Just Another Mommy Blog

Before I became a mom, I heard other mom's talking about their babies' poop. I thought they were weird. I was not going to be THAT mom.

I was wrong (not the first time). I try to keep talk about Chloe's poop limited to those who need to know (the doctor and Martin), or those who feign interest for the sake of their job (the nanny). But anyone who has been around me at all during the last year has probably heard something about the various states of Chloe's diapers. I do take comfort in the fact that I am not the only one. Several other moms have confessed to me that they have taken extra care in examining the contents of their babies' diapers, too, in broad daylight.

That's why my interest was peaked with a recent study, which is set to be published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior. The study showed that mother's prefer the smell of their own baby's poop. The question is whether this preference is due to the mothers being more accustomed to their baby's smell, or, whether it is an evolutionary adaptation that allows them to take better care of the wee ones.

In my case, I can't say I prefer the smell of Chloe's dipes. What I can say is that I KNOW the smell of Chloe's dipes, and in fact know whether she is the one who stinks in a room with several other babies. I can also take a pretty accurate guess at the state of her poop from the smell.

Gross? Yes. Who cares? I dunno. But somebody funded that study. Kinda makes you wonder.