Breastfeeding 101: The First 48 Hours, Part Three

Hours 24-48 after birth

Now that baby is starting to get a bit more familiar with life outside the womb and is feeling refreshed after their "Birthday Nap" they will start to want to come to the breast more frequently. Babies will suddenly seem to wake up and seemingly want to be at the breast 'all the time'. This is especially true for the middle of the night; as things get quiet and dark you may think that it's time for some well earned sleep... Your baby may have other ideas though.

During the day when it's all hustle and bustle the baby feels surrounded by their people and safe. When they are put into the bassinet at night their senses go into high alert and they may start to cry and fuss. First of all, your baby has no idea they were not born 5,000 years ago; they are just a new mammal. As we are a carry species and babies have no concept of object permanence , if they cannot see, hear, feel, taste or smell us, then we don't exist. So, if your baby does not want to sleep anywhere except on a person, that is TOTALLY normal! It's all about survival for your new mammal; on you they are safe and content, in the bassinet that tiny brain yells "WOLVES!!" How are they supposed to know it's unlikely that a pack of wolves will carry them off in the night, huh?!

Babies are built for survival, and in order to survive, being with your people at all times increases your chances. This is where tag-teaming and sleeping in shifts is going to be your friend. If the baby will sleep in the bassinet, take advantage and both get some sleep; if they won't don't stress, it's all a variation of normal and it won't be like this forever!

As babies 'wake up' on that second night, so they are driven to nurse more. You might feel like they are only content when on the breast, but then fall asleep after a couple of minutes. Sometimes they want to nurse for 20 or 30 minutes. Your baby wasn't born with a wristwatch, they have no concept of time. They don't know if they are feeding for 'the right' amount of time, they are just driven by a biological urge. One of the hardest things for Mum to understand (especially when sleep deprived and suddenly in charge of a newborn) is that babies will suck the most when you have the least amount of milk! It's not because they are starving, it's because they are drilling for oil, or phoning in their order for next week.

Please know that if you had a gallon of milk gushing out of your breasts at this stage you would likely drown your baby! Very small amounts of colostrum are appropriate at this age because it is the first time your baby has been asked to eat with their mouth AND breathe air at the same time. As your baby's stomach gets bigger, the milk will increase (almost like it had been biologically engineered that way!)

So, the small amounts of colostrum produced in the first 24-48 hours provide a safe swallowing environment for your baby to master this new skill of suck, swallow, breathe. Colostrum is basically a set of training wheels for your baby! Even if you don't see any colostrum at this stage, don't worry, the baby's suckling at the breast still serves a purpose; they are still signalling the body that they are here and will be eating more soon. The milk is coming...