Is Baby Getting ENOUGH?

   How will you know if your baby is getting enough milk?  He is probably getting enough to eat if he nurses every 2 or 3 hours.  Is he "filling out" and putting on weight?  Growing in length?  Active and alert?  A "yes" to these questions is an indication that your baby is thriving well.

   A quick, easy way to reassure yourself that your infant is getting enough milk is to check the number of wet diapers.  If he has 6-8 wet cloth diapers a day (3-4 disposable diapers) after his 1st week, you can be sure he is getting plenty of milk.  Frequent bowel movements are also a sign that baby is getting enough to eat.  For the 1st 6 weeks or so, a breastfed baby will usually have 2-5 bowel movements a day (on the 7th week onwards, baby may reduce bowel movements to upto once a week as he is able to absorb all the nutrients in breastmilk).

   From time to time, your doctor will weigh the baby as a way of measuring his physical progress.  Some babies never lose an ounce from the day they're born and put on weight with the greatest of ease.  Most babies, however, lose some weight during the 1st week but get back to birth weight by 2-3 weeks of age.  After that, a pound a month (453g), or 4-8ozs (113-226g) a week, is usually considered an acceptable gain, although some babies gain as much as a pound a week in the early months.  Family characteristics and the baby's individual makeup need to be considered.  Remember - healthy, happy babies come in all shapes and sizes.  Bothe the quite fat and the very slim baby can be normal and health.  Neither bigness nor smallness is a reason for concern as long as the baby's food is human milk and nurses according to his needs.  If you feed your baby in the way that is naturally intended for the human infant, his weight gain will be what is natural for your particular child.

   With regard to baby's size and appetite, a health professional observes, "Mothers who gave birth to large babies and mothers who gave birth to small babies have at least 1 thing in common:  They can expect to have their ability to totally breastfeed the baby questioned."

   Marian Thompson, one of La Leche League's co-Founders, remembers when 2 of her nieces had identical weights of 17 lbs - but one was 6 months and the other was 18 months.  Yet the doctor for each was satisfied that the baby was healthy.

   If you are having problems with your milk supply, or if your baby is not gaining weight at least 4ozs a week, see your pediatrician, call a lactation counselor or a La Leche League Leader in your community.

Excerpt from The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (6th revised edition), La Leche League International, Schamburg, Illinois