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New parents can’t help but be obsessed with the newest addition to their family. After all, your baby depends on you to cater to their every need and this can be tricky. A baby’s body doesn’t work like an adult one. And sometimes it can be hard to gauge if what you’re seeing is normal or not. Think about it, the prospect of an adult needing to eat every other hour or so and sleeping soundly throughout the day and night can be alarming. But that’s just a day in the life of a newborn. So, it stands to reason that things may not be in your realm of normal when it comes to their toilet habits either. Did you know that babies charge through a whopping 2000 diapers or more just in their first year (1)? But the initial phase of parenthood may pose challenges while trying to navigate through the specifics of how many diapers to use or how many times your baby needs to poop. So, if you’ve been worried about what’s normal and what’s not, this is the article for you. Read on to figure out how often your newborn should be pooping.
Your Baby’s First Poop
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As you’ve probably guessed, there is no concrete answer to the question of how often your baby is supposed to poop. After all, every baby is different. But there are certain things that are universal that you should know about. And this includes their first poop. Most babies pass their first stool within the first two days of birth (2). This is called meconium and these stools are described as sticky, tar-like and thick. Gross, we know, but an indication that your child is healthy. Meconium consists of skin cells that your baby shed and swallowed while in the womb (3). And chances are that the first several diaper chances you’ll have to undertake will consist of meconium until your baby’s whole digestive system is flushed out of all the residual matter from birth. And unfortunately for you, this means keeping an abundance of baby wipes handy in order to wipe the sticky substance off your newborn. But after this stage is over and the meconium is cleared out of your little one’s body, the regular consistency of their stool will depend on whether they feed on breastmilk or formula.
How Often Do Breastfed Newborns Poop?
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One can never say for certain but be prepared and expect breastfed babies to poop a lot. The frequency will gradually reduce in a few weeks time. But one thing to keep in mind is that breastfed babies generally poop less than formula-fed babies as they grow. But your baby’s gastrocolic reflex, that is responsible for the poop signal, is still developing and not completely mature (4). Resultantly, your baby’s body prepares to make more room for food by triggering bowel movements each time they feed on milk (5). And this is why your baby needs to poop so often and you’re left changing their diapers every couple of hours. Meanwhile, there are some babies who are breastfed that poop just once in 2 days or so after their first 2 weeks of birth. And yes, this is healthy too. In fact, it could be considered normal for your exclusively breastfed baby to poop as infrequently as once a week after birth (6). How interesting is that!
How Often Do Formula Fed Newborns Poop?
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If you are giving your baby only formula then you can expect your baby to poop around 4 times a day. It’s also important to know that formula-fed babies often pass less but bigger and different-smelling stools. And this is essentially because of slow bowel movements when they are formula fed as opposed to if they were breastfed (7). However, some formula-fed babies poop less frequently. This depends on the particular baby’s digestive system. But in general, a formula-fed baby’s stools will be either a yellowish or brown color and a lot firmer than that of breastfed babies.
When To Call A Doctor
New parents are usually trigger happy when calling their pediatrician. But here’s when you actually contact your doctor. If your baby’ stools are hard and dry in consistency, if they refuse to eat or make strained faces. If their stomach is hard or if they experience slight bleeding from stretched anal walls. In these cases, contact your doctor immediately.
Telling if your baby is pooping enough or too much will take some time. But for the most part, if your baby is active and seems to be eating properly. There’s nothing to worry about!
