Breastfeeding – Should I give my baby other liquids or foods?
Unless your doctor has prescribed your baby medication, the only liquid or food she should be getting is your milk.
Her digestive system is growing and adapting and it’s important not to overload her with other liquids. If you are separated from your baby for some reason, talk to your healthcare providers about giving her your own expressed milk or milk from a human milk bank.
Growth spurts
You will find that there are periods where your baby suddenly wants to be on the breast all the time. She is doing this because she is going through a growth spurt and needs extra milk. By being on the breast more often she is encouraging your body to make more milk. Growth spurts usually happen around day 3, day 6, day 9 week 3, week 6, week 9 month 4 and month 6.
Your breasts flow with milk like a river flows with water, sometimes there is more and sometimes less, sometimes it flows quickly and other times more slowly, but the milk is always there.
What should I eat?
Breastfeeding women can and should eat a varied diet rich in nutrients and minerals similar to what you ate in pregnancy. You can keep on taking your prenatal supplements while you are
breastfeeding.
Should I give my baby a pacifier or a bottle?
Ideally, you will avoid pacifiers and bottles for at least the first six weeks as baby learns to latch and drink from your breast. Sucking a pacifier and a bottle is a totally different technique (no matter what the advertisements say) and can cause the baby to take less milk and reduce your milk production.
How long should I breastfeed?
The World Health Organisation recommends exclusive breastfeeding (no other liquids or foods) up until six months of age, and breastfeeding with complementary foods until two years or more. At the beginning, take it a day at a time. Every drop of breastmilk your baby gets is liquid gold, strive for as much as you can.
How do I decrease my supply or stop breastfeeding?
Above we discussed how milk production depends on how often your breasts are being emptied. If you want to decrease your supply or stop breastfeeding, you simply put the baby on the breast less often. If your baby is not feeding from the breast and you want to stop producing milk, you need to express your milk. Whenever you feel that your breast tissue is full, express as much as you need to for them to feel softer, and then stop. A few days of doing this should decrease your
supply and within a week or two you should stop producing milk.