4 day old nappies very worried.

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Gave birth on Sunday morning and was discharged on Tuesday. I'm breastfeeding exclusively but I'm a bit worried.

Since the meconium nappies we've had no dirty nappies at all. The last one was yesterday early morning and was still meconium.

I phoned the hospital and they said this was fine as long as baby is still having wet nappies. Does this sound right? Everything I read online is so conflicting.

Also how will I know if the nappies are definitely wet? We are having wet nappies but how do I know if there is enough urine in there?

So worried, grateful for any advice.

2 of my 3 DDs never pooed more than once a week on breastmilk, you can't become obsessed with volume, in or out! It sounds fine.

If nappy is wet, baby seems ok, as in alert (well as alert as newborns get!), isn't looking yellow (jaundice) and is having some wet nappies then you are doing fine.

I wouldn't expect massive or any weight gain either by the way, in my experience they lose before they gain.

Oh and STOP googling you will drive yourself nuts. Look at your baby, learn their normal, use your instincts do you feel baby is well?

Hmmm ok that's reassuring but I should have mentioned that baby does have jaundice. The midwife came yesterday and pointed it out, before then we hadn't realised. She was quite blasé about it and just said it was very common, should I be worried?

Totally normal and can go on for a while yet. Don't worry

At that age they should be pooing more. It isn't until they get to a few weeks old that they start going longer between bowel movements. Is your lo putting on weight? When is the midwife due next? How often are they feeding?

If you're not sure about how wet the nappies are, you can try pouring a known quantity of water into a new nappy and seeing what it looks/feels like as a result. You can also put a ball of cotton wool in your baby's nappy where they would be weeing, as you can tell more easily how wet this gets rather than the nappy.

Jaundice is common. Lots of fluids flush it out, so keep offering. I think sunshine helps jaundice too - at least that's what the midwife said!

I don't think midwife is coming again, and baby won't be weighed until tomorrow afternoon, I have no idea if she is losing or gaining at the moment.

She's feeding every 2-3 hours, sometimes up to an hour but other times only for 5-10 minutes.

Yes! For an exclusively bf baby, anything up to 10 days is normal not to poo. Do make sure there are plenty of wet nappies though. Also if she is bright eyed and content she is DEFINITELY fine because you will know allllll about it if she's hungry. Either roaring screaming all the time (which often happens with bf babies as it takes time to regulate and make the right amount of milk for the) or overly sleepy, impossible to wake, top of head depressed etc. If the later, you need to take action. If the former, off to bed for skin to skin and marathon feeding.

I thought midwife didn't discharge to the health visitor until day 10/11ish.

Ds only used to poo every 2-3 days when he was tiny. (Then the little monkey used to do about 5 in one day!) The midwife said that was ok as long as he still had wet nappies.

Yes sorry it will be the midwife weighing tomorrow I think but will be at the health clinic not at home.

Jaundice is pretty common and if it was slight enough that you didn't notice, it's probably not that bad. DD had a most unlikely-looking tan when she had it!

It's perfectly normal not to have a lot of output at this stage, a newborn's tummy is very tiny so they only take in a small amount at a time. If your midwife was happy, I think you should try not to worry, step away from the internet and just concentrate on the cuddles.

This is a good resource and also explains how to demonstrate to yourself how wet a wet nappy should be

https://www.nct.org.uk/sites/default/files/related_documents/What%27s%20in%20a%20nappy%20%28ENGLISH%20VERSION%29%20FINAL%20WITHOUT%20BLEED.pdf

The long time between poos is ok for an older baby but not for a 4 day old one generally. i would monitor and if she still hasn't done anything today I would ring again. It could be a case of just needing to feed more often

No need to worry about jaundice. The vast majority of babies have it. Is very normal.

I would be happy as long as there are wees. Poo doesn't matter much, and can vary massively. And you had a poo yesterday anyway. It takes a while for poos to transition from sticky meconium to yellow gloop.

And it's just whether baby is weeing that I take note of when mine I have been tiny, i don't worry about how heavy the nappy is. How many wet nappies a day are you getting?

Officially is spot on - does baby seem well? It's taken me three babies to trust my instincts on this and relax when small stuff comes up, but you will absolutely know if baby isn't right.

Has your milk come in? It's much easier once that happens in my experience.

Quoted from that leaflet;

Q. Is it OK for my baby not to poo every day?
A. Yes, but only after the rst few weeks. A baby who does not poo for a day or more in the rst week or so may be showing you he needs to feed more often, or more e ectively (he may also be ne – babies do very occasionally skip a day early on). Ask your midwife about this.

If I were you I would get some qualified breastfeeding support - it may be all is fine, but i would recommend checking sooner rather than later. Can you afford to call out a lactation consultant? If not, is there a local la leche league meeting you can attend?

Thanks notwithout that's really helpful. There is definitely wee in the nappies but I don't think I'd describe them as heavy. Baby seems fine at the moment but am quite worried so going to call midwife.

What do I do if baby is not getting enough milk? Should I try expressing, give a small amount of formula? Argh so stressful.

If midwife has noticed baby has jaundice don't worry about it, they'll keep an eye out for it getting in any way worrying. Take baby for a stroll to catch a bit of sun and keep feeding and it should go fast enough.

Baby feeding sounds normal, they are snacky little things as their tummies are so tiny at that age and they tend to drink themselves to sleep then startle and drink again and again and again...

Do you have a good book? 😂

Yes milk has come in, when she feeds from one side I leak from the other!

You feed more often if you don't think they are getting enough. I don't think you need to worry about expressing /formula just yet. Has your milk come in yet?

Right, just checked the sheet my hospital gave us on discharge. For 3 to 4 day old babies, it says 3 or more wet nappies and at least 2 poos a day is indicative of breastfeeding going well.

But with dd1 my milk didn't come in until day 5.

kellymom.com/hot-topics/newborn-nursing/

The sunshine thing is not advised anymore BTW. Sun is too strong for tiny unprotected baby skin.

I was told both 4 in one day and 1 in four days is fine, but we're internet randoms so I'd encourage you to see your midwife.