How to determine the balance between breastfeeding supply and demand

Every mother hopes that feeding the baby can achieve a balance between supply and demand, but there are always some mothers who encounter situations where either the milk supply is too abundant, causing breast pain, or the milk is not enough. Sometimes the baby cries because of hunger, and there is nothing to be done. Only by ensuring a balance between the supply and demand of the baby's milk can the baby's nutrition be better guaranteed, which is also conducive to the baby's healthy growth and development.

In the first three days after delivery, the mother's breasts are not full. This does not mean that there is no milk, but that there is very precious colostrum that can meet all the needs of the newborn baby. As the level of progesterone drops after childbirth, the breast factory receives this natural signal and starts to secrete large amounts of milk. Generally, you can feel the milk coming in three to five days after giving birth. As the baby continues to suck frequently, many mothers will become "milk cows" in the next 1-2 months. I often feel my chest getting swollen and my baby may choke on milk when sucking. Sometimes, hearing the baby crying or holding the baby will produce a lactation reflex, and your clothes will get soaked without you noticing.

After a period of time, this situation will gradually disappear. There will rarely be a feeling of milk engorgement or milk surges, and the baby's feeding time will gradually shorten. Therefore, mothers will still worry that the milk supply is not enough and it is time to add milk powder to the baby. In fact, this is not the case. The baby's height and weight are growing normally according to the growth curve, and his mental state is also good, which means that there is not enough milk. Instead, the breasts have learned to secrete milk intelligently - they secrete milk when the baby is feeding, and they secrete as much milk as the baby needs. When the baby is not feeding, there is no milk secretion reflex. This is what we call the highest state - "supply and demand balance."

"Supply and demand balance" is a unique power bestowed upon us women during the evolutionary process, and almost every breastfeeding mother will experience it. Therefore, there is no need to worry if you see that your breasts are no longer engorged. There are also a few mothers who have never felt breast fullness/engorgement, but are still able to feed their babies well and directly achieve a state of supply and demand balance. Such mothers have a pair of extremely smart breasts, which is enviable. Don’t doubt that you don’t have enough milk. The breasts are like a faucet. The baby can get milk whenever he wants. The mother does not need to squeeze milk, and milk lumps will not form due to lack of sucking. At the same time, the baby can get the water-rich foremilk and protein-rich hindmilk. Both the mother and the baby are in a very comfortable state. This is the highest level of breastfeeding. Balance supply and demand

Don’t think that the lack of breast engorgement means that you don’t have enough milk. In fact, the lack of breast engorgement is a normal condition. The reason why milk swelled in the past was because the breasts didn’t know when to secrete and when not to secrete, so they couldn’t control it well. After breastfeeding for a period of time, the breasts will slowly adapt to the baby’s feeding routine. Frequent breast engorgement is an abnormal condition, which greatly increases the chances of breast blockage for mothers.

Mothers who have more milk than their babies need will empty their breasts after each feeding. In this way, the breasts mistakenly take the amount of milk eaten by the baby and sucked out by the mother as the amount of milk that needs to be secreted, so the milk volume will continue to rise, making it difficult to achieve a balance. Therefore, this type of mother can empty the breast milk less until she stops emptying it, without developing milk lumps and storing milk for the baby, and slowly achieve a balance between supply and demand. But some people have questioned that the baby seems to be getting less milk and there is no big swallowing sound. Can the baby be full?

From left to right, the supply and demand of milk is gradually balanced. The red line shows the fat content in the breast milk. It can be seen that the fat content gradually increases. The more fat there is, the easier it is to feel full and the less hungry you are. This is the hind milk. Although the quantity may be slightly small, it is very nutritious, so you don’t have to worry about your baby not being full. For some people, the supply and demand can be balanced after the confinement period, for others, it takes three or four months, for some, it takes half a year, and for some, it takes a year. It depends on each person's physique and breastfeeding habits, so this time value does not need to be used as a reference. The balance between breast and baby is

Mothers often say they are trying to boost their milk supply, thinking that they don’t have as much milk as before and need to boost their milk supply. In fact, you don’t have to use the swelling of breast milk to measure the amount of milk, nor do you have to use the depth of color to judge whether the quality of milk is consistent. There is only one criterion for judging the quantity and quality of breast milk - the growth of the baby. Remember what "Mamabaobangbang" mentioned above. Use the growth curve to judge your baby's growth instead of comparing with other babies. Just because you think your baby is thin doesn't mean he is thin. So, milk powder is actually a placebo that comforts nervous and anxious parents, but is it really what the baby needs?

"Supply and demand balance" is a tacit understanding between mother and baby, and it is the highest level of breastfeeding. Please follow our life instinct.