It’s not until a person begins their breastfeeding journey that they truly realise the time, energy and commitment it takes to nourish their little one. In particular those early days of breastfeeding, when you are establishing your milk supply and spending nights constantly feeding your hungry newborn, it may feel like all you do is feed!
Breastfeeding a newborn can feel relentless but also incredibly rewarding. The knowledge that comes from knowing you are providing breast milk for your baby can be very empowering. It’s this feeling of empowerment that can keep us going even on the hardest of days. Those days where we question our milk supply and wonder if we can face another night of cluster-feeding.
During these times of doubt, it can be important for new parents to seek reassurances that they’re doing the right thing and that their baby is content and happy. They want to know if breastfeeding is going well and their baby is getting enough milk. One way parents can seek peace of mind is by tracking breastfeeds and other feeding information.
Peace of mind
Many parents are turning to Onoco to help them track and record breastfeeding sessions. It allows them to accurately record how much time they spend breastfeeding in a day/week/month. This can be especially important during the newborn phase, when baby is being weighed regularly and your midwife or healthcare provider wants to know how much baby is feeding during the day and night.
Being able to easily record and track breastfeeds through the app mean you have a breastfeeding log to look back on anytime you want. It can be a useful guide to refer back to in your sleep-deprived state and to show your midwife or healthcare provider if there are any concerns around weight gain. You can also record things like wet and dirty nappy output – which is another key indicator if the baby is getting enough milk.
Shared care
By recording breastfeeding sessions as and when they happen, it is also removing the mental load of new parenthood. The app has lots of functionality so that you can record details like what breast baby fed from and for how long. You’d be surprised how many times you sit down to feed your baby and forget what side you fed from last!
You can also track bottle feeds – which is handy if you are feeding your baby a bottle of expressed milk or infant formula. All this can help both parents have a good sense of how much a baby is getting. It offers an element of shared care so that the breastfeeding parent doesn’t feel like it’s just them responsible for feeding their baby. They know that if they need to spend time away from their baby, their partner or another caregiver knows when baby fed last and when they may be due another feed.
A change in habits
The other benefit of tracking breastfeeds is that over time you may see how feeding patterns begin to change. As the baby gets older you may find their feeds don’t last for as long and they go longer stretches between feeds. The ‘lifetime statistics’ section of the app allows you to get a clear idea of time spent breastfeeding over the course of many months. Alongside feeding information, you can also keep track of and monitor key developmental milestones that your little one is experiencing.
As you settle into life with your newborn and find your feet together, you may find you rely on the app less and less as a feeding journal and use it more as a development and learning journal for your baby. However, many parents continue to use it to record time spent breastfeeding. Afterall, the results can be inspiring to look at and can keep you going on those tough days.
Eye-opening statistics
So far Onoco has seen 330,000 breastfeedings added to the app during 2023 – and we’re not even half way through the year! It’s clear more parents than ever are looking at ways to track and record breastfeeding sessions and reduce the mental load of new parenthood. It can be incredibly eye-opening to realise how much time you dedicate to nourishing your time. Now, when you hear people say breastfeeding is a full time job you get it!
Having a visual calculation of time spent breastfeeding really does drive home the fact breastfeeding is a big commitment – bringing with it a sense of pride and achievement that your body is providing nutrition to your baby as and when they need it.
Anyone that has had a successful breastfeeding journey will probably tell you it wasn’t easy and they encountered many bumps in the road. They’ve probably needed breastfeeding help and support to make it all work. Having a tool to easily track breastfeeds can really help a new parent feel confident and in control when it comes to feeding.
You can find out more about Onoco, and download their app here.