If your purpose is the nourishment of your baby, then without any doubt, the best nutrients for him/her are in the milk that you produce.
Your relatives and friends might persuade you into giving your baby formula milk as to only satisfy the baby’s hunger. However, breastfeeding is one of the most natural and beneficial ways to nourish your baby. It provides essential nutrients and strengthens the immune system for your baby.
Do not forget that the stomachs of newborn babies are the size of a marble. Their sucking instinct makes itself known because when they are awake that would be their only pastime, but don’t think this will always be the case. The baby’s stomach will be enlarged, they will learn to suck properly, your milk supply will increase, and soon an order will emerge. To be able to put things in order you must go through this process.
You can see the daily feeding routine by jotting down the times your baby sucks milk after the first month. The volume of the first post-labour milk is usually small; however, even a drop of it would be beneficial to your baby and is specially produced for them. When the interim milk first starts to come, your breasts will feel tender, full, and you might even have a fever. However, if you take the necessary steps, soon mature human milk will be produced. Your breasts will feel comfortable and the milk flow will be quite steady. When your baby breastfeeding on one breast some milk may also leak from the other. This may cause wetness on your clothes. At this stage, you can use special containers to collect your milk and thus start accumulating your milk
After the mature human milk supply sets in, you must breastfeed your baby from only one breast each time your baby feeds. The beginning of the mature milk is usually very watery, however the milk supplied from higher up is full fat and very filling.
Moreover, it is rich in antibodies, enzymes, and minerals, aiding immunity and growth. If you continue to breastfeed your baby from both breasts, your baby will feel full, but will soon get hungry again and their weight will lag behind and you may need to supplement your milk with formula.
When your visit to the doctor reveals that your baby has not reached their target weight, you may feel sorry and confused as you have sufficient milk. You will suspect your milk of not being nutritious enough when you learn that your baby has not put on enough weight in spite of frequent feedings. Breast milk is always nutritious but your breastfeeding might be to blame. To be able to reach the creamy nutritious part of the milk reserves, you must let your baby suck from only one breast each time they feed. The initial flow of milk is like soup, it fills you up but is not rich in nutrients. When the baby empties one breast each time they feed, the desired feeding will have been achieved, your baby will feel full and become hungry again after 2 hours. If the breast you have not nursed from is uncomfortable, you can pump some milk to feel more comfortable and feed your baby from that breast the next time.
You can store the pumped milk for 72 hours in the fridge, 1 month in the freezer and 3 months in the deep freezer. When you take out cold or frozen milk to give to your baby, place it in a container full of warm water at 33 C degrees, and place this container in another that is full of hot water and give it to your baby when the milk is at room temperature. The baby must not be fed through a bottle until they are fully skilled at sucking. In other words, not before 6 weeks after birth. Naturally, breastfeeding your baby is ideal; however, when you cannot do this, you should choose to give them your pumped breast milk for this purpose, instead of formula milk.
Breastfeeding is good for you and your baby. Nursing facilitates the shrinking of your uterus back to its pre-pregnancy size, helps burn the extra fat and aids you in getting back to your pre-pregnancy form. It does not cause deformation of your breasts, unlike during pregnancy. On the other hand, nursing ensures that the breast tissue gradually gains back its previous shape and protects against any terrible diseases. Mothers who raise their baby healthily and safely with this miraculous fluid are happy with their achievements and do not experience postpartum depression. The recommended duration of breastfeeding is two to four years according to the World Health Organisation (four years is for countries experiencing famine. When mothers have enough food, they can nurse their child, providing him/her with nutrition.)
To prepare your baby’s metabolism and immunity system for the later stages of life; keeping them on a diet of only breast milk for a period of 6 months would be sufficient. After the 6th month, you can try supplementary foods but there is no rush, your breast milk is still the best nutrient available for your baby. Experimenting with different foods will introduce them to solid foods and teach them to hold the spoon. After giving them a couple of spoonfuls of other foods, nurse them, and don’t hold back from breastfeeding your baby just to give them 2 extra pieces of cooked vegetables. If you are not impatient, you will see that their curiosity to learn solid foods will add to your baby’s excitement to test new tastes. Nursing your baby is the most precious gift you can give them in life. The source of this life elixir that nurtures life and renders a person healthy all through their life, starting from babyhood, is produced by the mother’s body.
