Newborn Bowel Movements - Newborn Poop & Pee - Changing Diapers Is Not Fun!

One of the troubling issues is whether a newborn is going to the bathroom enough and what to expect on a daily basis. Our hospital has us track the "wet diapers" and "bowel movements" for the 3 days we were in the hospital. It was a little annoying at times, but it reminded us to pay attention and know what to expect from our newborn. This is a guide that you can use to make sure that all is well with your newborn and / or what we experienced with our baby, Max.

NEWBORN WET DIAPER / NEWBORN PEE / NEWBORN URINE

There are many suggestions as to what is the average, 5 to 6 wet diapers a day is commonly stated, but some newborns wet 10 or more diapers per day in their first month of life. It just depends ... you just want to make sure that your newborn's urine is a clear / golden color and that he / she wets sever 4 hours. Pinkish or dark yellow pee may mean that your baby is not getting enough breast milk / formula.

NEWBORN BOWEL MOVEMENTS / NEWBORN POOP

Meconium
This is the extremely dark poop that you see in the picture to the left. All babies poop Meconium the first few days after birth (usually the 3rd day when the mother's milk comes in and she is no longer feeding the first milk). As you can see, it is black or very dark green in color and thick like tar. The plus is that it does not smell like poop even though it looks ugly. Meconium is actual the most sterile poop your baby will ever have because it is comprised of what your baby consumed while in the uterus. Colostrum, the first milk that the mother produces, works a a laxative and helps a newborn baby get rid of the meconium in their system.

Newborn Baby Poop - Breast Fed Baby

This is the "seedy" poop that you keep reading / hearing about. It is typically a dark mustard color, though can be as light as a yellow mustard or more on the green side as well, and is seedy / grainy. The texture is not even close to the thickness of the first bowl movements (Meconium) or bottle fed babies. It is more liquid-like, though should not be slimy (with a bunch of mucus) nor too runny either. It is just a looser poop that is thinner than your own and appears to have seeds in it. Meanwhile, these are not seeds at all. They are more like specks of firmer poop that looks a little like oatmeal or flattened risotto noodles. It is just how the baby's body digests the mother's milk and of no harm at all. Some say that it does not stink, but it does have an odor that changes depending upon what the mother has eaten and the health of your baby. Ideally, it is a sweeter smelling poop to most, though oddly sweet and not attractive enough for you to yearn (like perfume). On the other hand, it can get pretty nasty at times; especially in the first month of when a mother is adjusting to breast feeding and a baby's system is adjusting to the world. Therefore, texture, color and smell may fluctuate ... it stables out in time with proper diet, feeding patterns and maturing of baby's digestive system.

* Breast fed babies poop more than bottle fed babies; usually 4 to 6 times a day.

* If milk is green, try breastfeeding your baby longer to give enough of the hindmilk.

* Breast fed babies rarely become constipated.

Newborn Poop - Formula Fed Baby

Formula fed babies have poop that is yellow-brown color, stronger smell and a bit thicker in consistence than breast fed babies. Some compare it to the texture of peanut butter. * If any harder than that, then your baby could be constipated or is becoming constipated.

* Formula fed babies poop less than breast fed babies; one to two times a day.

What is normal baby poop and what is not normal bowel movements?

Hard poop, green poop, dark, slimy, red / pinkish, blood in stool and chalk white poop ... these are not normal poops. Similac has an excellent resource for what breast fed and formula fed baby poop looks like. It includes samples for poop of babies that are on solid foods as well as warning of what is and is not normal poop: http://similac.com/feeding-nutrition/diaper-decoder - Off hand, Green Poop / Green bowel movements are an indication that a breast fed baby is getting more foremilk (sweet / watery milk that flows fast at the beginning) and less hindmilk (fatty milk / richer milk that flows after the hindmilk); also green poop is indicative of how babies are digesting iron.

LET YOUR DOCTOR KNOW IF GREEN POOP DOES NOT CLEAR UP OR IF ANYTHING IN YOUR BABY'S DIAPER IS ABNORMAL!

I know this blog post is kinda gross, but we all have to clean baby poop :)


In Motherly Love,
Mother Baby Child