Baby Poop Textures
As a follow up to the previous post on baby poop colors , today I’m going to talk about baby poop textures. Let’s tackle the abnormal textures, or warning sign textures, first.
Worrying Baby Poop Textures
Watery
Loose and watery, baby’s diarrhea can lead to dehydration. It can also signal a food allergy reaction, an infection, or issues with fat absorption.
Hard and Dry
On the other end of the baby poop textures spectrum is the hard, pebble like poops characteristic of constipation.
Frothy or Stringy
If your baby’s poop looks “frothy” or there are glistening shiny string-like pieces, that’s mucous. Mucous can be the result of a food allergy reaction, an infection, or just plain teething.
Greasy
Super soft, shiny, and greasy stools are a sign of malabsorption, usually specifically the malabsorption of fat. If it is fat malabsorption, it will also have a foul odor. If you put it in water, it will float.
Helpful Hint
If you aren’t sure what you’re looking at, put the questionable diaper in a ziplock bag and keep it in the refrigerator until you can bring it in to your doctor or other health care provider. Always seek professional medical help if your baby is showing signs of an illness!
Healthy Baby Poop Textures
Newborn
The first few poops a baby has are different than other poops. It’s called meconium and it’s a thick, super sticky, blackish substance. It looks a little bit like tar. Once the meconium is passed, your baby’s poop should look like normal breastfed or formula fed poop.
Breastfed
Loose and “seedy”, the breastfed baby’s poop looks a lot like Dijon mustard, but it has almost no smell.
Formula Fed
The formula fed baby will more closely resemble hummus in its texture, being generally thicker than breastfed baby poop textures.
Partially Digested Food
Seeing some chunks of undigested food in your baby’s diaper once they’re on to solids is normal for the most part. It does indicate that they are having trouble digesting those foods, though, so you may want to limit how much they eat of that particular food at a given sitting to prevent tummy aches or gassiness.