Breastfeeding

Baby and breast are the perfect feeding team!

For the best nutrition, breastmilk is the best food to feed a baby. It is made specifically to meet the nutritional needs of babies. Human breastmilk changes as the baby grows to offer the best nutrients for the baby. It has over 1000 components - many of these have not been duplicated in infant formula.

Over the past 25 years, research has continued to show that breastmilk is better than infant formula. In fact, more studies are released each year showing that there are health risks to the baby and the mother when they do not breastfeed.

Infant formula should be seen as a `safety net` for babies who cannot breastfeed and not as an equal replacement.

Many common illnesses, such as colds, flu, skin infections or diarrhea, cannot be passed through breast milk. In fact, if a mother has an illness, her breast milk will contain antibodies to it that will help protect her baby from those same illnesses.

Baby and Breast- A Perfect Feeding Team

Knowing what to expect and how to deal with setbacks in breastfeeding can help ease the adjustment that you and your newborn will go through as you take on breastfeeding. Nursing comes naturally but it does take a while for the mom and baby to get in sync with one another.

How to breastfeed:

Get into a comfortable position. Whatever position is comfortable for you and for the baby is a good position to use.

Position your baby facing your nipple.

Support your breast with your free hand. Keep your fingers off your areola, which the baby needs to grasp.

Gently tickle the baby's lips with your nipple until the mouth is opened wide. Then, move your breast closer.

Don't stuff the nipple into an unwilling mouth. Let the baby take the initiative.

Make sure the baby latches on to the nipple and areola. Sucking on just the nipple will not compress the milk glands. It will also cause soreness and cracking.

If your breast is blocking your baby's nose, lightly depress the breast with your finger. Be careful not to loosen your baby's grasp of the areola.

If the baby has a strong steady rhythmic motion that is visible in the cheek, then most likely the baby is attached and sucking well.

When finished or repositioning the breast, don't yank your breast out of the baby's mouth. This will cause injury to the nipple.

Don't be tempted to skip or skimp on feedings because of pain. The less the baby eats, the worse the pain will be.

Brochure downloads:

Ten Steps to Support Parents` Choice to Breastfeed Their Baby (pdf)
101 reasons to Breastfeed Your Child (pdf)

Breastfeeding Basics

* Start as soon as possible after birth
* Be patient and calm
* Don't try to feed a screaming baby
* Ask for help when you need it

Breastfeeding is a learned skill that becomes easier over time. You are more likely to succeed with long-term breastfeeding by having a plan, becoming familiar with basic techniques, learning how to handle minor physical problems and getting help quickly when you need it.

How the Baby is Preparing for Breastfeeding

Before they are born, babies begin learning important skills that will help them breastfeed. Teaching mothers about these skills can increase their confidence in the baby`s ability to nurse at birth.

By the time a mother is 11 weeks (almost 3 months) pregnant, her baby has learned to swallow. Babies swallow amniotic fluid in the uterus.
By the time a mother is 24 weeks (6 months) pregnant, her baby has learned to suck. Babies spend a lot of time with their hands close to their mouth before birth. Babies are often seen sucking on their thumb, fingers or hands during an ultrasound exam.
By the time a mother is 32 weeks (8 months) pregnant, her baby has learned to root for the breast. The baby will turn its head if touched on the cheek and open its mouth if the bottom lip is tickled. By this time the baby can also suck and swallow in a coordinated way.
By the time a mother is 37 weeks (9 months) pregnant, her baby has learned to coordinate sucking, swallowing and breathing so it can do all three when breastfeeding after birth. Babies practice shallow breathing before birth using amniotic fluid.

Breastfeeding Tips

Breastfeed your baby on demand rather than setting a strict schedule, especially in the first few months.
Taking care of yourself will also help you to establish your milk supply. Eat right and get rest when you are able.
Avoid bottle-feeding your baby breast milk until breastfeeding and milk supply are well-established, which is usually about 4 to 6 weeks. This helps build your milk supply. Not using bottles also helps prevent your baby from developing nipple confusion, which is a preference for an artificial nipple over the breast.
Look for signs that your baby is getting enough milk, such as eagerness to eat and feeding sessions that last at least 15 to 25 minutes. By 6 days of age, your baby should need about 6 to 8 diaper changes, settle well after feeding and usually awaken on his or her own to feed every 1 to 3 hours. Talk to your doctor if you have any concerns.
Help clear blocked milk ducts by using warm compresses and massaging your breasts before and during feedings. Also, breastfeed more frequently and in different positions. Offer your baby the affected breast first at each feeding.
You can help relieve the pain from sore or cracked nipples with drops of expressed breast milk or lanolin creams.

