Your baby should be gaining weight. Newborns often lose weight in the first few days of life, but most return to their birth weight by 2 weeks of age. After a baby returns to his birth weight, he should gain about 4 to 8 ounces a week. Make sure you keep your doctor’s appointments so you can see if your baby is gaining weight.

Your baby should be nursing often. A newborn baby has a tiny stomach—about the size of a marble. That is why babies nurse so often. Newborns should:

• Nurse at least 8-12 times a day or every 1-3 hours during the day
• Have no more than one 4-hour sleep period in 24-hours

Babies go through several growth spurts in the first year. During these growth spurts, your baby may want to eat almost constantly for a day or two. This is normal. It doesn’t mean you don’t have enough milk, it is just a good sign that your baby is growing.

Wet and dirty diapers are the best sign that your baby is getting enough to eat. Check the chart below to make sure your baby is dirtying enough diapers.

A newborn’s urine should be colorless. A newborn’s stools are usually black in the first day or two, greenish for a day or two, then yellowish and seedy by around day four. An occasional green stool after this period is also normal. By day six, many breastfed babies will dirty almost every diaper. This is normal because breast milk is very gentle and easily passes through baby’s system.

	Wet Diapers	Dirty Diapers
Day 1	1	1 (black, tarry)
Day 2	2	2 (brownish black, tarry)
Day 3	3	3 (greenish)
Day 4	4	3 or more (greenish to yellow)
Day 5	5	3 or more (yellow)
Day 6 to Day 45	6 or more	3 or more (yellow)