The first fortnight is the steepest part, and it is normal for it to feel relentless. Newborns feed very often, milk volume increases around day two to four, and a latch that hurts is the most common early problem and the most fixable. Skilled help early makes a large difference, so ask sooner rather than later. This is health information for learning, not a substitute for your midwife, health visitor or a feeding specialist.

Days one to three: colostrum

The first milk, colostrum, comes in small amounts and is thick and often golden. Small is expected — a newborn stomach is tiny.

Babies feed frequently in these days, sometimes every hour or two, and often cluster in the evening. That is normal newborn behaviour, not a sign of failure.

Skin-to-skin contact helps feeding get started and helps the baby stay calm and warm.

Days two to four: milk coming in

Around this time the volume increases. Breasts may feel full, firm, heavy and warm, and that fullness usually settles over a few days as supply matches what the baby takes.

Feeding often is what keeps this comfortable. A very hard, painful, shiny breast that the baby cannot latch onto is engorgement and needs attention rather than waiting.

Cramping during feeds in these days is normal, and afterpains explains why.

How often, and how you know it is going in

Newborns commonly feed eight to twelve times in 24 hours, including at night. Feeding to the baby's cues rather than a schedule is what WHO recommends in the early weeks.

Signs that suggest feeding is going in:

• Regular wet and dirty nappies, increasing over the first week.
• Stools changing from black and sticky to green and then yellow.
• Rhythmic sucking with pauses, and audible swallowing.
• The baby coming off the breast relaxed rather than frantic.
• Steady weight gain after the normal early dip, checked by your midwife or health visitor.

Nappies and weight checks are the reliable measures. How full the breast feels is not.

What a good latch feels like

A deep latch takes in a large mouthful of breast tissue, not just the nipple. The baby's chin touches the breast, the nose is clear, the mouth is wide, and the lower lip is turned out.

Tugging and strong pulling are normal. Pinching, biting, scraping, or pain that lasts through the whole feed are not.

After a feed the nipple should look round, not flattened, creased or wedge-shaped. A misshapen nipple after feeds is the clearest sign the latch needs adjusting.

Sore nipples

Some tenderness in the first days is common. Cracked, bleeding or severely painful nipples are a latch problem, and they are the reason many people stop feeding before they wanted to.

Ask for a feed to be watched by someone skilled — a midwife, health visitor, feeding specialist or peer supporter. NICE's postnatal guidance expects feeding support to be available rather than something you have to chase.

Do not wait for it to become unbearable. This is the single most useful early ask.

Looking after yourself while feeding

Eat and drink to appetite, and keep water within reach of wherever you feed. There is no special diet, and most foods need no avoiding unless your own clinician advises it.

Ask your midwife, doctor or pharmacist before taking any medicine while feeding, including ones you used before. ACOG notes that many medicines are compatible with feeding, so the answer is often yes, but ask rather than guess.

Set up a spot with cushions, a drink and a charger. You will spend a lot of hours there.

Ask for help today if

• Feeding hurts through the whole feed, or nipples are cracked or bleeding.
• The baby will not latch, or falls asleep at every feed without feeding.
• Nappies are fewer than expected, or the baby is very sleepy and hard to rouse.
• A breast is red, hot and painful, or you have a fever.
• The baby has not returned to birth weight by around two weeks.

A red, hot, painful breast with fever needs same-day advice, and postpartum warning signs covers the wider list.

What Femio can hold

Logging feeds, side, and how it felt gives you something concrete to bring to a feeding assessment, and it helps you see that the shape of a day is changing even when it does not feel like it.

Femio does not assess a latch or judge whether a baby is getting enough, which needs a person watching a feed and weighing the baby. If feeding is not working, read when breastfeeding is not working, and see the first six weeks after birth for everything else happening at once.

When to see a doctor

Contact your midwife, health visitor or feeding service for pain through the whole feed, damaged nipples, a baby who will not latch or feed, fewer wet nappies than expected, or worries about weight. Seek same-day advice for a red hot painful breast, a fever, or a baby who is very sleepy, floppy, or refusing feeds.

Ask for a feed to be observed. Descriptions of feeding are much less useful than someone watching one.

Seek care now: Get urgent help if your baby is floppy, very hard to wake, breathing fast or with difficulty, has a fever, or is refusing feeds. For yourself, seek urgent care for a high fever, a breast that is red and hot with feeling very unwell, or severe pain. Femio cannot assess a baby.

Frequently asked questions

How often should a newborn feed?

Commonly eight to twelve times in 24 hours, including at night, and often in clusters.

Should breastfeeding hurt?

Tugging is normal; pain through the whole feed is not. It usually means the latch needs adjusting, and that is fixable with skilled help.

How do I know my baby is getting enough?

Wet and dirty nappies, stool colour changing, contentment after feeds, and weight checks by your midwife or health visitor.

What if my milk seems slow to come in?

Tell your midwife. Frequent feeding, skin-to-skin and a review of the latch are the usual first steps.

Do I need to drink more water?

Drink to thirst and keep water nearby. There is no fixed amount to hit.