To breastfeed a baby, can sound daunting to some people. To others it may feel like it will be easy. But overall breastfeeding can be challenging. I want to help you be successful on your journey! These are 5 tips to help you successfully breastfeed.

1. Skin to Skin contact – (the keystone to breastfeed successfully)

Have you heard of the golden hour? This is when your baby is laid on your chest right after birth. I know this isn’t possible for every mama and that is okay! But if you can I really recommend it. Once you get to hold your baby place their bare skin on your bare skin. This produces oxytocin in both you and baby. Not only will this create a better bond but it will help stimulate your milk supply and help increase babies desire to feed. I suggest doing this as often as you can. Even when your baby is older! This will always help stimulate milk supply.

2. Let baby suckle immediately after birth

Bring them skin to skin and have their little face right next to your breast, bring your nipple onto their cheek/side of the mouth and watch to see what happens, your baby has a natural reflex that will cue to them to open their mouth to your nipple. Help place your nipple in their mouth. If your baby is in the NICU I highly recommend to start pumping with a hospital grade pump! If you don’t have one yet order one. The hospital carries some for you to use while you’re in the hospital. Just ask the nurse. You might not be able to breastfeed the baby right away if they are in the NICU but by pumping it will provide milk for them now and step success for later!

3. A good latch

Now, this is very important. What does a good latch look like? You want the babies mouth to cover your whole nipple and some of the areola. You want a deep latch. When the baby opens its mouth take your nipple and put as much if it into the babies mouth as you can. Here is a picture to show you what I mean.

If you have a shallow latch this can cause your nipple to rub in the babies mouth- this can cause a lot of pain and lots of sores. You want your nipple deep into the babies mouth. This will help you breastfeed effectively and without much pain.

4. Making sure you don’t get too engorged while breastfeeding.

Now engorgement just happens. It is your breasts way of telling the body to produce less milk. Around 5 days postpartum your milk supply will come in and your breasts will become engorged. It can be hard to latch a baby onto engorged breasts. Now, you want to relieve the engorgement pain without stimulating the breast to continue to produce this much. If you pump out the milk with a hospital grade pump you will continue to produce the same amount of milk or more. If you want to just feed baby on demand with the exact amount that your baby needs then, relieve your pain with a Hakka or hand expression. This will release the milk without simulating the breast to create more. I HIGHLY recommend the Hakka. Here is a link to buy it on amazon.

5. Feeding cues to breastfeed and watching the clock

When you are first breast feeding it is good to watch for hunger cues and to watch the clock. Baby hunger cues are the following- Open mouth turning to the side to try and suck on something, hand in mouth, putting anything in their mouth, starting to get fussy. These are all cues to breastfeed. While you are watching these cues also watch the clock. How long has it been? You want to offer a feeding every 2 hours for their first couple of weeks of life. If you let baby go for too long without a feeding hand they are really fussy now do this – skin to skin, cuddle them and offer a feeding. This usually helps them calm down to breastfeed.

My most important piece of advice!

Be patient and gentle with yourself. It takes lots of learning from you and baby. Tell yourself kind things like, I can do that, my breasts are capable, I can support by baby, my baby can learn how to breastfeed well!

If this is costing you your sanity ask yourself, is this working for me and my family? I do believe that fed is best! I believe a happy mom is a happy home. Please dont feel judgment by anyone. This is YOUR life and this is YOUR baby. You got this mama.

All of these tips will help you breastfeed. If you feel like you need more help please visit more blog post about breastfeeding here.