A New Beginning

Wet Diapers

Bowel Movements

Caring For Your Baby

Babies should have at least 1 wet diaper in the first 24 hours after birth. The number of wet diapers should increase each day by one. By day 4, there should be at least 4 wet diapers. Urine should be light yellow and not smell strong.

Baby’s first stool is meconium and is very thick and dark. Babies often grunt, strain, and turn red in the face during normal bowel movements. Constipation is when stools are small, firm and pebblelike. Diarrhea is when there is sudden change in the number or looseness of the stools. Stools change depending on how you choose to feed your baby. Formula-fed babies have stools that are firmer and less frequent. A breastfed baby’s stools are looser and seedy in consistency.

Call your baby’s health care provider if:

• There’s no stool for 3 or more days. • Stools are very hard or very watery. • Stools are mucousy. • There are fewer than 6 wet diapers in 24 hours by day 5. • There is a reddish stain in more than 1 diaper or after the first 72 hours.

DIAPER CHART

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

DAY 4

DAY 5

Wet Diapers Per Day

1

2-3

3-4

4-6

6-8

Dirty Diapers Per Day

1

1+

1-2

2-3

3-4

Breastfed Baby Diaper

Black (Meconium)

Dark Green

Brown

Yellow, Loose, Seedy

Formula-Fed Baby Diaper

Black (Meconium)

Dark Green

Brown

85

Chapter 8: Caring for Your Baby