So you’ve probably heard you’ll be changing a lot of diapers with your new baby. How many should you buy? Should you cloth diaper? What kind of poop is normal? We’ll try to answer your diapering Frequently Asked Questions.
You’ll change about 2,500 diapers during your baby’s first year.
How many diapers do we need? What size?”
The hospital will send you home with newborn disposable diapers in whatever brand that the hospital has a diaper contract with. Newborn size usually fit babies up to about 10 pounds and have a cutout in the front for baby’s belly-button stump. Size 1 diapers generally go up to about 15 pounds, and size 2 is about 12-18. You can generally expect your baby to double in size from their birth weight by five months. Before you commit to a brand, buy a small package. Some brands (such as Pampers) are scented, some brands will leak more than others depending on your baby’s individual shape, and you may find that the cheaper or store-brand diapers work just as well as Pampers or Huggies.
In the first year, you can expect to change diapers about 5-9 times a day — that’s about 2,550 diapers.
It also makes sense to try some cloth diapers- they’re certainly cheaper over the long haul and good to have on hand even if you use disposables. The only issue is they mean a lot of laundry, and they take a long time to dry.
How do I change a diaper?”
Newborns hate to have their diapers changed. It upsets them. So watch out, there are apt to be howls of protest and chin-quivering cries.
If you’ve never changed a diaper in your life, here’s what to do. (We’ll assume that you’re among the 95 percent of parents who use disposables.)
1. Prepare by getting out a clean diaper and a wipe or two. Usually the design on the diaper will indicate where the front is.
2. Lay the baby down on his back on a changing pad or towel, being sure to support the head and neck at all times.
3. Remove the old diaper. If it has Velcro tabs, you can roll it up, and use the tabs to make it a tidy package.
4. Use a damp washcloth or a premoistened baby wipe to clean off the baby, being sure to wipe from front to back, and keep all fecal material out of the urinary tract area.
5. Apply diaper rash ointment or kaolin clay powder if your baby’s bottom looks red.
6. Lift up the baby by the ankles, and slide the new diaper under his rump.
7. Peel off the tabs that cover the tape, pull the diaper firmly around your baby so it will stay on, and press the tape into the soft, patterned area of the diaper. Voilà. You’ll become so expert at it that you can do it in the dark with your eyes closed by the end of the first month (or sooner).
but lack of stools in the first week could mean that he isn’t getting enough milk, so be sure to tell your pediatrician if your newborn doesn’t poop at least once per day in the first week. Dark urine or dryer-than-usual diapers may also be signs that your baby isn’t eating enough, or is becoming dehydrated.
As long as his stools are soft, rather than hard like pellets, everything is probably okay.
Are these poops normal?”
How bowel movements look and smell depends upon whether a baby’s breastfed or bottle-fed. A breastfed baby’s stools are almost liquid (but not the same as diarrhea). They aren’t smelly, resemble small curds, and range from mustard yellow to light brown in color, sometimes with small speckled solid pieces that look like mustard seeds. Breastfed babies will pass stools almost every time they nurse. In the early weeks, that may mean as many as 8 to 10 stools in one day.
A bottle-fed baby’s stools are usually green, but they can be yellow to brown. They are usually firmer than a breastfed baby’s, similar to thick pudding, and they may change appearance if your baby changes formula brands. The stools will have a stronger, more unpleasant odor than those of a breastfed baby. Your bottle-fed baby will pass fewer stools than a breastfed baby, too, and the stools will be larger. Stools may change color temporarily if your baby becomes ill, but contact your baby’s healthcare provider if they turn bright red, are filled with mucus, are white, bloody, or have a coffee-grind consistency. For tips on diaper blowout preparedness, see this article.
Around 4 to 6 weeks of age, your baby’s pooping pattern may slow down, and by the time he reaches a year of age, bowel movements and diaper changes will be much less frequent. By that time, breastfed babies will have about four bowel movements a day, while formula-fed babies will have two a day. Some babies may go three or four days before having a movement and be perfectly normal. If you’re concerned that your baby hasn’t had a bowel movement in a long time, or the stools are hard, then contact your baby’s healthcare provider.
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