The first weeks of breastfeeding: what to expect

There is, in the first days, a strangeness that nobody quite describes. Your breasts, which you have known all your life, suddenly become a meeting place. You were told that breastfeeding was natural. Nobody mentioned that it has to be learnt.

Il s'apprend à deux, et ces premières semaines sont celles de l'apprentissage. Elles ont leur rythme, leurs repères, leurs petites inquiétudes aussi. Les connaître ne rend pas les nuits plus courtes. Mais cela rend le chemin plus lisible, et vous laisse libre de le suivre, de l'ajuster ou de choisir autrement.

Early breastfeeding: what happens in the first days

Even before the birth, your breasts were getting ready. From the very first feeds, they produce colostrum, a thick, yellow or orange milk that is highly concentrated. The quantities look tiny, a few teaspoons per feed. Yet they match the stomach of a newborn, which is roughly the size of a marble.

This early stage of breastfeeding rests on a simple principle: the more the breast is stimulated and emptied, the more it produces. The frequent feeds of the first days are not a sign of shortage. They are placing the order.

Milk coming in

Most often between day 2 and day 5, the milk becomes more plentiful and paler. The breasts feel heavy, tight and warm. This stage can come a little later, after a caesarean for example, without compromising what follows. We devote a whole article to it: milk coming in, day by day.

The rhythm of feeds

In the early days, many newborns feed often, 8 to 12 times in 24 hours, sometimes more. Feeds are not necessarily evenly spaced. At certain times, often in the evening, they come one after another almost without a pause. This is known as cluster feeding.

It is exhausting. It is also expected.

Feeding on demand is generally recommended: offering the breast at the first signs of waking, before the crying. Your baby turns their head, opens their mouth, brings their hands to their face. Crying comes later, once hunger has already set in.

Recognising a good latch

The latch is the key to almost everything else: the comfort of your nipples, the efficiency of the feed, your milk supply. A few landmarks help you recognise it.

• The mouth is wide open, the lips turned outwards.
• Your baby takes in a large part of the areola, not just the nipple.
• The chin touches the breast, the nose is clear.
• The cheeks stay rounded, without hollowing.
• After a few quick sucks, the rhythm slows and you can hear or see your baby swallowing.

A stretching sensation at the start of a feed is common in the first days. Pain that lasts the whole feed, or comes back every time, is not something you have to put up with. It most often signals a latch or a position that needs adjusting, and it is the leading cause of cracked nipples. A midwife or an IBCLC lactation consultant can watch a feed and correct what needs correcting, often with a few small changes.

Knowing whether baby is getting enough

It is the question of every night, because the breast carries no measuring marks. The most reliable landmarks are read in the nappies and on the scales.

Period	Wet nappies	Stools	What you will notice
Week 1	Their number rises day by day, to at least 5 to 6 towards the end of the week	Black meconium gives way to lighter stools, then yellow ones	Usual weight loss in the first days, milk coming in
Week 2	At least 5 to 6 a day, pale urine	Yellow, often several a day	Back to birth weight, generally within roughly the first two weeks
Week 3	Regular, heavy nappies	Frequent, sometimes fewer	Feeds still close together, sometimes a surge in demand
Week 4	Regular	The rhythm varies from one baby to another	Feeds often become more efficient, the breasts soften

These figures are landmarks, not an exam. An alert baby who wets well and is gaining weight is drinking enough. If in doubt, a weigh-in with your midwife, at the PMI (French maternal and child health centre) or at the doctor's gives a clear answer.

What your breasts go through

In the first weeks, the breasts often change mood. Full in the morning, softer after a feed, sometimes uneven. They can swell to the point of becoming hard and painful: this is engorgement, which is most often relieved by frequent feeds and gentle drainage.

The nipples, for their part, need attention. A few drops of milk left to air-dry after the feed, a purified lanolin if the skin feels tight: we compare the options in our guide to nipple care. These remedies soothe. They do not replace a well-adjusted position.

Around the third or fourth week, many women notice that their breasts seem less full. This is not a drop in milk. Supply is adjusting to demand. It is settling.

Signs that mean you should seek advice

Most early breastfeeding journeys run their course, hesitations included. Some signs, however, call for prompt advice from your midwife, your doctor or the maternity unit.

For you:

• a fever, chills, flu-like symptoms;
• an area of the breast that is red, hot and painful;
• cracked nipples that bleed or do not improve;
• pain that persists despite a well-adjusted position.

For your baby:

• fewer wet nappies than the landmarks, or dark urine;
• a very sleepy baby who is hard to wake for feeds;
• skin or eyes that are increasingly yellow;
• weight loss that continues beyond the first days.

In an emergency, if your baby is very floppy or breathing badly, or if you yourself are in serious difficulty, call 15 (the French emergency number). These situations are rare. They are managed well when action is taken early.

If breastfeeding is not going to plan

Breastfeeding is a choice. So is not breastfeeding. Stopping after a few days, breastfeeding partly, expressing your milk, moving to the bottle: each of these paths is legitimate, and none of them says anything about the mother you are.

If you wish to carry on and it is hard, support exists. A community midwife, an IBCLC lactation consultant, the PMI (French maternal and child health centre), associations such as La Leche League France: it is possible to be supported, often quickly.

Frequently asked questions

How many feeds a day for a breastfed newborn?

In the early days, there are often 8 to 12 feeds in 24 hours, sometimes more. The rhythm is irregular, with cluster feeds at certain times of day. The main thing is to offer the breast as soon as your baby shows signs of waking.

Is it normal for breastfeeding to hurt at the beginning?

A stretching sensation at the start of a feed is common in the first days. Pain that lasts the whole feed or gets worse is not normal. It is a prompt to have the latch checked by a midwife or a lactation consultant.

How do I know if my baby is getting enough milk at the breast?

Nappies and weight are the most reliable landmarks. A baby who wets well, whose stools turn yellow and who regains their birth weight within roughly the first two weeks is generally drinking enough. If in doubt, a weigh-in is reassuring.

Is colostrum enough before the milk comes in?

Yes, for a healthy baby born at term, colostrum generally covers the needs of the first days. The quantities are small, but suited to the size of their stomach. Frequent feeds also help the milk to come in.

When does breastfeeding get easier?

Many women find that things settle between the third and sixth week. Feeds become more efficient, the breasts soften, the movements become familiar. Each pair moves at its own pace.

What is settling in

The first weeks of breastfeeding rarely look like what we had imagined. They are slower, more tentative, more intimate too. Every feed teaches something, to you as much as to your baby.

Then one day, without knowing quite when, the movement becomes obvious. You stop counting.

To understand what is happening in your breasts in the first days, read our article on milk coming in.