Question on Breast Feeding

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Good luck and congrat's on breastfeeding!!

I know this is the basic response you've gotten, but just to ease your mind a little more. It's normal. It's good your not getting engorged. With my first baby especially I produced an excess amount of milk the first few weeks, it was so nice when it finally normalized and I didn't have to worry about getting engorged and leaking anymore.

First off, congratulations on your baby! You don't need to worry at all. When you first have your baby, you do tend to get more engorged as your body adjusts to what your baby needs. You seem to be doing great on the pumping (I always had a hard time pumping enough, but I have had plenty of milk for the babies- I think I just get too impatient)- 4-7 oz every 2-3 hours is awesome. The wonderful thing about breastfeeding is it's like a supply/demand relationship. The more your baby needs it, the more your body will make. That's why if you are going to skip a nursing session, you need to make sure you pump so that your body knows that the baby still needs it and it will continue to produce it. As far as breastfeeding in public- once you get past the initial novelty of breastfeeding, it will get easier. I have 3 kids now (one still breastfeeding) and I remember with my first feeling kind of awkward doing it in public. One thing I've found that helps a lot (ironically, I didn't get any until my last one) are the nursing shirts. They have openings for your little one to nurse, but still keep everything discreet. My mom also made me some big receiving blankets I took with me (you just take a yard or a yard and a half of soft material, flannel works the best or knit or cotton for warmer weather) that were plenty big enough to cover up while they were nursing. Good luck!

Congrats, and good job with being so proactive about breastfeeding! The best way to increase your milk supply is to nurse as often as you can. As long as your baby is gaining weight and nursing often, then you are producing enough. Engorgement does go down, so just because you aren't engorged doesn't mean you aren't producing enough. I nursed my son for 16 months, and after about 4, my chest size went down quite dramatically (darn!), but I always had lots of milk for him. Your body will know how much to produce. Keep it up! You're doing GREAT!!! My 2nd baby is due in 2 weeks, and I'm praying that I am able to breastfeed her too!

BEing a new mom you want to make sure your babby is always taken care but you have to take care of you too. When it comes to Breastfeeding you HAVE to drink lots and lots and lots of water and make sure you are eating at least 400 calories more a day. THere are also teas you can drink to help your breast production. IF you go to your local health food store they will point you in the right direction. Also if you smoke this will decrease your production.
Remember the more you pump and the more you actually feed your body will also produce more milk. It gets frusterating but stick with it.

Stop pumping. The first six weeks should just be breast feeding the baby, It is all supply and demand, if you pump your body needs to replinish and it takes at least an hour or two. You should be feeding the baby every 90 mins to three hours max at this point. You are doing ok, stick with it! Unless you are going to be returning to work or going away for long periods there is no need to pump! The first six weeks are a time for you and and your baby to establish rouitines and you to recover from child birth! Good luck!

Hi A.,
First off, congratulations. My son turned 3 weeks yesterday. I am also breastfeeding. The initial engorgement does go away and you should just feel more comfortable. Breastfeeding dehydrates you, so you need to make sure that you are drinking a ton of water and eating an extra 500 calories per day to keep up a good milk supply. Without knowing if you are doing those things, it's hard to really determine if your supply is going down. If you are pumping and feeding really frequently, you may just be getting a little less because you need time to fill back up. I would suggest calling the lactation specialists from the hospital. They are definetely willing to help. Good luck!

You've already gotten some excellent feedback. I've used Le Leche League for 2 of my kids and they were extremely helpful.

The feeling of engorgement is supposed to go away. I pumped in between feeding during the first 6 weeks so I could save that milk for later, if I was going to leave them at home with dad or with a sitter. Using pacifiers and bottles this early can cause problems.

I understand being uncomfortable nursing in public. They make these privacy drapes now, my cousin got one at her baby shower. A receiving blanket works well, but these have this little metal bar at the top so you can look down at your baby while you nurse.

Maybe you can find one by googling it.

Good luck, and congrats on your new baby!

A.,
Isn't 3 weeks a normal time for a growth spurt? You are not producing less milk, most likely your daughter is taking in more milk and needs more. Just relax, drink more water, and make sure you are eating and resting enough. You may be a little worn out after the holidays that can lesson your milk supply. I doubt you are drying up!! Pumping 4 to 7 oz at 3 weeks is awesome!!!!!
R.

