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.

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Mom’s Question:
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

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

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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.

Read Next

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.

I hope this helps,
Paula :-)

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This Post Has 11 Comments

  1. Anitha

    Same problem any problem for ur son or is he fine what is health condition am worried reply me plz*

  2. lovemyson

    I am a breastfeeding working mom of a 10-month-old. I just went back to work about a month ago. Since about 2 weeks ago I noticed when I pick him up at 6 pm, he could be dry until I drop him off the next morning. Meaning he is still dry when he wakes up in the morning and through the night.

    He is peeing fine during the day. I will say he had a hard time adjusting to a bottle (breast milk) and to solids. No fever, plays actively (a lot) but he is not sleeping well. 1-2 he’s a day and up 3 times to easy through the night. When do I worry?

  3. worried

    My son is 11 months old. Sometimes he urinates 3 to 4 times in about 15 minutes intervals. First time urinates much then a second time after 10 minutes about 5 to 10 drops. this happens not all day.

    Color is Ok

    1. Paula @ EasyBabyLife

      Hi,

      Unless there’s a pain, a funny color or smell, there shouldn’t be a problem. Is he healthy otherwise? At 11 months, I would suspect that he is a bit too busy to explore the world to empty his bladder completely. He just pees and then off he goes. Could that be it?

      Paula

  4. baby

    My baby is 11 months how often does he have to urinate?

    1. Paula @ EasyBabyLife

      As I wrote above, there are no set rules for how often a baby of any age should be peeing. The younger the baby, the more often will he or she is likely to pass urine.

      When babies grow older, they are likely to pee less often for several reasons. One is that their bladder control matures. In addition, their bladders become bigger and they also eat more solid foods, which of course contain less liquid.

      If an older baby suddenly starts peeing a lot more often or seldom, it is wise to look for other signs of illness, such as pain or fever, no appetite, sleepy, loses weight et cetera. If your baby appears to be ill, certainly discuss the situation with a doctor.

      For a baby that suddenly stops urinating, there may be reasons to believe that the baby is dehydrated. Maybe the weather is very hot or the baby has had a stomach bug with diarrhea. Make sure to offer more to drink and see if it helps in such a case.

      As long as the baby urinates relatively regularly and the urine is pale and has no strong smell, and your child seems to be overall healthy, your child is likely to be fine.

      I hope this helps,

      Paula :-)

  5. Ghufran Alam

    Hi,
    My son is about to 1 month old (on 8th June -2019). Sometimes, he urinates frequently ie about to every 10 minutes duration when he is awakened. Does less when he sleeps. The urine doesn’t have any kind of smell urine color is clear similarly water color. Mostly, he used to have formula food [Lactogen a milk powder] and rest use mother’s milk.

    Please suggest me is it normal or should I consult any doctor.

    Thanks,
    Ghufran Alam

    1. Gayashani

      Hi…my baby son now 7 month +2 weeks old. I noticed his urinary output getting decreased within last 3 days. Per day he passed urine only one time on yesterday. Today his urine output :6am and 8 am only. Still again he didn’t pee. But he is active and normal. I met doctor also. But he told me just wait..
      What should I do?

  6. Baby

    My 16 month old isnt peeing as often as he wants to he will go all day before his diaper is wet enough to change and its wet just a little when he wakes up in the morning I’m wondering if I should be concerned or if he is fine he doesn’t seem I’ll he plays and laughs like everything is fine

  7. Sho

    My baby has been peeing less. He pees but t’s not as much usually when he pees his diapers get so heavy now they are hardly as heavy. He’s four months old he sweats alot he has a vsd pm.. Could it be due to sweating he pees less? There are days he pees so much

  8. Shayna

    My 9 month old sons’ diapers started leaking A LOT i could change him before he goes to bed, by the time he wakes up next his outfit will be wet. Same through the day. Last night, he woke up, i changed him( it leaked) fed him and he had a hard time going back to sleep so we stayed up and an hour later his diaper leaked again! The color and smell is good. I just went back to pampers, just went up a size, i make sure his weiner is done, etc. Ive tried everything to make sure the diapers on right, etc. Is this normal?