The Scoop On Poop
What do the different colors of infant stool indicate?
So, I always give my parents my poo poo postulant, or my doo doo doctorant, my scoop on poop. For some reason we all worry so much about poop, and it really is not some thing to worry about. I think it's because we're changing so many diapers we see every different change. So poop can be many different colors, can be many different shapes, many different consistences. For the most part there's nothing to worry about. So it's more important to know what to worry about. Poop starts off the first couple days starts off being black and tarry, and this is called meconiam, and this is what your baby swallowed when they were inside of you. Now as the breast milk or the formula gets into their system it pushes out the meconiam and then that poop changes to a transitional color which is green. Then a mustard yellow seedy color and it can be very watery, and it can be very valumonous. You know 10 to 12 times a day. Then after that your poop may change depending on your diet their diet, and their digestive system. So in general once the poop has changed to their yellow seedy poop, the poop should never look black and tarry again. It shouldn't be white in color, which may signify a rare liver disease. It shouldn't have red blood in it. So the only colors I really get concerned about is, black because that could be a sign of digestive blood. Red, which is blood, or white. Then your poop should never be hard as a rock, because that we would think about as constipation. other than that if it is seedy, watery, soft serve ice cream consitency. If it's yellow, green, brown. If it's 1 times a day or once a week, it's extremely normal and there's nothing to worry about.
Is it normal for a baby to strain when having a bowel movement?
Baby's commonly strain when they poop. This is because they don't know what muscles it takes to get the poop out. So they push up here. They push down here. Then “oof” that one works. So most babies will turn red and strain whenever they poop and yet you see the poop comes out soft. This is not constipation. This is their normal digestive system and the normal way to get poop out so as long as the poop comes out soft, we really don't worry about it.
How do I know if my baby is constipated?
Constipated babies often will not only strain and grunt and seem like they're in pain, but the poop will often come out in hard little pellets as well. There may be a long duration between one poop and the other when a baby is constipated. But if you see that the constipated baby is straining and turning red and crying and on top of that the poop is coming out hard, that may be a time to talk to your paediatrician about methods you can use to help alleviate the discomfort during pooping.
How do I know if my baby has diarrhea?
Diarrhoea is really hard to distinguish because most babies have really watery poop to begin with. I guess the question would be, why would we care if they do have diarrhoea? The truth is, no matter what the consistency of the poop is, as long as that child is staying hydrated and feeding well, then it's okay. Even if it is diarrhoea, the treatment is to keep them hydrated. It is often very hard to tell. However, I think that if they're really having watery stools and their demeanour has changed, or they seem upset or fussy, then it's something that should be investigated by your doctor to see if there is something that can help with the poop. So, it's not necessarily the consistency that bothers me, but it's that related to your child's demeanour that really needs to be looked at to see if we can figure out a reason why they're acting this way.
