| Milk supply |
You may be able
to express a few drops of milk. |
Milk should
come in between the second and fourth days. |
Milk should be in.
Breasts may be firm or leak milk. |
Breasts should feel
softer after feedings. |
| Baby's activity |
Baby is usually
wide-awake in the first hour of life. Put baby to breast within 30 min after
birth. |
Wake up your baby. Babies
may not wake up on their own to feed. |
Baby should be more
cooperative and less sleepy. |
Look for early
feeding cues such as rooting, lip smacking, and hands to face. |
Baby should appear
satisfied after feedings. |
| Feeding
routine |
Baby may go
into a deep sleep 2–4 h after birth. |
|
Use chart to
write down time of each feeding. |
May go one
longer interval (up to 5 h between feeds) in a 24-h period. |
|
| Feed your baby
every 1–4 h or as often as wanted—at least 8–12 times a day. |
|
| Breast feeding |
Baby will wake up and be
alert and responsive for several more hours after initial deep sleep. |
As long as the mother is
comfortable, nurse at both breasts as long as baby is actively sucking. |
Try to nurse both sides
each feeding, aiming at 10 min per side. Expect some nipple tenderness. |
Consider hand expressing
or pumping a few drops of milk to soften the nipple if the breast is too firm
for the baby to latch on. |
Nurse a minimum of 10–30 min per side every feeding for the
first few weeks of life.
Once milk supply is well established, allow baby to finish the
first breast before offering the second.
|
Mother's nipple
tenderness is improving or is gone. |
| Baby's urine output |
|
Baby must have a minimum
of one wet diaper in the first 24 h. |
Baby must have at least
one wet diaper every 8–11 h. |
You should see an
increase in wet diapers (up to four to six) in 24 h. |
Baby's urine should be
light yellow. |
Baby should have six to
eight wet diapers per day of colorless or light yellow urine. |
|
| Baby's stool |
|
Baby may have a very dark
(meconium) stool. |
Baby may have a second
very dark (meconium) stool. |
Baby's stools
should be in transition from black-green to yellow. |
Baby should have three or
four yellow, seedy stools a day. |
The number of stools may
decrease gradually after 4–6 wk |