The ability to eat breast milk is invaluable to any baby.
Mom's milk is a natural food that contains vitamins and nutrients necessary for the baby.
How to breastfeed: preparation
In order for the newborn to be able to get the right balance of fats and carbohydrates with breast milk, it’s not enough just to eat right.
There are many rules by which the mammary glands are prepared for the upcoming feeding. Only with proper preparation, milk will arrive on time, and most importantly in the right quantities.
Why prepare your nipples for feeding and how to do it right:
1. Carefully inspect the nipples. When retracted or flat, it will be difficult for the baby to grab the nipple. But how to determine this? Everything is quite simple, a normal nipple under the influence of cold will begin to stretch forward and take on a convex shape. The retracted nipple, on the contrary, will begin to retract into the areola, flat - has no shape. Such a non-standard form will greatly impede the retention of the breast in the infant's mouth. This is not a serious problem, but it’s better to try to deal with it.
2. Buy the right underwear. Nursing bra must be correct and natural. The cups should come unfastened.
What should never be done?
1. Do not temper the nipples. Expectant mother does not need to rub them with a towel or resort to other folk methods. You need to remember: nature has prepared your breasts for feeding, you can only slightly correct some of the problem points. Be sure to remember that any actions with nipples in the later stages, can lead to the fact that the uterus will come in tone and provoke a premature birth.
2. Do not soften the nipples with cream. Most likely, not all girls and women know that breasts can independently produce lubrication! It is allowed to use the ointment when small cracks form on the nipples.
How to prepare breasts with flat nipples
There is no reason to panic. If you don’t take care in advance, after a while the baby will be able to stretch them to the desired state. The main thing is to completely abandon pacifiers and bottles. Feeling comfortable objects for sucking, the baby simply abandons his chest. So, what is the preparation:
1. Exercises. The areola needs to be stretched, to do this, grip it between your fingers and slightly stretch it. It is very important to do this action carefully, as the uterus can come in tone, and contractions will begin, ahead of schedule. For each of your actions, take no more than one minute.
2. Consult a doctor.
3. Take away all the nipples and bottles you bought.
4. No need to listen to the advice of friends and relatives. Since, for sure, many will say that it is better to bottle feed than with such nipples.
5. After feeding is started, use a breast pump and express milk manually.
To stretch the nipples, it is recommended to use special pads, they lightly press on the areola (they must be put into the bra). But before you engage in such procedures, you need to ask a specialist for advice.
Sensitivity increased
Many mothers complain of severe discomfort when feeding, and the thing is that the nipples are hypersensitive. But you can get rid of such trouble, and you even need to:
• buy bras made of coarse fabric;
• Never rub your nipples or use lotions containing alcohol. Under the influence of such manipulations, the nipples are injured;
• Have air baths as often as possible. You can also massage your chest with ice cubes;
• massage your chest.
With proper grip on the chest, the discomfort will most likely disappear on its own in a few days. If the pain continues to persist, and sometimes even intensifies, be sure to consult a doctor.
How to breastfeed: first application
The first application of the baby to the mother’s chest is a logical conclusion of the birth, as well as a powerful incentive to establish lactation and keep it as long as possible. After the baby is born and cries for the first time, the doctor cuts the umbilical cord and puts it on the mother’s chest, while he helps him find the chest and grab the nipple. This is how the very first application takes place, but it lasts no more than five minutes. Why so little? It must be remembered that the child has just been born, and he is completely naked.
The meaning of the first attachment to the chest is not to feed. First of all, the child will receive valuable drops of colostrum, and therefore immune defense for a small organism.
No less important is attachment from a psychological point of view. After birth, the whole environment around the crumbs is unfamiliar, for him it is a lot of stress. To feel completely safe, it is very important to be near your mother. Only in this way can he feel the warmth, hear his own voice, smell, after which the child will calm down.
All psychologists say that if after the birth the baby is immediately with his mother, she will become for him the main object of affection for his whole life. This phenomenon even has its own name - imprinting.
A few hours after birth, when the baby and mother rested and gained strength, the first, full-fledged feeding should occur.
