Baby

It's a fact: Blenders come with more instructions than babies. There's no standard operations manual, and though there's a wealth of baby care books on the market, in the first hectic weeks after your baby's birth, you may not have many opportunities for reading, anyway. So here are the stripped down, need-to-know facts. Think of them as the instructions on the box, until you have time to read the manual.

First feedings
You were probably encouraged at the hospital to feed your baby "on demand." You know that means feed the baby when he's hungry - but how can you tell?

Your baby will tell you, and not necessarily by "demanding" food with a loud cry.

"Each baby has little cues that the mother will quickly learn," says Irene Buckland-Foster, manager of public health nursing at the Middlesex-London Health Unit. Lip-smacking, turning the head towards your breast, sucking on a fist - once you learn the signs, "you can watch for those cues, and put the baby to the breast before he or she is ravenous and crying uncontrollably."

On the other hand, "demand feeding" implies that you should wait for the baby's cues - which isn't necessarily true for a few very sleepy babies.

"Some people will take 'feeding on demand' at face value, and not wake a very sleepy baby," notes Diane O'Brien, a public health nurse with the Middlesex-London health Unit. If your baby isn't gaining well, and sleeps for long stretches, your doctor or midwife may suggest waking him every three or four hours for a feed, at least for the first few weeks.

At the other end of the spectrum are those babies who seem to think two or three hours is far too long to go without eating.

"Moms feel very threatened when someone says, 'You're feeding that baby AGAIN?'" O'Brien observes. But while your baby is very young, frequent feeding will help establish your milk supply and minimize engorgement. The interval between feeds will usually lengthen as your baby matures. After feeding, most parents try to encourage their baby to burp, since swallowed air can make little tummies uncomfortable. To get out the gas, hold the baby against your body, with her head pointed over your shoulder, and rub or pat her back.

Don't be surprised, though, if your breastfed baby doesn't reward you with much of a belch. "Breastfed babies don't tend to burp quite as much, or spit up as formula-fed babies do," explains Buckland-Foster.

Many nursing mothers wonder if their babies are getting enough milk. The simplest sign: What goes in must come out - or, more accurately, what comes out must have gone in. "By day three or four, babies should be wetting three or four diapers a day, and by day six, six to eight wet diapers," says Dr. Dorli Herman, a family physician in London, Ontario. Can't tell because of those ultra-absorbent disposables? Herman recommends putting a folded tissue in the diaper at each change for a day or two. In the first month, one (or more) substantial bowel movements daily is another indicator your baby is feeding well.

The other sign your baby is thriving is weight gain, and your baby's doctor will want to check in the first few weeks to ensure she regains her birth weight, usually at a rate of about an ounce per day.

Insufficient milk intake is usually related to the way the baby is latched at the breast. If you are finding breastfeeding uncomfortable, having trouble latching the baby on, or if your baby doesn't seem to be actually drinking much at the breast, ask a breastfeeding counsellor for help.

You may want to call your local maternity ward or health unit for suggestions.

Originally published in Today's Parent Pregnancy & Birth, Spring 2001