How Do I Know My Breastfed Baby Is Getting Enough Milk?
Wondering if your breastfed baby is getting enough milk? Learn the signs to look for, including nappies, feeding, settling and weight gain.
Reviewed by Courtney Garland, NICU Registered Nurse, IBCLC Lactation Consultant and Paediatric Sleep Consultant
This is probably one of the hardest things about breastfeeding.
You cannot look at your breast and see:
Okay, baby just drank 70 mL. Perfect.
So naturally you start wondering:
Are they actually getting enough?
And mama, there are actually quite a few little clues we can look at.
You do not have to judge it by how full your breasts feel or how much milk you can squeeze out.
I recommend looking at your baby as a whole.
What should I look for?
One of the easiest places to start is the nappy.
As those first few days go on, you should see more wet nappies, and baby’s poo will change from that dark sticky newborn poo towards lighter stools.
But nappies are only one part of the picture.
I also look at how baby is feeding, whether you can see or hear swallowing, whether baby is waking for feeds, whether they seem satisfied after at least some feeds, and how their weight is tracking over time.
One sign on its own does not tell us everything. It is the combination of these little clues that gives us the bigger picture.
What about weight loss after birth?
Some weight loss in the first few days is expected.
After that, we want to see baby’s weight start moving back up and continue growing.
That is why those regular newborn checks matter. Weight gives us another piece of information we simply cannot get by looking at the breast.
Does feeding all the time mean I have low supply?
Not necessarily.
This one catches so many mothers out.
A baby can feed frequently and still be getting plenty of milk.
Young babies may feed 8 to 12 times or more in 24 hours, and some parts of the day can be much busier than others.
So try not to judge your supply only by how often baby asks for the breast.
Still wondering if baby is getting enough?
This is exactly why I made the lesson in the Breastfeeding Library.
Once you know what to look for, it becomes so much easier to understand what your baby is telling you.
Watch this short video, “Is My Baby Getting Enough Milk?”, in the Breastfeeding Library and I will walk you through exactly what to look for.
Related articles
• My Milk Hasn’t Come In Yet. What Is My Baby Actually Drinking?
• Why Is My Newborn Breastfeeding Constantly? Cluster Feeding Explained
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Want to see your baby’s patterns come together?
Track feeds, sleep, nappies and growth in one place, and find support for the questions that come up along the way in The Mama Years.
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