Orange powdery substance in nappy?

[HappY2013]

Hi,
Just got home from hospital with my 4 day old beautiful baby boy.
On changing his nappy we noticed this orange powder in the right place for where he would pee. My milk hasn't come in yet and it is very hot and I'm still establishing breast feeding. I've heard this is a sign of dehydration but also that it is fairly common in the early days.

How worried should I be? He is waking for feeding and having 10 mins on the breast every 2 hours. He is having pooey nappies.

Thanks in advance x

Hi, we had this when DS was a few days old. I think it's something called ketones and is nothing to worry about. Given he's o ly four days old the community midwives should still be visiting you, why don't you get then to have a look for you.

Congratulations too!

It's urates. And it's normal if stools are changing and having wet nappies. Is his fontanelle/ soft-spot sunken at all?
Your milk should be in by day 4...

See your mw as this is a sign of dehydration not to say it is a problem with your bf might be temperatures but definitely keep an eye out.

And congratulations by the way!

Are you drinking plenty yourself? You should be pee-ing clear at least once a day...

What figgygal says. It's a sign that feeding may not be quite there yet but not worth panicking at this stage. Make sure your baby is feeding every 2-3 hours at least in this heat, and at night too (set your alarm for 3 hours after start of previous feed if necessary) and that you are getting as many heavy wet nappies as days old (this rule if thumb is helpful until day 5 when you should get 6-8 heavy wet nappies per day. You are aiming for 8-12 feeds per 24 hours with a newborn and I would suggest closer to that higher number given the heat.

I had this with my son. He wasn't feeding well, lost just over 10% birthweight, but we got him back on track within a couple of days with regular feeds.

Keep feeding, keep talking to your midwife. You'll be fine

I would speak to your midwife. Did you get the sheet that has pictures of different baby poo nappies? It also has examples of the orange powder. I can't find mine at the moment, but it told you what to do and what was and wasn't normal.

If you don't want to leave it until tomorrow, call your labour ward. They are happy to offer help and advice in the first few days.