Breastfeeding on Day 3 to 5 Postpartum, why are these days significant?

Your baby was born two days ago, you have survived the second night which is notoriously challenging, your babies digestive system has been gently started by receiving colostrum from your breastfeeding efforts. You may be starting to question weather you have enough milk as your baby wants to breastfeed more and more. Yes it is common that babies feed more and more at this point, they are working on transitioning your breast milk. This transition to your breast milk usually occurs on day 3 postpartum, where the breast milk increases and is no longer only colostrum milk. Women who needed a cesarean section could have a delay in their milk transitioning until day 4 or day 5 postpartum.

When your milk transitions you may experience engorgement. Engorgement is when the breast becomes very full with milk, possibly hard to the touch. Engorgement of the breast can make it difficult for your baby to latch on well to the breast, this is due to the areola (darkened skin around the nipple) becoming too full which causes the baby to latch only on the nipple tip. The baby latching only on the tip can cause pain, injury and limit babies intake. Also when the breast becomes to full (Engorged or in hebrew Godesh) it is difficult for the baby to drain the milk out of the breast. Engorgement if not managed could cause your milk supply to deplete. Why does engorgement if not managed deplete your milk? There is a hormone in the breast called FIL (Feedback Inhibitor of Lactation) FIL lowers milk production when your breast is full with milk (when FIL is more present), when the breast is emptied there is less FIL present and your body produces more milk. Enough medical lingo, basically if your breasts are full a lot of the time and they are not being emptied your milk production will decrease. This is why management of Engorgement is so essential to your breastfeeding success. Day 3 to 5 postpartum is likely the time when your breast will be their fullest, your body has given you enough breast milk for multiples and you may only have one baby to feed. The best way to manage engorgement is to have your baby empty the breast. How do you achieve that? Before breastfeeding your baby, place a hot cloth on your breast for about 5 minutes, then once warm hand express your breast into the warm cloth until the areola is soft and the baby will be able to latch onto the breast with a wide asymmetrical latch. While your baby breast feeds massage the breast to maximize the milk emptied. After your feed is done you want to place a cold compress on your breast to lower the inflammation. This cold compress could be green cabbage leaves that you have cooled in your refrigerator, a cold cloth or gel pack. It is also important to take good care of your self during these days, eat, hydrate and sleep as it is common for women to feel very emotionally vulnerable in the days that their milk is transitioning. I wish you a smooth postpartum and am happy to offer support to you.

A Parenting trick: help your newborn baby sleep longer

Early days of parenting can be overwhelming, there are so many new things to learn. New mothers can be tired from a long birth, they are beginning to navigate breastfeeding which is not a small task. Getting your newborn baby to sleep is a challenge all new parents struggle with. A big part of why I love my work is the joy I receive from helping parents after they give birth. The postpartum education, support and reassurance a woman receives after birth is invaluable. Even myself, a midwife who had helped hundreds of women navigate life with their newborn, needed the support of her midwives in the postpartum. I could not have navigated all the challenges that presented themselves without their knowledge and problem solving skills. This is why I am very passionate to bring that support, knowledge and reassuring presence to each and everyone of my clients. It fills my heart to make a families transition to parenting easier, through the postnatal education I offer at every home or hospital visit. Here is a video sampling one of the many ways I make transition after birth easier.

Swaddling your newborn baby can help recreate the tight hug they experience inside the womb. It can help them not wake due to their startle reflex. Swaddling after a good feed can gently encourage baby to sleep longer, allowing you to bank on your well needed sleep. Although swaddling a baby will never replace the arms of their parent, it will likely help you and your babies sleep improve.