• Healthy State
  • Careers
  • Education
  • Research
  • Giving
Ochsner Health Ochsner Health
  • About
  • Find A Doctor (current)
  • Find A Location
  • Specialties & Treatments
MyOchsner Logo
Login | Signup
Submit Search magnifying glass icon
Close Search X icon
  •   Home
  • In To Your Health...
  • Food & Fitness
  • Conditions & Treatment
  • Health Trends
  • Prevention & Wellness
  • Women's Health
  • Men's Health
  • Mental Health
  • Parenting
  • I need to...
  • Find A Doctor
  • Find A Location
  • Find A Specialty
  • Schedule An Appointment
  • Pay A Bill
  • Explore
  • About Ochsner
  • Careers
  • Patients & Visitors
  • "To Your Health" Blog
  • Health Resources
  • Medical Professionals
  • Education
  • Philanthropy
  • Community Outreach
  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Research
  • Ochsner Health Network
  • Schedule an Appointment
  • Call: 1-866-624-7637
  • Online: Login to MyOchsner
  • Personalize your content
  • patient Edit Persona Persona Chooser
To Your Health

View Newsletter Editions
  • Food & Fitness
  • Conditions & Treatment
  • Health Trends
  • Prevention & Wellness
  • Women's Health
  • Men's Health
  • Mental Health
  • Parenting
Mom changing baby diaper

What is Your Baby’s Poop Telling You?

Jul 2, 2021 |
By Elizabeth Olson, MD
Share Facebook Logo Twitter Logo Pinterest Logo Email Logo

If there’s one thing every parent deals with, it’s poop. From your everyday diaper changes to the dreaded bath time blowouts, poop is just part of the job. If you are like most parents, you have probably spent a considerable amount of time inspecting your baby’s poop. Questions like, “Does this look normal to you?” or “How can they possibly poop this much?” are common.

We are here to answer your poop questions and answer the biggest question of all – “What is your baby’s poop telling you?”

Healthy guts start with food

For the first four to six months, your baby will be consuming exclusively breast milk or formula. Once you transition your baby to more solid food, you will start to notice more formed stool.

Fruits that start with “p” make you poop – peaches, pears and prunes are the “Stage 1” baby foods you should always keep on hand. If your baby is struggling with poop, try one ounce of pear or prune juice to get the poop flowing. Once your baby is eating from a spoon, it is always better to eat the actual fruit rather than drinking juice.

If fruits that start with “p” aid in digestion, foods that are white can make your baby’s poop too hard. Foods in this category include cheese, bananas, white rice, white pasta, white sugar and white bread/buns. Milk is another culprit, and no child should have plain cow’s milk before turning one.

If the frequency of your baby’s poop seems normal, but the consistency could use a little softening, try whole grains like brown rice, brown pasta and brown bread. If you start rice cereal and your baby seams to struggle more with poop, then change to an oatmeal cereal and add peaches, pears or prunes daily.

It is always important to hydrate. Infants under six months should never consumer water. After six months, adding a small amount of water daily can help with hydration and digestion.

Consistency is key

Poop that is soft means that your baby is happy and healthy. But sometimes you may be concerned that your baby’s poop is too soft or watery. If your baby is under six months, increase their fluid intake by feeding more breast milk or formula. After six months, it is OK to incorporate water as mentioned above.

If your baby’s poop is too hard, this could signal constipation. Constipation in babies means that the poop is too hard to pass normally; it is not related to the frequency of bowel movements. Sometimes a breast-fed baby can continue to have soft, normal stool but only pass the stool once a week.

Gravity helps digestion

Gravity is your best friend when it comes to getting babies to poop. Holding babies not only boosts their happy hormones, but it allows gravity to go to work to help with their digestion. Many of the muscles that allow food to pass through the gut are like purse strings. They need to open to let the food in and then close to prevent things from going the wrong way, either by spitting up or not pooping. These are very complicated muscles and nerves that need time to develop; therefore, they do not always work smoothly in young babies. After all, your baby’s gut is immature just like the rest of their body. By holding your baby upright, you can keep everything going in the right direction and prevent crying, excessive spitting, buildup of gas and constipation.

If your baby is not pooping as frequently as in the past and they are becoming fussy, be sure to give frequent feeds and hold your baby upright for 30 minutes after each feed. You can also bicycle their legs and massage their bellies after holding them upright to get everything moving.

