New mothers, especially those planning to breastfeed, have tons of questions. After all, you are about to welcome a living human into the world, which the very thought can be daunting. However, always remember millions of women went before you and have done an excellent job parenting, and you will too. Yes, it is somewhat scary at first but nature will kick in. That coupled with friends and family to help, you will do an amazing job.
Although there are generally a number of concerns associated with being a new parent that of breastfeeding usually ranks near the top. Primary concerns revolve around the milk coming in, preparing the nipple, and making sure the baby is getting enough to eat. While in the hospital, a nurse will show you how to deal with all these issues but you can use a few old tricks yourself. For instance, check the baby’s diaper. The color should be a pale yellow and you should be changing around six or more diapers daily.
Bowel movements are also an important sign of proper feeding. Typically, a baby will have two or three stools every day for the first one to two weeks of age and then as many as five until around age four weeks at which time they slow down a little (thank goodness). Also, pay attention to the number of days and the length of feedings. In this case, you would expect a breastfeeding baby to nurse about every two to three hours – both day and night. Keep in mind that some babies initially have to be reminded to eat so if your newborn sleeps longer than four hours, go ahead, getting him/her up for a feeding.
Then, make sure your baby is latched onto the breast properly. If not, he or she could be sucking but getting little to no milk. You can tell by the baby’s swallowing action. Sometimes, breast milk will be in such abundance that you might need to express some before feeding. With this, the sucking stimulation can actually cause a constant flow of milk, which could choke the baby. Therefore, if you find you have extra milk that seems to flow freely, you have two great options.
Express some with a breast pump into sterilized bags that can be frozen and used if you and your husband go out. Another excellent option is to donate to a milk bank. Many newborn babies need breast milk but for some reason, the baby’s mother is not producing. Perhaps the baby’s mother is no longer living or she might have a physical limitation whereby breastfeeding is not possible. Again, your breast milk would be stored and frozen in sterile bags provided by the milk bank and then picked up so another newborn has a great chance at life. I actually did this with my son. I had so much milk that I gave about 10 bags of milk weekly to a very appreciative milk bank.
Another sign that your baby is getting enough milk is weight gain. Since you will be taking him or her to the doctor on regular visits, you would know. If the doctor sees any reason for alarm, you would be notified. At that point, some adjustments might be required. It could be that you do not have enough milk to keep up with his/her growing body. Now, with this, you could supplement the breast milk with formula so you do not have to give up this special bond. Finally, a content baby will typically sleep well, especially after feeding. I remember my son used to fall asleep while feeding (me too on occasion). I would have to wake him to finish the feeding so we could both go back to sleep. Try not to let the baby get into this habit, keeping breastfeeding time as mealtime only.