Hi Lisa,
Welcome, welcome. I'm so happy you found me.
Congratulations on your wonderful experience with breastfeeding!!! I'm sure that Dr. Newman will be as thrilled as I am to hear such good news. Thank you so much for posting. It is so helpful and inspirational to the ladies who are thinking about adoptive breastfeeding or who are in the process right now. Thank you. Thank you.
About your sister. Well. You're both right. It is true that breastmilk changes to suit babie's needs but this is really only "critical" in the first 10 days of life when bio breastmilk changes from collostrom to premilk to mature milk. Once the bio mom is producing mature milk, it doesn't change so drastically that it would be difficient in nutrients. The most changable variable is the fat content. This can change from day to day, or feeding to feeding depending on how efficient the baby is at draining the breasts.
We usually advise moms in our clinic to breastfeed (baby at the breast) for at least 6 weeks without any bottles or pacifiers if at all possible so that baby gets the very best start and mom's milk supply can build up.
Babies undergo several periods of growth spurts during the first 6 weeks. They usually happen at approx. 10-12 days post partum, approx. 3 weeks and 6 weeks. There is another one at around 3 months and 6 months. It is typical for a baby going through a growth spurt to be ravenous for 2-3 days. It will feel to the mother as if she doesn't have enough milk and that her baby is starving. This is nature's way of building the milk supply. It's upsetting if you don't know wha't happening and how to handle it.
When baby is going through one of these, best thing is to just hunker down and breastfeed, breastfeed, breastfeed.
Another typical behaviour is a period of fussiness every day, usually in the late afternoon or evening. Some babies fuss, some babies "cluster feed" (on the breast non stop). We refer to this as "grandmother's hour". It's the time of day when you want to call your mother to come RIGHT NOW because no matter what you do the baby won't settle and you're ready to tear your hair out. This is when help is most appreciated. If someone can come in and give mom a break, it will do wonders.
After the first 2 weeks post partum, mom can pump after feeds if she wants in order to build up a stash. The milk at the end of a feed will have a higher fat content and will be perfectly fine down the road. Milk pumped straight from the breast without feeding first is also fine.
You didn't mention why she needs to build a stash. Is this because she's going back to work or because she wants a caregiver to be able to provide the occaisional bottle? In that case, she can build quite a nice stash.
In any case, breastmilk in any form is MUCH better for baby than artificial infant milk (formula).
You may want to review some of the articles on this site. Just go to the breastfeeding section and you'll find "When Latching" that you can print out and give to your sister. It's wonderful at explaining the latching procedure. She can also view a video clip at
www.breastfeeding.com that shows how the baby needs to be on the breast past the nipple for most efficient milk transfer. This page is particularly helpful
http://www.breastfeeding.com/helpme/helpme_video.html This is the key to her success. If baby is well latched, she can avoid sore nipples and a hungry baby.
Congratulations to your sister on her impending motherhood, and to you on becoming an aunt in a short while. Please let sis know about this site so she can run to us for help if she needs to during "grandmother's hour". She's very lucky...she's in very good hands with you by her side.
Fondly,
