With the summer now in full swing (most of the schools are closed or closing), many new mums are looking for tips and ideas of how to breastfeed in public places like parks, cafes and so on. So if you are not as audacious as our manequin, here are a few tips to get you started!
A few practical tips can go a long way when it comes to breastfeeding – practical being the operative word! Things that are so simple or obvious but need to be pointed out because you are just too tired, teary or traumatised to work out for yourself! So I am here to point out those tips for you, as I am sure they will make a huge difference. You may be asking yourself these very questions as we speak!
Happy feeding!
One of the first questions I am usually asked at my Antenatal Breastfeeding Workshops, is ‘how can I get my baby to sleep?’
After months of broken sleep for both the expectant mum and dad, my clients are quite (very/desperately) keen to get their tiny tot into good habits from the start.
So this is what I advise them to do and 9 out of 10 times it works wonders! (There will always be one that simply won’t conform – but then you have to remember, baby is going to take after one of its parents)
How do baby’s work with regards to food and sleep? This is best illustrated in a story.
In the cavemen days, a new mum and baby would feed according to their clans routine. During the day, the men would go out hunting and leave the new mum in the capable hands of the elderly women. Mum and baby would sleep most of the day, particularly in the afternoon when her milk supply was low.
Why would her milk supply be low? you may ask. Well, in the afternoon between 1pm-4pm give or take, wild animals move toward watering holes. If a mum was feeding her newborn, she would be vulnerable to being eaten by one of the wild beasts.
At night, the new mum and baby would co-sleep and nurse all night. She and her little one would be safe as the men would have returned from their days hunting and so this is when most women find their supply peaks and is most abundant.
So when your little baby is born into the world, he or she will follow their instinctual behavioural pattern and sleep all day and then want to feed all night! Sound familiar?
You are not going to change this behaviour in a day, week or aften a month but if you put a few strategies into place from the start, you will get to that peaceful period of sleep a lot quicker.
Firstly, feed your baby as often as possible during the day – at least every 3 hours (start to start). The more calories your baby acquires during the day, the less she will need to take at night – when your supply peaks.
Feed according to your breast size – small breasts need to be fed from more frequently (maybe 2 hourly), larger breasts less frequently (still 3 hourly). Small breasts will need 2 breasts at each feed, larger breasts may only need one per feed.
Keep an eye on the output – yes –what goes in must come out! The more that comes out the better! You are looking for a chain reaction with each feed. If you are not achieving this, your baby may be older than 3 wks or you need more input!
Basically, the more calories your baby takes in during the day, the less he or she will need to take in at night! Quite simple whenyou understand how.
The Beginners Guide to Breastfeeding is jam packed with this kind of advice if you are interested or expecting a baby and want to be properly prepared.
Being told that you will have problems breastfeeding before your baby even arrives, is daunting and a little stressful, so let me show you how you can over come some common problems.
Remember that everyone is different and every baby is different. Not many people will look inside your baby’s mouth when helping you attach your baby, but this is a very important part of getting it right.
So if you have flat or inverted nipples, have a quick look inside your baby’s mouth so that you can see what space your breast needs to fit into. If your baby has a high and narrow arched palate, you will need to shape your breast into a teat, the same way baby’s mouth opens. This is usually done by placing your thumb and index finger at 3 and 9 o’clock and pinching the tissue together and then once your baby does a big wide mouth, you bring baby onto the breast as quickly as possible applying pressure to baby’s upper back and shoulder area.
Make sure that your areola is nice and soft, so that your baby is able to scoop up the breast tissue and help the nipple go right to the back of the mouth, out of harms way. To soften the areola, simply massage the milk that has collected just behind the nipple, back into the breast. By doing it this way, you will not increase milk production by expressing milk off before the feed.
Some mums find pumping for a few mintues quite helpful, as it pulls the nipple out and makes it easier for baby to latch, however, I would only suggest this if the breast is not over full and engorged, as we do not want to create further engorgement or problems.
If you need more practical advice, have a look at the sore nipples guide. The Positioning and Attachment Bonus is really useful in getting a good and pain free latch.
Much love,
Geraldine
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