6 Tips for How to Succeed at Breastfeeding in the First Few Days

1. Try to nurse as soon as possible after birth. While you may not feel in the best of shape after pushing that baby out, ask if you can hold your baby right away and bring them to your breast. While you may not get them to latch right away, establishing this connection can go a long way. Encourage your baby and guide them towards your breast.

Although your mature milk hasn’t developed yet, your breasts are still producing a substance known as colostrum that helps to protect your baby from infections.

2. Vary your nursing positions. You may find that a more “traditional” breastfeeding position is uncomfortable and that’s fine. What works for one mom won’t always work for another mom. For Squeaker and I, in the beginning, the traditional cradle hold did not work. Eventually we realized that the football hold and a side-to-side what was we needed.

3. Hand express if needed. One of the things that I needed to do to encourage Squeaker, was hand express a little bit into her mouth and then guide her to the breast. She was great with latching on, it was just a matter of getting here there.

4. Check your baby’s latch. If nursing feels painful, then you may need to check the baby’s latch. Ideally, your baby should have most of your nipple in her mouth when nursing.

If your baby has trouble finding or staying on your nipple, you shouldn’t panic. Breastfeeding is an art that will require a lot of patience and a lot of practice. No one expects you to be an expert when you first start, so you shouldn’t hesitate to ask for advice or have a nurse show you what you need to do.

5. Be prepared for when your milk comes in. This can be painful when your milk finally comes in. Use warm compresses or take warm showers. Just be mindful that when you take a warm shower it may trigger a let down.

6. Nurse often and on demand. When your baby is hungry (and you can see them rooting and/or searching for the breast), feed them. Often the cries are the last sign of a hungry baby. Don’t try to set a feeding schedule just yet with your baby and nurse when they want to nurse.

You should nurse quite frequently, as the more you nurse the more quickly your mature milk will come in and the more milk you’ll produce. Breastfeeding for 10 – 15 minutes per breast 8 – 10 times every 24 hours is an ideal target.

During the first few days, you may have to wake your baby to begin breast feeding, and s/he may end up falling asleep during feeding. To ensure that your baby is eating often enough, you should wake him or her up if it has been four hours since the last time s/he has been fed.