Baby Food Chart » Breast Milk

Breastfeeding Basics

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:56:12 +0000

Breast milk is the best food for your newborns because it is full of healthy nutrition. Breast milk provides all the nutrients that a baby needs. So it is important to make sure that your baby receives enough breast milk.

How Often and How Long Should You Breastfeed?

Newborn infants should feed on cue in every 2 to 3 hours. They will usually breastfeed for about 10 to 15 minutes per breast at each feeding until they are satisfied. As the baby gets older, the baby will learn to feed more efficiently. Hence the feeding time will be shorter.

When a baby is ready to feed, they may show the following signs:

increased fussiness or agitation
tongue or lip movements
fists in mouth
open his mouth when the skin around his mouth, cheek or lips is touch
crying (late sign)

During the first 4 weeks, a newborn infant should be breastfed at least every 4 hours. If the infant is sleeping, he should be awakened to feed.

How Much is Enough

Counting the number of diapers produced by a newborn infant is one way of knowing if he is getting enough breast milk. A newborn baby should have 6 to 8 wet diapers after the first week of life.

Each breastfeeding session should last about 10 to 15 minute. The length of time spent at the breast is a good indicator that your baby is receiving enough breast milk. After feeding, breasts should feel softer.

Another way of checking if the newborn infant is receiving enough breast milk is by monitoring the weight gain of your infant. To ensure adequate weight gain, be sure to have your baby weighted properly after the first week.

Age	Number of Feeds	Stools	Wet Diapers
1 to 2 Days	About 8 to 12 times per day . The number of feed will incease each day .	Dark green or balck meconium.	1 to 3 wet diapers.
3 to 4 Days	8 to 12 times per day Every 2 to 3 hours	Day 3 stool may still be black. Day 4 stoll will be lighter in color.	3 to 4 soaked diapers.
5 to 6 Days	8 to 12 times per day	About 2 to 3 stools per day. Stool will be yellowish or seedy in color and texture.	6 or more heavy soaked diapers.
7 Days to 1 Month	8 to 12 times per day	About 3 to 5 stools per day.	6 or more heavy soaked diapers.
1 to 4 Months	6 to 8 times per day or every 3 to 4 hours. They may begin to sleep through the night without feeding.	3 to 5 stools per day. Stool frequency varies between babies	6 or more heavy soaked diapers.

Breast Milk Express

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:51:46 +0000

Ideally, mother should always be available to breastfeed their babies when they are hungry. However, in reality certain situations that hinder breastfeeding are unavoidable. For such occasions, it is important to have a supply of milk that has been expressed from breast and is available for the baby whenever the baby is hungry.

Choosing a Breast Pump

Express breast milk would be easier with a breast pump. There are different types of breast pump available:

hand-operated breast pump
electric or battery-powered breast pump (for home use)
electric breast pump (for professional or hospital)

Hand-operated pumps and home use electric pumps are significantly less expensive than the professional- or hospital-grade pumps. However, they are not as efficient and powerful as hospital-grade breast pumps. Hospital-grade breast pumps can be rented from some hospitals, pharmacies or medical supply companies at minimal cost. Depending on how often you need to use a pump, get one which is best suit your need.

Steps for Success Breast Milk Express

Make sure you wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before pumping breast milk. Wash the breast pump with hot soapy water and air-dried the pump. Breast pump should be sterilized on daily basis.
Find a quite place to pump. An article of clothing or a blanket that smell like baby may help let down the milk. Pumping should be done as often as a mother would breastfeed her infant.
Pump each breast for approximately 10-15 minutes until the milk stops flowing.
Collect milk in appropriate containers. Make sure the container is sterilized and it is labeled with date and time of expression. This will help to remember the order of the milk was pumped.
The expressed breast milk should be stored in refrigerator or freezer. Frozen milk should be stored in small amount, for example 60 to 125 ml. Fresh milk can be stored up to 48 hours in the fridge whereas frozen can be store up to 6 months.
Defrost frozen milk overnight in refrigerator or run under warm running water. Do not microwave or place breast milk in hot water because this will destroy its immunological components. Don’t forget to test temperature of the breast milk before feeding the baby.
After the feeding, discard any unfinished breast milk.

Nutrition Needs for Mom during Breastfeeding

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:46:54 +0000

In general, a breastfeeding mom needs 400 to 500 extra calories per day for the first 12 months because the production of breast milk requires energy. However, if you have gained more weight than you should have during pregnancy, you can add more calories only when you really need them. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full.

Below is a chart that shows the nutrition needs of a breastfeeding mom.

