Ann reported on several rather contradictory statements about pooping: <<In the notes they gave me to present it says, "3 substantive bowel movements each 24 hours from the first day of life." Diaper Diary says Day1=1 poop, Day2=2 poops, Day 3=3 poops, Day 4 and on=4 poops. LLL Bfeeding Answer Book says "At least 3 to 4 bowel movements the size of a US quarter (2.5cm) or larger (Shrago 1998) is a good indicator that the baby younger than 6 weeks is receiving enough claories. The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding says, "For the first six weeks or so, a breastfed baby will usually have two to five bowel movements a day." Spangler says in Breastfeeding-A Parents Guide- "Expect at least 3 stools a day for the first 3 days and at least 4 stools a day for the next 4 weeks.">> My question to y'all is -- let's say we go with the Clinical Guidelines put out by ILCA in 2005 that states we are to expect at least 3 substantive stools per day starting in the first 24 hours -- what are we expected to do if PunkyPie, who is exclusively breastfeeding, only stools 1 x in that first 24 hours. Maybe only two times in the second 24 hours. It's a bit soon to do ac/pc weights. Do we determine that this baby has a problem and start supplementing? Do we use a thermometer to stimulate him? WHAT IS THE BOTTOM LINE? When do we intervene? If we aren't going to intervene for the baby that is pooping only 1 time in the first 24 hours, then why have an unrealistic standard? What is the point? Now, I tell mothers I don't care about poops the first 4 days. I want the baby to be having at least 3 "scoopable poops" by day 4. If they aren't on day 4 or 5, then I'm going to follow up with that mom/baby to figure out what is going on. But I'm not going to intervene in the first couple of days unless there are no stools at all -- and then I want to know if we are dealing with a physiologic problem. What thinks ye all? Jan Barger, RN, MA, IBCLC, RLC Wheaton IL *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html