Baby Poop Colour Chart

Most colours in your baby's nappy are normal — and what a colour means depends a lot on how your baby is fed. Green means something different on breastmilk than it does on formula. Tell us how your baby feeds and the chart below will say which reading applies to you.

Last updated 13 August 2026 · Based on AAP, NHS and WHO infant guidance

If you're here about one of these, don't wait

Three colours need a pediatrician the same day rather than a wait-and-see. Everything else on this page can be read at your own pace.

How is your baby fed?

Every reading below is shown either way — this just highlights yours.

Mustard yellow

Normal

Soft mustard yellow, often loose and seedy with a texture like cottage cheese. This is the classic healthy baby stool and the most common colour in the first months of life.

Breastfed This is the ideal for a breastfed baby. The seedy, mustard-yellow look means breastmilk is being digested exactly as it should be.
Formula Yellow appears in formula-fed babies too, though it is usually a little firmer and more tan than the classic breastfed mustard.
Mixed Expect yellow to shift between the seedy breastfed look and the firmer formula one depending on the balance of feeds that day.
On solids Yellow is still normal once solids start, though stools generally darken and firm up as the diet widens.

What to do

  • Nothing — this is what you want to see
  • Keep feeding as you are

Tan / light brown

Normal

Tan to light brown, usually firmer and more formed than breastfed stool, with a stronger smell. Perfectly healthy.

Breastfed Less common on breastmilk alone, but not a concern on its own if your baby is feeding well and comfortable.
Formula This is the typical formula-fed result. Firmer and less frequent than a breastfed baby's is expected, not a problem.
On solids Very common once solids are established.

What to do

  • No action needed
  • Firmer than breastfed stool is normal on formula

Brown

Normal

Medium brown and formed. Increasingly common as your baby's diet widens, and the standard colour once they are eating a full range of foods.

On solids Expected once solids are established. Stools become darker, thicker and noticeably smellier — that is the digestive system adapting, not a problem.

What to do

  • No action needed

Dark brown

Normal

Dark brown and well formed. Normal, particularly in older babies and toddlers eating a varied diet. Worth distinguishing from truly black stool, which is a different matter.

What to do

  • No action needed
  • If it looks black rather than dark brown, read the black section below

Green

Usually fine

Green is very common in babies and usually harmless. It generally means stool moved through quickly, so bile did not have time to fully break down. The likely reason depends on how your baby is fed.

Breastfed Often a foremilk–hindmilk imbalance: baby is getting more of the watery milk at the start of a feed than the richer, fattier milk at the end. Try letting them fully drain one breast before offering the other.
Formula Usually the iron in the formula, which is completely harmless. Some formulas simply produce greener stools than others.
Mixed Could be either — the iron in formula or a foremilk–hindmilk imbalance on the breastfed side. Neither is a concern by itself.
On solids Often just green foods: spinach, peas, beans. Iron-fortified cereals also turn stool green.

What to do

  • No action needed if your baby is feeding well, comfortable and gaining weight
  • Breastfeeding? Let baby finish one side before switching
  • Call your pediatrician if green comes with mucus, blood, or your baby seems unwell

Black / very dark

Call your pediatrician

In the first few days of life, black, sticky, tar-like stool is meconium and is completely normal — it usually gives way to yellow or green within the first week. Iron supplements also darken stool harmlessly. Outside those two explanations, black stool can indicate bleeding higher in the digestive tract and needs same-day advice.

What to do

  • First days of life: this is meconium, and it is expected
  • On an iron supplement or iron-fortified formula: iron turns stool black and is harmless
  • Otherwise, contact your pediatrician today
  • Go to urgent care if your baby seems unwell, pale or in pain

Red

Call your pediatrician

Red foods — beetroot, tomato, red berries — can colour stool harmlessly in babies who have started solids. Without a food explanation, red can mean a small amount of bleeding in the lower digestive tract and should be checked.

What to do

  • Think back over the last 24 hours: any beetroot, tomato or red fruit?
  • No food explanation — call your pediatrician to describe what you saw
  • Take a photo; it genuinely helps the doctor assess
  • Go to urgent care if bleeding is obvious or your baby is distressed or feverish

White / pale / clay

Call your pediatrician

Pale, white or chalky clay-coloured stool can mean bile is not reaching the intestines. It is rare, but it can be a sign of biliary atresia, a liver condition where early diagnosis makes a substantial difference to the outcome. This one does not wait.

What to do

  • Contact your pediatrician today, or go to urgent care
  • Take a photo of the nappy to show the doctor
  • Check for yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes (jaundice) and unusually dark urine

What to expect at each age

Nappies change a lot in the first year. What is normal at three days old is not what is normal at nine months.

