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Day
of Birth and 1st 24 hours:
Bring
the baby to the breast as soon as possible after birth, ideally
within the first hour or two. Try nursing every 2-3 hours or
more often if the baby is eager, you may to try to wake the baby
up. A good way to wake them up is change
their diaper.
If you are unable to arouse the baby wait 10 - 15 minutes and try
again. Unwrap and hold/nurse your baby "skin to
skin" as much as possible. Expect that your baby will
pass urine and meconium stool within a 24 hour period.
Day
1 to day 5:
Colostrum
(the early milk) gradually changes to mature more enriching
mothers milk. Continue to nurse/feed every 2 - 3
hours. Minimum of 8 feedings in 24 hours; averaging 8 -
15 feeding times in 24 hours. There is no reason
to limit your baby's time at the breast as long as the latch is
good and you and your baby are comfortable with it. Nursing
20 - 40 minutes (total for both breasts is common. It can be
normal for the baby to be fussy at times as the milk when your
mild is changing from colostrum to mature milk. At this
point your baby may want to feed more frequently due to the
changing milk. Offering a supplemental formula or water MAY
be necessary if your baby's caregiver instructs you to do so for
some medical reason (one reason is improper weight gain of your
baby). Avoiding pacifier use for now is important and may
cause "nipple confusion". It is good to wait until
your baby is a skilled breast feeder before introducing pacifiers.
Expect one wet diaper for each day of age: (see chart below)
| Days
Old |
Number
of WET Diapers |
| 1
day old |
1
wet diaper |
| 2
days old |
2
wet diapers |
| 3
days old |
3
wet diapers |
Expect
2 - 10 meconium stools every 24 hours
Day
3 to 2 weeks:
As
your mature milk comes in feeding patterns may change. Your
breasts may be fuller and the baby may have more trouble latching
on. Try warm moist heat to your breasts and hang expression
of mil before feedings to soften the areola so the baby can latch
on properly. Feed as often as your baby desires to decrease
engorgement discomfort. Wake your baby to feed if they do
not wake up. You should hear your baby swallowing (gulping)
milk; it sounds like a sigh then a gulp. Bowel movements
will be turning mustard yellow and there should be 3 - 10 large
stools in 24 hours (after about 4 -6 weeks, your baby's stooling
patters will change again; at this age it is common for your baby
to have days without stooling at all). Wet diapers will
increase to 6 - 8 more in 24 hours. Your baby should be
weighed by 2 weeks of age and should be back to birth weight.
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Breastfeeding and
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