There are many shades of normal when it comes to baby poop. Here's a color-by-color guide:

• Black. After birth, a baby's first bowel movements are black and tarry. This type of baby poop is known as meconium.
• Green-brown. As the baby begins digesting breast milk, meconium is replaced with green-brown and then yellow-brown bowel movements.
• Yellow. By about five days after birth, breast-fed babies usually have seedy, loose bowel movements that are yellow to yellow-green or tan in color.
• Brown. If you feed your baby formula, his or her bowel movements might become light brown and pasty.
• Other colors. When your baby begins eating solid food, his or her bowel movements might become dark brown — although seemingly odd colors are possible as well. For example, baby poop might look red after your baby eats beets or might contain streaks of dark blue from blueberries. Green and orange baby poop is possible, too. You might also find chunks of undigested food in your baby's bowel movements.

As you change your baby's diapers, pay attention to the consistency of his or her bowel movements. Breast-fed babies often have loose, watery stools. However, very watery bowel movements might indicate diarrhea — and bowel movements that look like pebbles could indicate constipation.

If you're concerned about the color or consistency of your baby's bowel movements, contact your baby's doctor. This is especially important if your baby's bowel movements are:

• Still black several days after birth
• Red or bloody
• White or gray
• Consistently watery
• Consistently large, hard or difficult to pass

When you contact the doctor, be prepared to describe your baby's bowel movements, including color, consistency, volume and frequency. The more details you provide, the better the doctor will be able to help you determine what's normal for your baby — and when treatment might be needed.

A newborn can bring a whirlwind of activity and excitement to your life — and plenty of stress and fatigue, too. Whether you're a first-time parent or a veteran, consider 10 practical tips to keep stress under control.

1. Take care of yourself

Resist the urge to count caffeine as a major food group or a substitute for sleep.

Instead, eat a healthy diet, drink plenty of water and get some fresh air. Sleep when the baby sleeps — and try to work out a nighttime schedule with your partner that allows both of you to rest and care for the baby. Good habits will help you maintain the energy you need to care for your newborn.

2. Establish visiting rules

Friends and loved ones might come out of the woodwork to admire your newborn. Let them know which days work best and how much time you have for a visit.

Insist that visitors wash their hands before holding the baby, and ask anyone who's ill to stay home.

Let trusted visitors care for the baby while you get some much needed rest.

3. Go with the flow

Allow plenty of time each day for nursing sessions, naps and crying spells. Keep scheduled activities to a minimum. When you need to head out, give yourself extra time to pack your supplies and make that inevitable last-minute diaper change.

4. Expect a roller coaster of emotions

You might go from adoring your baby and marveling at tiny fingers and toes to grieving your loss of independence and worrying about your ability to care for a newborn, all in the space of an hour.

Chances are, you and your partner are both tired and anxious as well.

To help you stay connected, talk about what's bothering you — such as a strained budget or difficulty soothing the baby. A shared laugh might help lighten the mood.

5. Relax your standards

Leave dust bunnies where they lie for now. Store clean clothes in the laundry basket — or in stacks on the floor — until you need them. Clean the bathroom with a fresh diaper wipe. Serve cold cereal and peanut butter toast for dinner when you're too tired to prepare a more traditional meal.

One doctor thinks he knows the secret to calming a crying baby. The technique is called "The Hold," and Dr. Robert Hamilton, a pediatrician for the past 30 years and a dad of six from Santa Monica,
California, says it's "very helping in calming children and keeping them quiet."
A lot of parents must be experiencing success with his method, because a video of Dr. Hamilton demonstrating "The Hold" has gone viral online with almost 6.5 million views.

In the clip, the doctor comforts a little one who just got a shot. Before "The Hold," baby Ashton is screaming that kind of scream that makes a parent's blood run cold with fear, like, "Help! What do I do?!?" But after Dr. Hamilton folds the baby's arms across his own chest, supports his head, and then, holding Ashton by the bottom, gently bounces him up and down, the crying stops. Completely.

 


"Everything you do is very gentle, you don't want to do jerky motions ever," advises the doctor.

Which arm is tucked across the baby's chest first seems to matter; it's the right arm first, followed by the left that "promises" magical results. The angle at which the infant is held is key as well. At 45 degrees, the head and neck are properly supported and one has control over the baby's little body.


Here are four steps to replicating Dr. Hamilton's method:

• Fold the baby's arms across the chest
• Secure arms gently
• Grasp diaper area
• Rock at 45-degree angle

Now if this technique only worked on toddlers who were throwing temper tantrums...