The color of your breastmilk

The first milk is called `colostrum.' Colostrum is a clear, yellowish fluid. It is rich in protein, nutrients and antibodies, which protect the baby from infection. By starting to nurse the baby right after birth, the baby will benefit from the colostrum and the `mature milk` will come in sooner. Colostrum changes to `mature milk` sometime in the first 1 to 7 days.

`Mature` breastmilk may look blue in color. The milk that comes out first during a feeding (foremilk) is thinner and watery. The milk toward the end of a feeding (hindmilk) looks thicker. It is richer and higher in fat. If a woman pumps her milk, the fat (or `cream`) will separate easily and rise to the top.

Comments: Breastfeeding

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phatbaby57 - 12 days ago.
Bri- I know exactly what you are talking about when you said starting solids is difficult. I wanted my lo to have them, but now that I've started I stay so confused. Is he getting enough solids? Is he getting too many solids? I was always so confident when I was just nursing. Feeding baby solids is so stressful and he typically doesn't help matters. He'll fuss like he's done in his highchair and then 30 seconds later opening his mouth for more. Or I'll think he's done and take him out of his chair and while I'm holding him he'll eat more. So then I wonder if I'm misreading when he is full or if I'm overfeeding or he's overeating.

andbabymakes6 - 12 days ago.
Bri- it has been a challenge to breastfeed my little man! things are much better now but i was close to giving up in the first week :( i do feel like i have a good supply but he CONSTANTLY wants to eat, like he isn't content until he empties my breasts! let me give an example... yesterday he ate from 4:50 pm until 6 pm. at 7:15 pm he was ready to eat again, screaming and sucking his fist. so i fed him AGAIN and within 20 min or so he was fussing and im pretty sure it was because nothing was coming out.. so i gave him 2 ounces of formula... this is his typical behavior. so if i dont give him the ounce or two of formula he 'starves'... and as for pumping, he is always hanging from my nipple so i barely get to pump... lol... he normally eats like this every evening but during the day he has a pretty normal schedule. i just want to be able to leave him with daddy while i go to the grocery store and not worry about a feeding :( i feel like its pointless for me to put a shirt on in the morning... as much as he eats, the shirt just gets in his way!

T3POandR2D2 - 12 days ago.
I'm no expert, especially with thrush, but arent clicking sounds a sign of thrush? Or am I completely off?

T3POandR2D2 - 12 days ago.
jacquecmsu - haha, I know EXACTLY who you are talking about... Her views are very different than mine but I respect that she made her own choices based on her own research and experience and did not just blindly follow what anyone told her to do. I think research is key, no matter what the outcome is. And, from what I've seen of her, she is very smart and very informed in her choices. :)

act004 - 12 days ago.
just wondering if anyone else has had issues with nipple soreness for the first 6 weeks of breast feeding? I have tried the lanolin and making sure her latch is correct, although recently she started making clicking sounds while nursing which she hasn't done before. Also wondering if anyone else has had a lazy nurser and if so what to do about it. She doesn't get full, but won't wake up until I put her down and she wants to eat 15 minutes later. also won't sleep unless she is right next to me in the bed where I just kind of let her nibble here and there as she pleases, but I am still really engorged by the am. Starting to get really frustrating having to pump due the her not suckling well and the nipple soreness and now my milk supply is decreasing. Started taking the fenugreek and blessed thistle and my OB gave me an rx for Reglan though I am trying to wait until absolutely needed to take it.

Bri - 12 days ago.
andbabymakes6 - Congrats! That's hard when thry are born early! The more he feeds the more you'll make which is why supplimenting is probably not the best option ynless you are pumping when he's being supplimented. You need as much stimulation as possible. You can also drink mother's milk tea and take herbs or eat fermented oatmeal to help out. I don't have a supply problem but I still drink mother's milk and eat fermented oatmeal a couple times a week.

andbabymakes6 - 12 days ago.
my son turned 1 month today. he was born 4 wks early. i have breastfed from day 1 and supplemented formula a few times here and there. my problem now is that he eats so much, basically til theres nothing left and then screams because hes still hungry. so at least twice a day i have to give him an ounce of formula after bf'ing to fill him up after empyting my breasts. will he grow out of that?? or will i have to supplement even more as he grows? i hate giving him the formula, it stinks and he always spits up! i just dont know what else to do...

andbabymakes6 - 12 days ago.
my son turned 1 month today. he was born 4 wks early. i have breastfed from day 1 and supplemented formula a few times here and there. my problem now is that he eats so much, basically til theres nothing left and then screams because hes still hungry. so at least twice a day i have to give him an ounce of formula after bf'ing to fill him up after empyting my breasts. will he grow out of that?? or will i have to supplement even more as he grows? i hate giving him the formula, it stinks and he always spits up! i just dont know what else to do...

