Too Much Milk?

B4 you think how can having too much milk be a problem, think again! If you have an oversupply your breast can feel constantly full and you will have a rapid milk let down. Your baby receives a large volume in a very short time and can appear to be choking and sputtering. Often they compensate by biting on the nipple to attempt to slow down the flow. They may feed often, appear gassy, have explosive green poops but are gaining weight. Some babies can be done in five minutes and often Mom thinks they are not getting enough and so will nurse again leading to the baby spitting up and if nursed again increasing the milk supply.
Basically, the milk comes in so fast at the beginning of the feed that the baby is so full on foremilk before they can get to the higher fat hindmilk.  To help get to the hindmilk there are several things you can do. Remembering that breastfeeding is about supply and demand, so it goes if you nurse on one breast for a block set of time and hand express just to comfort on the other side will often reduce supply to a more manageable level. Remember, everything with breastfeeding is individual and different strategies will work for some and not others. Feeding on just one side per session means the baby will get to the hindmilk.
Watch the output and keep a close eye on your supply. If you sense it diminishing just nurse more often. It is a balancing act and you may need to check with an expert to ensure things are going well. In cases of mild supply issues it should only take a few days , with a more severe case it could take a few weeks.
Another strategy for rapid milk letdown is to change your nursing position so the flow is going against gravity. Nursing in a laid back position or even lying down with the baby on top of you. You will get covered in milk so be warned. Another thing to try is to hand express or pump past the first let down and then put the baby on. This may reduce the choking and spluttering at the beginning of a feed.

Too Much Information continued

Websites
- www.llli.org - the international site for La Leche League. Then proceed to specific countries and regions.
- www.breastfeeding.com
- www.breastfeedingbasics.com
- www.kellymom.com

Remember what worked and didn't work for your neighbour, your Mom or your Aunty Carol is no help to you. What you need is practical and research based information. Happy reading!

Too Much Information

B4 you type breastfeeding into your chosen search engine, ask yourself what and who is the source of that information. A lot of the information is out dated, not researched based or often times anecdotal. Worst offenders are artificial baby milk (abm), more widely known as formula company sites, who proclaim to support breastfeeding while pushing a product which for the majority of people is not necessary. Remember breastfeeding is the norm. Everything else is an alternative and not an equal.
So where do pregnant parents to be, go to, to find helpful, well researched, balanced information. Purchasing one good book and one or two websites helps to prevent information overload.
Again look who has written the book, what is their background. Check out new books from the library before you purchase. Be careful of older outdated books that stay in circulation. Ask friends who have had babies where they got information from and whether in hindsight it was useful.
Below are a few suggestions. I do not benefit from these suggestions but have found that they offer well rounded and practical information particularly with regards to breastfeeding.
Books - The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, La Leche League.
           - Bestfeeding - How To Breastfeed Your Baby, by Mary Renfrew
           - The Breastfeeding Cafe, by Barbara Behrmann
           - The Ultimate breastfeeding Book of Answers, by Jack Newman and Teresa Pitman
           - The Breastfeeding Mothers Guide to making More Milk, by Diana West and Lisa Morasco

Liquid Gold

B4 you think you don't have any milk to feed your new baby, think again. From 16 weeks into pregnancy your breasts are able to fully lactate. The phrase 'when your milk comes in' is in fact wrong. Colostrum or as some people call it, liquid gold, is already there. Thick in consistency and yellow in appearance,colostrum is high in protein and lower in fat than mature milk. The smaller volume of colostrum is ideally suited to your newborns tiny stomach and it its laxative abilities help to remove meconium. Protection from infection and sealing the gut are other vital components of colostrum. Frequent skin to skin and breastfeeding control the amount of milk continually being produced. Simply put, it is a matter of supply and demand - the more feeds, the more milk is produced.
 Breasts are there to feed our infants, breastmilk is species specific and is ideally suited to each child. Just as your child is unique so is the milk that you produce for them.

The Skinny on Skin to Skin

B4 you ask how much your baby weighs make sure you get skin to skin with them first. Placing the baby directly onto your abdomen and up in between your breasts is the best place to be. After labour and delivery and all the drama that goes with that process where would you like to be, over in a warmer with bright lights and strangers touching you or close to the person who has been carrying you around for the past nine months.  The familiar smells and comforting heartbeat, the gentle voices and stroking from your parents. If the baby could choose surely that is where they would want to be.
Most of the initial assessments can be done right there and the only reason they would have to be taken away is if there were any issues with their breathing.
There is so much more to breastfeeding than the transfer of milk to baby and one of the first steps is initial skin to skin contact. After delivery a surge of the hormone oxytocin is released, creating the bonding process and these levels are elevated at 15, 30 and 45 minutes after delivery. Oxytocin has aptly been called the cuddle hormone and helps both Mom and baby relax. Skin to skin helps to regulate temperature, breathing and heart rate and The American Academy of Paediatrics recommends first contact should be made as soon as possible after birth and if not immediately then at least within the first hour.
Keeping the baby skin to skin establishes early sucking and breastfeeding and the baby is right there giving you cues and signals on what they want to do. So keep your baby close and get breastfeeding off to a great start. That's what skin to skin is all about.