Breast Milk

It varies form woman to woman. I stared at about week 24 maybe i can't really remember but that sounds about right. Some people don't start untill labour has started

mine varied with each pregnancy. it was around 6-7 months. some women don't leak at all. there is no set time. some women only start once their baby is born and rarely some women don't produce milk at all

i didn't leak at all until 4 days after my baby was born and my milk came in.

your baby will feed from the colostrum first. they usually tell you to keep the baby feeding from you as this helps bring in your milk. i'm not sure but they may supplement your baby with formula if they are not getting enough milk.

my milk never came in and my daughter was screaming and hungry so i told them to give her formula. i then developed mastistis and it was too painful to express. by this time though she was happily settled on forumla.

I never leaked with my first child and the milk didn't come in until three days after..poor little guy. I haven't leaked with this one, however, I am only 28 weeks pregnant.

Is there any case where your colostrum doesn't come in until a few days after birth? I knew that "milk" didn't come in for a couple days, but i wasn't sure if there was a chance that the colostrum might not even come in.

I was told that babies aren't really hungry the first couple of days but they'll suck on whatever you give them and that they will usually only get colostrum, like a teaspoonful at a time from your breasts the first couple of days anyway.

What's weird is I leaked only once, when I was like 22 weeks or so and I haven't leaked at all since then. I'm now 28 weeks. I ran out and bought those breast pads and then nothing happened. I hope I will be able to breast feed, sometimes it sounds so complicated.

My boobs have started leaking since I was 18 weeks pregnant.

When you are in the hospital the nurses and lactation specialists will help you in every way they can. The colostrom is very rich, so even a little bit fills them up. The more you put a baby to your breast the quicker your milk will come in.
I agree with not giving a baby a bottle if you plan on breastfeeding and he seems to have a good latch. They get confused and bottles are so much easier to eat from.
Breastfeeding is difficult for some and it's a huge committment!

the worst thing you can do when you are breastfeeding is supplement with formula. everytime you supplement, you are loosing the chance of stimulating milk production from your breasts. babies initially get colostrum-many women dont have their milk for about a week, and their babies are perfectly healthy. and like someone said, the first few days of life, babies dont have a huge appetite.
and just to assure you, think about the thousands of years before there was formula-we managed to survive! if you truly want to breastfeed, offer the breast often, and your baby sucking will stimulate milk flow.

I have already informed my hospital that I don't want them giving the baby formula or the bottle. They told me that whenever I do go into labour I need to make sure that the nurses know that because sometimes they tend to do there own thing anyway. I am sorry if this makes anyone mad but I am going to exclusively breastfeed and I think that giving them formula is one of the worst things if you plan on nursing them. But that is just my opinion.

Your breasts produce colostrum beginning during pregnancy and continuing through the early days of breastfeeding. This special milk is yellow to orange in color and thick and sticky. It is low in fat, and high in carbohydrates, protein, and antibodies to help keep your baby healthy. Colostrum is extremely easy to digest, and is therefore the perfect first food for your baby. It is low in volume (measurable in teaspoons rather than ounces), but high in concentrated nutrition for the newborn. Colostrum has a laxative effect on the baby, helping him pass his early stools, which aids in the excretion of excess bilirubin and helps prevent jaundice.

Colostrum actually works as a natural and 100% safe vaccine. It contains large quantities of an antibody called secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA) which is a new substance to the newborn. Before your baby was born, he received the benefit of another antibody, called IgG, through your placenta. IgG worked through the baby's circulatory system, but IgA protects the baby in the places most likely to come under attack from germs, namely the mucous membranes in the throat, lungs, and intestines.

Colostrum has an especially important role to play in the baby's gastrointestinal tract. A newborn's intestines are very permeable. Colostrum seals the holes by "painting" the gastrointestinal tract with a barrier which mostly prevents foreign substances from penetrating and possibly sensitizing a baby to foods the mother has eaten.

Colostrum also contains high concentrations of leukocytes, protective white cells which can destroy disease-causing bacteria and viruses.

A 1 day old baby's stomach capacity is about 5-7 ml, or about the size of a marble. Interestingly, researchers have found that the day-old newborn's stomach does not stretch to hold more. Since the walls of the newborn's stomach stays firm, extra milk is most often expelled (spit up). Your colostrum is just the right amount for your baby's first feedings!