Breastfeeding can be a challenge sometimes. You want to set yourself up for the best possible breastfeeding experience. Follow these top ten tips for breastfeeding success!
Initiate breastfeeding within the first hour
This applies to those that have not yet given birth. There are so many benefits to feeding within the first hour after birth. You are getting the baby in tune with their instincts.
Baby is usually very alert just after birth, making it opportune to feed. It’s really important to get breastfeeding going within the first hour of birth. So put that as a part of your birth plan and really make it important to get breastfeeding off to a great start.
If baby is unable to breastfeed for medical reasons or other reasons, it is best to initiate pumping at this time. You can pump with a double electric breast pump or hand express to get the milk supply going. Do this at least every 2-3 hours until you and your baby are able to try nursing again.
Skin to skin
Number two, kind of goes hand in hand with the first one and it is skin to skin. This can be done beyond that first hour, but this is how breastfeeding gets initiated in that first hour.
So we’re going to take baby, and we’re going to dress baby down to a diaper. And then, mom is going to have no top on and we’re going to place baby chest to chest, and allow baby to work their way down to the breast.
That’s going to be really important it’s going to help baby go back to a natural state, and really use those instincts to get started breastfeeding.
If breastfeeding is not going well for you right now. This is a great tip to get it going again, lots and lots of skin to skin, as much as you can really make this a priority.
You really cannot have too much skin to skin. If you need more check out this post
Nice wide latch for baby
Tip number three, we want the baby to have a nice wide mouth when latching on. A lot of times hear moms saying baby is not opening very wide. It’s super important that baby gets a wide open mouth, as wide as possible, like a yawn.
If baby is skin to skin, and they’re trying that nice wide mouth, they may root around until they find the breast, so it’s super important that they get that wide mouth before the latch on happens. Which is going to get them the best amount of breast tissue. Sometimes we have to help out and kind of sandwich the breasts a little bit as well.
So practice baby opening as wide as possible. And if there is any pain during latch on, take baby off and try again. You can take baby off by inserting your pinky into the corner of their mouth like a fish hook.
If your baby is having trouble opening wide, there may be other factors: hypotonia, tongue or lip ties, jaw tension, etc. If these sound like your baby, go ahead and reach out to me to get some one on one help.
Support- Your surprise weapon for success
Tip number four is going to be support. We definitely want to make sure you have a nice support system going. And it can be very invaluable to your success with our partners. I include this a lot in my breastfeeding basics course, which is that support is vital to success. Make sure you have your people around you, and they know what your breastfeeding goals are.
Follow early hunger cues
Now tip number five is: follow those early hunger cues. Babies will let you know before they cry, that they’re ready to feed.
Rooting- So they have their mouth open, and they’ll kind of be looking side to side for the breast. If you touch their cheeks, you can elicit that response so you can see what that looks like in your baby.
Hands to mouth
Lip smacking
Those early hunger cues happen a lot in the beginning stages of breastfeeding.
Forget the stash
Tip number 6: X the stash. I see these beautiful pictures on lots of social media platforms that have freezers full of breast milk, which is beautiful and great. It’s just not realistic, in most circumstances. A lot of times those parents are over producers, or they are pumping a lot of milk out and that’s not necessary.
If you’re going back to work. You don’t need a huge stash, about 25 ounces is probably a good start. You can do that pretty easily in a few days leading up to going back to work.
Get a tutorial on pumping
Alright, Number seven is going to be getting a tutorial on pumping. So, this might mean reaching out to a professional for help and really trying to understand what pumping is. Having someone observe a pump.
Often, I see that the flange size on the breast pump is not fitting accurately, and this means that the mom may have pain during pumping or the parent may have some difficulty with getting enough milk out. There’s lots of resources on this but a lot of times it just takes a little bit of more effort to really get pumping off to a great start.
Another key is hands on pumping so make sure you get a hands free bra, and you massage, as you are pumping as well.
Find a local support group geared towards breastfeeding
Now, number eight: Find a local support group. There are lots of local support groups, and actually since COVID, we have seen a surge in the number of virtual support groups, so make sure to look on Facebook.
I recommend using breastfeeding USA, and finding a support group through them. They have a lot of great resources there.
Find a professional for help with breastfeeding
Number nine, find a professional! An Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant can go a long way. Even if you need to do one or two sessions with someone, even if you just need a little reassurance, it’s very important.
Here at Breastfeeding Counselor we are available if you need a virtual consultation. But if you want someone local to come to your home, help you do a weighted feed, that’s great too, so be sure to look for an IBCLC or another lactation professional.
Keep going for breastfeeding success
This is my final tip, which is: keep going.
When it feels tough, keep going, be persistent, because once you get over that really difficult, you’re most likely going to be on the downhill slope.
Breastfeeding is a learning curve and that there are challenges, and it may not be 100% second nature to you and to your baby, but that’s okay. It takes a little bit of time, it takes a little bit of learning and some practice. And when you’re using those good tips, then you will find that you are going to be successful.
And, again, leverage all of those resources to help you like your support group, your IBCLC, your other local groups, those are all going to be great for you and set you upon a path for breastfeeding success.
Love these tips but want more? To get the full course, go to our page on our breastfeeding basics course. You will find everything you need to know to get started breastfeeding without feeling overwhelmed!
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