It's important to remember than anytime you give a "normal" range be it
for number of feeds in 24 hours, number of wet diapers, number of
stools, hours of sleep etc. etc. etc.  there will always be outlyers.
"Normal" or "average" range is not all inclusive.  In discussing feeding
frequency, for example, I might say something like "Babies feed an
average of 8-14 or more times in a 24 hour period.  Most fall into this
range, but there will be some who eat more or less frequently.  When a
baby consistently falls outside that range, it may be perfectly normal
for that baby.  We would, however, want to check to be sure there is not
a problem causing the baby to eat more or less frequently than that
average, but if everything checks out OK, then it's probably what's
normal for that baby."
The same holds true for number of stools.  While we say a baby "should"
have at least 8 wet and 3 dirty per 24 hours in the first weeks, many if
not most of us have seen ones that "put out" less and are doing just
fine.  However, we want to assess the baby, the weight, the feeding,
etc. to be sure it is just that baby's individuality and not a problem
that is making the baby fall outside the average range of behavior.
The longer I'm in this field, the more evidence I see that this is
definitely NOT an exact science!
Winnie Mading IBCLC

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