When you take your baby home from hospital, it quickly becomes apparent that they get through a fair few – ok, loads of nappies in a day.
It’s not unheard of for parents to be changing them 10 or 12 times in 24 hours, in addition to feeding them, and not sleeping much, which, if you ask us, is a real Herculean effort.
Lots of these nappy changes should solely be for wees and there will also be a fair few poos. But how many poos are newborns meant to do exactly?
The answer will of course vary depending on your baby, their digestive system and whether they’re formula fed or breastfed or a bit of both. It will also depend on how many days old they are.
On days 1-2, for instance, babies will have one or more bowel movements per day and it’ll be a dark and sticky poo known as meconium.
After that, they start having more normal poos which are yellow in colour – although formula fed babies will have a slightly darker stool.
According to NCT, they should be having two or more poos per day on days 3-4 and at least two poos on days 5-6.
Some babies who breastfeed might poo after every feed in the early weeks, so it’s not unheard of for babies to be doing eight poos a day. (Trust me, I’ve seen it firsthand.)
Formula-fed babies might poo up to five times a day when newborn, the NHS says, but after a few months this typically reduces to once a day.
And by the time babies are one, they are typically doing one or two poos a day, so not as many nappy changes – but they’re a lot smellier at this point (as babies are eating food as well as having milk), and a lot bigger too. Lucky you.
What if my baby isn’t pooing?
Just as it’s normal for babies to do lots of pooing, it’s also normal for babies to not poo for a few days.
With very small babies, the NHS recommends that if they haven’t been able to do a poo for 24-48 hours you should speak to your midwife or health visitor. This is because it might indicate they’re not feeding properly.
But after 3-6 weeks, some little ones might not even poo for a week – and this can be totally normal.
Some red flags that would suggest you need to seek further medical advice include:
- If your baby is irritable and seems to be having stomach pain. Babies tend to pull their legs up to their stomach and cry when they are in pain, according to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
- Your baby hasn’t pooed, is vomiting and their belly looks like it is filled with gas.
- They manage to poo and there’s blood in their stool.
- Their constipation does not get better with treatment.