When I became a parent, conversations about baby poop does not make me flinch or feel gross at all. In fact, a few months back, I was on a texting spree with my mom relatives and friends about the poop schedule of their babies, as my exclusively breastfed then 8-month-old baby’s poop won’t come until 3 to 5 days.

As a first-time mom, I was dead worried that I was also always in touch with my daughter’s pediatrician. When the situation persisted for a few more weeks, my mom instinct nudged me to ask for a recommendation for a specialist, so my husband and I consulted a pediatric gastroenterologist. Here’s what we learned:

When you consult your doctor, he or she will definitely ask the following questions, so make sure you have an accurate record of answers:

• What is your baby’s milk?
• Have you introduced other types of milk aside from what was first introduced?
• How frequently does your baby poop in a day as a newborn?
• When did you start noticing the change in poop schedule?
• When did your baby start eating solids?
• How often does your baby poop now?

I distinctly remember our pedia-gastro telling us that when we talk about a child’s poop, we don’t only note the frequency, but also the consistency. We were asked to describe what her poop usually looks like from the Bristol stool chart, showing the different types and shapes of stools:

I identified my daughter’s poop as Type 4, “like a sausage-shaped stool, but smooth and soft.”

I must admit that I was too focused on my baby’s lack of passing poop in a day, that I wasn’t extending my vision to other symptoms. Fortunately, my baby maintained her weight and she’s always in a happy disposition, so all these questions were answered with an easy “no.”

In between her pooping days, has your baby:

• shown fussiness or irritability?
• vomited?
• lost weight?
• looked and felt weak?
• lost interest in eating or drinking milk?

While pooping, does your baby show difficulty in passing stool?

According to our doctor, some parents panic when they don’t see their children poop in days, to the point that they give their children laxatives or suppositories. This shouldn’t be the case as any worrisome change should be communicated with the doctor first. The doctor also sternly reminded us how important it is for babies to poop on their own.

Since our daughter has been eating solids for months now, our doctor reminded us to give her a variety of food, so she gets the right nutrition she needs. She also asked us to avoid sticking to a particular food even if we notice that it is her favorite. Moreover, she asked us to avoid artificially sweet and very salty food.

Even after our consultation with our two doctors, I still kept my communication with my mommy friends whose children are also exclusively breastfed. I learned that my baby’s situation is fairly common. Learning this was a relief for me and my husband.

At the time of writing, my baby’s poop still comes in 3-4 days, but it’s not a cause of bother any longer because we already know what to do and what to watch out for. Most importantly, our pediatricians are very generous enough to share their time in replying to our messages whenever we have questions.