How Do I Know What is Enough?

Question

37 weeks and planning delivery via caesarean and hoping to exclusively breastfeed for at least the first 6 weeks 🤞🏽 
How do I know my baby's getting enough? Especially after delivery while Im in the hospital and recovering? 
I have so many headstrong family members 😒 including my mother 😒 who think they know everything when it comes to breastfeeding when they did it for a total of about two minutes and I really don't want to be pushed out of something I want so badly!!! Prepare me!

Answer

1) wet diapers (1 for day one, 2 for day 2, 3 for day 3....6 for day 6 and beyond)
2) baby calms down and seems satisfied after a feed
3) baby gaining weight, it’s normal that all babies lose weight the first few days but as long as they regain it and continue to gain, they’re ok.
4) boob feels softer after feeding (not always a reliable sign)
What you pump is no indication of your supply as baby is more effective than the pump and if you pump after a feeding, what you are getting is only the extra milk.

Answer

The nurses will check on you hourly and ask if you’ve offered the boob. So they are good at reminding you but set a timer and offer it as often as you can. As long as your baby has the amount of wet diapers and is still pooping meconiun then you are fine I believe. My baby pooped right when he came out and then didn’t poop again until the day we left. Utilize the Lactation Consultant as much as you need to get the latch correct if your baby doesn’t latch correctly right away. Your baby literally has a pea sized stomach and only a couple drops or a teaspoon of colostrum will be enough. Sometimes it helps to squeeze the colostrum out a little so baby can taste it and will want to latch. My son literally would latch for 2-7 mins at first.

Answer

The thing I wish I had been warned about is cluster feeding. Baby may want to feed for what feels like eternity. You'll begin to think you're not making enough milk. It's a totally normal thing! I was ready to call the doctor in a panic. My MIL wad pushing to bottle feed because the baby was starving. I spent some time googling, asked a few other moms, and took a deep breath. Cluster feeding is real and normal.

Answer

If baby has enough wet nappies and gains weight or even if it just stays on the same weight for a while. (they lose weight at the beginning and sometimes need a few weeks to catch up). Don't let them tell you that baby isn't getting enough because they want to eat often. My daughter ate every hour for the first month, every 30 minutes for another 2 weeks and then something between every hour to every 2 1/2 hours for the next 8 months even though I started giving her food at 6 months old. But she was such a chubby chubby baby. So I know for sure she got enough. She was just a snacker and not a big meal eater.

Answer

Read everything you can on kellymom.com

Answer

This site is a great resource. Having lots of information will help you stand up to your family - and even any doctors or nurses who are not bf friendly/knowledgable (and plenty are not, so be ready to question them or seek a second opinion!) - https://kellymom.com/hot-topics/newborn-nursing/

Answer

its really about weight gain of your baby, which in the first weeks they will monitor. 
my baby would not latch so we bottle fed breast milk and I pumped a lot to get my supply in. Now she's combo fed at 3 months old.

How Do I Know What is Enough?

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