When your baby is born, their stomach is the smallest it will ever be! Their stomach will slowly stretch over the first weeks of breastfeeding.
However, you may feel like your breasts aren’t producing a lot of milk, or you may feel that your baby isn’t getting enough milk. You’re not alone. No need to worry!
In the video below, Sarah Trinajstich talks about your baby’s stomach size and how to know if they’re getting enough milk.
Continue reading.
Below is exactly what you need to know about your newborn’s stomach size
Day 1
At first, your baby’s stomach can hold about a teaspoon of breast milk or the size of a large marble.
Your breasts produce a small amount of colostrum – a golden substance, concentrated with the perfect nutrition to be your baby’s first meals.
Day 3
A few days in, your baby’s stomach will be able to hold about an ounce of breast milk or about the size of a ping-pong ball.
The amount of milk you make increases as your baby’s tummy grows. The milk begins to transition to mature milk.
Day 10
Your baby’s stomach will be able to hold approximately 2 ounces of breast milk or about the size of a small egg.
By this time, your milk will be at full volume and transitioned from colostrum to mature milk.
RELATED: Breast Engorgement: How To Prevent (and Survive) This Painful Condition
After 2 weeks of exclusive breastfeeding
Around this time, your baby will go through a growth spurt and may seem hungry all the time. Fear not – this doesn’t mean that you’re not making enough milk, or that there’s something wrong with your baby. Keep putting your baby to the breast whenever they’re showing hunger cues and you’ll make it through your baby’s first growth spurt!
Is your baby getting enough milk?
It’s entirely normal to wonder if your baby is getting enough milk. For reference, your baby should have at least one pee and one poop diaper per day during the first five days of life. After that, make sure your baby has 6-8 wet diapers per day. Each diaper should be light yellow and without a pungent smell.
Having 3-5 poop diapers is normal; however, an exclusively breastfed baby can go several days without pooping. By about day 7, your baby’s poop should have transitioned to a mustard or golden yellow color with little white pieces in it.
You’ll also notice your baby growing! Keep their tummy size in mind and have confidence that your body is built to give your baby exactly what it needs.
RELATED: 4 Signs Your Baby Is Hungry (and Needs To Be Fed)!
If you don’t hear your baby swallowing milk when breastfeeding or you can’t express milk from your breast, contact a certified lactation consultant.