Let’s Talk Dirty… Diapers

Dr. Greene talking about dirty diapersDr. Greene’s take on dirty diapers…

There is no one right answer about your baby’s poop frequency, color, smell, and texture.

Your baby’s poop is going to change over time and will be different depending on diet — breastfed, formula, solids all make a difference. When those changes happen, many (especially new) parents have serious questions.

Have you ever looked into your baby’s diaper and wondered:

  • Is my baby sick?
  • How do I know when my baby is constipated and when it’s a normal amount of time between dirty diapers?
  • Is this color really okay?
  • What consistency should my baby’s poop be?
  • Shouldn’t my baby’s poop smell?

Yep, some parents are concerned that their breastfed darling’s poop doesn’t smell.

In this week’s video I’ve addressed some of those questions with special attention to breastfed vs formula fed babies.

Most babies in the US today are not exclusively breastfed before starting solids. If you’re supplementing breastfeeding with some formula, your baby will likely fall between the two scenarios I talk about in the video.

If you do introduce formula into your baby’s diet, your baby’s poop will likely change. Even if you’re just supplementing breast milk with formula, I’m afraid you can say goodbye to those smell-free dirty diapers days.

For more information on poop (or if I didn’t answer all your questions in this video):

Who changes the diapers in your household? Do you share findings with your baby’s other parent? Be honest, it’s okay to talk dirty (diapers) with your significant other.

Dr. Greene is a practicing physician, author, national and international TEDx speaker, and global health advocate. He is a graduate of Princeton University and University of California San Francisco.

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  1. Amy

    Dr. Greene. Hi. My 3 month old baby has had diarrhea for 4 weeks now. It started 2 weeks after taking her off of enfamil and putting her on similac pro sensitive. It has been great with her reflux and gas and fussiness but the diarrhea is about 6 to 8 a day. Even passing gas a little diarrhea ones out. They say this formula is close to breast milk. Could this be normal? She is a happy baby and has many peeler diapers a day so I know she isn’t dehydrated. Her doc just told me to rice to her formula but or is still watery. Its almost like her poo is a breastfed babies poo. Please let me know what you think. Healthy or not? Thanks

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  2. Ruth Reynolds

    Dr. Greene, my 6 month old is exclusively breast feed and she poops 3-4 times a day and most nights. At one point, she did seem to stop pooping at night, but it’s a bit frustrating as it wakes her up. Her poop has always been the “right” colors of yellow or green but has always been sticky looking. After watching your video, I’m curious why my little one seems to go so often when it can be common for breast feed babies not be able to go longer periods of time.

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