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How do I know if my baby has had enough?
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“Is my baby eating enough?” is a question breastfeeding mums often ask, as there’s no reliable way to measure the volume of milk that’s coming out of your breasts. Tiffany Brown shares some hints for knowing whether your breastfeeding baby is, in fact, drinking their fill.
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hile pregnancy and childbirth may do many interesting and unexpected things to your body, installing a measuring device at each breast is not one of them! Unlike formula, which is measured, allowing the volume ingested to be tracked, a common cause for concern for breastfeeding mums is wondering if your breasts are producing enough milk and, subsequently, if baby is getting enough to drink. So how can you be sure? These general guidelines can help.
FEEDING FREQUENCY If your newborn baby is feeding at least six to eight times a day, he should be getting
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enough milk. But don’t worry if he is feeding much more often than this. Newborn babies regularly “cluster feed”, and it may seem they are seeking the breast endlessly on arrival into their strange new world. Breastfeeding is a supply-and-demand arrangement. Frequent feeding is your baby’s way of increasing your milk production. Rather clever, isn’t it?
COMFORT During the early stages of breastfeeding, the first few moments of a feeding session may hurt or be uncomfortable, but as long as any pain or discomfort subsides and feeding feels easier once your baby settles in to his feed, you can be sure your breast milk is flowing as it should.
