When you feel your baby latch onto your nipple in the delivery room, be sure to take a deep breath. Your breast is creating a substance called colostrum that will help protect your child from disease while they are without mother’s mature milk. If your child isn’t able to find or keep latching on, don’t panic.
Breast feeding is an art form and can be difficult to master. But once you begin, it’s important that you not be discouraged if it isn’t perfect at first. Find a nurse who can show you what to do, or just ask someone for guidance. Remember that breastfeeding should not be so challenging that you never want to do it again: Seek out help!
Nursing can be a tricky business, pay attention to your breasts while feeding – the suction sensation is what triggers the production of milk. If it hurts your baby latches on incorrectly. The key is repetition, and you’re going to want to feed again soon. Pumping is also key if you don’t have access to a baby or your breasts are pleasantly engorged with milk.
It’s a good rule of thumb to breastfeed your child between eight and ten times per 24-hour period, or approximately eight to 12 hours apart. This gives your infant enough time to digest any milk they may have taken in and once they start to show signs of hunger (by letting you know through their crying) then it’s time to give them the next round. During the first few days of your baby’s life, it may be necessary for you to wake them up from sleeping in order to feed them so make sure you take into account any time that has been spent asleep recently – perhaps waking up every 4 hours for just 5 minutes at a time will help regulate how many times per day you’re feeding your newborn.
One of the best ways to make sure your baby is well-fed and getting plenty of nourishment is through breast feeding. It is ideal if you are able to breastfeed in a relaxed, serene location that prohibits unwanted interruptions so that the concentration can be on you. For this reason, it may be wise to choose a place like your bedroom or home office with zero distractions because even something as minor as a smartphone notification can have a huge impact with regards to how much time seems to pass by when you’re engrossed in feeding your newborn.
