Breastfeeding the Early Days

Breastfeeding is so special and I wish more women got the support they needed to get through the first few weeks which for some can be difficult. Im not a location consultant but below are some things I found helpful in my first few days/weeks of feeding my two girls, Eden is now 1 month old and feeding like a champion, Iza is no longer feeding however did continue to breastfeed until she was two years old ( & I was six months pregnant with Eden, did you know you could feed whilst pregnant?). There are so many cool facts about breastfeeding and its benefits for mom & baby, which I love to collect into another post, for now here are things that helped me successfully establish breastfeeding with a new born. 

Do some research

This is first and of such high importance, breastfeeding is something that takes bit of work and is a new skill for both mom & baby to master together. And with any new skill learning as much as you can before the baby arrives will put you in a much better position. Go to a breastfeeding group in your area, chat to others moms who have successfully breastfeed, read books, watch videos. Also some good online resources I found with breastfeeding friendly advice (a lot of articles and advice about routines, scheduling, night training etc are not breastfeeding friendly!) are Kelly mom & La leche league , check these two articles out in particular: 

Newborn Nursing- Kelly Mom

Breastfeeding the Early days- La Leche league

Also id advice finding a good lactation consultant in your area and make contact before birth, tell them you hope to breastfeed and make sure there available for home visits around your due date. If your having trouble breastfeeding the sooner you get support the better as it can avoid many issue developing with early intervention. I was lucky with both my pregnancies my home birth midwifes where trained lactation consultants, don’t assume you hospital midwifes will be trained, many are not. 

Keep them close

Skin to skin is the best way to help your milk come in, also babies are most eager to feed within the first hour after birth, if its an option for you ask that all other unnecessary checks or washing after birth be postponed until you’ve had this important bonding time with your baby. Sit, relax and soak up your new little squish laying skin to skin on your chest, offer the breast in the first hour and most babies will be happy to latch on. 

New born babies need to feed at least 10-12 times a day, so continuing to keep them close in the following weeks helps to ensure your milk supply builds up and prevents engorgement. This is why in many cultures visitors are limited and breastfeeding mother is waited on, all she has to do is concentrate on holding her baby and feeding. 

The Fourth Trimester by Kimberly Ann Johnson is a great book which has lots of ideas for setting up your postpartum support group, id recommend it to all expecting moms. 

Latch

Next up is probably the most important thing you’ll learn when trying to breastfeed – getting a good Latch. See diagram below for what a good latch looks like, its something a baby and mom have to work on together and once mastered takes no effort. Good latch means your baby will be feeding well and your nipples will be pain free, where as a bad latch can cause bad nipple damage and mean you baby is unable to get enough milk. Getting this sorted early can mean a lot of problems are avoided. Some babies have a ‘tie’ which can cause a bad latch, however it can be fixed and any trained lactation consultant will be able to spot it. 

Beware the cluster feed

I put this in as many women are unaware that babies love to ‘cluster feed’ meaning basically hangout on your breast……for hours. As long as they are having plenty of wet and dirty nappies (and this is important, if theres no wet nappies, call a lactation consultant as there maybe a latch issue) its completely normal for babies to cluster feed during the first few days as they bring your milk in and later on during a growth spirt. See the timeline of a breastfeed baby for a rough idea of when these happen. They can be exhausting, Its helps to be ready for them, know that they are normal and that it will pass. I found knowing its only temporary and just staying in bed with Netflix enjoying the baby snuggles helped. Also learning to breastfeed lying down for those long nights of feeding. 

Time line of a breasted baby- What to Expect

Have support

Breastfeeding is amazing however it can be tiring in the early days, iv mentioned this a few times above but having support to look after the other daily tasks will give you the time and energy needed to establish breastfeeding. Be cooked for, get others to do the laundry, clean the house, look after ofter children for as long as you feel you need to rest with your new born. With Iza I didn’t leave the house for two weeks and had constant help which made all the difference in my recovery and breastfeeding journey.

One last note…….drink all the water, I swear every time the baby feeds I’m suddenly over come with thirst! Have your refill water bottle at the ready. Also eat, you actually need more calories when breastfeeding then when you were pregnant! x

❋ To get more involved and notified about new posts sign up below ❋

~

[mc4wp_form id=”62″]