Boy, what a hard act to follow. Can you go before the nursery nurse? I always
describe the "first milk" colostrum as thick, like honey or syrup and relate
it to heavy cream. I also describe it as "calorie dense" with a higher
specific gravity than the milk to come, or formula. So a little is really a
lot!
       I also describe the differences between suckling patterns and expected
wets/stools and relate it to normal newborn behavior and sleep/wake patterns.
The top five things they need to know: Latch, positioning, feeding frequency
and duration, signs of I&O and feeding cues. OK, that's six but all are very
important. Don't waste your time on advantages of breastmilk or breastfeeding
- keep those brief. The first few days are so different from what comes
later, after milk volume increases and I think that's what throws it off
track. Everyone reads "plenty of wet diapers, swallowing frequently, blah,
blah." And it will be like that, real soon, but only if we can let it work!
Mary Kay Smith, RN, IBCLC
Romeoville IL

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