The questions I answer most often, written down so you can come back to them at 2 am. Save this page. It's here whenever you need it.
Written by Mansi Shah, IBCLC · Reviewed September 2026
You can't see how much goes in, but you can see what comes out, and how your baby grows. These are the signs I ask every mother to watch.
If you're seeing fewer wet nappies than this, no yellow stools by day 5, or your baby isn't back to birth weight by two weeks, please don't wait it out. Speak to your paediatrician and get feeding support early. It's usually much easier to fix at this stage.
Once your baby has started drinking from a bottle or cup of breastmilk, their saliva gets into the milk, and bacteria along with it.
Throw away any leftover milk within 1 to 2 hours of the start of that feed. Don't save it for the next one.
Tip: store milk in small portions (60–90 ml) so less goes to waste.
| Where | How long |
|---|---|
| Room temperature (up to 25°C) | Up to 4 hours. On a hot Mumbai day, use it sooner or refrigerate it. |
| Fridge (back of the fridge, not the door) | Up to 4 days |
| Freezer | Best within 6 months |
| Thawed milk | Use within 24 hours in the fridge. Never refreeze. |
General guidance for healthy, full-term babies. If your baby is premature or in hospital, follow your NICU's advice.
These foods are high in free fructose, a sugar young tummies find hard to handle. They can bring on gas, loose stools and tummy pain.
Honey: never before the first birthday. Apart from the sugar, honey can carry spores that cause infant botulism, a serious illness in babies. That includes honey in ghutti, on a dummy, or mixed into anything.
Hand expression is free, always with you, and gentle. It helps get milk flowing, eases fullness, and gives you milk for your baby when you can't feed directly.
One full cycle takes about 20 to 30 minutes, both sides.
A little warmth, then massage and stroke the breast down towards the nipple.
Thumb and fingers just behind the edge of the dark areola, opposite each other.
Press straight back towards your chest wall.
Gently bring thumb and fingers together. Don't slide over the skin.
Press, compress, release. Repeat until the flow slows.
Stroke and massage the wider breast area once more.
Shift your fingers to a new spot around the breast.
Keep going, side to side, until the milk stops flowing.
No, and that's worth knowing, because every cry often gets read as "not enough milk". Crying is your baby's language. Here's what they might be telling you.
My free New Mother's Breastfeeding Guide covers feeding cues, latching, common challenges, burping, and when to get help.
This page is general information, not medical advice for your individual situation. If you're worried about your baby's health, contact your paediatrician.
