Before the milk comes in?

[golcarlilly]

Ok my book says that my milk won't come in till day 4 or 5 so how much colostrum do I produce beforehand and how on earth does LO get enough sustenance to last until my milk arrives?

(sorry if this is a silly question but it is baffling to me!!)

 

[captain-ally]

Baby only eats about a teaspoon a day until your milk comes in

 

[sparkswillfly]

a teaspoon a day? no way! I always wondered how much she was getting. My milk came in on day 3. she didnt cry about being hungry. strange isnt it

 

[sam's mum]

They're all prepared for a few days of not getting very much in terms of food (they'll do lots of sucking and lots of sleeping anyway), which is why they often lose a bit of weight in the first week. They have lots of fat stores though so they're fine until it does come in x

 

[golcarlilly]

Oh poor little things, I don't like the thought that I won't be feeding him properly to begin with !!! How come bottle fed babies take so much more than that then?

 

[ryder]

It entire depends on the mum/baby... I did alot of pumping in the hospital and I got quite alot through pumping (at least 1oz) and they say that the baby is mor efficient. My milk came in on day 4.

This is part or the reason why some babies lose weight in the beginning.

 

[Samantha675]

You will be feeding him properly. A newborn's tummy is super TINY, and it takes nothing to fill it up. My son lost half a pound after birth before my milk come in, and it never worried me once. I knew that is what is supposed to happen. That is why in the last few weeks before birth a baby does nothing but put on weight. Here is a chart of how a newborn's tummy starts out, and how it stretches once milk is being produced.

https://www.llli.org/images/InfantStomach.jpg

 

[golcarlilly]

Oh thanks, that makes it much easier to comprehend!! gosh they are tiny aren't they!!!

 

[nataliecn]

My lactation consultant told me that the first few days the babies tummy is the size of a chick pea - so it definitely doesn't take much at all to fill them up!
Everyone's milk comes in differently. I was told to expect atleast 24 hours longer to get mine in as I had a c-section, but on day 3 it was already half colostrum, half milk.
So it really depends on the person!

 

[golcarlilly]

How long do they spend suckling before the milk comes in then?

 

[PeanutBean]

Like the others have said really! But FYI, my milk came in on day 3 overnight. Ouch! We had real problems before as Byron wouldn't latch and got jaundiced. We nearly had to take him to hospital but it all got so much easier when the milk came in.

 

[babymama]

The first few days of breasfeeding were terrible before the milk came in, I actually cried! My LO was born at 7.6 and when we left the hospital he was 6.14. My milk came in on day 3 and within 4 days, LO is now 7.8