It’s a boy! It’s a girl! And you are breastfeeding. While breastfeeding is truly a wonderful experience, it’s only normal to feel all sorts of emotions after giving birth. Breastfeeding is a learning curve for first-time moms, so it’s important to create a proper newborn feeding schedule, especially during the first two weeks. This time is crucial for both the baby and the mother. This is precisely why we have come up with a breastfeeding day-by-day guide to help you manage this time as stress-free as possible, learn the basics such as how long you should breastfeed on each side, and ensure a healthy first latch for your baby.
Get Your Baby Used to Breastfeeding from Day One
One of the first things you should do when you come home from the hospital with your newborn is to encourage “skin-to-skin time” by holding your baby on your chest while being able to see their face.
Babies will instinctively start searching for the nipple. You can help them by bringing them closer to the breast, not the other way around. It’s important to stay close to the baby in order to pick up their hunger cues. For instance, hand sucking, moving their mouth, head-turning, and similar can all be signs of hunger. In order to encourage the baby to breastfeed, you can gently rub their back and feet. This will help you create a proper newborn feeding schedule around sleep time.
Keep in mind that it’s perfectly normal to feel tenderness in your breasts after the initial breastfeeding sessions. However, you should not feel actual pain. If the first latch is right, you should sense something close to pulling.
Of course, if you find that your newborn has issues with breastfeeding or you can’t produce milk properly, you can always contact a lactation specialist or address the problem with your OB-GYN. They can also help you modify the breastfeeding day-by-day guide you’re trying to follow.
How Long Does Nursing Take?
In general, newborns may nurse for up to 20 minutes on one breast or both. The newborn feeding schedule should include breastfeeding every two to three hours. How long should you breastfeed on each side? Try splitting the feeding time for each breast, with one breastfeeding session offering 10 to 15 minutes for each breast. Considering the average breastfeeding length, you should provide your baby with eight to 12 feeding sessions on a daily basis.
Once your child has a successful first latch and feed, you can expect to see at least one bowel movement as well as urine within 24 hours. It’s perfectly normal for the first stool to appear tarry and greenish.
Your Baby Should Be Hungrier After Day Two
After a successful first day of breastfeeding, it’s highly likely that your baby will want to be fed every two to three hours. However, if your baby keeps crying, even after a feeding session, chances are, they may need more nutrients. This is when your doctor might recommend a formula or donor breast milk. Don’t stress about this, as it won’t affect your breastfeeding relationship.
In case you are still experiencing challenges while breastfeeding, you may want to consider using a breast pump and then feeding the milk to your baby with a bottle or syringe. As mentioned, when it comes to how long you should breastfeed on each side, the estimate comes to around 15 minutes per session. So, using a breast pump might be necessary until your baby reaches this point.
After a couple of days of breastfeeding, your baby’s bowel movements should become more regular, with at least two instances of urination and a bowel movement daily. The color of the latter should turn more brownish as well.
While the breastfeeding day-to-day guide is most certainly very helpful, don’t worry if either you or your baby don’t seem to stick to it perfectly in the beginning. After all, breastfeeding is something that has to be learned. Also, don’t forget to take care of your breasts by constantly improving the baby’s latch and applying nipple creams as necessary.
The First Week Should Come with Many Changes
In the next couple of days, your milk production should stabilize while your baby should start swallowing properly. However, when your breasts are completely full, it can be more challenging for the child to latch. To deal with this issue, you can first pump out some milk.
At this point, you can expect your newborn to urinate six to eight times during the day and have a yellowish bowel movement at least four times a day.
As your breastfeeding schedule becomes more regular, it’s possible to experience hormonal changes that could affect your mood and sleep. This is perfectly normal and should resolve by itself in a week or two. However, if your postpartum blues last longer, don’t hesitate to speak to your doctor, as leaving these mood changes unaddressed could lead to depression.
Once the first week of your newborn’s life is coming to an end, you’ll notice them waking up on their own to be breastfed every two to three hours. Your breasts should also feel softer after each breastfeeding session, even though you may feel them getting too full or experiencing leaking. Your child should start gaining weight gradually.
Pay Attention to Your Infant’s Nursing Habits Around Day Ten
By the tenth day of breastfeeding, your baby should suckle continuously with a relatively recognizable pattern. For instance, your child might prefer to nurse continuously for a couple of hours rather than in shorter intervals every two to three hours. Their stool should be completely yellowish by this point, with four to six bowel movements and six or more wet diapers per day. It’s crucial to review the baby’s feeding pattern at this point in order to find enough time to rest yourself.
Expect a Growth Spur After Two Weeks
At two weeks, you can expect to see a growth spurt. Because of it, your child will likely want more milk. This will last for a couple of days, and your breasts will naturally produce more milk. However, you may no longer feel as full as you did before. That is perfectly normal.
In general, it takes about one whole month for your newborn to completely get settled into the breastfeeding schedule. Tracking their weight gain will allow you to check whether you’re on the right breastfeeding path. On average, your baby should gain five to seven ounces on a weekly basis.
Breastfeeding is, without a doubt, can be a great experience for every mom. Of course, it has its challenges, but it will get easier as time passes by and both you and your baby get into a familiar routine. Don’t hesitate to reach out to your OB-GYN at South Miami OBGYN Associates if you have any questions or concerns. We’re there for you every step of the way, for prenatal and postnatal care as well.
