introducing the baby poop decoder!
wow, an entire post devoted exclusively to poop!
if you’re expecting your first baby, you probably have no idea just how important poop is about to become in your household. never before has poop had such priority, such meaning.
sudden, drastic changes in baby poop can be concerning though, especially for new moms. fear not! the official baby poop decoder has you covered. well, hopefully NOT “covered”, but informed! 
Tarry black poop, your baby’s first poop, is called meconium. You’ll never see it again once it passes.
Mustard poop is common for breastfed babies. Supposedly breastfed babies make sweeter smelling poop. I don’t know about you, but I’ve yet to meet a poop I’d call sweet.
Green poop is normal in the realm of baby poop. “Green”, “poop”, and “normal” all in one sentence. It’s so surreal.
Orange poop is also par for the course. I don’t know if it’s a par 3 or par 4. It’s definitely not a birdie.
Yellow poop - hello yellow! (It’s late, I’m tired, and I’m running out of cutesy ideas.) Yellow is normal.
Multiple color and color-changing poop - as long as the colors are listed above (sans meconium reference), there’s nothing to worry about. Baby poop changes colors on a frighteningly regular basis.
Chalky white poop could indicate that there is no bile from the liver to digest food. Call the doc.
Tarry black poop, when NOT the first poop, could mean there is blood in the digestive tract. Call the doc.
Bright red blood in poop means blood has been expressed very close to the anus (i.e. no time to turn black.) Call the doc.
Blue poop can only mean one thing…
Thank you for providing this page, it is a good idea. As a breastfeeding mom, I can vouch for the mild smell of all three of my babies’ poops! It is very mild and not offensive. This changes quite a lot as more and more solid food is introduced.
I want to suggest to you that, at least for breastfed babies, the only “normal” color for poop is mustard yellow. Green or presence of mucous is an indication that there is something in the mother’s diet that the baby is sensitive to. Orange I have never heard of or seen, but I think it would be cause for some concern. Maybe only artificially-fed (formula-fed) babies get this?
Of course, as long as we are talking about normal and healthy, it is clear that babies are meant to consume milk. From their own mothers.
Thanks for the note and for the insight from the perspective of a breastfeeding mother.
In my experience orange poop has occurred only after the introduction of solids. Before solids, both of my babies produced mustard yellow and greenish poop only.
Many mothers cannot breastfeed, and some choose not to. We support the feeding of babies, by whatever means their mothers provide.
Sorry, got away from my self - of course I didn’t mean only from their own mothers-there are times as you say that that cannot work out. In such instances there is a limited supply of donated milk that can help - see milkshare and milk banks. I myself am looking into beginning to build up my supply and donate milk.
and some will still have to use formula, sigh
No problem. What I meant was we support babies being fed, period. Breast or formula is the mother’s decision. I’ll leave it at that, as the intent of the baby poop post was not to begin a breast vs. bottle debate forum. haha
Dear Monica,
I love your original, color-coded post … baby poop changes as mom’s diet changes, and a varied diet is most healthy for all concerned. Human milk banks are too scarce (and poorly stocked) to supply all babies for mothers that cannot make enough milk. I nurse my babies/kids, but am keenly aware that many incredibly intelligent, healthy, productive members of society were bottle fed!! As long as the babies are fed and loved, it’s all good.
XXOO,
Victoria
My girl is 14 months. I have slowly weened her off of enflac with iron and now she drinks homo milk, water and her diet includes everything. In the last month or so, her poo is dry, nugget-like and yellow. She has prunes every other day and eats many other fruits, small bits of sandwich meat (ham), soups, fish, peas, cheerios, and yogurt. My friend told me to cut out the yogurt but her poo is still very dry. When it’s time for her to ‘perform’ it always looks like a blood vessel is going to burst due to the fact she has to puch so hard. Tears form in her eyes and it looks like it hurts. Any ideas as to what I should eliminate or add to her diet?
On the poop AND breastfeeding subject, I can say that orange poop in a breastfed baby is normal. I’m sure it means something about the diet of the mother, but our doctor assures me it is normal and healthy. As a matter of fact, just today my 4 month old son had an orange poopy explosion all over him, me, the exersaucer, the kitchen floor and the couch…he was quite satisfied after!
Just switched 4 month old from breast to formula a couple of weeks ago. Had mustard yellow with white seeds while breast feeding turned green when formula was introduced and now its back to mustard yellow with seeds and has had no breast in two weeks. What does this mean?
I enjoyed reading about poop colors, it taught me alot. When I have a baby im gonna save its first “tarry” poo-poo and call the ‘doc’ anyway just to sound like a tard. thankyou for the information I will now smell mustard poops!
-Poop Monster
Thanks for your site — my baby is pooping dark green. I just want to add one comment about breast feeding. Unfortunatley, I cannot breast feed. I therefore turned to formula because when doing research about milk banks I found this: “It does not always look the same because breastmilk changes it’s composition throughout the feedings, as well as throughout the day. As baby grows, breastmilk continues to change to meet the needs for optimal growth, at each stage of baby’s development . This means that mom’s breastmilk at four months is perfectly suited to the needs of her four month old baby, and at six months, perfectly suited for her six month.”
So, only my milk would have been the right mix for my baby and no-one elses. Therefore, milk from a bank may not provide the right nutrional value. Formula at least guarantees that — and I have a very health 8 month daughter to prove it.
Sorry to talk breast feeding on a poop site. But I felt compelled to respond to this.
au contraire, breast is still best
Is breast still best at the expense of a hungry baby or the mental/emotional health of the mother? As long as both are healthy it shouldn’t matter. There are entire generations raised on the bottle and we turned out great!
That’s enough poop about breast vs. bottle feeding on the poop post. I’m turning off comments before I get too emotionally involved and leave a poopy comment! hehe