Nutrients	Breastfeedign Mom	Source
Vitamin A, C, E	You need more vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E than when you were pregnant.	Vitamin A: carrots, sweet potatoes, apricots, pumpkins, mangos, milk, cheese Vitamin C: kiwifruit, orange, grapefruit, mangos, strawberry, broccoli, tomato Vitamin E: wheat germ, corn oil, olive oil, almonds, soy oil
B Vitamins	The needs for B vitamins remain the same as they were during pregnancy.

Folate	You need a little less folate than you were during pregnancy.	Dark green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, whole fortified grains
Calcium	Your calcium needs remain the same as when you were pregnant.
Iron	You need less iron. However if you have anemic, you may require additional iron. Please check with your doctor.
Fibre	Your fibre needs remain unchanged.

Breastfeeding Positions

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:42:47 +0000

There are many ways you can hold your baby while breastfeeding. In whatever position you choose, your baby should have easy access to your breast and you should feel relaxed during breastfeeding. Below are four main breastfeeding positions which most women feel comfortable with.

- Cross Cradle Position

- Foot-ball Position

- Side-lying Position

- Cradle Position

Potential Issues with Breastfeeding and Their Solutions

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:32:19 +0000

Breastfeeding is the best way to feed your baby, but that’s not to say that the natural way always feels natural and goes without a hitch. There are problems many mothers face when starting to breastfeed their child and other problems develop down the road as new developmental stages develop.

A Poor Latch

The first problem many mothers face is a poor latch. When a baby doesn’t hold the nipple correctly in his mouth, it can be frustrating for the baby who can’t get the food he’s desperately seeking and exquisitely painful for the mother. A poor latch can result in painful breastfeeding and even extremes such as cracked and bleeding nipples.

A lactation consultant or pediatrician can show you the correct way to latch your baby onto the nipple if you are having trouble. Resolve latching issues as quickly as possible as this issue can spell the end to breastfeeding if both mother and baby are overwhelmed and frustrated. When latching, the baby should open his mouth wide to take in the nipple. Almost the entire nipple enters the mouth with the point of the nipple facing slightly up. If your baby latches incorrectly, break the seal his little mouth creates by slipping a pinky between your breast and his mouth and try again. Keep trying until you get it right, otherwise, you’ll be in serious pain and your baby might not get enough to eat.

Inverted Nipples

If your nipples pull in instead of pointing out, your baby might have a hard time getting latched on. You can help resolve this by using a nipple shield. This gives your nipple the shape the baby needs for a correct latch. As the two of you get more familiar with the process over time, you can remove the shield to see if he’s able to latch effectively without it.

Engorgement

When you don’t feed your baby fast enough, or when your body steps up milk production, your breasts will swell with milk until they are hard and painful. If they get too hard, your baby will have a difficult time latching on, but the only real solution is to have your baby nurse or to pump away the extra milk. If your baby can’t latch onto your engorged breast, express some of the milk using your palm to apply pressure on top of the breast. This might reduce the hardness. Once he starts feeding the pressure should continue to reduce. Pumping with a breast pump can reduce the engorgement as well, plus you get milk to store, which is always a plus.

Chapped Nipples

After a few days you might notice that your nipples are chapped and possibly cracking or bleeding. This might have to do with a poor latch if pressure is distributed wrongly, but if your latch is fine, it is more likely due to combination of conditions that causes chapped lips. Baby’s little mouth leaves your nipples wet and the abrasion on your bra or breast pad irritates and dries out the tender skin until it becomes chapped. When this happen, don’t use petroleum jelly as it isn’t safe for your baby. Instead use a product designed for this situation. Lanolin is a product that creates a heavy duty moisture barrier that is safe for baby. Once the chapping is resolved, you can prevent it by continue to use just a dab of lanolin or by allowing your breasts to air dry before putting on your bra after a feeding.

Mastitis

Mastitis is an infection of the breast tissue that can make you feel sick as if you are having a flu. Redness, heat, swelling and tenderness of the breast are signs of mastitis in a breast. It is normally only in one breast at a time, and you are safe to feed your baby while you have mastitis unless your doctor tells you otherwise. In fact it could be your baby who is causing the infection due to the contact of a foreign body.

Use warm heat on the affected area and have your baby nurse more often. Try to empty the breast completely. If this doesn’t work, see your doctor who will give you antibiotics and prescription. Do not ignore mastitis; it can lead to abbesses in the breast which might require surgery to drain together with very strong antibiotics.

The Health Benefits of Breastfeeding to Both Mother and Child

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:26:34 +0000

Breast milk is the perfect food for your baby. Breast milk is very easy to digest and it has all the nutrients that meet the needs of an infant for the first 6 months. Undoubtedly, breast milk is an unequalled source of nutrition for a baby. Breastfeeding not only offers a number of significant health benefits to an infant, it also provides several benefits for mom.

