Breastfeeding is the best way to feed your baby – whether you have a newborn or a 12 month old or older.
Breastfeeding is natural, but it is a learned skill and can take some practice before both mom and baby become experts. Seek out the help of a LLL leader or certified Lactation Consultant if you’re having trouble or if you have questions. Additionally, take a look at the following tips to help your breastfeeding relationship get off to a good start!
Latch on
Attaining a proper latch is perhaps the most crucial factor to breastfeeding success. If the baby does not latch on properly, he will be unable to suck very efficiently and will likely give you sore nipples. To achieve a good latch, sandwich your breast in one hand and guide the baby’s head to your breast with the other. “Tease” your baby with your nipple to get him to open his mouth wide. Once you see the open mouth, quickly pull baby’s mouth to your nipple, making sure he gets a good portion of your breast inside his mouth. Try not to bring your breast to baby – make sure to bring baby to your breast.
Holds
There are many ways to hold your baby while nursing. Which ever hold you use, make sure to support your arms and back with pillows, particularly when you’re first starting out. Newborn babies tend to nurse for long stretches, and you may as well be comfortable!
Many moms find the cradle hold to be easiest – simply hold your baby in your arms, his head resting in the crook of one arm and his behind resting in your hand. Hold your baby stomach to stomach so that he does not have to turn his head to eat.
You can also hold your baby in the cross cradle position – in this hold, baby’s head rests in your hand and his bottom rests in the crook of your arm. This hold gives you more control over baby’s head and might be easier when you’re starting out.
The football hold is great for moms who are recovering from a C-Section. Hold baby’s head in one hand and tuck his body behind yours, as if you’re holding a football.
Lying down to nurse can be a great way for mom to catch up on some rest while nursing. In this hold, mom lies down on her side and draws baby close to her, tummy to tummy. Support the baby’s head with your arm or hand if necessary and help him to latch on. Experiment to find out which breast you are most comfortable nursing with while laying down – some moms find the top breast to be the easiest, while others prefer to use the bottom one.
Supply and Demand
Breastfeeding is a supply and demand relationship. Mom’s breasts supply breast milk based on the baby’s demands. Beware of anything that interferes with this relationship during the first six to eight weeks while your supply is being established – bottles, formula, or pacifiers can interrupt the supply and demand relationship and result in diminished supply.
You may find that there are days when all your baby wants to do is nurse. This is perfectly normal and usually means that baby is preparing for a growth spurt. Babies increase their nursing just before a growth spurt in order to build up mom’s supply of breast milk. This ensures that the baby has enough fuel – breast milk – for the upcoming growth spurt. Things will usually even back out in a day or two.
Demand feeding
Feeding your baby on demand results in a harmonious breastfeeding relationship. Feeding your baby according to an external schedule can interfere with the supply and demand relationship discussed above and can also result in a baby who is diagnosed as failure to thrive.
Breast milk is digested more easily than formula is, and so breastfed babies may need to be fed more often. Far from being a drawback, though, this is actually a huge benefit – it means that baby is getting the food that is the absolute best for him, the easiest for his little body to digest and use.
But it does mean that he needs to be fed when he indicates he is hungry – not when the clock says it’s time to eat. After all, when you’re hungry, don’t you feel best if you have a snack?
Sleep with your baby for successful night nursing
Many families have found that bringing their baby into bed with them is a tremendous benefit to the whole family. Baby usually sleeps longer, and mom can nurse right there in bed. Once you’ve mastered breastfeeding while lying down, you can even drift back to sleep while baby finishes his meal!
Stick with it!
Finally, stick with nursing. Though the first several weeks of breastfeeding can be challenging, it is worth it. It takes six to eight weeks to really adjust to having a new baby, breastfeeding, diapering, etc. If you can make it past those first several weeks, things will suddenly seem easier. If you hit a time when you think to yourself “Oh, I’ll just switch to formula. I’m so tired from breastfeeding all night,” try instead to get some help during the day so you can rest and stick it out for just a few weeks. You’ll be happy you did.