Newborn

0–3 months

The first stools are meconium: dark, sticky and greenish-black. Over the first week they shift to yellow or green as feeding establishes. Breastfed babies settle into loose, seedy mustard yellow; formula-fed babies into firmer tan.

How often: Breastfed babies often go after most feeds — several times a day. Formula-fed babies typically go less often. Both are normal.

Infant

3–6 months

A settled, predictable pattern. Colour and consistency stay fairly stable, so a sudden change is more meaningful now than it was in the newborn weeks.

How often: Breastfed babies can swing from several times a day to once every few days — and going a few days without a stool can be normal at this age if the baby is comfortable and the stool is soft when it comes.

Older infant

6–12 months

Solids change everything. Stools darken, thicken and smell considerably stronger. Seeing recognisable pieces of undigested food is normal and not a sign of a digestion problem.

How often: Usually once or twice a day, though it varies with what they have eaten.

Toddler

1 year+

Increasingly adult-like: brown and formed. Colour now tracks food closely, so a strongly coloured meal shows up the next day.

How often: Typically once a day, but anywhere from three times a day to every other day is within normal.

When to call your pediatrician

Whatever the colour, these need medical advice. Babies dehydrate far faster than adults, so err toward calling.

  • Pale, white or clay-coloured stool
  • Red or black stool with no food or iron explanation
  • Blood or streaks of blood in the nappy
  • Watery stools that keep coming, especially with vomiting — babies dehydrate fast
  • Fewer wet nappies than usual, a sunken soft spot, or no tears when crying
  • Hard, pellet-like stool that is clearly painful to pass
  • Fever alongside a change in stool
  • Yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes
  • A baby who seems unwell, floppy or unusually hard to settle

At the next appointment, they'll ask

"How often, what colour, since when?" — and it is genuinely hard to remember past yesterday on broken sleep. Flushy has a baby profile that logs it in seconds, adapts its guidance to feeding type and age, and exports a clean summary for your pediatrician.

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Frequently asked questions

What colour should baby poop be?

Mustard yellow is the classic healthy colour for a breastfed baby, often loose and seedy. Formula-fed babies usually produce firmer tan or light brown stool. Both are normal, as are green and darker brown once solids begin. The colours that need attention are white or pale, red without a food explanation, and black beyond the first days of life.

Is green baby poop normal?

Usually, yes. Green means stool moved through quickly so bile did not fully break down. In breastfed babies it can point to a foremilk–hindmilk imbalance; in formula-fed babies it is most often the iron in the formula, which is harmless. Green with mucus or blood, or a baby who seems unwell, should be checked by a pediatrician.

Why is my breastfed baby's poop mustard yellow and seedy?

That is exactly what breastmilk digestion looks like. The seedy, cottage-cheese texture in soft mustard-yellow stool is the ideal result for a breastfed baby and a sign feeding is going well.

What does white or pale baby poop mean?

Pale, white or clay-coloured stool can mean bile is not reaching the intestines, which is rare but can indicate biliary atresia — a liver condition where early diagnosis significantly changes the outcome. Contact your pediatrician the same day, and take a photo of the nappy to show them.

Is black baby poop normal?

In the first few days of life, yes — that is meconium, and it is expected. Iron supplements and iron-fortified formula also turn stool black harmlessly. Outside those explanations, black stool can indicate bleeding higher in the digestive tract and should be assessed the same day.

How often should a newborn poop?

Breastfed newborns often go after most feeds, several times a day. Formula-fed newborns typically go less frequently. From around 3 to 6 weeks, some breastfed babies go several days between stools, which is normal provided the baby is comfortable and the stool is soft when it arrives.

Does switching to formula change poop colour?

Yes, and quite noticeably. Formula-fed stools are usually firmer, tan or light brown rather than mustard yellow, stronger smelling, and less frequent. The iron in formula also makes green stool more likely. All of this is expected within a few days of switching.

Is undigested food in my baby's poop a problem?

No. Recognisable pieces of sweetcorn, peas or carrot are very common once solids start. A baby's digestive system is still maturing and moves food through quickly. It is only worth raising if it comes with diarrhoea, poor weight gain or obvious discomfort.

Keep reading

Sources & disclaimer

  • American Academy of Pediatrics — HealthyChildren.org, infant stool and feeding guidance.
  • NHS — baby poo, newborn feeding and when to get help.
  • World Health Organization — infant and young child feeding.
  • ESPGHAN — European paediatric gastroenterology guidance on complementary feeding.

This page is general information for parents, not medical advice, and it cannot diagnose anything. You know your baby better than any chart does — if something feels wrong, call your pediatrician. For pale or white stool, or blood in the nappy, call today.