Fifty Shades of Poo - The Ultimate Scoop on Baby Poop

Maternity Nurse Hong Kong
Dec 19, 2017
4 min read

Updated: Dec 11

Working as a Maternity Nurse in Hong Kong has blessed me with the opportunity to give welcome advice on a huge list of new mommy concerns - topping that list is the subject of Poo.

"Has she pooped?" "What time did he poo?" "Why is her poo green?" "He pooped 3 times today, is that normal?" ... and many other similar questions related to, yes you guessed it - POO. If you're reading this as a soon to be first-time mum, the obsession with poo is something you're not likely to be familiar with, but once your little bundle arrives you'll too be joining the ever growing list of stool gazers - trust me! Everything that goes in must come out, and being responsible for the "everything that goes in" will rightly have you obsessing over the "everything that comes out" ... not surprisingly really, where by the end of year one you'll probably have changed in excess of 2,300 diapers! It's a dirty job but someone has to tell you, so without further ado let's get down to discussing poo.

Newborn Baby Poop:

Greeny-black, tarry, sludgy, sticky

For the first few days after the birth, your new baby will pass green-black poo, called Meconium. This sticky, almost tarry poo is composed of amniotic fluid, mucus, bile, water and other products your baby ingested while in your uterus. Although quite a disgusting sight for first-time parents, it's appearance signals that baby's bowels are working normally.

Fortunately it has no smell which is wonderfully beneficial for easing you slowly into the diapering game, however because of its high viscosity it does have the tendency to cling to baby's skin. To avoid the extra elbow grease required during meconium diaper changes you may want to apply a little organic coconut oil to baby's bottom, which will not only help in removing the meconium in one sweep, but is also very nourishing for baby's skin.

Transitional Baby Poop:

Green, less sticky than meconium

Around 2-4 days after birth, baby's poo will begin a transitional phase, and you'll notice that it has taken on a less sticky texture and be brown/green or slightly lighter than the meconium in colour. It may also contain whitish curds. This transitional stage usually presents itself in 3 stages, each lasting

a varying amount of time, but becoming less sticky and lighter in colour through each stage. The timing of this transitional

phase is largely dependent on when your milk comes in, and how much of it your baby is ingesting.

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Breastfed Baby Poop: Yellowish, seedy, curdy

	A breastfed baby’s poop will be yellowish-green and grainy, or seedy. Those little “seeds” are undigested milk fat, and are totally normal. Unlike formula-fed baby's poo, breastfed baby poo doesn't have an offensive smell as such, and can be described as having an almost sweet/yeasty type aroma.
	Diapering, or removing breastfed baby poop from skin is easier than meconium, however I should add that it can (and will at times) be messy business! Which brings us on to the subject of Projectile Poo - aptly coined as it most definitely comes with some force behind it!

Please heed this advice:

Have a new diaper ready for use, as soon as you remove the soiled one.
Slipping the new diaper underneath before removing the soiled one, even better.
Not having to clean baby poop off those newly painted nursery walls, priceless.

Projectile poo is explosive, and the truth is, you haven't been officially initiated until you've had to deal with a diaper blow-out. Be prepared!!

"I once worked with a family who had decorated their new baby's nursery Beatrix Potter style - beautiful pastel tone-on-tone in feminine shades, wallpaper design featuring Peter Rabbit along with his friends Benjamin Bunny and Jemima Puddle-Duck, long flowing white drapes hung at the windows and plush wall-to-wall white carpeting covered the floor. Exquisitely decorated ..... until that first projectile poo that literally flew about 8 ft across the room, drowning poor Peter Rabbit and Co and staining the curtains (and carpet!)"

Your breastfed baby's stools may change in colour, and you may even notice the occasional green poo, which is all quite normal. Should you notice an increase in green poops however (these can also be quite frothy), it could suggest a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance, or an intolerance to something in your diet, like cow's milk.

Formula Fed Baby Poop

Light brown, pasty

The texture, colour, smell, amount, frequency, and colour of a formula fed baby's poop is different to that of breastfed babies. 'Formula poo' is thicker, it's light brown in colour (opposed to yellowish), and it has more of a pungent smell (although less offensive than a baby already eating solids)

While many unusual colours and textures in your baby’s diaper are harmless—often related to diet or normal variations—some truly do warrant medical attention.

of "The Complete Scoop on Baby Poop" - 140 Pages on EVERYTHING you need to know about poop!

Green, Frothy:	Hard, Pellet-Shaped:	Black:

Pale, Clay Coloured	Blood-Stained

Ready to Become a Confident Poop Detective?

Don’t let diaper changes be a source of worry or confusion!

With The Complete Guide to Baby Poop, you’ll gain the knowledge, tools, and reassurance to understand your baby’s digestive health like never before.