When to call us

Trust your parental instincts. If you feel that something is wrong our team of pediatricians are here to examine your baby and go over any concerns. While most changes in your baby are nothing to worry about, here are a few instances where you need to contact your child’s pediatrician:

  • If your baby decreases how much they are eating or drinking
  • If your baby has a fever greater than 100.5 in a baby less than three months old
  • If your baby has decreased the amount of wet diapers, especially if they have less than three in 24 hours.
  • If your baby’s vomit is “tennis ball” green, or has blood
  • If your baby’s poop contains blood

Still have questions? Talk to one of our pediatricians.

Tags
pediatrics

You may also be interested in:

Mom with Toddler in Diaper
Prevention & Wellness
August 5, 2022

What is Your Toddler’s Poop Telling You?

We are here to answer your poop questions and answer the biggest question of all – “What is your toddler’s poop telling you?”
By Elizabeth Olson, MD
Kid on Toilet
Prevention & Wellness
August 5, 2022

What is Your Child’s Poop Telling You?

We are here to answer any poop questions you or your child may still have and answer the biggest question of all – “What is your child’s poop telling you?”
By Elizabeth Olson, MD

email envelop icon Comments about the blog? Send us an email!

Ochsner Health

Schedule An Appointment: 1-866-624-7637

Follow us: Facebook Follow Ochsner Health on TikTok Twitter Follow Ochsner Health on Twitter LinkedIn Visit Ochsner Health's LinkedIn page Instagram Follow Ochsner Health on Instagram YouTube Subscribe to Ochsner Health on YouTube Pinterest Follow Ochsner Health on Pinterest TikTok Follow Ochsner Health on TikTok

Healthy living tips newsletters, delivered to your inbox.

Sign Up

Patients & Visitors

  • Billing & Financial Services
  • Insurance Information
  • International Patients
  • Request Medical Records
  • Share Your Story
  • Read Patient Stories

Medical Professionals

  • Transfer a Patient
  • Refer a Patient

Health Resources

  • To Your Health Blog
  • Golden Opportunity
  • Healthy State
  • Ochsner Magazine

Job Seekers

  • Career Paths
  • Benefits
  • Open Positions

Employees

  • Webmail
  • OHSLink
  • Workday

Employers

  • Corporate Wellness
  • Medicare Advantage Plans

Community Outreach

  • Classes & Events
  • Programs
  • Community Health Needs Assessment
  • Dr. John Ochsner Discovery Health Sciences Academy

Education

  • Graduate Medical Education
  • Clinical Medical Education
  • Continuing Medical Education
  • Medical Library
  • Publishing Services
  • Medical Illustrations

Research

  • Clinical Trials
  • Applied Health Services Research
  • Clinical Research & Trials
  • Nursing Research
  • Translational Research

Giving

  • Donate
  • Volunteer

About Ochsner

  • Mission & Vision
  • History
  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Annual Report
  • Outcomes & Honors
  • News & Media
  • Alumni
  • Ochsner Health Network
  • Contact Us

Shop

  • O Bar
  • Optical Shop
  • Ochsner Fitness Center
  • Brent House Hotel

© Ochsner Health  | Notice of Privacy Practices | Terms of Use | Vendor Information

Ochsner accepts all major insurances.

Ochsner is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, founded on providing the best patient care, research, and education.

We are one of the country’s largest non-university based academic medical centers.

Ochsner is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

Community Needs Health Assessment

EpicMobile Tablet | EpicMobile Phone

newsletter icon

Subscribe to Our Newsletters

newsletter icon

Select the newsletters you'd like to receive.

Please select at least one category to continue.

Curious about our newsletters?

View details for each edition
newsletter icon

Let us know where to send your newsletters.

To Your Health- Food and Fitness:
To Your Health- General:
To Your Health- Men’s Health:
To Your Health- Parenting:
To Your Health- Women’s Health:
To Your Health-Mental Health Monthly":
To Your Health- Skin Deep:

Source:
Source Description:
Marketing Goal:
newsletter icon

You're all set!

We’ll send newsletters full of healthy living tips right to your inbox.

Ochsner Health System
magnifying glass icon
ESC to Close

Begin Typing to Search

Select the drop-down to filter Search by Blog Articles or Sitewide