Odd question...

"Sue" wrote in message ...
AlenasMom wrote in message
Update: She made it to 7 before 6:30 am.
But what does one do when the diaper count is low? Do you call the
pediatrician? Or go to the hospital?

Nothing. Keep an eye on it and keep feeding the baby. Watch for sunken
fontanels and no tears when she is crying as for signs of dehydration. Are
you using disposable diapers or cloth diapers? Disposable diapers are really
good at keeping the wetness away so sometimes it is hard to tell if it is
actually wet or not. Keep an eye on your daughter's behavior. Does she seem
extremely sleepy? Any change in her behavior at all? I personally would just
keep an eye out for dehydration.

I agree that it sounds like Alena is fine. However sunken fontanel
and lack of tears are both *really* late signs of dehydration (iirc,
babies lose 15-20% of their body weight before those happen). In our
pediatrics rotations amount of pee was definitely emphasized as the
most important thing to follow hydration status. The other
physical findings are all either unreliable or indicators of severe
dehydration.

Nonetheless, what's more important than number of wet diapers is the
whole picture of the kid. If fluid's going in the only way to get
dehydrated is that more fluid's coming out -- pee, diarrhea, sweat, or
breathing (ie fast breathing with a fever). If the baby looks fine,
is eating, isn't acting sick, and doesn't seem to be losing fluid by
any weird mechanism, I'm having a hard time thinking of a reason why
the kid wouldn't be fine. If it seems really weird than call the
pediatrician, otherwise just watch the diapers and the kid's behavior
and expect things to normalize soon.

Kate
and the Bug, June 8 2003