

• There is bright, red blood or jelly-like mucous in your baby’s stools. These could indicate an infection.
• Your baby has severe constipation, indicated by tiny, hard, pebble-like bits of stool, stools staining baby’s diapers or underwear while he is still constipated (indicated watery stools that leak past the hard poop).
• Diarrhea in young babies. If left untreated, the baby could get dehydrated very fast.
• Extreme bloating of the tummy. This could indicate a food intolerance or could be a sign of another medical issue.
• White poop. Poop gets its color from bile, so an absence of bile drains it of its color, resulting in chalky white poop. White poop might be an indication of a problem with the gallbladder or liver, so it’s best to take your baby to the doctor if you notice poo this color, just to be on the safe side.

Trust your instincts if you feel that your baby is not pooping enough, or he needs help pooping. Don’t hesitate to consult his pediatrician right away, because it may be an issue that she can help you with such as a problem with your milk supply, a virus, or sensitivity to your diet.

Here at theAsianparent Philippines, it’s important for us to give information that is correct, significant, and timely. But this doesn’t serve as an alternative for medical advise or medical treatment. TheAsianparent Philippines is not responsible to those that would choose to drink medicines based on information from our website. If you have any doubts, we recommend to consult your doctor for clearer information.