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Keep a
daily log of breastfeeding this will be helpful for your pediatrician when you go in for your first
visit.
 Encourage your baby to nurse on each breast at each feeding, allowing
your baby to nurse as long as he/ she wants on one, then offer the
other. Do not limit your baby’s feedings. This is especially important
when you are producing mature milk which is made up of foremilk and
hindmilk. Foremilk, produced at the beginning of the feeding, is high in
volume but low in fat and calories. Hindmilk, produced at the end of the
feeding, is creamier and higher in fat and calories. It is best to let
you baby decide when to switch breasts. When you baby has had enough he/
she will fall asleep or just stop nursing. When he/ she does, try
burping him, waking him/ her back up and nursing on the other side. You
want your baby to suckle for at least 10-15 minutes or longer. At the
next feeding start with the breast you finished on. Be sure to burp your
baby after each breast.
Every baby eats differently. Some may have regular spacing between
feedings, some may feed very frequently and then go a little longer once
a day, and some may act like they can’t get enough. Breastfeeding works
on supply and demand. It a baby is feeding often, he/ she is simply
stimulating the breast to make more milk. This is common during growth
spurts and frequently occurs around two weeks, six weeks, three months,
and six months.
You may feel assured that your baby is getting enough if by day four or
five he/she:
- Breastfeeds 8-12 times in 24 hours
- You can hear soft sounds of swallowing
- Latches on correctly and sucks rhythmically for at least 10
minutes or more on each breast.
- Baby has 6 or more wet diapers. (Many disposable diapers are
difficult to tell if they are wet. You may need to cut open or
remove the plastic layer to determine wetness.)
- Baby stools 3 or more times a day
- All babies lose weight after birth. Your baby should gain back
to his birth weight by about 2 weeks. Make sure you take your baby
in for check-ups.
- Newborns can be very sleepy in the first few days so wake your
baby to feed. Do not allow your baby to go longer than three or four
hours without feeding.
- Babies do not have schedules and trying to “train” the baby to a
certain feeding pattern can be risky.
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