It’s natural for parents of newborns and infants to have lots of questions about their baby. But there’s one topic that may be a surprisingly regular source of conversation: poop. When was the last time they pooped? Why is the poop such a strange color? What does the texture mean? 

“Babies all have different types of stools, and every baby’s a little bit different,” says Dr. Ali Andre Mencin, a pediatric gastroenterologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. “The first message I always give to parents is that whatever you’re seeing, it is usually normal, so first, take a deep breath and relax.”

A baby’s stool contains many different elements including digested food, bacteria, bile and mucus. As babies grow and start eating solid foods, the poop texture and poop colors can change quite a bit. Different types of stools can often cause anxiety for parents, but a colorful palate of poop is usually a sign of a healthy, growing baby, says Dr. Mencin.

The frequency of stools also changes based on what a baby is eating. “It’s important to be aware that children, especially infants, are still trying to learn how to go to the bathroom,” he says. “As long as they are going once or twice a day, or even every other day, there’s usually nothing to worry about. The one exception is breast fed infants. Breast fed infants can sometimes go several days, sometimes over a week, without a bowel movement which is considered normal.”

Here is a list of the most common baby poop colors and what they mean: 

Black: In the first two or three days of life, a baby’s poop will be very dark or even black. These black poops are called meconium. They’re sticky and look like tar. Meconium is digested amniotic fluid, bile, and intestinal secretions. But don’t worry, these black poops are totally healthy and a sign that the baby’s intestinal tract is working properly.

When babies grow older and start to eat more solid food, usually between four and six months of age, the stool changes color depending on the diet. They change from yellow and green shades to darker brown. “Foods higher in iron can cause the stool to become very dark, even blackish in color,” says Dr. Mencin “But the stool will be more formed — not the black, tarry stools you see in newborns.”

If you see black stools which are also tarry in consistency in an older child, it could indicate there is bleeding somewhere in the intestine and the child should be evaluated by a health care provider.

Yellow and Green: Once babies start breastfeeding or drinking formula, the poop transitions quickly from black meconium to yellowish or greenish stools with a mustard consistency. If the stool is greenish and very watery with streaks of mucus and blood, it may be a sign of a protein allergy which can present a few weeks after birth. “I get the green stool question a lot,” says Dr. Mencin. “Green is a variant of normal, so it’s not usually something we need to be too concerned about.”

Red: Red stools are unusual in infants. The red color could be from a tiny tear (called a rectal fissure) from straining, or even from blood expressed with breast milk. With a fissure, the blood will usually be bright red in color and appear as a streak or spot on the stool.

Some babies may develop mild constipation as they begin to eat more food or as they transition to cow’s milk at one year. Harder stools and straining commonly cause fissures. A small amount of bright red blood can be alarming to see, but it usually means that that blood is coming from the very edge of the anus from a fissure. Fissures can be safely managed with a change in diet or treatment with a gentle laxative.

If a baby enjoys eating large amounts of red colored foods like beets or watermelon, the stools can also have a reddish color. Although these conditions are not dangerous, any child with suspected blood in the stool should be evaluated by a health care provider.

White: White and gray stools are very rare and may be cause for concern. These poops could be a sign of a liver disease called biliary atresia which presents by 2 to 3 months of age. White and gray colored stools means there may not be enough bile in the stool to give it the typical dark color. It’s best to check with a pediatrician if you see white or gray stools in a young infant.