Many mothers, especially young ones, believe that a baby should be able to suckle. But this is not at all true. If a woman in labor does not know how to feed him for the first time, obstetricians should explain everything and show. It is important that the baby take the breasts correctly from the first days of his life, otherwise he may get used to improper feeding, and then it will be difficult to wean him.
How to breastfeed: what to look for
It is very important to pay attention to what position the nipple occupies in the baby's mouth. He must tightly clamp it with sponges on all sides. It is necessary to enter it into the mouth perpendicularly, if the angle of entry is uneven or oblique, then air can enter this space. Moreover, the baby should capture not only the nipple with the mouth, but also a small part of the areola, otherwise feeding will lead to severe pain and cracks.
In order for the child to capture the nipple and the areola correctly, the mother must wrap the upper part of the areola with two fingers so that a thick fold forms and then enter it into the mouth. Many mothers ask doctors the same questions:
1. How to feed your baby if he incorrectly takes the nipple? In no case do not need to pull out the chest, he must lower it himself. To do this, insert a small pillow of your finger into the corner of his mouth, and wrap it between the gums. This method can be useful even when the child ate and fell asleep.
2. How to apply to the chest correctly if the nose is blocked? No additional actions are required on your part, the child will stop himself in order to relax.
How to breastfeed: feeding technique
How to breastfeed is the most exciting question for all mothers. You can talk about the feeding technique endlessly, and, as a rule, everyone has their own. But there are certain rules that absolutely all mothers must adhere to.
So, for example, before feeding, it is necessary to clean the baby's nose from accumulated mucus, and then wipe the circumference near the mouth with a cotton ball moistened with boric acid (one spoonful of the product is added to one glass of warm water). Before giving breast to your child, you need to decant the first drops of milk, as they can be infected.
The first days after the birth, the mother usually feeds lying on her side, after the doctor allows her to stand up - sitting. And it’s more convenient to feed just sitting on a chair whose back is high. You can lean on it.
Before eating, the baby most often becomes restless, begins to cry and open his mouth wide. In most cases, he grasps the nipple with his own lips, but if this does not happen, you can take the nipple with your fingers, as described above, and begin to drive the baby on the lips of the baby, after he opens his mouth again, just put the nipple into it. It is very important to ensure that the child not only grabs the breast, but also squeezes it tightly around the areola so that the milk can be well absorbed. Be sure to ensure that the nasal passages are not blocked by the breast.
As a rule, mothers feed the baby from one breast, and give him another for the next feeding. It is recommended to change the position of the baby during feeding, so the risk of injuring the nipple will be reduced.
Not always the contents of one breast is enough for the baby to eat, so apply to the other. The remaining milk should be decanted.
A healthy baby, after satiety, will independently be removed from the chest. However, many children eat only the first few minutes actively, and then fall asleep. Therefore, you need to remove the nipple yourself.
How to breastfeed: on the clock or on demand
Newborn babies eat often. Healthy children with great pleasure drink mom's milk. But how to understand that a child is hungry? Do I need to set a regimen for feeding, or do it on demand?
To support lactation, many women need to feed their baby on demand. This does not mean that this should be done on the first cry - any mother will be able to recognize a baby’s hunger even before he cries. On the one hand, of course, you don’t need to poke your breasts at any time when he wants, but to reassure him with some water, dummies, in order to comply with the schedule, is also not recommended.
If feeding occurs on demand, there is no need to maintain lactation, because the milk will come as much as it is. In addition, in more adulthood, babies themselves establish a diet.
In no case should you resort to messy food, because feeding on demand is a rather harmonious thing.
After a month or two after birth, it is enough to apply the crumbs to the chest 7-8 times, and if he is not capricious, then everything is normal.
At about 3-6 weeks, the intestinal rhythm will be changed, the child can poop once every few days, and not so often, and this is quite normal.
There are also children who can sleep for 8 hours, and mother thinks that this is good, because the baby is not at all restless. As a result, sugar drops and dehydration begins. And all because the time between meals is very long.
Listen to your baby, observe and study his behavior, and very soon you will be able to understand each other!
