Baby Poo: The Smelliest Rainbow
Eat. Cry. Poop. Repeat. For the uninitiated, a baby’s life may seem pretty simple. As parents, we know that is far from the truth. There is so much going on inside their bodies all at once that it’s tough to keep track of on a good day! One thing that is always changing and can help us monitor what’s going on inside our little bundles of joy is their poop. Let’s talk about the smelliest rainbow, baby poo, and the range of colours that forms a baby’s poo compilation as they develop.
What colour should my baby’s poo be?
If your baby’s poo is a dark greenish, black colour within the first few days of them being born, do not stress! This is completely normal because it’s relative to what your bub was consuming while still in the womb.
After the first couple of days of being on breast milk or formula, your babies’ poo should mellow out into a yellow or brown shade.
From then on, your baby’s poo can take on a range of wild and wonderful hues! From purples, to reds to oranges to greens and everything in between.
Usually, a normal baby poo colour is going to sit somewhere in the range of brown or yellow. However, when babies move on to eating solid foods, their poo can change drastically overnight according to the colour of their last meals. Lots of carrot might mean a bright orange stool. Lots of broccoli may turn their poop bright green!
What should I do if my baby’s poo isn’t a normal colour?
There are a few instances in which your baby’s poo colour can be a sign of issues within.
If your baby’s poo hasn’t changed from black to brown or yellow after 4 days outside the womb, it could be a sign that bub is having trouble digesting their new form of nutrients.
Black or red poo in older children can be a sign of internal bleeding or constipation.
Dark green or tan green poo in formula fed babies could be a sign of allergy or intolerance.
If you do notice your baby exhibiting poo of strange colours (outside of the food they’ve recently eaten), please do see your trusted health professional to make sure there’s no need for worry. They may be exhibiting other signs of discomfort, so you or your GP will usually be able to tell if something is wrong. If there is an issue, they’ll be able to prescribe medications or give advice to improve bub’s poo hue!
As always, if you need any help at all in training your child to sleep sweet and deep through the night, please get in touch with our team. We’ll be glad to help!
Sleep Sweet and Sleep Deep, friends!