Feed and nappy tracker: which side, when, and how many wet nappies

Keep the record

Press the side you start on — left, right or bottle. Press wet or dirty at each nappy change. That's the whole system.

The two questions this answers

In the sleep-wrecked first weeks there are only two questions: when was the last feed, and which side do I start on next? This tool keeps both answers in its first line — not buried under a chart.

Alternating sides matters so that supply stays even on both and neither side backs up into engorgement or lumps. Nothing to memorise — the tool remembers which side was last.

The 24-hour count sits below. A newborn typically feeds eight to twelve times a day — every two to three hours. More often is normal too, especially in the evenings and during growth spurts.

Count nappies, not minutes

Minutes at the breast can't tell you whether the baby fed well — some babies finish in ten minutes, others take forty. Counting minutes mostly manufactures anxiety.

The real measure is nappies. From about day five, six or more properly wet nappies a day means the milk is enough — that is the signal that travels home from the hospital. Stool colour and frequency vary a lot in the early weeks, and that variety is normal.

The second measure is weight, taken at the clinic. Losing a little after birth is normal; birth weight should be back by two weeks. Nappies plus weight — together they answer 'is the baby getting enough'.

If the wet nappies drop — what to do and what not to

Fewer than six wet nappies today, or dark yellow urine, and the tool shows a warning. It means one thing: have the baby seen today.

What not to do matters more: don't start formula on your own. The 'my milk is short' fear is usually wrong, and unnecessary top-ups reduce the demand on the breast — which then genuinely reduces the supply. That spiral has ended a lot of breastfeeding that was actually going fine.

Until six months, the baby needs breast milk only — no water, no honey, no ghutti, no animal milk. Not even in summer: breast milk is mostly water. Settle this with the household in advance, because that advice arrives the day the baby does.

Same-day doctor signs

Fewer than six wet nappies after day five, or dark urine. A baby too sleepy to feed, or needing to be woken for every feed.

Birth weight not regained at two weeks, or weight still falling. Jaundice deepening — especially yellow reaching the hands and feet. A dry mouth with a sunken soft spot.

For any of these, don't wait for the scheduled visit — same day, whether that's your paediatrician, the PHC, or the ASHA worker who can route you. Take this record along; the written 'how many feeds, how many nappies' answers the first question before it's asked.

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