Breastfeeding, bottle feeding, pumping, and diaper log
My wife and I started keeping a log since day 1, because the hospital told us that within a 24 hour period, the number of wet and dirty diapers, plus the number of times our baby eats, is a good indication on whether she's getting enough to eat.
Here's what they said to look for in diapers within the first 7 days:
| Day | Wet Diapers | Dirty Diapers | Stool Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 💧 1 | 💩 1 | Black, thick, and sticky. |
| 2 | 💧💧 2 | 💩💩 2 | Black, thick, and sticky. |
| 3 | 💧💧💧 3 | 💩💩 2 | Greenish to yellow and less thick. |
| 4 | 💧💧💧💧 4 | 💩💩💩 3 | Greenish to yellow and less thick. |
| 5 | 💧💧💧💧💧 5 | 💩💩💩 3 | Mustard or yellow seedy and watery. |
| 6 | 💧💧💧💧💧💧 6 | 💩💩💩💩 4 | Mustard or yellow seedy and watery. |
| 7 | 💧💧💧💧💧💧 6 | 💩💩💩💩 4 | Mustard or yellow seedy and watery. |
They also said that our baby should breastfeed 8-12 times every 24 hours.
It isn't science, so some days we saw more or less wet/soiled diapers than the table indicated, but over the course of those 7 days, we saw an increase in wet and soiled diapers, which meant we're on the right track.
It's easier to tell how much our baby is consuming when bottle-feeding. On average, this is how much a baby consumes per feeding based on age:
| Age | Avg. Amount of Milk per Feeding |
|---|---|
| Newborn | 1-2oz |
| 2 weeks | 2-3oz |
| 1 month | 3-4oz |
| 2 months | 4-5oz |
| 4 months | 4-6oz |
| 6-12 months | 7-8oz |
Once we got home, we wanted to continue to log each breastfeeding and diaper change, so we could easily spot changes in her pattern, but we didn't love the breastfeeding logs we found on other websites, so I created the log below.
By the way, we thought about using an app, but (a) we didn't want to mess with a phone in the middle of the night, and (b) we didn't want to give this data to a company– it's personal.
Here's how it works:
- Each page covers a week; print as many pages as needed.
- In date section, write date and day, e.g. 2/1 Wednesday.
- In diaper section, put X for each kind of diaper.
- Each day starts at midnight and goes to 11pm.
- Row F: Log feedings, whether breastfed, bottle-fed, or formula-fed.
- -- If breastfeeding, record order of sides: LR or RL (or just L/R).
- -- If bottle/formula feeding, record number of ml/oz consumed.
- Round up or down if time is not on the hour; makes things simpler.
- Row P: Log how much was pumped in ml/oz (both sides combined).
This allows us to see:
- Each day and how they're the same or different.
- Number of feedings per 24 hours.
- Number of wet and dirty diapers per 24 hours.
- Which breast feeding ended on to properly alternate.
- How much baby consumed by bottle.
- How much wife pumped.
We designed this log template to be as flexible as possible and not to provide so much structure that it falls apart when things change. In reality, you can write whatever you want in those boxes to help you keep track.
As a bonus, I also created a breastmilk freezer log. Record the date and time of when it was expressed (and then frozen), how much of it (in ml or oz), and add a check under "Used" when it was thawed and used.
The third column is for tracking your current freezer total. Any time you add something to the freezer, add it to the last total, and record the new total. If you use something, subtract it it from the last total, and record the new total.
This allows you to quickly see which bag if the oldest, what has been used or not, and how much you have left at any given time, which is useful in calculating how many days supply you have based on your baby's consumption rate.
Featured image by Lucy Wolski.