Bri - 12 days ago.
As for solids....six months you can try to add some food but it is just for practice the first year. Let baby lead you. Don't force your child to have three meals a day because that is what other babies do. My son was only eating one or two meals for the longest time. I personally didn't have any solids until over a year. I just wasn't interested in it and was still gaining weight with just breastmilk. My Ped was fine with it and so was my mother. As for finger foods, that is up to you and your baby. I started later because I have a fear of choking. I choked on a marble when I was an infant and even though I don't remember that incident I still to this day have a gag reflex and choked on other hard candies growing up. That led me to not give my son any harder foods forever. Cheerios is probably the best thing to start with. It helps them learn fine motor skills and cheerios do dissolve in the mouth. Once my son started finger foods we started giving him everything from our dinner plate, even really tiny bits of steak. That was around 10months. I believe that adding solids is soooo darn confusing! You never know how much is too much because you want your child to have enough breastmilk too. Formula is expensive so many bottle feeding moms are excited for solids because it means less formula. This isn't true for breastfeeding moms some how! We all tend to really love it and have clashing feelings of wanting our child move to the next step and keeping them at the breast. HAHA! It's all crazy!

jacquecmsu - 12 days ago.
I just read a profile that said '100% breast-milk free and proud of it'... seriously?!?! That's obnoxious...but maybe it's comparable to saying EBF?

Bri - 12 days ago.
Explo, the WHO recommends breastfeeding until 2 and then however long after that. The only reason the AAP recommends a year is because of society and what 'they'd think'. They have proven that breastfeeding does reduce the risks of being obese, allergies, gast. problems, etc. There have been mulitple studies showing this. You can find plenty online. They follow groups of infants for many years. Now does this mean formula fed babies are stupid? No, not at all. Actually my FIL is one of the smartest people I know! He graduated third in his class at MIT. He isn't stupid by any means and he is from the generation where formula was the thing to do. The whole women's lib movement and all. Honestly, yes, breastfed kids are smarter but it's only by a small fraction of points which in reality doesn't make a difference. As for benefits, there is a nutrional value past a year. Breastmilk is awesome! It changes with the needs of the baby. Right now our milk is very fatty, as our babies grow it becomes less fatty. The vitamins change as well. Then there is also the emotional aspect. I love breastfeeding and so did my son. He weaned himself at 22months. We were both ready. I've seen parents 'decide' to wean early and it causes heartache. The baby is upset about it and the mom goes through a whole load of emotions. I've seen moms experience depression like PPD that has become serious. I believe it is best to let baby wean slowly when he/she wants. As for starting cow's milk at a year. That works for some but 1 is not a magic number. We tried milk around 13months it was awful! My son could not tolerate it so we backed off. Around 15months he started having it on a regular basis with meals and breastfeeding in between. I wouldn't be so hard on stopping at one. Your baby may take to milk easily but many breastfed babies take a little longer to be ok with it.

sydneemay2009 - 13 days ago.
I know that everyone thinks little ones need a ton of milk, but personally I don't think it is totally nessecary. If your LO likes cheeses, yogurt, butter etc. then having a smaller amount of milk probably will be fine especially if they have a good balanced diet, with sunshine included!

andrea-nicole - 13 days ago.
felicia marie- my daughter also drinks tons of water, i even tried chocolate milk. not much interest in that either. ive been continuing to breast feed bc shes not interested in the milk but i think shes not wanting it bc shes still getting my milk. i'll have to try soy milk. i'm not a fan of it myself but its worth a try with her! i'm just hoping that when i do stop nursing she'll start to like the cows milk more.

felicia marie - 13 days ago.
Andrea-Nicole - My daughter is almost 16 months and I am slowly TRYING to wean her. She also does not like cows milk, however, she will drink soy milk. Try to give your LO a sippy (or a cup w/ a straw.. whatever you give ur lo) with soy milk and see if she'll take it. Yesterday I gave my LO soy milk and wouldn't give her anything else to drink.. She drank about 4 oz throughout the day. I am also worried that she will not get enough milk when I stop BFing. She will drink tons of water.. but not milk.

