09/04/2026
If youāre wondering why your newborn wants to suckle non stop after birth, hereās why ..
Those first days baby is getting droplets of milk per feed. Not ounces. Colostrum comes in small concentrated sips, so itās gone fast and theyāre back again 10, 12, sometimes 14 times in 24 hours. This is NORMAL.
That suckling is baby placing the āorder formā with your milk making center. Every time baby latches and pulls milk out, the emptying plus the stimulation at your ni**le sends a message straight up to your brain saying āmake more milk!ā Your body listens and milk is produced. Baby suckles - milk out, signal sent -more milk made. Over and over .
The first week is when this matters most. Those early days are when your body sets up the whole system that decides how much milk youāll make for months. Your baby non stop suckling in day 1-3 is essential for the rest of your breastfeeding story.
So when theyāre rooting again 40 minutes after you just fed and that little voice in your head says - IM NOT MAKING ENOUGH!!! Remember this-Your baby is doing their job & your body is doing yours beautifully. The nonstop sucking IS THE WAY. The mechanism is working. If you feel pain or are unsure of their latch talk to the lactation consultant on the floor or your midwife.
Since you canāt see how many ounces they are actually getting from your breast hereās what to watch. Wet & soiled diapers count up right along with the days .. 1 wet & 1 p**p on day one, 2 wet & 2 p**ps on day two, 3 of each on day three. By day 4 you want at least 6 good wet diapers every 24 hours. 2-3 p**ps or more from here on out is normal.This will stay the same for the next 6 weeks or so. By day 5 p**ps should have turned yellow and seedy, Meconium clearing out and yellow seedy p**p showing up is one of the best signs milk is moving through.
Wet diapers, yellow p**ps, weight gain. Those tell you more than the clock or the ounces ever will. Save this for the fog of those first days & send it to a friend whoās about to meet their baby ..
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