Hi guys! My name's Christina at Domesticfelicity.com and today we're going to talk about how you know if your breastfed baby is getting enough milk.
I get this question a lot from new moms. They're really nervous about their milk supply and whether their baby is healthy, if their baby is getting enough milk. It seems that every mom, even experienced moms tend to fall into this fear. I know I did a couple of times.
Really the key is: Are they gaining the normal amount of weight? This can be low-normal, high-normal or mid-normal. As long as it's in the normal range of weight gain than you're fine.
I've heard moms say that their pediatrician told them to supplement or to feed their baby less even because they were gaining too much or not gaining enough weight in their doctor's opinion.
The question is, where were they at on the scale. Doctors use growth charts and if your baby seems happy and healthy and is within the normal range on the growth chart than you don't need to worry if your baby is too chubby or not chubby enough.
I'm not saying disregard your doctor's advice. But if they seem quick to try to pull out formula on you even if your baby is normal on the charts than you might want to consult a different health professional on this.
For some moms you might find that your baby isn't keeping up on the charts. This can be nerve wracking and frustrating. There are some things you can try like pumping. There are some supplements you can take and some herbal things you can do.
But really if you're finding that you can't keep up even after trying some of these things. And your baby isn't growing at the rate that you'd like. It's OK to start supplementing. If you do all you can do and nothing changes than you have nothing to feel guilty about.
Remember if you have friends or family saying your baby is too chubby or too skinny. There are breastfed and formula fed babies that very chubby and very skinny. If they're in the average range than you have nothing to worry about.
Some well meaning family members, friend and even doctors try to convince you to put your baby on a nursing schedule. One thing that you can do to help your baby gain weight is to nurse them on demand. Especially if they're newborns or just a couple months old, it's really important to nurse them whenever they're hungry.
Babies grow in growth spurts. This means that some weeks, they might only eat 3 hours a day. Other weeks they might every hour and a half.
You might also find your baby sleeping for several hours during the day and then they wake up, they nurse. They're happy for an hour and then they're fussy again and you've tried everything. They're acting like they want to nurse or to eat.
That's because they do. They're hungry. They skipped a feeding while they were sleeping and now they want to catch up. This is called cluster feeding. It happens during growth spurts and it happens when they've gone several hours without feeding during a nap or during the night while sleeping and it's completely normal.
You shouldn't feel guilty because they're not staying on some schedule.
Again, my name is Christina and thanks for watching.
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