I, too have mixed feelings about general use of feeding/diaper
logs.  Certainly, when there is a known problem with supply or a
strong possibility (previous breast surgery for example), ongoing
logs can help determine if some sort of supplementing is necessary.
For a healthy, term infant, however, the most important thing is to
help the mom learn to listen to her baby and trust her instincts.
Logs may instill confidence for some moms, but others focus more on
the log than the baby.  I've seen moms of healthy several month old
babies who still write down each feeding time and each diaper.  In
my opinion, these women are doing a fantastic job of mothering their
notebooks!
When I talk with new moms about how baby's diaper count can tell us
if (s)he is getting enough, I usually suggest she simply put check
marks on a sheet of paper for each wet and dirty the first few days
at home.  Once baby is consistantly putting out at least 3 dirty and
6-8 wet every 24 hours, she doesn't need to keep writing it down.
Out moms who go home early get a home visit in 2 days and the ones
with the longer stays get a phone call.  In either case, the nurse
who visits or calls will be asking about baby's output.  It's easier
for mom to bring out her sheet of paper to answer the question than
to try to remember how many she has changed.  By using an informal
"sheet of paper" instead of a specific form, I think we reduce the
chances of mom focusing only on the numbers and not watching and
listening to her baby.
I think there is a relationship between the mom who keeps a notebook
and the mom with the immaculate house.  In both cases, this is
someone who wants everything to be precise and measurable.  I will
suggest that once baby has reached the minimum numbers, one way mom
can be aware of baby's output without going overboard is to put out
a stack of about 10 diapers at the beginning of the day.  If they
are used up within 24 hours and baby has been both wet and dirty,
she'll know things are fine.

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