What is normal stool like for babies?

Usually parents always observe their children's stools. What does a normal baby's stool look like? This is what everyone is more concerned about. The stool can well reflect the child's physical health. It can also let parents know whether there is a problem with the child's diet or whether there is a problem with the child's body. Let us understand what a normal baby's stool looks like?

1. Normal bowel movements in newborns

Newborns will excrete meconium in the first two or three days. Meconium is thick and dark green. It is the excrement accumulated in your baby's intestines during pregnancy. It is composed of bile, mucus, intestinal wall cells, secretions and amniotic fluid. It may not be easy to wipe meconium off the little buttocks, but the excretion of meconium indicates that the baby's gastrointestinal system has begun to work normally.

After a day or two, when the baby is able to eat normally and the meconium has been excreted, the baby's stool will become brown-green and soft and granular, and then it will become yellower.

How many times a day is normal for a newborn baby to defecate? Usually, the number of bowel movements is higher in the neonatal period, generally 2-5 times a day, but some babies defecate 7-8 times a day. As the child grows older, the number of bowel movements will gradually decrease, and after 2-3 months, the number of bowel movements will decrease to 1-2 times a day.

2. Normal bowel movements for breastfed babies

The poop of a breastfed baby will look very different from that of a formula-fed baby. Your colostrum has a laxative effect and helps your baby pass meconium. After about 3 days, when your milk secretion begins normally, your baby's poop will gradually turn golden or dark yellow and will not have a bad odor. A breastfed baby's poop is soft but has a texture, sometimes granular and sometimes curd-like.

In the first few weeks, your baby may have a bowel movement during or after each feeding, but he will gradually develop a bowel movement pattern, with bowel movements at roughly the same time every day. This pattern will change periodically, such as when you add complementary foods to your baby, when your baby feels unwell, or when the number of feedings gradually decreases.

If you need to switch from breastfeeding to formula feeding for some reason, remember to do it slowly, with at least two weeks of transition time. The purpose of doing this is to allow the baby's digestive system to adapt to avoid constipation or diarrhea, and at the same time, it can also reduce the chance of you having breast engorgement pain. Once the baby adapts to formula milk, he may develop a bowel movement pattern that is completely different from before.

3. Normal bowel movements for formula-fed babies

Formula-fed babies have pale yellow or yellow-brown stools, and the residue from formula can make their stools look bulkier than breastfed babies’ stools because formula can’t be digested as completely as breast milk. In addition, formula-fed babies’ stools also smell fouler, more like adult stools.

Experts point out that formula-fed babies usually need to defecate at least once a day to feel comfortable. The longer they don't defecate, the harder the stool will be, and the harder it will be to pass, which will lead to constipation. If you think your baby has difficulty defecating, be sure to consult a pediatrician.

4. Normal bowel movements of babies after adding complementary foods

After adding complementary foods, the biggest change in the baby's stool is that it is no longer easy to clean and has no odor. Once complementary foods are added, the baby will poop out whatever he eats. In other words, if you feed your baby carrot puree, the baby's stool on the diaper will be orange-red.

As your baby eats a wider variety of foods, his stools will become thicker, darker, and smell worse! As your baby starts eating more coarse-textured foods, you may notice that fiber-rich foods, such as corn kernels or peas, will simply pass out until his digestive tract develops enough to process these foods effectively.

What does normal baby stool look like? After reading the detailed introduction above, do you understand that you must pay attention to your baby's stool. If there is any abnormality in the stool, you should find out the reason and see if the child's diet has been poor recently, or if there is something wrong with the child's stomach and intestines. Abnormal stool should not be ignored.