Babies Diapers Per Day

Steps to Take Care of a New Baby

Knowing when an infant is ill can be a challenge for new parents. Sometimes a parent's concerns can be treated as a casual inquiry by medical workers who are accustomed to soothing new-mother nervousness. Mothers can begin to doubt whether or not to trust their instincts.

The good news is that there are tangible and objective measures of a baby's health.

WEEK ONE
During the first week of life a baby should nurse at least 8 times a day for more than 15 minutes at each feeding. A mama can hear her baby swallow milk during feeding. Baby's first bowel movement will be a black paste called muconium. This will transition from a black-green color to a brown doughey consistency. By day 4 or 5 the color will be yellow. Wet diapers will appear by the second day. At first this will be 2 or 3 per day and increase in number by the week's end.

An ill baby will show definite physical signs of his condition. If a baby has no desire to nurse, has a weak suck, feeds less than 8 times per day and can't manage to feed for at least 15 minutes, these are reasons for concern. If a baby falls asleep before nursing for 15 minutes, makes a clicking sound when nursing, and has dimpled cheeks when sucking, these are also indications that there is some difficulty. When the baby's diapers don't show stools progressing as they should and you don't see wet diapers within 48 hours after birth, there is something out of the ordinary. If these symptoms are observed for two days in a row, seek medical assistance.

THE FIRST FOUR WEEKS
The signs that your baby is healthy will be pretty much the same throughout the next month. The second to fourth week, babies continue to have two to four yellow stools and nurse eight times per day. Wet diapers will likely occur between six to eight times per day with clear, not yellow, urine. The suck will strengthen, and you should see milk and continue to hear swallowing during feedings. Your baby will grow both in weight and alertness.

Take special note of anything out of the ordinary: infrequent feedings, small stools or missed stools, decreased urination or bright yellow urine. Your baby should gain weight and grow longer. A baby that has a weak suck, doesn't make swallowing noises during nursing, becomes sluggish and lacks quick responses and doesn't sleep between feedings, is a reason for concern. If you observe these behaviors for more than two days in a row, contact a health provider for assistance.

WEEKS FIVE THROUGH TEN
In the second month of life, a baby might reduce the number of feedings to seven times per day. As your little one grows, he can take larger feedings. Further changes may be noticed in bowel movements: they can either increase to several small stools per day, or one large one every third day. This isn't unusual in breastfed babies as they assimilate much of the milk. Check the wet diapers to make sure the urine isn't bright yellow; there should be six to eight wet diapers daily. Expect increased alertness, strengthened suck, audible swallows and a little milk dribbling at feeding time.

There may be reason for concern if a baby fails to produce the right amount of wet diapers without bright yellow color, or if the baby doesn't nurse at least seven times daily. Length and weight should increase for baby. A baby that isn't getting enough nourishment may have a weak sucking reflex and may nurse without an audible swallow. If your baby becomes slow to respond, sluggish and stops sleeping between feedings, contact a health care provider. A couple of days in a row of these indicators mean that something is not well with your baby.

HOW TO KEEP UP WITH IT ALL
A well-rested person would be hard-pressed to know when and how often an infant ate. It can be overwhelming to expect a new mother to know this with reduced sleep. One simple way to remedy this is to leave a notebook and pencil near the baby's sleeping area. At each feeding or changing, jot down the time and any other notes. One example of an entry might be: "10:00 a.m. - BIG BM, brownish green, nursed 30 minutes." Start with a clean sheet each day. Write the date at the top of the page.

This way, should anything seem out of the ordinary, you can refer to your notes and present them to a doctor if needed. This is also a good bonding tool for a new mama. By looking over her list, even a weary mama can tell at a glance if the crying is due to hunger (too long between feedings) or constipation (hasn't moved his bowels). This tool helps a mama learn to identify the different cries of her newborn. This list will then encourage a mother to trust her instincts as she learns to identify her baby's different cries and meet those needs.

Yet, BEST advice is often the most common advice, and it comes from the not-so-new mothers. Don't take for granted any of those first weeks. Don't worry about filling your day with anything more than getting to know this new little one. In a flash, they are no longer little.

Interested in more child training tips? No Greater Joy is a ministry dedicated to helping parents bring up children they enjoy. They have written a bestseller called To Train Up A Child that has helped thousands.

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