Milk Quality Problem?

M.,

I know as a first time mom it's easy to worry about all kinds of things, but you can relax on this issue.

Nothing is wrong with your milk quality. It is perfectly normal for a breastfed baby that young to only go 3 to 4 hours between feedings. Breastmilk is easily digested and moves through their little systems very quickly. If it helps put your mind at ease any, my son did the same thing until he was about 6 and a half months old and we had started to introduce solids.

Also, don't fret about how much cream in your milk. The milk you produce is comprised of exactly what your baby needs. Your body will produce less cream during the day and more in the evening naturally.

Try to relax and enjoy the time you have with your baby at this age. It goes by all too quickly to be worrying about the small stuff! :)

Relax! You are doing a wonderful thing! YOu don't have to worry about the content of your milk.(except for drugs and alcohol of course). I have read numerous studies that show that malnourished women in Africa produce the same milk as other women around the world....our bodies take what they need from us to make it, we are the ones that suffer if our diet is poor, so it is still important to have a healthy diet. All babies feed differently too, some love to tank up and go for a while, other, not. My little one (12 months) only nurses a few times during the day, but still nures TONS at night.
One thing you can do is just nurse on one side at a time, fully emptying the breast. The hindmilk is the one with the calories and fat. If baby isn't full/done THEN go to the other side. Just alternate which breast you start with each feeding and things should stay pretty even. GOOD LUCK! xoxo

No worries. Breastmilk looks thin, but is the perfect nutrition for your baby. Make sure you are eating well yourself, but you don't need to worry about the nutritional or fat content of your milk.

Is you daughter gaining weight? If not, perhaps she has a really high palate that prevents her from getting as much milk as she needs, or has some other kind of latch issue.

You don't have to wait three hours between feedings. Feed her when she's hungry. Just give the baby the breast whenever she wants it and both mommy and baby will be happy.

I recommend reading "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" by the Le Leche league. It is wonderful and a very supportive book.

I discovered my daughter was allergic to dairy (among other things) when I gave her cereal for the first time at 6 months. Good luck with that, too!

For a four month old that sounds pretty normal. She could also be in a growth spurt. Hang in there! Your milk is probably just fine, unless you find that she is abnormally fussy after nursing. In terms of pumping, it is normal for the milk to separate. The "cream" is that fat in the milk and that is important for baby to get too. If you have a supportive pediatrician's office you can always call them, and La Leche League has wonderful leaders who can help answer questions as well. But it sounds like you are doing great!

Best wishes,
J.

You are lucky! My son at that age was nursing every hour-and-a-half to two hours!! I seriously thought I would never do anything but sit around all day with my boobs hanging out. He couldn't make it three hours until he was about 6 months old. I just think all kids are different and you have to listen to their hunger. I always think of it this way, if I was legitimately hungry and went to grab something to eat but someone told me, "Sorry! You have to wait another hour because we have to stay on schedule!", I would be furious! And about getting back into shape, I'm a marathon runner and I really missed going for my long runs, but it happens eventually. Hang in there!

You are doing a great job! My son, now two, nursed six to seven times a day until he was about ten months old! I felt like all I did was feed him, and nothing else. It is exhausting, but well worth it. My son is never sick, and I attribute that to nursing. And as others have said, your milk quality is fine, your body is a wonderous machine right now, and givs your little girl what she needs. I know you are tired, but hang in there. She'll nurse less in a few months. Good luck.

Human milk is naturally low in calories,fat and protein. it is made this way because it is BEST for babies to feed on this kind of milk frequently. I am certain that there is NOTHING wrong with your milk. YOur baby is a frequent feeder and that is totally normal and nothing to worry about. As long as she is healhty and growing (ask you pediatrition if you have concerns about growth) then she is fine. My best advice would be to stop counting feedings, stop looking at the clock to see how often she nurses, just feed her whenever she seems hungry and everything will work out just fine. Don't supplement with formula either, if she is allergic to dairy then formula will give her an upset tummy, and most babies who are allergic to dairy are ALSO allergic to soy so soy formula is out as well. Just trust your body to make the best possible food for you baby, as long as you are not starving yourself and are eating healthy then you have nothing to worry about. Best of luck!

There is nothing wrong with your milk or your baby. Babies at that age still nurse A TON! this is my second baby and she (just like my first) still nurses every hour and a half to 2 hours. She will do a longer space for her afternoon nap where she sleeps a good 3 to 4 hours but other than that it's still pretty much round the clock feedings. I don't worry though because both my babies are fat, healthy girls. I just her for her 4 month appointment and she is in the 95% for her weight and 97% for height. So don't worry about it. Breastmilk is the best thing that little baby can be getting right now and it's fine is still nurses alot. It just means you guys are both doing everything right. Good work.

My son did the 3 hours (only during the day) feedings for quite a while. I am assuming that you are having trouble at night, getting her to sleep longer? She may be more habit feeding at night than really hungry, although random growth spurts make it hard to determine what is happening when. For my son, this was also a really distracted time at the breast, so that added to my frustration, because he didn't fill up and wanted to snack more. I didn't let my son snack, which I know others will disagree with, but stuck to our schedule. Yes, it is a flexible schedule, so if he seemed to be going though a growth spurt, we would feed more often during the day (this can also help to stop some of the night feedings). I really doubt that it is a quality thing. Just make sure that you are getting enough water and that he is finishing of one side before starting the other. I used to even wring out the breast as he was finishing it off so that he got all the extra fat. As long as she is healthy and gaining wait, I would relax.

