question about breast milk?

Question

my daughters baby is 6 days old.my daughter uses the breast pump because the baby wont latch on to her but what im wondering is her breast milk supose to be a yellow almost like the color of egg nog.thanks ladies.

Answer 1

Breast milk will change color, depending on what your daughter eats. Sometimes it will be blue, red, or even pink. Everything your daughter eats and drinks goes directly to your grandbaby.

During each feeding, your breasts begin by producing the foremilk, which is thinner and watery, with a light blue color. This milk helps satisfy the baby’s thirst. After several minutes of nursing, your breasts begin to produce the hindmilk, which is thicker and creamy, sometimes with a yellowish color. The hindmilk is higher in fat, helps satisfy your baby’s hunger and helps your baby gain weight over time. The hindmilk also makes your baby feel full and sleepy, which helps signal the end of feeding on each breast.

The color of breast milk can also vary based on a woman’s diet. If a woman eats a lot of yellow vegetables such as yams, squash and carrots, the carotene in the vegetables can make the milk yellowish (this is still considered safe for the baby). If a woman eats foods or drinks beverages with food dyes (such as sodas, sports drinks and gelatin), it can tinge the milk pink, orange or green, depending on the color of the dye. Some medications can also change the color of breast milk.

If you have any questions or concerns about your breast milk, call your doctor or contact La Leche League (www.laleche.org ).

Answer 2

Sounds like transitional milk.....still in the process of changing over from colostrum (which is yellowish) to mature milk. Pretty normal.

Is she working with a Lactation Consultant or a La Leche League Leader to get the baby to latch on? A LLL Leader will help her for FREE and would probably be willing to visit her at home for such a young baby who is not latching on.

Has she tried pumping a bit to draw out her nipples and get a letdown (just a couple of mins) and then latching on? If she is engorged, this might make latching easier.

Has she tried having someone stand behind her and drip some expressed milk into the corner of baby's mouth while trying to latch on?

The links below have TONS of good information.

Answer 3

Some might think differently, but I feel like as long as she is getting the breast milk right now, it doesn't matter HOW she gets it. It will definately be easier for you at first to use the bottle, because newborn babies eat roughtly every two hours and if you are two hours away and she is in the hospital, that might not be possible. But int he long-run, you are more likely to continue breast feeding longer is she is actually taking the breast. Once she's a few months old and her number of feedings decrease, you'll be able to do things like nurse her before class and then leave her with a sitter. Not to mention that the act of feeding the baby stimulates milk production much much better than even the best pumps will. And the level of closeness that can be achieved between a mother and a nursing child is harder to develop in a bottle-fed baby, simply because you are not the ONLY one who can do it. Yes, it hurts at first, but it doesn't always hurt. Once you get throught the first couple days and the baby learns to latch correctly, then it doesn't really hurt at all anymore. Maybe some uncomfortalbe moments or pinches. And I do know a lady who successfully pumped and bottle fed for over ten months. But she is definately the exception to the rule. Most ladies who pump only, only manage to do it for a matter of weeks, not months, before their supply decreases so low it's no longer worth it. You have to pump more than your baby needs, really, because of growth spurts and wasted bottles and such. So while I think it's best to actually nurse her, right now the most important thing is that she gets the milk in some form. So if you can only manage to bottle-feed the pumped milk to her, then that is what you should continue to do.

Answer 4

Breast milk does come in a variety of shades. All are perfectly normal as a mother's milk has the amazing ability to change with the nutritional needs of her baby. Encourage your daughter not to give up on practicing getting her baby to latch on. Some babies take several weeks to get the hang of how to do it properly. I have 4 children. I wanted to nurse my first so badly, but she was a terrible nurser and I nearly gave up. But, a lactation specialist from the hospital made a home visit to me and gave me lots of help and tips. It took about 3 weeks of tears and frustration (both on my part and my daughter's part), but then all of a sudden she got the idea and everything went smoothly after that. Then I had 2 babies who took to nursing like they were pros. My youngest had several birth problems and had a poor latch for weeks, but we kept at it and I was able to nurse her until she self-weaned at 14 months. I have done daycare in my home for 20 years. Many of the infants I care for are fed expressed milk while I have them in my care. The color of the milk varies all the time. Your daughter's milk still contains some of the early pre-milk called colostrum, which is full of vital nutrients. Colostrum is thicker and more yellow so the color of your daughter's milk is just fine.

Answer 5

Breast milk can be a variety of colors. Most of the time it's clear, white, bluish, tan or yellow. But at some point during the course of your breastfeeding experience, you may be surprised to find that your milk can be other colors as well.

Breast milk can take on a red, pink or orange hue from foods that are naturally red, pink, and orange in color or foods that contain red, yellow and orange food dyes. Beets, orange soda, and red or orange fruit drinks can cause your milk to turn different shades of pink, red and orange.

Answer 6

It sounds like colostrum. Even when my milk came in I still had a little of this left that would come out with the breastmilk but after about a week it started to turn white. Maybe this is what's happening or it could be that her milk is just a different color.

Answer 7

Breast milk can look different shades, depending on mom's diet. I have seen breast milk even look more blue that white. I have seen lots of breast milk that color, and I believe that may be an indicator of the fat that is in the milk, and necessary for the baby.

Answer 8

You have some pretty good answers already. Breast milk can be many colors. Some has more cream in it that others. I have seen from white, to Yellow, to blue, to green. I hope your daughter can get that baby to latch on. Has she tried dripping milk on her nipple to get baby to latch. Good luck.

Answer 9

The color of the milk sometimes depends on diet as well as the time of day she pumps. At 6 days, that is pretty much the color (at least it was for me, and I was just fine)

Answer 10

for the first few days even week or more it should be this is called colostrum. it is a really good thing for the baby to have because it is full of antibodies from mom. so yes this is normal. also as for the baby not latching has she gotten help from a lactation consultant? maybe contact la lache league?