When Breastfeeding Your Baby

Even though when breastfeeding your newborn you experience milk production difficulties, this won't be as much of a problem when using the PDF, or Parent Directed Feeding system. Making sure you are eating all the right foods, getting proper rest and keeping a fairly routine lifestyle, the demands of a growing baby getting enough food to eat can place a strain on producing enough breast milk for your hungry infant.

There can be many causes to poor milk production. Let's take a look at a list of the most common causes that can affect your milk supply:

What type foods you eat
The amount of rest and sleep you get
Your mental state of mind
The age factor of the mom
The number of children in the home
Your true desire to breastfeed
Your competent level of nursing capabilities
The application of your nursing techniques
The capability of your baby’s latch on abilities

Even though you have decided to breastfeed, it is also important you take your baby in for their check-ups as needed. One reason for doing this is to ensure your baby is getting enough milk and growing at the proper rate. At the very least, keep a journal of your baby's weight and date it to chart their progress. This alone will reveal whether your baby is getting enough food or not.

After the birth of your baby and during the first week of your baby’s life, your breasts will produce colostrum for them to drink. The wonderful thing about colostrum is it is rich in antibodies, strengthening the baby’s immune system. It also helps your newborn release its first bowel movement, which is called meconium. Meconium is black and tarry looking and is in the first few diapers after birth, so this is nothing to be concerned about. They next transition to a brown substance that becomes a yellow, mustardy stool that is loose and watery after your milk comes in. By comparison, bottle-fed babies pass firmer, tannish stools.

Somewhere between 24 and 48 hours after birth, your baby will start producing wet diapers, increasing to two or three a day.

When your baby is drinking, either from your breast or from a bottle, listen for a pattern of “suck, suck, suck, swallow.” This pattern will be rhythmic in nature and there should be no “clicking” noises present. The “clicking” sound can indicate that your baby is not properly latched on and may not be getting enough milk. If you start to hear this, you need to unlatch and then reattach your infant. Should you continue to hear this sound, even after reattaching several times, you may want to consult a lactation consultant or your pediatrician to better understand what to do next.

With the passing of the first week of life, you will most likely see 6 to 8 wet diapers each day and at least 3 bowel movements each day. The urine should be clear and the baby should become more alert with each passing day. Your baby should also be gaining weight and growing. Again, this is the surest way to tell that they are getting enough nutrition. If you have two days in a row that deviates from the above indicators, you should contact your pediatrician at the earliest possible convenience.