The composition of breast milk changes across the day, giving energising morning milk a different cocktail of ingredients than soothing evening milk. Researchers believe this 'chrononutrition' may help program infants' emerging circadian biology, the internal timekeeper that allows babies to distinguish day from night.
Breastmilk at night
For most mothers, breastmilk will gradually increase in fat content throughout the day. During the evening, young babies often cluster feed, taking in frequent feeds of this fattier milk, which tends to satisfy them enough to have their longest stretch of sleep.
Studies show that morning breast milk contains more amino acids and proteins. Perhaps it contains more of it to meet the physical demands of being active during the day. Breast milk produced during the day also contains higher levels of antibodies and white blood cells than evening milk.
Breast milk tends to be extra watery first thing in the morning because milk has been sitting in your breasts for awhile as you and your baby sleep at night.
Human milk changes over the course of lactation in order to perfectly suit the infant's nutritional and immunological needs. Its composition also varies throughout the day.
How long should a baby nurse to get hindmilk? After about 10 to 15 minutes of breastfeeding, the milk flow slows and transitions to the sweet and creamy hindmilk, which contains vitamins A and E, and has more fat and calories than foremilk.
Your milk supply depends on how often you nurse or pump your breasts. The more you breastfeed or pump, the more milk your body makes. So, if you seem to be producing less milk than usual, nurse your baby more often. You also can pump after nursing to help stimulate more milk production.
Try pumping for longer intervals, ensuring that you experience letdown at each session, to make sure you're pumping enough to get to the good stuff. The other explanation for not seeing the hindmilk is that you actually have an oversupply of breastmilk.
Excess fluid intake does not improve milk supply. A common recommendation is to drink 1.5 to 2 L of water each day. If you are breastfeeding you could add another 1 L for a total of between 2.5 L to 3 L of water each day. You don't have to drink cow's milk to make human milk.
"There is a wide range of normal when it comes to color for breast milk," says Hali Shields, a certified birth and postpartum doula, national board-certified health and wellness coach, and certified lactation education counselor. "Blueish, yellow, cream, orange are all normal and safe for baby."
For example, I would pump the highest volume in the middle of the night and first thing in the morning. The amount I pumped would gradually start to fall after that, with the lowest output being in the late afternoon or early evening.
Women are often advised not to combine breast milk from different pumping sessions. For citing reasons such as increased bacterial contamination and temperature differences. This advice can lead to excess worry and more work for those who are trying to breastfeed their babies.
The overall amount of fat in breast milk is highest in the evening and at night, compared with milk produced during the day. However, multiple factors contribute to the amount of fat in breast milk, especially the frequency of feeding. More frequent emptying of the breast increases the fat content in breast milk.
When is breast milk replenished? All the time, even while you're pumping or nursing. Your breasts are constantly making milk, so it's never possible to completely empty them.
By pumping before you breastfeed, you will remove some of the foremilk and your baby will get more of the high-calorie, high-fat hindmilk. However, if your breast milk supply is low, you should not pump before you breastfeed to try to give your baby more hindmilk.
Pumping more often can help stimulate breasts to produce more milk. Moms can try pumping both breasts for 15 minutes every two hours for 48-72 hours. Then moms can return to their normal pumping routine. Pumping for longer than 30 minutes may not be beneficial.
Limit caffeine when you're breastfeeding. Caffeine is a drug that's found in things like coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks, chocolate and some energy drinks and medicines. Too much caffeine in breast milk can make your baby fussy or have trouble sleeping.
Sage, parsley, peppermint, and menthol have all been noted to decrease milk supply in breastfeeding people who consume large quantities of each. For this reason, these herbs are often used for weaning. (Note that peppermint contains high levels of menthol, which is a chemical found in various types of mint.)
If you see bright green and frothy poop in your baby's diaper that almost looks like algae, they're probably getting too much foremilk – the low-calorie milk that comes first in a feeding – and not enough hindmilk, the higher-fat, super-nutritious stuff that comes near the end.
Foremilk and Hindmilk
Foremilk is the milk that is released during the beginning of nursing, immediately following let down. It will immediately quench your baby's thirst as it has a higher water content. Hindmilk is the milk that comes at the end of the nursing session, during expression.
Try not to go longer than about six hours without pumping if baby is eating during that time. That means, don't skip more than one breastfeeding without pumping. Note: If baby is sleeping longer stretches at night, you should be sleeping those stretches, too.
You're not getting let down. If your breasts feel like they're full but you're not able to get the milk flowing out when you pump, it could be that you're not achieving let down.
Stress and Breast Milk Supply
For some breastfeeding mothers, stress may increase the hormone (prolactin) that is responsible for the production of breast milk, while others may see their breast milk supply and letdown response (helps to release milk from the breast) reduced.