I just wanted to add one more thing to the discussion, I'm sorry if it was covered before. Uric acid crystals are common in the first 2 days, their appearence after that point suggests dehydration. In classes I tell parent's to pay close attention to the number of wet diapers and STOOLS (Yes, I'm shouting). Stooling disappears long before urination. Counting wet diapers is useless if the parents are giving the baby water or if the mom received large amounts of IV fluids in labor. I have parents follow the guidelines from Niefert and Seacat and R. Lawrence. They are also printed on our breastfeeding handouts. Fortunately we catch problems early because we've drummed this into everyone's heads (The peds finally got the message). I believe that Lawrence says all meconium should be gone by day 3. I've found that if mec is not gone by day 3 the baby isn't doing well. The Peds department has finally begun referring moms to the lactation clinic if the baby isn't stooling very well when they see them for their 3 day check up. The baby's weight is usually way down and mom has really sore nipples from poor latch on. Our handout says something like this: How do I know my baby is getting enough? Counting the number of wet diapers and stools will help you determine how much your baby is getting. Wets: 1st day=1 2nd day=2 3rd day=3 4th day= 4 by 5 days of age you baby should have 6-8 wet diapers with light yellow to clear urine. Stools: Day 1-2= one or more black sticky [mec] stools per day By day 3-4= the stool should turn more brown [trans] and be less sticky and become more frequent. By day 5 baby should have yellow stools that resemble runny egg yolks and follow most feedings. This is followed by a statement about the maturation of the bowel and perhaps less frequent stools after 4-6 wks of age.