There is little else more important to a mother than making sure their baby is being well fed.

Many mothers contact breastfeeding counsellors and lactation consultants wondering if they have enough milk for their baby.  They may be concerned because their baby is unsettled, crying, not feeding at predictable times or wanting to feed more often than the mum expected.

Sometimes a well-intentioned relative or friend (or partner) can suggest that the baby is always hungry or feeding too often.

All these concerns can be very valid at times, but there are a few simple ways to find some reassurance that your baby is getting enough breastmilk.  Your baby is usually getting enough milk if they have

• Wet nappies – in the first five days of life, a baby will usually have one wet nappy for each day of life (ie three wet nappies on day three).  After this you can expect five heavily wet disposable and 6-8 wet cloth nappies per day while they are exclusively breastfed.  The wet nappies should be pale to clear in colour.
• Dirty nappies – during the first few days, your baby may pass only meconium (thick, black tare-like poo).  After that your baby’s nappies will start to transition to look more like seedy, yellowish mustard.  Most babies will pass 3-4 of ‘baby-fist-size’ poos in 24hours and some will have a dirty nappy much more frequently.
• Frequent swallowing that you can hear during a feed and see them sucking vigorously at the breast
• Weight gain.  All babies loose weight initially, but after a few days should start putting weight back on.

There are many things that can influence supply in both the short and long term, including some medical conditions and breast types, but if your baby has enough coming out, then there is usually enough going in.

If you are concerned about low supply or would like to discuss increasing your supply, you may like to contact me to decide if you’d benefit from having a consultation.  For some mums, very simple things will increase their supply (like increasing the number of feeds/day) and for other people more active measures are needed.  Either way mums usually find that having up-to-date and consistent information helps improve their situation.