Plot help from women who have given birth, please!
According to the Internet, new mothers do not begin to produce breast milk until 12-48 hours after delivery. Do babies just not get hungry during this time period? Do they get replacements?
Help! It's a plot point now, and I have to cut it, but I need to know what goes on instead, and all of these *&^%$$#!! web pages jump magically from birth to regular feeding. So far I've seen nipple confusion mentioned only once, and no one's said squat about babies refusing to nurse or moms struggling t...
Help! It's a plot point now, and I have to cut it, but I need to know what goes on instead, and all of these *&^%$$#!! web pages jump magically from birth to regular feeding. So far I've seen nipple confusion mentioned only once, and no one's said squat about babies refusing to nurse or moms struggling t...
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by
Allison
(new)
May 18, 2010 08:50PM
Well, What to Expect the First Year, Second Edition says on page 121 that "Infants aren't born with an appetite, or even with immediate nutritional needs." It goes on to say that babies don't usually get hungry until the 3rd or 4th day after birth, and mom will have breast milk at that point. Until then, the breasts have colostrum, which is like a nutrition shake full of antibodies and other complicated things. Colostrum is usually present in small amounts and first feedings of it are very short.
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Just from my experience, I did produce colostrum, but with my big, hungry boys, I had some MAD babies in those first 48 hours. Colostrum is calorie rich, but there isn't a lot of it. My daughter was fine waiting for the milk to come in, but my boys were impatient.
My 2 boys were fine waiting for my milk to come in - 2-4 days after giving birth. They are also hungry boys, but the colostrum was sufficient for them. Colostrum is a more yellowish liquid, not as watery as breastmilk can be. You don't notice your breasts getting engorged the way you do when your milk "comes in". My older son was happy to latch on right away after being born, my younger was annoyed at being offered the breast right away and content to just stare at us for hours before expressing any desire to try and nurse.
Colostrum is produced first as the ladies said. And it depends on the baby as to how well they will latch on, my son was a month premature and he had a hard time latching on, but my daughter was born with-in a week or so of her due date and she latched on very well and was a good eater. For my son we finally figured out to fee him in a football hold type way. Instead of the traditional way you usually see. I had to prop a pillow under my right/left arm then lay his head at my right/left breast with his body and legs wrapping around my side.When babies are first born they don't need to eat much so the Colostrum is plenty for them. The doctor usually suggests trying to have the baby latch on to the beast as soon as you are able to so within 2 or 3 hours after birth. Just so the baby and mommy can get used to it. If the baby has a hard time latching on after the first 24hrs they have coatches come in to help mom and baby. They may also use formula if the baby is screaming too much from hunger. Newborns eat every 2 to 3 hours. It can get very tiring, especially for a new mom. It seems as almost you are finished you have to start all over again. Nipples can get sore within the first day or two and there is special ointment you can put on to heal them.
Hope this helps. Good luck with the writing!
Natasha wrote: "Colostrum is produced first as the ladies said. And it depends on the baby as to how well they will latch on, my son was a month premature and he had a hard time latching on, but my daughter was b..."Both of my children enjoyed being at the breast even without the milk. The liquid I produced, colostrum, is important for the baby's immune system. For the Mom's it isn't as important for the baby. But the LaLeche League encouraged every Mom to nurse because the colostrum can help. I hope you can put that in somehow. Nature took care of the baby and the Mom has the benefit of various body muscles working correctly before the baby is "really" hungry.