Good for you for breast-feeding. It is not easy at first, but it will get easier. Sounds like everything you are going through is normal. Something that might help - I went to Sweedish Hospital in Englewood where they have a lactation group that gets together on Wednesdays at 1:00. It's just a bunch of woman breast-feeding their babies. There is a lacation consultant on hand to answer questions. You also get to weigh the baby before and after feeding to see how your milk supply is. The class is totally free and I really enjoyed the company of other new moms, and the comfort of seeing my little one gain weight every week. It sounds like something you would enjoy. You might want to check the hospital in case the time/day has changed in the past couple of months. Hope that helps!

Hello,
Congratulations on your baby girl! Your body does get used to how much you are needing. At first it produces enough milk for more than one baby, and that is the engorged feeling. Make sure you are drinking enough water and not worrying about dieting. You need to keep your calories up and your water intake up to keep your milk. I wasn't able to just go anywhere and breastfeed, so when I was out in public doing things and it was time to breastfeed, I would just sit in the car and feed my baby until he was done.

A.--although you are engorged at first, your body adjusts to what baby needs, and production goes down some in the first few weeks. I noticed that if I didn't drink enough water, my production would go down. I had a chair that I nursed in, and I would keep a large water bottle there, full of water. Then I could sit down and nurse and drink water at the same time. Also--give yourself at least the first 3 months before you start trying to lose weight--of course, eat sensibly--lots of fruits, veggies and whole grains, limit junk food and sugar, etc... but eat as much as you require to be satisfied. Don't count calories or limit portions yet. However, it is normal to have just a TON of extra milk at first, and for that amount to go down as your body adjusts to what your baby needs. Good luck!

If you are having other supply issues, and baby is not getting enough, Mother's Milk tea (from Whole Foods or Vitamin cottage) can help to increase supply.

Your milk is probably not going away. You're less engorged because your body is adjusting milk production to her demand. You really can't tell how much you're producing from how full you feel or how much you pump. The best way to judge if she's getting enough is by her diapers - is she wetting at least 6-8 times a day? She also should be having regular bowel movements, but the frequency can vary from child to child. Also, if she is gaining weight well, then your milk production is great. You will notice her starting to round out some - but again, shape can vary because of genetics and such.

She's going to hit a growth spurt in the next few weeks and suddenly want to nurse a lot more often. This is very normal. Nurse her as often as she wants and your milk production will soon catch up and she won't need to nurse as often again. This will happen many times in the first six months, and it's how nature helps your milk keep up with her needs. It doesn't mean your drying up.

If you do pump, I would suggest getting the disposable botttle liners. Fill them only 2/3 of the way, then clip them closed, put the date on the bag and freeze. Put new ones in back. Then, when you need someone to give her bottle, and when you want milk to mix into her cereal in a few months, you just have to grab one from the front & thaw. Breas milk will last about 6 months in the freezer. (We had a whole line of little milk baggies in the freezer, it was so handy).

Congratulations, A., on both your baby and your breastfeeding relationship!
La Leche League is an international, nonprofit orgnaization devoted to providing moms with help and information about breastfeeding. All their services are free. You can call a local Leader for phone help or meet with a Leader at a meeting and hear ideas from other breastfeeding moms. You can also borrow books from their group library. LLL has saved my sanity dozens of times and I highly recommend getting in touch with them. I am not super familiar with southern Utah geography, but there is a Leader is Cedar City (not me) also named S. and her number is ###-###-####. You can find the names and numbers of other Utah LLL Leaders at www.llli.org.
If you nurse your baby on cue, your milk production will adjust to accomodate her needs, and it sounds like you're right on track. It is normal for your breasts to feel softer and for you not to feel your let-down reflex as stongly as you did in the newborn period and that does not necessarily indicate a reduction in milk supply. It's important not to judge your supply based on how much you can pump, because a pump (no matter how awesome) will never be as effective as a well-latched baby at getting milk. A more reliable measure is watching diapers. A baby who is receiving enough will have 5 to 6 pretty wet paper diapers or 7 to 8 wet cloth diapers and at least one stool (the size of a U.S. quarter or larger) in a 24-hour cycle. The stooling pattern often changes around six weeks of age and becomes slightly less frequent, but that is normal.
The easiest and most effective way to keep your milk supply up is to nurse your baby frequently and on-cue, which it sounds like you're doing. Avoid strict schedules in these early weeks because you're learning your baby's cues and responding to cues with nursing will get your milk supply established healthily.
I found it helpful to practice nursing in front of my bathroom mirror so I could see how much skin I was showing when I nursed in public. I was pleasantly surprised to see I wasn't showing much at all. . . a nursing tank top/camisole can help keep your tummy covered. I know moms in Alaska cut a horizontal slit across the chest in an old T-shirt and wear it under their sweatshirt so they can lift their top layer to nurse without exposing their belly to the cold.
AS you settle in to breastfeeding, you may not need to pump at all, unless you are trying to build a stockpile for when you return to work. If you are returning to work, a double-electric pump will be an important piece of gear.
LLL has lots of free resources and free handouts. Consider contacting S. in Cedar City or messaging me with your snail mail address and either one of us could send you handouts from La Leche League that give detailed information about how to tell if your breastfed baby is getting enough milk.
Best wishes for a wonderful new year of mothering!

