Until you become a mom, you really have no idea how much poop will be a part of your life once that baby arrives. From the meconium to the loose stools to the "blow outs" and the "up the backs," we mamas know our poop.
If you had asked me six years ago whether I would ever do a slideshow of poop, I would have laughed at you, but when it's your baby, it's not (that) gross. I have had poop under my fingernails, people! There is nothing left to disgust me.
Since babies can't talk, poop is one of the only ways they speak to us. We parents end up spending a lot of time analyzing it. So, with no further ado, here's the poop on your baby's baby's poop. Read on.
Meconium -- Newborn Poop
It's nasty, but it's important. The meconium has to come out and that drama is often the trial by fire for newborn parents. I remember being so excited when all that tar showed up in my first baby's diaper. This black glue-like poop looks like fresh tar on a hot road. Comprised of amniotic fluid, mucus, skin cells, and other stuff ingested in utero, it doesn't emit an offensive smell, but it's bizarre-o, indeed. Who knew you could be so happy about some excrement?
Healthy Breastfed Baby Poop
We have ALL heard it, but it's still shocking when it happens. A healthy breastfed baby's poop looks like a cross between mustard and split pea soup. Typically it appears runny or creamy, like Dijon mustard with little seeds. Yum, right? Luckily, it doesn't smell yet. Enjoy it while you can!
Green and Frothy Poop
If your baby's poop is "green and frothy" and looks like a shamrock milkshake (or algae), he or she may be getting too much fore-milk, which is like skim milk that comes out at the beginning of a feeding. In fact, babies need higher-fat hind-milk that comes out later in a feeding. It may mean you need to feed your baby longer.
Formula Poop
A healthy formula fed baby tends to have pasty poop (yum!) that looks a lot like peanut butter. It could also be tinged with greenish or tannish, but you get the idea. It smells a little worse than breastfed poop, but not nearly as bad as solids poop. Something to look forward to!
Solid Poop
Solid poop can be a real shock after months of breast milk or formula poop. But if you are lucky, it looks a lot like chocolate pudding. Sadly, it doesn't smell like it. Yuck. Sorry.
The Blowout
We have all had this particularly cloying poop adventure. Most of the time it happens when we have no more diapers and the baby has JUST been changed. This is sometimes diarrhea (and sometimes not), but hey mom, I feel for you. If you get through babyhood without one of these, you are one in a million.
Constipated Baby
It's almost worse than diarrhea. When you see your baby straining and then you find little mud-colored pebbles in their diaper, you know the baby is constipated. Ouch. Time to feed your baby some prunes or dried fruit. Pear juice also worked for us.
