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Writer's picturebrandeegutowsky

How to know if baby is getting enough breastmilk with diaper counts

Worried about not making enough milk? Here's one way to tell!

*This is intended for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Follow up with your physician for medical advice.


 


The newborn phase is not for the faint of heart. I would say, I have heard these questions at nearly every lactation consult I have completed:

  • How do I know if I am making enough?

  • I think I have low milk supply? I'm just not sure.

  • My milk just hasn't come in yet! Looks at colostrum, is this enough?!


And then there's the panic. The overwhelm of all the information families have received within the 48-72 hours of giving birth, heading home from the hospital or birthing center, and doing it all on their own. Whether you have gotten advice from family, friends, Reels or TikTok, or have purchased every new gadget on the market, let's get down to the bottom line. 


  • Diaper counts are one way of good oral intake and output. Diaper counts are very important, especially until the baby gets to the point of getting back to birth weight. General rule - for each day of life, look for increasing diaper counts. For example, on day 1 of life, at least 1 urine (pee), and 1 stool (poop) dirty diaper. Day 2 of life, at least 2 pee diapers and 2 poo diapers. Day 3, 3 pees, 3 poos, and so on and so forth. This tells us that the baby is getting adequate nutrition, hydration, and passing meconium stool, which can also help with the elimination of jaundice (yellowing of the skin). After day 4-5 of life, we generally say, at least 5 pee diapers a day, and 5 poo diapers a day. However, some babies go WAY more than that, which is a good sign of oral intake! There will be some babies that will do everything from a smear to a big blow out. You don't have to count pee and poo diapers forever. Again, most important with diaper counts are the first 10-14 days, until the baby surpasses birth weight. However, if there are other medical indications to continue diaper counts, or if it brings you peace of mind and tracking isn’t a burden (you can use a little notepad by the bedside or a tracking app), then you can definitely continue. Medical indications that can warrant additional days of tracking diaper counts may include, but are not limited to weight gain issues, dehydration, jaundice, constipation, poor oral intake, baby not latching and having problems with the bottle, lots of spit up, or other milk supply concerns.


Stay tuned for additional blog posts on other ways to tell if a baby is getting enough milk. 




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