by Justine Deputy, RN, MSN
What is the best way to know baby is getting enough to eat? You gotta check the pants! If you haven’t had a baby yet, be prepared to be obsessed with their diapers. You probably never have examined pee and poop so much in your life (unless you are a nurse and in that case, I feel for you). Although there is a lot of talk and a lot of changes, there are only a few aspects you need to pay close attention to when it comes to baby’s diaper.
Urine
- Baby should have one wet diaper in the first 24 hours of life.
- Red-tinged urine or crystallized spots on the diaper in the first few days are normal fetal urine.
- Pay attention to those poopy diapers, especially in the first few days when you want to count the number of wet diapers. Sometimes the pees can be hidden by the poops!
- Once your milk is in, you want to see six or more saturated diapers a day to know baby is getting enough milk.
Bowel Movements
- Meconium: Baby’s first stools that are black, tarry, and sticky. On a positive note, they don’t stink!
- Transition stool: Happens between the meconium and the milk stool and ranges in color from brown to green. Gradually, it becomes less sticky.
- Breast milk stool: Once baby begins digesting breast milk, you will see mustard colored, runny, and seedy stool.
- If you do not see yellow seedy stool by day five, contact your healthcare provider.
- The formula stool is yellow and has a more formed consistency.
- Want further insight on the poops? Balanced Breastfeeding has two blogs on what is normal and not normal here and here.