breast-milk stools and a healthy sign that your baby is getting enough
nutrition. A bottle-fed baby will pass firmer, light brown to golden- or
clay-colored stools that have an odor similar to adult stools.
- During this first week, frequent nursing is necessary for two
reasons: first, your baby needs the colostrum and second, frequent
nursing is required to establish lactation. The fact that your baby nurses
every 2½ to 3 hours and nurses a minimum of eight times a day are two
more positive indicators to consider. - Just bringing your baby to breast does not mean your baby is
nursing efficiently. There is a time element involved. In those early days,
most babies nurse between thirty and forty-five minutes. If your baby is
sluggish or sleepy all the time or not nursing more than a total of ten
minutes, this may be an unhealthy indicator. - As your baby works at taking the colostrum, you will hear him
swallow. A typical pattern is suck, suck, suck, then swallow. When
mature milk becomes available, your baby responds with a rhythmic
suck, swallow, suck, swallow, suck, swallow. You should not hear a
clicking sound nor see dimpled cheeks. A clicking sound and dimpled
cheeks during nursing are two indicators that your baby is not sucking
efficiently. He is sucking his own tongue, not the breast. If you hear
clicking, remove baby from the breast and then relatch him. If this
continues, contact your pediatrician.
Summary of Week One Growth Indicators
- Your baby goes to the breast and nurses.
- Your baby is nursing a minimum of eight times in a twenty-four-
hour period. - Your baby is nursing over fifteen minutes at each nursing period.
- You can hear your baby swallowing milk.
- Your baby has passed his first stool called meconium. (Make sure
you let the nurses know that you are tracking your baby’s growth
indicators.) - Your baby’s stooling pattern progresses from meconium (greenish