Day 5 - Milk Production Begins

Day 5 and milk production is definitely happening. I have been very fortunate not to get any breast engorgement. I think it may be because I'm still feeding so often. My little man had some wind pain as his little bowels got used to having bacteria and milk in them so I just fed him. It does seem to help him settle and I know it helps bring the milk in well so I'm happy enough to keep giving it a go.

With the milk coming in though, I'm starting to leak while in bed, and also while feeding. As much as possible I've been trying not to wear a bra and let my nipples get as much air as they can so they heal up, but it's difficult now to coordinate a cloth to catch any extra milk while still trying to get my little man attached and in a good position.

I decide to feed in bed at the 5am feed and I use towels underneath me but there's too much milk and it does get onto the sheets a bit which is a shame.

I'm so exhausted by this point that I fall asleep during the feed and wake to find him on his stomach next to me. I feel terrible to have let that happen, but so relieved that nothing untoward has happened because of it.

I feel fortunate that my nipples point outward a bit and I have to lean backwards a little to get a good latch, because I know I'd never roll onto him in this position.

The exhaustion certainly hasn't hindered the milk production. There's certainly still some colostrum there too, the rich yellow colored fluid leaks out a bit first and then the lighter, whiter milk afterwards. It's quite odd to see two such different fluids dripping out. 

Hindsight 2 Years On

Breastfeeding as frequently as every hour during the day is quite likely to be why I had no problems with my milk supply.  In the first 3 months of breastfeeding milk production is helped along by your hormones - you make more glandular tissue during this time if you keep stimulating the breast with lots of breastfeeding.

After this time your body will still be able to produce more milk when your baby is having a growth spurt, but the base of glandular tissue won't actually increase much, it will only be the existing tissue that creates more milk.

The only problem with me breastfeeding this frequently is the gas that my little guy had.  In our case I don't think it was really that much of an issue, but some babies  who don't feed efficiently (only do about 2 minutes at a time and so want  extremely frequent feeds, or who stay on for hours at a time but don't seem to be getting much milk) will have problems with lactose overload which is something very much worth being aware of (as it can look like reflux and you can medicate your baby for no good reason if your doctor isn't a breastfeeding specialist).

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