When you have a new baby at home, you will undoubtedly be paying attention to the amount your baby is eating and if you have enough milk to satisfy him or her. Since the amount of your breast milk cannot be measured in a bottle, it can be confusing to know exactly how much breast milk your baby is actually getting.
How Can I Tell if My Baby is Getting Enough to Eat?
This is one of the most common breastfeeding questions from new mothers since you cannot measure breast milk the same way you do formula by checking the milliliters or ounces in the bottle! Ways you can tell your baby is getting enough to eat is to notice frequent swallowing (after your milk comes in) during feedings. Often the swallowing will come after several sucks at the breast. Once your milk lets down, you should hear sucking followed by vigorous swallowing.
You should also take a look at your baby's demeanor after feedings. Does your baby seem satisfied (not rooting or sucking) after feedings? Does he/she fall asleep after a good amount of time nursing at the breast that includes plenty of swallowing? Another thing to notice is if your breasts are softer after feedings.
By one week postpartum, does your baby have 6-8 wet diapers and regular stools each day? If your baby has fewer than 6-8 wet diapers per day, he or she may not be getting enough to eat.
Your pediatrician can also do weight checks on your baby within the first week or two after birth. If your baby has reached or surpassed his birth weight by 2 weeks of age, you can feel reassured that you are on track with making enough breast milk.
How Can I Make More Breast Milk?
If there is concern about your milk supply, your baby is not gaining adequate weight or even losing weight, you will need to make more breast milk.
Increasing your milk supply is based on the principle of supply and demand. If you increase the demand, the supply will increase. This is why a mother of twins will make more than a mother nursing one baby. It is also why very often the only thing you need to do to make more breast milk is to increase the amount of time you are breastfeeding.
Another way to make more breast milk is to try pumping on each breast after every feeding for about 15 minutes. This signals your body that the "demand is increasing" so more supply is needed!
You can also make more breast milk by increasing the amount of time you are feeding your baby at each breastfeeding session. So if your feedings generally last for 20 minutes, increase your feeding time to 30 minutes. Feeding your baby more frequently by decreasing the intervals between your breastfeeding sessions is another way easy and effective way to increase milk supply.
Another thing to check is to make sure you are using effective breastfeeding techniques. Is your baby positioned facing you and is the latch correct? If your baby is sucking at the tip of your breasts, not only will it cause breast soreness, but it does not allow your baby to get the most amount of milk out.
There are herbal preparations that also work to increase breast milk. One is in the form of tea and is called Mother's Milk tea. You can also take the herb fenugreek which has been shown to increase milk supply by up to 900%. The oil in the fenugreek seeds may have a role in helping mothers make more breast milk . Be sure to check with your lactation consultant if you are considering using fenugreek for appropriate dosages.
Increasing Breast Milk Supply Can Take Time
Since every woman's body responds differently, your breast milk supply may not increase overnight even after trying several methods simultaneously. For some mothers, it can take as little as 24 hours and for others it can take a week to see a change in their supply. The most important thing is that your baby is getting enough to eat so be sure you are consulting with your pediatrician or a lactation consultant if you continue to have any breastfeeding problems or you are having trouble with milk supply issues.
Are you currently breastfeeding and find that your milk supply is low? Leave a comment here so that we can help you!
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