Potentially a very silly/obvious question about breastfeeding after birth

[Simone86]

I’ve read that it can take a few days for milk to come in, especially after a c section. And sometimes you need to take a drug to stimulate the production.

So, does that mean the baby won’t have any fluids for a few days, if there’s no milk available yet? Isn’t that dangerous?

I know this is probably a silly question but I’m starting to think about my c section and this is something I have wondered about for ages, even before I was pregnant!

No their stomach is the size of a marble and they have the tiny amounts of fatty colostrum before your milk comes in.

This isn’t really what the PP was saying though was it? They were talking about how bottles are offered as the solution to any breastfed baby’s “problems”. And how so often the offer of giving a bottle is passed off as giving Mum a “break” when it doesn’t actually equate to a break because they’ve had to pump or do whatever else.
What you’ve described is a very different scenario where you’re not being pressured to give bottles but have occasionally made the decision to give a bottle.

I combi fed from when my little one was a few months old so am supportive and understanding of people wanting to use bottles as well as breastfeeding. It should only happen when a mother has made an informed decision to do so though. Not done when someone has incorrectly told them their baby needs it, it will get them more sleep or whatever other nonsense they spew. That was what the PP was addressing.

They get colostrum from you and that's the really good stuff. I had emcs with DD1 and I spent nearly a week in hospital. My milk never came in but nobody actually asked me if it had or checked and to be honest I wldnt have known 😂 I gave up once we were home. I had a screaming DD, a crying mummy with sore nipples and I'd had enough so we went for formula.

With DD2 she was meant to be planned section but ended up coming early and I was in full blown labour so yet another emcs. My milk came in about day 3 this time. My god you will know when it comes in! It was then I realised that it hadn't last time. Your boobs go absolutely huge and quite hard.

You could talk to your midwife about colostrum harvesting - I had 23 one ml syringes in the freezer by the time DS was born - I also expressed some whilst in labour and that's actually what he had as a first feed as after 24 hours labour then an emergency c section I was wiped out and the midwife asked if I wanted to try on fhe breast or give him a syringe.

Do check though because I think that this can potentially bring on labour so please take professional advice before doing it!

And, OP, sometimes it just doesn’t work, even with research and support. I never developed a supply at all, despite trying for months, and getting support from everyone from my HV to La Leche League to NCT peer support. I say this not to be gloomy, just to say don’t get caught up in blaming yourself in the unlikely event it should happen. It never occurred to me after a straightforward pregnancy that I wouldn’t be able to BF, and it took me ages to get over it.

The association of breastfeeding mothers do a free online course called Team Baby which is really good if you get a minute and you might find it helpful for any questions you might have.

https://abm.me.uk/product/team-baby-online-course/

I had sections. It took about two/three days for me to actually get the baby to latch on. In the end the midwife did give him a bottle, but we figured it out and it was fine.
My second baby was in NICU for three days and I didn't get a chance to feed her but after that she was able to and I BF her for a year (she refused a bottle). She was fed via a tube initially.

Colostrum starts to be made at 16weeks gestation.
After a Section as long as baby is ok you need to get that oxytocin high. How? Skin-to-skin. Snuggles. Love boosting things (good good / partner) etc..
Nursing is supply / demand..get that baby latched as often as possible there is never too much and / use a pump to stimulate. Apply nipple creams often as well to avoid soreness. Also if you are ateuggling even if you are not. Most consultant led hospitals will have an in-house Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Them and ONLY then can tell you if you have a supply issue. Most women don't but poor advice from midwives and Drs makes women believe they do have an issue.

Stimulation plus oxytocin tells brain produce more milk demand is up.we need more..breast milk is a river not a pond. There is always milk but the river size depends on the demand. It can be a stream or a gushing rapids depends on the demand.

You can also Colostrum harvest from 36 weeks. Tonnes of videos on YT about this. You can ask you Midwife for syringes to collect or tiny pots. You can then freeze these and defrost as and when needed.

I am doing that this time around as I was so stressed the first 2/3 days last time and the midwives were useless and tried to force me to use formula!!
baby maybe sleepy and that is normal. They made me stressed like it was abnormal. But by the 3rd day baby was wiiiide awake and nursing on demand every 2hrs. So all that panic was for nothing. All I did was keep offering the breast and trying to latch and use a pump to try mimic baby so by day 3 transition milk started and then by day 5/6 full milk was there and I was engorged!

I don’t know why people call colostrum different to milk, it is basically. I know it’s not the same thing but it is all “milk”. And it is confusing! I had the same questions OP. But no you will be able to feed baby what they need from the start.

You'll have colostrum aka liquid gold, just feed often as their little tummies are so small.

My milk came in day 5 after a c section, and it transitioned straight to white more mature milk and there was definitely more than what I had of colostrum. However, those first few days of colostrum are fab for building the baby's immune system and good bacteria.

I remember panicking because my newborn’s spit up was yellow - I was afraid it was stomach bile and something was really wrong! It wasn’t, just there really is a yellowish colour to the colostrum.