Breastfeeding offers many health benefits for the baby. The benefits to the baby from breastfeeding, may include, but are not limited to:

a decreased chance of developing allergies;
an improved fatty acid profile in the blood, which can prevent heart disease in later years;
improved immunity against ear infection, lower respiratory tract infection and diarrhea;
better bone health;
some protection against cancer;
protection against diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease.

The health benefits for women who breastfeed are:

experience close bonding and psychological well-being that breastfeeding provides
may experience less stress or anxiety during breastfeeding. This is due to the release of hormones such as oxytocin and prolactin, which provides calming effects
protection against developing diabetes and heart disease
a reduced risk of osteoporosis later in life
a decreased risk of breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers

Breast Milk – Benefits for Baby

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:22:20 +0000

Breast milk is nature’s perfect food, and when a baby is exclusively breastfed there are advantages to both the little one and his mother.

Maternal Bonding

Breastfeeding is a natural process that allows mother and baby to spend ample amounts of time together in a skin-to-skin setting. This has shown to reduce the stress level in infants and to promote a closer relationship between mother and child.

Perfectly Balanced Nutrition

The best benefit of all for baby is that breast milk is the body’s perfect form of nutrition. It is perfectly balanced and easy to digest so long as the mother hasn’t eaten something that would disagree with baby, such as extremely spicy food. Breast milk is not consistent throughout the way compare to formula in a bottle. Breast milk starts off as a thin watery substance to sate baby’s appetite immediately. This is followed by the bulk of the meal which is in a medium consistency. Finally, the hindmilk is released which is much like cream. This milk is rich in nutrients and is extremely soothing to baby – It is one of the reasons babies fall asleep while feeding.

Reduced Risk of Allergies and Illness

Antibodies and other aspects of the mother’s immune system are transferred through the milk to the baby to a certain degree while breastfeeding. This helps baby ward off more of the common illnesses and complaints. Breastfeeding also helps baby’s fragile digestive system develop at the proper pace preventing the onslaught of allergies and food sensitivities that might stem from milk-based formula’s harsher proteins.

Breastfeeding Reduces the Risk of Obesity

Recent studies have shown that breastfed babies have a reduced risk of becoming obese. The cause is speculated to be the style of feeding rather than the actual diet of the babies. Babies crave sucking for comfort and while nursing, the baby can suck to a degree for comfort and not actually feed at the same time. A bottle-fed baby might be offered a bottle every time he cries, which he gladly takes for its soothing principles. With a bottle, however, there is no degree of sucking and every bottle provides food which can create a comfort and food association over time.

When You Shouldn’t Breastfeed

There are numerous advantages to breastfeeding, but there are circumstances when breastfeeding is not an option or potentially dangerous. Any toxins or diseases you have can pass to your baby through breast milk. If you are taking prescribed medication, it might not be safe for breastfeeding and you should never breastfeed without clearing each prescription with your doctor. This is true for many over-the-counter medications as well.

Communicable diseases can be passed through breast milk. In fact, a sizeable portion of the world’s babies infected with HIV were born HIV-free, but contracted the disease later from their infected mothers. Diseases and medications aren’t the only things passed through your breast milk. Caffeine and alcohol can be passed as well, so many breastfeeding expert recommend pumping and dumping a feeding after imbibing in alcohol and to keep caffeinated beverages and alcohol to a minimum.

The Basics of Breast Milk

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:15:32 +0000

Breast milk develops in stages.

Colostrum

Colostrum is the milk produced by moms in the first few days of a newborn infant’s life. Colorstrum is colorless, thick and sticky. It contains high amount of immunoglobulins, which is an anti-infective component.

It is common that only very small amounts of colostrums are produced during the first few days after a child is born. This often frustrates mothers who expect a greater amount of milk. However, it is important to continue the breastfeeding as the volume of breast milk will increase after 3 or 4 days.

Mature Milk

Mature milk is produced after 3 or 4 days. This milk consists of two different components:

Foremilk: Fore milk is the milk that baby receives at the beginning of each feeding. It has high water and sugar content, which will help to quench baby’s thirst. It is produced between feeds in response to previous suckling.
Hindmilk: This milk is produced during each feed as the pressure in a mother’s breast decreases. Hindmilk is rich in fat and calories.

It is important the baby receive adequate hindmilk as this calorically dense milk provides the nutrients and calories needed by the newborn. To ensure the infant receive this milk, mother should continue breastfeed until:

baby pulls away or
baby begins to nibble at the breast or
baby falls asleep at the breast or
baby doesn’t start to feed again if milk is squeezed into his mouth.

Baby who is not receiving sufficient hindmilk may feel hungry often and require frequent feeding. Because hindmilk provides the needed nutrients for the baby, insufficient hindmilk will result in inadequate weight again. Besides, infant will tense to have lot of gas and explosive production of green stools. The normal stools should be yellow and seedy in texture.