Baby Poop Chart — Colour Guide & Newborn Tracker
Baby Poop Chart: A plain-English colour and consistency guide for newborns, plus a simple diaper counter for the days when you are too tired to remember anything. Everything on this page is educational only, and the counter keeps its counts in this browser — nothing is uploaded, no account, no cloud.
The usual progression
In the first weeks a newborn’s stool changes quickly. This sequence, described in NHS and AAP guidance for new parents, is what is typically seen.
Meconium
Sticky, tar-like, green-black. This is the stool your baby passes in the first day or two, made of what they swallowed before birth. It should move on within a few days.
Transitional stool
Greenish-brown and looser as milk feeds take over. This in-between stage is expected while feeding gets established.
Breastfed
Typically mustard yellow, loose and soft, sometimes with a seedy texture. Frequency varies a lot: after most feeds in the early weeks is common, and widely spaced stools can also be normal later on.
Formula-fed
Typically tan to pale brown, a little firmer and more paste-like than breastfed stool, and often less frequent.
Colours to act on promptly
These are not diagnoses, and this page does not detect anything. They are the appearances that pediatric guidance, including NHS and AAP materials for parents, says are worth a prompt call. When in doubt, call anyway — that is never the wrong move with a newborn.
White, pale or clay-coloured
Chalky, pale or clay-like stools can sometimes signal that bile is not reaching the gut as it should. This always needs prompt medical review — do not wait to see if it recurs.
Black, after the meconium days
Once the first few days of meconium have passed, black stool is no longer expected and can sometimes indicate bleeding higher in the gut.
Red or bloody
Visible red blood or red-streaked stool can have several causes, some minor and some not. It is always worth a medical opinion rather than a guess.
This page is educational and does not analyse, screen, or diagnose. Only a clinician who can see your baby can do that. If something worries you, contact your pediatrician.
Newborn diaper counter
Tap once per diaper. That is the whole interface — built for one-handed use at 3am. Counts are saved in this browser only and are shown for the last seven days.
| Day | Wet | Dirty |
|---|
Counts live in this browser’s local storage on your device. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Cadence has an infancy mode.
The Cadence app for Android logs feeds, wet and dirty diapers, and stool notes in a couple of taps, then exports a tidy summary you can hand to your pediatrician. On-device only: no account, no ads, nothing about your child leaves your phone. Join the waitlist and we will tell you when it is ready.
Join the Android waitlist →