Baby poos and wees
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In the early days, most babies are not worried about the state of the nappy they are lying in. They are usually more preoccupied with eating! When the baby wakes, they will often fuss or cry and use mouthing motions to indicate their desire to suckle. While changing the baby frequently (at most feeds) will generally help to reduce the chances of
nappy rash, the first meconium poo, their urine and the yellow poos of breast fed babies, rarely irritate their bottoms. The poos of bottle fed babies (and when breastfed babies start on solids and other fluids) can be more irritating to a newborn baby's skin.
Most babies do not appreciate being half undressed for a nappy change when all they want to do is feed. It is for this reason that many parents will feed their baby (at least enough to settle them) before changing a nappy, unless the baby has a very wet or soiled nappy. Breastfeeding mothers often find this tactic helps with the baby getting a 'full' feed (as opposed to 'half' a feed) before falling asleep on the breast. Changing the nappy in the middle of the feed (and waking them up) can discourage 'hourly' feeding patterns that can evolve because the baby is waking an hour later to 'finish the feed'. If the baby is really 'full' they should sleep through a nappy change.
Baby poos and wees
New parents are usually surprised at how frequently (and how much) their beautiful little baby will wee and poo in the early weeks. It can often make you wonder where it all comes from! It is expected that your baby will poo and wee at least once in the first 24 to 36 hours after the birth. Then once a day until the milk comes in if breastfeeding, about 2 to 4 days after the birth (possibly more frequently if bottlefeeding). Once the milk comes in, newborn babies will generally have at least 6 - 8 wet nappies a day. In the first 2 to 6 weeks they can poo up to 5 - 10 times a day (often at every feed).