Ever wondered how often a baby should pee? And how to know if a baby pees too much or too little? Here are the rules of thumb for normal baby urine frequency for newborn babies and older.
How often should a baby pee? How much does a baby urinate in 3 hours? Is there any way to know if my baby pees too much or too little?
How Often a Baby Should Pee & What to Do if They Don’t
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How much a baby generally urinates is hard to tell and varies with the baby’s age and individually.
Here are some guidelines for baby urine frequency:
Newborn Baby Urine Frequency
For newborn babies, a rule of thumb is that they should produce 6-8 heavy diapers per 24 hours after a few days of living.
Since such young babies have very small bladders, it probably means that they will pee one to several times per hour. During the first few days of living, newborn babies will not pee very much.
For young babies, 1-3 hours in between peeing is seen as normal, according to NIH (The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development).
Peeing Frequency in Older Babies
Older babies are likely to pee less often since they both have larger bladders and eat solid foods. A urination frequency of 4-6 hours (or more often) is then normal.
At some point, your baby will start gaining some degree of bladder control, and then he or she is even more likely to urinate less often.
Remember that a baby might pee less frequently in very hot weather, just like adults.
Signs of Dehydration or Illness
If your baby’s urine is pale yellow and doesn’t have a strong smell, he or she is likely to pee enough. Of course, other signs of illness or pain, or if your baby will not eat or drink (also a sign of illness), he or she can get dehydrated quickly, so it is certainly good to be observant.
It can, of course, also be the case that a baby pees very frequently, and it is a sign of illness. A urinary tract infection or Type 1 diabetes would be two possible reasons. But, in both these cases, frequent urination would certainly not be the only symptom.
For diabetes, weight loss is usually the first symptom. For a urinary tract infection in babies, an unexplained fever is often the only symptom.
But certainly, if you experience that your baby is suddenly peeing much more frequently than before, have him or her evaluated by a pediatrician.
What To Do If Baby Isn’t Peeing Enough
Now, if these guidelines and warnings signs indicate that your baby is not peeing enough, you should either:
- Give your baby more liquid. For fully breastfed or formula-fed babies, this generally means simply feeding more often. It is not recommended to give water to young babies. Older babies can certainly be offered water in addition to food and milk.
- If your baby is showing signs of dehydration, offer your baby liquid and talk to a doctor.
- If your baby is not peeing and seems to be ill but not dehydrated, go see a doctor rather than trying to make your baby pee since, for example, a serious urinary tract infection could make it difficult for your baby to pee.
If you are curious about how often other babies may be peeing and why read through some of the following threads dealing with similar questions.
- 6 months old with frequent urination – normal?
- Baby passes urine often
- Baby not urinating
- How often should a newborn pee?
I hope this helps,
Paula Dennholt founded Easy Baby Life in 2006 and has been a passionate parenting and pregnancy writer since then. Her parenting approach and writing are based on studies in cognitive-behavioral models and therapy for children and her experience as a mother and stepmother. Life as a parent has convinced her of how crucial it is to put relationships before rules. She strongly believes in positive parenting and a science-based approach.
Paula cooperates with a team of pediatricians who assist in reviewing and writing articles.