felicia marie - 13 days ago.
Phatbaby - Well Lucky you to have to start pumping at work at 9 months pp. I started back at 6 weeks pp and I pumped 3 times during work! I have recently stopped pumping at work at 15 months pp. And it feels great! It was so challenging because I would have to travel alot for work.. And I would have to go through more security at the airports because of all the milk I would bring home. It was definitely a pain. And they would always ask 'well why isn't your baby with you?'.. Well duh! If my baby was with me I wouldn't need to pump! But let me tell you, it is worth every second! Try bringing a good book to read while pumping.. then you'll look forward to your pumping sessions.. Also, it's a nice break to get away from 'work'.

jacquecmsu - 13 days ago.
Ladies, I am STILL sick, it's been about 2 weeks and, the baby now has a cold too. My hubby had the same thing I have but, he got to take antibiotics and now he's better. I have decided that I will take antibiotics as well and pump for 5 days. I am in 3 master's classes and I work and it's killing me to be sick!!! Night time is going to be really tough... b/c I can just pull my boob out and never get outta bed....Also, I will drain my freezer supply for sure. Has anyone had to do this before?

phatbaby57 - 13 days ago.
I went back to work part time at 3 months pp, full time 6 months pp. I'm now 9 months pp, and am finally out of freezer supply which means that today I begrundgingly took my pump to work. Nothing has ever made me feel as awkward as pumping at work. I texted my husband while I was doing it saying, 'Nothing is more weird than having your boobs out at work.' He responded that he was sure Isaac appreciated it. I responded, 'He better because this is going into my mother's guilt list.' I'm so glad I've made it this long without having to pump at work. I'm also so glad I only have to do this for three months. On a good note though, it seems effective I got 6 ounces on my first pump today!

T3POandR2D2 - 13 days ago.
Andrea-Nicole - have you tried mixing it with some breastmilk? Or using it in a baby smoothie?

andrea-nicole - 13 days ago.
hello everyone.. so my daughter is 14 months old and i am still breastfeeding. we have also slowly started to introduce milk. she doesn't seem interested in it at all. i know eventually i'll stop nursing and she'll be drinking only the milk. i'm just worried she's not going to transition very well.. any of you have this problem or any advise?? thanks ladies!

T3POandR2D2 - 13 days ago.
Explo - it isn't that breastmilk reduces these risks, being that breastmilk is the baseline. Formula is shown to INCREASE these risks, which sounds the same but is actually very different. Breastmilk is the baseline, evrything else is what takes away from things like immune system and IQ. There will always be exceptions to the rule. Not saying that anyone who ff will have a baby with all thes things and be stupid, we ALL know that is untrue, the facts just point to higher chances of sickness and lower IQ. Also, about the breastmilk until 2+ thing, I wasn't saying you HAVE to bf until then, just that it is what s healthiest. Same with the starting solids later then 6 months, no one is saying you shouldn't, just that it isn't needed.

explo - 13 days ago.
Also, my beleif is that breast is obviously best (we make it for a reason, after all). But, how have they proven that breast milk lowers obesity, ezcma?? Also, how have they proven that it makes you smarter?? I'm not sure I beleive all that, but do beleive that's obviously best, otherwise our bodies wouldn't make it... I mean, I was breastfed for 2-months (Mum's diabetic, and I was literally draining her of sugar, so she couldn't continue even though she wanted to), and have never been obese, suffered from ezcma and nor am I stupid... My exclusively formula fed cousin was the same, but has always been top of the class from school through to uni... So, basically, how do they come up with these theories, when stuff like obesity and intelgence is obviously down to nuture... Anyways, just curious. :D

explo - 13 days ago.
My stepson went straight from breast to cow's milk aged 1-year, and I intend to do the same. My Health Visitors and midwife told me the exact same thing, and it seemed logical to me. But each to their own -- personally, if I make 6-months, I'll be happy at having done it for the recommended time, but a year is a personal goal. :D

T3POandR2D2 - 13 days ago.
Explo - Babies actually DO nee breastmilk after the first year, just not as their main source if nutrition. It's considered a supplimental food after a year but still very nesessary until their immune system is fully developed.

T3POandR2D2 - 13 days ago.
Baby2luv - Babies don't need solids until ONE year... 2 years would be crazy. Solids during the first year are JUST for fun and practice. The whole 'iron stores depleting' isn't actually true, as long as YOUR diet is high in iron, your baby will get enough iron through breastmilk. I didn't start solids with my son until 7-8 months and that was table food via BLW. When I was a baby, I didn't start solids until a year. Chances are, if you give more solids, your period has a higher likelihood of coming back. Doesn't mean it will, just that it could.

EllasMommy23 - 13 days ago.
nikkiandfred- My LO is 7 months also and we are trying, for like a week now haha. but i haven't gotten my period back, so I don't have any real expectations. but it would be cool if it happened!