Everybody poops and young children seem to do so just a bit more than everyone else. And certainly more messily. But every parent who’s tackled diaper duty knows that dealing with number two is more complicated than just cleaning up a mess. There are a lot of questions that come up. Questions like… “Why is my baby’s poop that color?” and… “Why is there mucus in my baby’s poop?” And… “What the hell am I supposed to do without a diaper bag?” These questions have answers and these answers matter because poop reveals a lot about health (and can affect it adversely). But they’re certainly not worth stressing about in the moment.

That’s why Fatherly built this guide all about poop, diapers, and potty training, because shit happens. We talked to doctors, scientists, and even a professional crime scene cleaner to find out everything there is to know about baby poop charts, potty training toddlers, diaper rash, and what to do when a kid poops somewhere they shouldn’t.