I'm generally changing his diaper around 4 times a day. We use disposables. I haven't actually weighed them, but just felt the weight compared with one that I've poured water in. The kellymom site says there should be at least 4 or 5 soaked diapers, and to feel how heavy they should be, you can pour 4-6 tbsp of water into a dry diaper. Because the amount of diaper changes we have is on the low end of the spectrum, at 4 per day, I used 6 tbsp of water in the comparison diaper since there should be more pee per diaper. It made sense to me, but maybe I'm being paranoid, and a smaller amount is okay? The morning diaper is the most wet of course, but it's not nearly as wet as it used to be. It feels about as heavy as the one with 6 tbsp of water, but it used to be much more. If there was nothing else giving me concern, I might just assume he's getting ready to wean the dream feed and therefore drinking less, which would lower his output overnight. I don't know exactly how much lighter the other diapers are because, as I said, I haven't weighed them, but I think maybe I will do that tomorrow and see where we stand.
It's definitely not hot here (Canada), but sometimes I think our house is warmer in the winter than in the summer since the heat is running, rather than the cold air. But it isn't unreasonably warm in the house, so I don't think that would be making a difference.
I can't really say how long we spend nursing, because it's hard to time it. Even with a good feed, he only spends a few minutes per side drinking consistently, and then the rest of the time is spent bobbing on and off. So, here's what's been happening the last few days: I nurse him when he wakes, and he takes a decent feed, but it doesn't seem to be nearly as much as before. Then I give breakfast about an hour later, which usually consists of toast, and approximately one ounce of pureed prune and formula/breastmilk. A little after breakfast, we nurse again to top up, and he takes a mediocre feed. I started doing this top up only recently, when I started being concerned about him not getting enough. After his nap, I try and nurse again, for what used to be the second feed of the day, but he is showing very little interest here. That, or there isn't much there for him to get. Then we'll have lunch which is usually a couple slices of fruit or veggies. Then I top him up again (the 2nd added feed), and he takes what seems to be a somewhat okay feed. Definitely not a lot, but he's getting some for sure. But he's not getting as much as he wants, and looks quite dissatisfied, so I've been finishing him off with formula after - about 5oz. After his nap, he nurses again but it's been a pretty small one. Then we have supper, and I try to give him a small strip or two of meat and a veggie or two - depending on what we are eating. About an hour and a half after that he nurses again at bedtime, and it's another moderate feed, and then I nurse the dream feed, which seems mostly okay.
So as I'm typing this all out, a thought is occurring to me. When it says that they should have at least 4 or 5 wet diapers with the equivalent weight of 4-6 tbsp of water, do you think that 4 diapers with the weight of 4 tbsp is actually still okay? On the low side, but still in the acceptable range? That extra 2 tbsp would probably make a pretty big difference in my expectations, so maybe he was doing fine the way things were, and now I've been offering the breast more than is necessary. If that's the case, it could be that the top up after breakfast is filling him to capacity, which is why he's not nursing after his nap. Then he's hungry again after lunch, because he hasn't nursed properly in four hours or more. But because this is not a usual nursing time my body doesn't have enough for a full feed, which is why I need to give him formula. Then the feed after his nap is small, because he just had a bigger one before. Oh man, did I go into full paranoid mode, and react to something that wasn't even a problem? What do you guys think?
