Feed your Baby Comfortably with Breast Feeding Basics
As your little one arrives, your every concern and attention surrounds him all day long. You do every basic and essential thing for your baby that will keep him in safe guard. But you cannot treat him like you treat everyone else. And from here your courses to nurture your baby starts. It involves everything including bathing, breast feeding, soothing and holding. One of the most important thing is breast feeding. It is said that a mother has to feed a baby within one hour just after giving birth to him. Hence it is very important to know the basic technique to hold your baby conveniently and feed him.
Prepare your breast
It is often seen that women are so concern with their pregnancy that they do not pay heed on their breast development. The breast can alter its form by a change in nipples shape and areola. Hence it is advisable to consult the doctor or lactation consultant about such changed form. If you have developed flat or invert nipples then it should be immediately checked. It will prevent complications at the time of feeding in hospital just after delivery.
The first beginning
As it is told earlier, a baby should be fed within one hour just after the delivery. It is very important to learn the methods for lactating. Apart from gaining knowledge from many articles on web, ask the hospital lactation and nursing staff to teach you and demonstrate the method of cuddling a baby & feeding.
Positioning
The best position is when you and your baby are comfortable. If you are feeding while sitting on a chair, your lap usually slope down in a relaxing manner. Hence, use low foot table to support your feet so that baby can be heaved up by lap to the level of your breast. You can also use supporting pillow or cushions made especially for the babies. In whatever position you feed, always bear in mind that a proper distance and level is maintained between your nipple and baby’s mouth. Improper distance can choke the baby while sucking. Make sure that the weight of your breast should not be thrust to your baby’s face.
As the breast tends to become heavy during pregnancy, it needs to be supported while feeding the baby. You can support your breast in ‘C’ shape. Hold your breast with your hand with thumb placing on upper side and the rest of fingers holding the lower weight of a breast. This shape helps you to identify if your baby is comfortable with the position of feeding or not. Moreover it prevents the blocking of your baby’s nose and he can inhale properly through his nostrils.
Latching process
It is also important to see if your baby is latching on the breast correctly. Always bring your baby near to the breast not your breast to your baby or else you end up in putting weight to your baby’s face. Ensure that the baby’s nose should be resting above your nipple so that he can breathe comfortably. Position your baby with his tongue in the lower part of areola so that the suction can be done easily. Keep checking in the middle of feeding whether the baby is comfortable or not.
Keeping such methods in mind, you can develop your own confidence to hold a baby while feeding. You can also try changing the position when you get skilled with the basic techniques. Always consult a lactation consultant in case of any doubt or breast problem.