Okay, I going to be honest here and say this is such a GREAT question – it makes me smile everytime it is asked! Smile – not because it it funny, no because the poor mom asking this question is so worried that things are going horribly wrong and doesn’t realise how brilliantly she and her baby are actually doing!
There are a few things to look out for though, so let’s go through some of these quickly this morning.
Here are 4 questions that I will ask a mom right at the beginning of the consultation. Answer them and see how you go.
- Are your baby’s poos or dirty diapers yellow or a variation of yellow? (Yes – you are fine. No – your baby is getting too much fore milk)
- Is your baby gaining 20g-30 each day? (Yes – you are fine. No – your baby is not getting the fat rich milk and needs more calories)
- Do you spray everywhere when baby pulls off? (Yes – you have a fast let down and may need to reduce milk. No – you are fine)
- Is your baby ‘Colicky’? (Yes – you need to wind/burp frequently during feed and use infacol. No – you are fine)
Provided your baby’s poos are yellow, he or she is gaining 20g-30g each day, you are not spraying everywhere during the feed and your baby is not colicky – you have nothing to worry about.
Your baby is just a fast and efficient feeder and your supply is meeting his or her needs. Don’t force your baby to feed for longer periods, just because you are told that needs to happen. Look at your baby – read the signs he or she is giving you.
Okay – if you have not done too well on this quizz, don’t worry – there are things we can do.
- If your baby’s poos are green, offer some colief drops before each feed, day and night – call me.
- If your baby is not gaining weight, offer colief drops and infacol before feeds, day and night – call me.
- If you are spraying, you need to feed from the same breast for 2 feeds, offer colief drops and infacol – call me.
- If your baby is colicky, wind more frequently during the feed, offer infacol and call me.
I hope you can see that I am here to help. There is no point in reducing your supply, until I can assess that it is not going to be detrimental to your supply and long term breastfeeding – so please don’t do this on your own or with an inexperienced helper.
Manage the sypmtoms to reduce pain, discomfort and unsettled behaviour first. If you can manage the symptoms and keep your abundant supply, feeds will be quick and efficient leaving you lots of time to do other fun stuff with your baby.
If managing your symptoms doesn’t solve your problems, you need to take further action and call me.
Hope this helps all you FAST FEEDERS!
Much love,
Geraldine