I am extremely flat chested and have engorgement the first couple weeks after having a baby but after that, the breasts dont look or feel very full but produce a lot of milk for my little one. She is 8 months now and only eats rice cereal once a day. really, your body adjust to it and if you aren't giving her formula your milk should stay up just fine even if you feel like your breast aren't full. I am amazed at how long my daughter will be gulping and eating when I am so flat chested. seriously, if they made nursing bras in an A cup I would need it as I don't fill a B cup. Ha ha ha

nursing on demand will help with production. also, attending a La Leche League meeting in your area, or just getting in contact with a LLL leader is a great idea, to be sure that baby is latching correctly, good latch is so important otherwise 1) baby isn't getting much milk for her efforts 2)your milk production isn't being appropriately stimulated. it is recommended that one hold off on bottles completely until 4-6 weeks when a good latch and supply are established. switching back and forth from breast to bottle can cause nipple confusion (as can introducting a pacifier before this time) and baby MAY become more interested in the bottle, have difficulty latching on the breast (because the latch is different from breast to bottle) and with a bottle milk flows without effort. You may want to consider getting rid of pumping and the bottle for another few weeks. At this point you should not be engorged anymore, so that's normal, but your breasts should be filling up and baby should still be nursing ever 1.5-2 hours (that's start of one feeding to start of the next, not end of one feeding to start of next). If you're not comfortable nursing in public your options are 1) ignore onlookers and know that you are able to nurse anywhere that you are allowed to be! or 2) bring a small blanket to put over baby in order to nurse descretely. Nursing tops are also great if you're worried about modesty. Wearing baby in a sling is also a GREAT way to nurse baby on demand and no one being any the wiser when you're in public. llli.org should lead you to a la leche league meeting in your area. good luck and great job with wanting to exclusively breastfeed baby!!!

Congratulations!
To the first question, yes your milk supply will start to adapt to what the baby is requiring and about 3 weeks is normal for it to go down a little. Breastfeeding for the most part is a supply and demand thing. To the second question the best thing that you can do is keep your fluid and calorie intake up. You don't have to go crazy and fluid is more important than calories. But 300-500 extra calories is sufficent. Drink lots of water. Get plenty of rest. Well as much as you can. The best thing to remember that most new moms have a hard time with is to take a nap when your baby is sleeping. The dishes will still be there but at least you will be rested and more able to cope with baby demands. Also just watch for babies signs of satisfication. Don't stress yourself out if baby is gaining weight and sleeping regularly. Stress can get in the way of milk production. Remember that most feedings for a baby will be for comfort and not for food. If you have done all this and notice baby has issues than please contact a lactation consultant. Usually you can call the one at the hospital and she will be able to set up an appointment to talk to you about your concerns and give you ideas on anything that you need help with regarding nursing. Good Luck.

You will only supply what is demanded. Don't worry just yet - it should level out.

hi A.!

Congratulations on breastfeeding! My son is almost a year and it is the best thing in the world. 3 weeks 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months are usually growth spurts-- so you are probably producing the milk as fast as your darling is drinking it-- which is why you are not feeling the engorgement-- you are not producing MORE than she needs. Are you pumping because you want to store it or head back to work? Or is it just boost your supply?
You got some great answers from the other moms-- if your baby is nursing a lot and growing, you are just fine. I know how stressful and worrisome it can be, but trust yourself and your instincts about how your baby is doing.

Also, a great place to learn how to nurse in public and get used to it is at La Leche League meetings. I am sure they have them in Moab. You can locate them at www.llli.org

Good Luck and congratulations!