You will be amazed how much of your life is spent on this task, and how much of an expert you become on this aspect of your child’s life.

First few days

Many parenting books say your baby should have 8-10 wet diapers and several bowel movements a day. This is true later on, but not the first few days.

  • During the first day, expect 1 wet diaper and 1 stool.
  • During the second day, expect 1-2 wet diapers and maybe a stool.
  • After the first 2-3 days, expect an increase to 6-8 or more wet diapers a day and usually several bowel movements a day.

You can expect to go through 5-10 diapers a day, at least at first. It will get a little better as your baby gets older. Be sure to change your baby right away, especially after a bowel movement. The wetness, and the chemicals in urine and stool are not good for your baby’s skin. Disposable diapers, however, are so absorbent that they have helped somewhat, at least as far as the urine is concerned.

Wet diapers

Your baby will make a lot of urine. This is a good way to tell she is getting enough to eat, especially in breast fed babies. Most babies will have 6-10 wet diapers a day, though at first it will be only one or two. It will gradually increase during the first week or two.

Orange crystals in the diaper

It is normal for babies to have a sandy, orange-colored substance in their diaper. These crystals form from the urine and will go away.

Normal stooling patterns

Stooling patterns vary widely in babies, and parents seem to pay a lot of attention to this bodily function. We get more questions about baby poop than almost anything else.

  • Days 1-2: At first, your baby’s stools will be a thick dark material called meconium. It is very sticky and hard to clean. Your baby needs to have at least one before leaving the hospital. Having more is a good sign your baby is getting enough to eat. Two on day 2 is a good sign but not all babies do this.
  • Days 2-3: Meconium becomes thinner, more watery and less sticky, and changes to more of a green color. Two stools on day 2 and three on day 3 are good signs of eating well.
  • Days 3-5: One stool per day of life is a good sign. By day 4-5 it should be mostly yellow in color and pretty soft or watery. The poop may look watery with little seed-like pellets of stool. That is normal, especially in breastfed babies. Babies on formula may have stools which look more pasty.

Your baby will probably have a bowel movement with every feeding for several weeks to months. It may make noise coming out and you may hear it across the room. There will be a lot of gas. Both the gas and the stool will smell unpleasant. These are all perfectly normal. It is also normal for them to grunt, turn red in the face, and wave their arms and legs while trying to pass gas or stool.

Any color is normal except white or bloody. Any consistency is normal, from watery to thick peanut butter. Hard rocks or pellets are not normal. Having a bowel movement from every time they eat to once a week is normal.

While most newborns poop every time they eat at first, they often change patterns after several weeks and poop less frequently. They may go once a day, every few days, or once a week. The longer they go, the larger and messier the bowel movement may be. They may be a little fussy and eat a little less when it is time to have a bowel movement. This change is totally normal but is often quite concerning to parents.

Most babies do not get true diarrhea. If your baby has very frequent watery stools with a new, foul odor, especially if there is mucous or blood in the stool, then see your doctor.

Infrequent stools & constipation

Most babies do not get true constipation, which is stool that is hard rocks or pellets. If your baby has these, see your doctor. Many babies do, however, have infrequent stools. They do often change patterns, from having several bowel movements per day to having one every few days.

Babies may go 7-10 days without pooping! This is totally normal as long as the stool is soft. It is also normal for babies to grunt and strain to make a bowel movement.

the scoop on baby poop

We get MORE QUESTIONS on this than just about anything else!
COLOR: Any color is normal except pure white, bloody, or black and sticky (after the meconium is gone). Yellow, green, brown, or anywhere in between are all normal.
CONSISTENCY: Anything from watery to seedy to pasty to thick are normal. Hard little pellets are not normal.
FREQUENCY: Anything from 7-10 times a day to only ONCE every 7-10 DAYS is normal.
STRAINING: Straining, grunting, turning red, fussing, and crying to poop or pass gas is normal and will go away. This is called infant dyschezia.
SMELL: Yes, poop and gas may smell bad. Parents often seem surprised. While baby poop, especially in breastfed babies, often has a mild, sweet odor, it can also smell bad. Parents also comment that it smells like theirs. This is not surprising since a baby’s gut bacteria come from parents.

*Research shows the following things will increase your baby’s chance of pooping:

  • a fresh diaper
  • a fresh change of clothes, especially if light colored
  • a new outfit
  • going out, especially if you forget to put a diaper and/or wipes in the diaper bag
  • getting ready to take pictures
  • giving your baby to a friend
  • giving your baby to someone you haven’t seen in 10 years who just traveled 300 miles to see your baby
  • immediately after getting her secured in the car seat (which may take 30 minutes and requires an engineering degree). This is also a major risk factor for poop migration — up the back or down the leg
    falling asleep
  • christening/dedication/baptism/any public event
  • PRO TIP: Most of these are also major risk factors for spitting up

Looking ahead

Most newborns poop with almost every feeding (it’s a reflex), which means about 7-10 times a day! However, this often changes after a few weeks, especially in breastfed babies. Suddenly, your baby poops only once or twice a day, or every few days, or only once every 7-10 days! This is normal! It almost always results in a call or visit to the pediatrician because it is so sudden a change.

Diaper rashes

Diaper rashes are extremely common; they are caused by moisture and the acids in stool and urine. Usually, the skin is just irritated and will heal in several days with use of diaper rash cream or ointment. I prefer cream to treat rashes and ointment to prevent them. If your child gets a rash, keep the skin clean and dry, and use diaper rash cream with every diaper change. If the rash persists or worsens, it could be a yeast or bacterial infection, and your child will need to be examined.

Newborns in particular commonly get a rash that appears as a ring around the anus. The skin may bleed slightly. It will heal in a few days with use of thick white diaper rash cream containing zinc oxide (Desitin®, Butt Paste®, and Triple Paste® are common brands).