How do I know my baby is getting enough milk?

Their suck & swallow

Your baby begins feeding with a few quick sucks, followed by longer, rhythmic sucks and swallows, occasionally pausing.

You can hear and see your baby swallowing.

Your baby's cheeks remain full and not

sunken in while sucking.

Their behaviour

Your baby appears calm and relaxed during feedings.

They appear healthy and alert when awake.

Your baby naturally detaches from the breast at the end of feedings.

Your baby seems content and satisfied after most feedings.

Your baby falls asleep at the breast.

Feeding to sleep is perfect!

Your breasts

Your breasts feel softer after feeding.

After your milk has come in, you may notice that your breasts feel firmer before a feed.

Overtime and regulation of your milk this feeling may be less noticeable.

Your nipple maintains its shape after feeding

– not flattened, pinched, or white.

Baby’s growth

Your baby consistently gains weight after the first 2 weeks, considering that some weight loss is normal in the initial days.

150-200g weekly is considered good gaining.

Weight over a period of time is more informative than a weight here and there.

Ask yourself -

Does your baby fit their skin well?

Are their clothes starting to feel tighter?

Baby’s output

By the time they are 5 days old, your baby should have at least 5 heavily wet disposable nappies, or 6-8 very wet cloth nappies, within a 24-hour period.

We would expect to change a nappy every 3 hours.

Urine should appear pale.

Look for plenty of soft, yellow-mustard-coloured poos.

Babies under 6 to 8 weeks typically have three or more runny poos a day, about the size of their palm.

As your baby grows, they may poo less frequently, perhaps once every 7 to 10 days, but the key is that when they do go, there should be a significant amount of soft or runny poo.

Feeding frequency

It's common for young babies to feed 8-12 times in a 24-hour period, with most babies requiring this frequency.

Feeds can be as short as 10 minutes or as long as 40 minutes or even longer.

The more your baby feeds, the more milk your body will produce.