Around 2-5 days after giving birth, your milk will start to come in making your breasts feel firmer and warmer. As your milk changes from colostrum (thick, initial breast milk) to transitional milk, its color will change from yellow to light yellow or whitish yellow. Your mature milk will come in by two weeks after birth and will be thin and may have a bluish-white color.

Baby poop can vary in color. In the first week, baby poop changes from black or dark green to a yellow color. 

• After the first week, poop from babies who have received only breast milk will be yellow and can look seedy.
• After the first week, up to about 6 weeks, your baby might have 6 or more poops a day (24 hours).
• After about 6 weeks, your baby may have fewer poops each day.

With each suckle, you will feel some pulling, tugging, or pressure on your breast. While the initial latch on can be uncomfortable at first, once your baby's latch is adjusted and rhythmic suckling begins, breastfeeding should not hurt.

It is normal to experience uterine cramping during feedings in the first few weeks, but you should not have blisters, bruising, or cracks on your nipples. The most common reason these may be occurring is due to a weak latch on. The skin should remain intact, and the nipple should appear round and elongated when your baby comes off your breast.

Breastfeed your baby as much as they want. By three or four days old. your baby should breastfeed at least 8 times in 24 hours. Most babies want to breastfeed more frequently at night.

Your baby may actively suck for only 5-10 minutes at the beginning. After the first few days, breastfeed at least 10 minutes or longer (up to 20 minutes per side) until your breasts feel softer and your baby seems content.

Support your breast with your hand in a 'C' shape if you are holding your baby in a clutch or football hold. Or if you are holding your baby in a cross-cradle hold, support your breast with your hand in a 'U' shape.

Next, gently press your thumb into your breast to aim your nipple up towards the baby's nose. Support the baby's next and shoulders (not back of the head) so your baby's chin reaches forward, and their forehead extends back slightly.

Then, bring your baby's chin (not nose) to touch your breast. When your baby opens their mouth wide, gently bring your baby's chest towards you.

Once your baby is well latched and sucking:

• their forehead should remain extended and slightly back.

• their chin should be pressed well into your breast

• they should have more of the lower breast in their mouth.

• continue to support their neck and shoulders with their body close to yours.

• you may need to continue to support your breast to help maintain a deep latch.

Follow these signs to know if all is well:

• Listen for swallowing during the feedings

• Looks for milk around your baby's mouth or your nipple

• Breasts should drain and feel softer as the feed progresses

• You should not feel pain in your nipples during feeding

• Feed for 10 minutes or longer to allow your baby to get the richer hindmilk

• Sometimes your baby may only feed on one breast. If this happens, start on the opposite breast the next feeding.

• Your baby's mouth is open wide over the areola (the darker colored area around your nipple), with lips turned out.
• Your baby's chin is resting against the breast, your baby's chest and stomach are against your body, and your baby's head is straight and not turned to the side.
• You can see and hear your baby swallowing while breastfeeding.
• Your baby is swallowing regularly.

• Your baby is only suckling on the nipple.

• Your baby's lips are curled inward.

• Breastfeeding hurts.

• Your nipples are cracked or bleeding.

• Your nipples look flat or misshapen after breastfeeding.

• Your baby keeps coming off the breast while breastfeeding.

In the first 24 hours after birth, your baby should have one wet diaper and two to three stools. By day two, your baby should have one wet diaper and one stool. On day three, your baby should have three wet diapers and three or more stools.

As your milk supply increases 3-5 days after birth, you should notice 5-6 wet diapers every 24 hours. You should also notice:

• breast fullness in between feedings

• breast softness after feedings

• rhythmic sucking and swallowing pattern from your baby as your milk "lets down" or releases

• leaking from one breast as your baby feeds on the other

Once your milk supply is full established around 1-2 weeks after delivery, your baby should have:

• 8-12 feedings in 24 hours

• at least 6-8 wet diapers in 24 hours

• at least 2-4 soft, yellow, seedy stools in 24 hours

• quiet, content periods after breastfeeding

Some hunger cues to watch for include eyes fluttering, lip smacking, bringing hands to mouth, thrusting their tongue, rooting or trying to suckle.

You can also try to wake your baby up every 2-3 hours to encourage at least 8 feedings per 24 hours. To wake your baby, try unwrapping their blankets and placing them skin-to-skin. It may take 20-40 minutes for your baby to wake up. Once they start showing cues, remove them from your chest, talk to them, and rub their back. It may also help to change their diaper or try burping them.

It is okay to allow your baby to sleep for a four hour stretch at night unless they are not feeding 8-12 times in 24 hours or if your pediatric provider recommends waking them at night for feedings.

To avoid this, begin feedings when your baby is showing early feeding cues. Do not wait until your baby cries or they may become too frantic to feed. Make sure to also use slow, gentle movements, provide a quiet environment, and use skin-to-skin contact.

You can also try to decrease the time from "latch" to "let-down" by massaging your breasts for a few minutes prior to latching and express a few drops of milk onto the nipple before feeding. If your breasts feel very full or engorged, soften them by expressing milk by hand or an electric pump 1-2 minutes prior to latching so your baby can easily latch on.

Due to growth spurts that occur at 7-10 days, 3-6 weeks, and monthly until 6 months, this is normal.

Here are some tips and tricks if you believe you have a low milk supply:

• Nurse more often for as long as your baby will nurse as this is the best way to make more milk.

• Pump more often at home after breastfeeding your baby. If possible, add another pumping session at work, even 5-10 minutes will help.

• Massage your breasts before and a little bit during breastfeeding. Relax and think of your baby while expressing milk.

• Reduce your stress by taking a warm bath, listening to soothing music, or simplifying your life.

• Get more rest on weekends and at night.

• Ask our lactation consultants, your OB/GYN, or pediatric provider for help. We are always here to offer advice!

Some babies may find it difficult to pace themselves from a bottle as the milk can flow out faster. It may appear that your baby is very hungry and gulping down milk when they actually might be doing all they can to swallow fast enough to not choke. One way to combat this is to pace feeds.

To pace feeds, follow these steps:

• Watch for hunger cues so that your baby is fed when they are hungry instead of a time schedule.

• Hold your baby in an upright position supporting their head and neck with your hand rather than the crook of your arm.

• Use a slow-flow nipple on your bottle.

• Gently brush the nipple on your baby's upper lip. This will encourage your baby to open their mouth wide, allowing you to put the entire nipple in their mouth, which mimics breastfeeding.

• Tip the bottom of the bottle up just far enough so that there is no air in the nipple. As the feed progresses, you will need to allow your baby to gradually lean backwards while still keeping their head and neck in alignment. Eventually, the bottle will become almost vertical.

• Pause frequently to mimic breastfeeding and discourage your baby from guzzling down the milk.

• Allow your baby to decide when they are finished feeding rather than encouraging your baby to finish the bottle.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that mothers breastfeed for at least the first six months. After that, you can continue to breastfeed for the first year or longer but less often as you add more solid foods to their diet after 6 months.