A four month old eating every 3 hours (especially if that's from end of nursing till begining of next, rather than counting from beginning to beginning) is good. And as babies hit growth spurts, they'll need to eat more often to keep up.

Breast milk changes in composition from beginning to end of feeding. The foremilk (beginning) is thin and watery, good for hydration, sugar, and helping her get started. Hindmilk (the end) is thicker, more fatty. The fat is essential for brain development and helping her feel sated and full longer. Most moms hear that they should switch sides halfway through the feeding, but then baby is only getting the foremilk. Instead, nurse on one side until it is empty (you'll feed a pulling sensation), stopping to burp as needed. Only switch her if she is still hungry after that. She'll be getting that fatty hindmilk, which may help her go a bit longer in between, plus avoid colic.

If she's gaining weight, don't worry so much about the frequency of breastfeeding. Make sure she's emptying one breast completely before switching her to the other side - the hind milk is higher in protein and fat, so make sure she's getting that because it'll keep her satisfied longer. Just remember that breastmilk is very easy for babies to digest, so they digest it quickly, and get hungry sooner. This is a good thing.

Your baby seems normal. However if you are concerned I would talk to your doctor about it. It is about this time when their nutritional needs increase. We started my daughter on rice cereal at about 5 months because she would start nursing at 7 pm and not stop until 9 pm or 10 pm. I produce lots of milk however some children will need more as they start sitting up, rolling, getting ready to crawl. So every 2-3 hours is good. But like I said if you are concerned please talk to your pediatrician about it and they would be able to tell you if there is anything wrong. That is usually based on their growth rate. So as long as your baby is gaining weight and getting taller they more than likely wont be concerned. Good luck. I know how tiring nursing can be even if you enjoy it.

Feed that baby more often ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!! Baby's this age that breastfeed eat every two hours! This is so normal! And you can introduce solids now, start with a little rice cereal.

You've gotten excellent comments so far. I just thought you might be reassured to know that studies were done on women in war zones in famine conditions and it was discovered that even women in such dire situations produced nutritionally *perfect* breast milk. So you really are giving your baby the superior infant food.
A four-month-old should be nursing about 8 to 10 times in a 24-hour cycle. Since babies can't do long division ;) those nursings are not likely to be evenly spaced. Many babies "cluster nurse" and nurse a lot over a short period of time and then enjoy a long stretch of sleep. That's normal and healthy. In spite of what the baby trainers suggest, most babies do not naturally go longer than three hours between nursing check-ins, both for calories and for closeness.
Four months is a major growth-spurt time, and since milk production is all supply-and-demand, you can expect her to nurse often when she hits a growth spurt to trigger your body to increase milk production. Don't let that shake your confidence.
It's a good idea to let her "finish the first breast first," before switching, or even start on the other side at the next nursing, as was already suggested, to make sure she gets plenty of high-fat hindmilk.
I suggest watching your baby and following her cues--they will be more useful and accurate than any data about fore/hindmilk balance. Consuming or avoiding dairy products does not affect the nutritional value of your milk. If you happen to notice your baby has very green (instead of yellowish) poop, that can be a sign of a foremilk imbalance, but the remedy is just more time at the breast to get more hindmilk.
It's healthy to nurse on cue.
You and your baby will reap the benefits of your breastfeeding relationship forever. Good for you!

I wouldn't worry about it unless she's not gaining weight. My son was a very frequent nurser... some days he'd nurse that often at 12 months. Just try to eat a healthy well balanced diet and make sure you're getting the extra calories you need. If you don't think shes gaining weight or if you just want to ease your mind, contact a lactation consultant. Good Luck!

You've gotten some great advice... you're going to be fine! (And really, no worries on nutrition. My 16-month-old is thriving on my milk, which is free of all of the 'big 8' allergens, plus chicken and rice.)

I just felt this needed to be said: Particularly with an allergic kiddo, PLEASE don't buy into the whole 'you can add cereal at 4 months' line. The AAP now recommends waiting 'til at *least* 6 months. (My nursling has multiple food intolerances and we tried a few things at around 7 months and had to pull them all & start over around 10 months.)

Your daughter's milk allergy means it's more likely that she'll have other food allergies as well (sorry), so just take your time with introducing new foods.

Best of luck!

I know how stressful breastfeeding issues can be!
Some babies are still nursing that frequently at four months. The important thing to ask is she gaining weight appropriately? Has she been weighed recently and her weight checked on her growth chart? I would recommend talking to her pediatrician about this, especially if she's falling off in weight gain. The other thing would be to talk with a lactation consultant. Check with your OB's office, local maternity stores, or your hospital to see what might be near you.
Take good care of yourself and you'll do great!

Hi M., If she is sleeping for longer stretches at night, then I would say that 3 hours is ok. Babies will let you know what they need. You should be more concerned with her weight gain than with anything else. If that is continuing on the same curve than all should be well. As she gets older she will start to drop feedings. Give her time.