First Week Breastfeeding Hurdles
And How to Best Prepare for Them
Pregnancy is an exciting time!
There are so many things to get done before your sweet bundle arrives… plan the baby shower, decorate the nursery, buy diapers, wash the baby’s clothes, and the to-do list goes on. One important task, however, often remains left unchecked or is not even put on the list at all.
The very important task I’m referring to is researching and learning about the feeding options for your baby. Moms choose different feeding options depending on personal desires, individual circumstances, and various other reasons. Today’s post is specifically going to address breastfeeding and offer some encouraging tips if this is the option for you.
Breastfeeding is a beautiful, yet often challenging part of the precious first days after a baby is born. As a registered nurse and lactation consultant working in the hospital setting, I’ve witnessed the bittersweet moments of breastfeeding in the early days following delivery.
One huge thing that I wish every mother knew before starting her breastfeeding journey is just that…that it is a journey. Like most journeys in life, your breastfeeding one will probably be made up of high points and low points. It will be filled with precious moments that will take your breath away and also times that will leave you in tears. Just know that while some women will find breastfeeding to be easy (and make it look easy too), most women will have a few bumps in the road in the beginning.
I absolutely loved breastfeeding my kids but what I didn’t care for were the bumps in the road, especially in the early days. Bumps in the road are very NORMAL (and so very common they are the reason I have a job as a lactation consultant). The good news is that learning about some of the common breastfeeding hurdles before you deliver will help you be more equipped to clear those hurdles when they come.
So let’s go over a few of the most common questions and concerns mothers have in their first days of breastfeeding:
1. My breasts don’t feel full….is there really any milk in there?
There are several reasons for this concern including that many mothers think their breasts will feel “full” right after birth. However, it is very normal for a woman’s breasts to not feel full right after delivery. most mothers will not even feel their breasts get fuller until about 72 hours post-birth.
A mother needs to know that even though it doesn’t feel like it, there’s actually a lot of colostrum ready to go for her baby! Colostrum is milk that is present the first few days post-birth and although it only comes out in small drops at a time, it is packed with amazing nutrients and tons of calories for the baby.
I honestly believe that the way milk is produced for babies in the first several days of life gives us a front-row seat to God’s amazing design.
Let me explain…
In the first few days after birth, your sweet baby who has been fed through the umbilical cord must suddenly learn how to drink their milk. From feeding in the womb one moment to suddenly feeding in a completely new way post-birth, your baby must adjust on the fly. Your little one must go from being automatically fed to having to learn how to suck, swallow, breathe...suck, swallow, breathe...suck, swallow, breathe. This is no easy task!
But guess what? Mothers were designed so that their milk in the first few days (colostrum) post-birth will come out of the breast in small, calorie-rich drops so the baby can learn the process of sucking, swallowing, and breathing, with small amounts! The colostrum that new moms produce in the first few days will not flow in abundance, but what is lacking in quantity is made up in quality. Colostrum has 2.5 times more calories than more mature milk (which is produced around days 3-4). In this way, babies can get more calories with less volume while learning the art of eating.
Over the next three days, the amount of milk that a baby receives from the breast will gradually increase. By the time mom’s more mature milk starts to fill up her breast, the baby will know how to handle the increased volume that is flowing! What an amazing process! Sometimes I am just in awe at how we are so fearfully and wonderfully made!
So the encouragement to mothers here is this: don’t worry if your breasts don’t feel full the first three days. They will start to fill up around 72 hours post-birth, and until that time, your colostrum will be perfectly suited for your newborn.
2. What is cluster feeding?
Another struggle I see many moms (and dads) go through is that they have no idea their baby will be up all night cluster feeding. A cluster feed is a group of feedings that happen back-to-back-to-back and may span several hours if the baby is alert and active.
Let’s break this down further. Most babies will latch well in the first few hours after birth when given the chance. However, typically after the second feeding, a majority of babies tend to get very sleepy and become hard to wake up.
This is very normal as the baby recovers from their big birth experience and most parents spend the first 24 hours of their baby’s life trying to wake the baby up to feed. This all changes around the baby's one day birthday, at which time the baby fusses more, cries more, and wants to eat so much more!
Most parents do not know this change in their newborn’s activity is coming, and it makes for a rude awakening (pun intended). Specifically, the 2nd and 3rd nights after a baby is born tend to be the hardest two nights because the baby has finally recovered and is ready to get busy.
The baby knows he has a job to do. The more he feeds and stimulates the breasts in the first 72 hours, the more milk he makes around day three.
Parents need to know that cluster feeding is a normal newborn feeding behavior and once mom’s milk supply increases, the baby will start to pace himself out a bit.
My hope is that parents know that cluster feeding is a normal occurrence in the first three days post-birth (especially during the middle of the night). Parents should expect the first three nights in particular to be extra tiring, as their sweet baby is building his milk supply up! Take hope that once mom’s more mature milk starts producing (around day 3-4), the baby will start to reduce those cluster feeding sessions.
3. I feel like I don’t know much about breastfeeding...how can I learn more?
What I’m about to say sounds so simple, but it is so important! The very best thing you can do to prepare for feeding your baby is to take a breastfeeding class. I would recommend taking a class even if you are on the fence about whether breastfeeding is for you because you might just learn some really interesting facts that will help you in your decision-making process.
As a lactation consultant, I have been teaching breastfeeding classes in person for over ten years and I love being able to encourage families in this way. With the current situation our world is in, I know it can be hard right now to find a breastfeeding class to attend, or maybe you just don’t want to be out and about. With this in mind, I have created a virtual breastfeeding class that you take in the comfort of your own home.
The class is not a zoom meeting. It is formatted in a way that it can be viewed on your couch, in your comfy sweatpants, at your own pace, and with your husband by your side. And yes, dads should check out the breastfeeding class too because they are a vital part of your support system!
I designed the breastfeeding class to be comprehensive yet practical, covering everything from the foundational principles of how milk is made to interactive demonstrations, like how to position and latch a baby. We’ll also dive into the benefits of breastfeeding, what makes breast milk so special, the anatomy and physiology of how breastfeeding works, how to know if your baby is getting enough milk, how often to feed baby, what you can and can’t eat during breastfeeding, how to tackle engorgement, and so much more!
Whether you take my virtual class or another, the important thing is to learn about and prepare for this beautiful journey. If you would like to learn more, I would love to have you visit beyoutifulmommyhood.com and check out the class under the breastfeeding section. You can also connect with me and or view my full credentials and experience as an RN, BSN, and mom of three here (link to Ashley’s blog coming soon!).
4. If I ask for help will others think I’m not cut out for this?
Lastly, I want to encourage all moms that it is a-okay to ask for help! Asking for help with breastfeeding does not mean that you are a bad mom, it means that you are trying to find solutions for you and your baby...which makes you a fantastic mom!
If you are needing assistance be sure to reach out to your nurse, lactation consultant, midwife, doula, doctor, mother, aunt, sister, or friend. Whether they assist you with latching, or dropping off a meal, take them up on their offer to help. Make sure to surround yourself with those who will uplift and support you in your breastfeeding journey, however that may be! You got this!
Contributed by Ashley Hontz, RN, BSN, IBCLC · beyoutifulmommyhood.com