You will be amazed how much of your life is spent on this task, and how much of an expert you become on this aspect of your child’s life.
You can expect to go through 5-10 diapers a day, at least at first. It will get a little better as your baby gets older. Be sure to change your baby right away, especially after a bowel movement. The wetness, and the chemicals in urine and stool are not good for your baby’s skin. Disposable diapers, however, are so absorbent that they have helped somewhat, at least as far as the urine is concerned.
Wet diapers
Your baby will make a lot of urine. This is a good way to tell she is getting enough to eat, especially in breast fed babies. Most babies will have 6-10 wet diapers a day, though at first it will be only one or two. It will gradually increase during the first week or two. Sometimes newborns will have orange looking crystals in their diapers; these are uric acid crystals and are perfectly normal.
Stooling
Stooling patterns vary widely in babies, and parents seem to pay a lot of attention to this bodily function. At first, your baby’s stools will be a thick dark material called meconium. After several days all of this will pass and after several transitional stools the stool will be a yellow-green runny liquid with tiny stool pellets that resemble small seeds. Breast fed babies will have runnier stools with less seeds and less total amount than formula fed babies.
Your baby will probably have a bowel movement with every feeding for several weeks to months. It may make noise coming out and you may hear it across the room. There will be a lot of gas. Both the gas and the stool will smell unpleasant. These are all perfectly normal. It is also normal for them to grunt, turn red in the face, and wave their arms and legs while trying to pass gas or stool.
Any color is normal except white or bloody. Any consistency is normal, from watery to thick peanut butter. Hard rocks or pellets are not normal. Having a bowel movement from every time they eat to once a week is normal.
While most newborns poop every time they eat at first, they often change patterns after several weeks and poop less frequently. They may go once a day, every few days, or once a week. The longer they go, the larger and messier the bowel movement may be. They may be a little fussy and eat a little less when it is time to have a bowel movement. This change is totally normal but is often quite concerning to parents.
Most babies do not get true constipation. True constipation will be hard rocks or pellets. If your baby has these, see your doctor.
Most babies do not get true diarrhea. If your baby has very frequent watery stools with a new, foul odor, especially if there is mucous or blood in the stool, then see your doctor.
Diaper rashes
Diaper rashes are extremely common; they are caused by moisture and the acids in stool and urine. Usually, the skin is just irritated and will heal in several days with use of diaper rash cream or ointment. I prefer cream to treat rashes and ointment to prevent them. If your child gets a rash, keep the skin clean and dry, and use diaper rash cream with every diaper change. If the rash persists or worsens, it could be a yeast or bacterial infection, and your child will need to be examined.
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