The Basics of Breastfeeding Breast milk has three different and distinct stages: colostrum, transitional milk, and mature milk. Colostrum is the first stage of breast milk. It occurs during pregnancy and lasts for several days after the birth of the baby.
Here, you can see that the milk separates, with is a layer of fat/cream on top, and a more watery layer of breast milk on the bottom. (You may want to mix the layers when it's time to feed a bottle of this milk to your baby.
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.
We know breast milk storage can be confusing, so here is a more conservative approach that you can also go by (and easily remember): 4 hours at room temperature and 4 days in the refrigerator!
Foremilk is the milk that your baby drinks at the beginning of a feeding, and hindmilk follows it. Typically, foremilk is mostly water combined with other nutrients, and hindmilk is highly fatty. Both contain lactose that your baby needs to develop properly.
The milk-making cells in your breasts all produce the same kind of milk. Foremilk is the milk available when your baby starts feeding, hindmilk is the milk your baby gets at the end of a feed.
"Something I recommend to moms is the 5-5-5 rule," Pawlowski says. "Try and use milk within five hours at room temperature, five days if in the refrigerator, and five months if in the freezer."
Remember this rule: 5-5-5
At room temperature for 5 hours. In a refrigerator for 5 days. In a separated freezer for 5 months.
The 120 minute rule is that, generally speaking, when you are exclusively pumping, you want to spend at least 120 minutes (2 hours) per day pumping.
You may have read or been told that you must nurse for at least 15 minutes for the baby to get the “good milk” a.k.a. “the hindmilk.” Not true. Some babies get it immediately, for some babies it takes 45 minutes. This depends on your milk supply, the time of day, and the last time you expressed milk.
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.
You can do this by pumping for a minute or two before you begin to breastfeed your baby. 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.
There is no published evidence to support that shaking actually damages breast milk when compared to swirling. Many of the issues identified with shaking are better described as myths, and simply do not hold up when the actual shear forces are calculated.
If your breasts are really heavy and full before your baby breastfeeds, hand express or pump for 1-2 minutes and discard your foremilk. Foremilk flows at the beginning of the feed and if your breasts are really full…. this milk can flow fast and furiously!
Usually blueish or clear, watery breast milk is indicative of “foremilk.” Foremilk is the first milk that flows at the start of a pumping (or nursing) session and is thinner and lower in fat than the creamier, whiter milk you see at the end of a session.
What are the “3 Golden Hours”? The 3 Golden Hours refer to the immediate hours after a mother gives birth. It's so important that mothers are given the opportunity to be skin to skin with their babies during these 3 hours to breastfeed their baby and form that immediate bond.
Freshly expressed or pumped milk can be stored: At room temperature (77°F or colder) for up to 4 hours. In the refrigerator for up to 4 days. In the freezer for about 6 months is best; up to 12 months is acceptable.
The breastfeeding magic number
Your “magic number” is the number of times you need to empty your breasts per 24 hours in order to keep your supply robust. On average, your magic number is 8 (hence the recommendation to breastfeed every 3 hours).
If your baby is healthy, gaining weight, and seems content after most breastfeeds, they're getting what they need. Babies who are feeding well can take anywhere between five minutes and 40 minutes at each feed.
Some mothers have reported nursing strikes that lasted almost three weeks, but more often the baby goes back to breastfeeding in a few days. Even if your baby doesn't immediately return to the breast you can continue to offer for as long as you want to.
Other studies have suggested psychomotor delay in infants of moderate drinkers (2+ drinks daily). Avoid breastfeeding during and for 2 – 3 hours after drinking alcohol. Heavy drinkers should wait longer.
The Haakaa breast pump helps you collect both foremilk and rich hindmilk.
The sheer volume of milk and high sugar content often means babies gain weight very well with foremilk hindmilk imbalance—even though they aren't getting their “pudding”. However occasionally some babies may not gain enough weight in this situation.