The first four to six weeks of breastfeeding can be challenging for new moms and babies, especially if you are a first-time mom. This happens because both the newborn baby and the mother constantly try to know the things related to it and include it in their daily routine. This bodes well for the success of a successful breastfeeding journey. Breastfeeding becomes very easy when both the baby and the mother become comfortable with it, overcoming the difficulties faced in the initial stages.
1. Take care of baby latching
Baby latching means “how a baby attaches to its mother’s breast to breastfeed. The way your baby latches can determine how successful you will be at breastfeeding. When your baby attaches properly to your breast, when your baby is breastfed correctly and milk comes out of your breast, it stimulates your body to produce more.
2. Breastfeed at short intervals
In the first few weeks after your baby is born, you should breastfeed every two to three hours. If more than 3½ hours have passed since the start of the last breastfeeding, you should wake your baby up to breastfeed.
Even if your child has grown a little, you can still follow the same routine. With this you can increase breast milk production in a natural way.
3. use a breast pump or hand
Use a breast pump or hand expression techniques to stimulate your breasts after you’ve breastfed your baby. The extra stimulation will tell your body that you need more breast milk.
Learning to express your breast milk by hand may prove useful. Many moms prefer to use hand expression using a breast pump because it is more natural. During the first few days of breastfeeding, hand expression may be more comfortable, and may help release more breast milk than a breast pump. However, it may take some time to learn.
4. Use a Complementary Nursing System
A nursing supplement is an alternative method used to provide additional nutrition to supplement a breastfed baby’s diet while the baby continues to drink breast milk. These other options may include donated breastmilk or formula. So that the child continues to get adequate nutrition.
A supplemental nursing system can be used to encourage the baby to drink breast milk, even if there is not much breast milk. If your baby gets tired because your milk flow has slowed or stopped.
5. Make healthy lifestyle changes
You may not know it, but some of the things you do every day can affect your breast milk supply. Things that can interfere with breast milk supply include smoking, combination birth control pills, stress, and fatigue. You may be able to increase your breast milk supply naturally by making some changes to your daily routine.
6. breastfeed for a longer period
Your newborn baby should breastfeed for at least 10 minutes on each side. If he falls asleep, try to gently wake him up to continue nursing. The more time your baby spends at the breast, the more help you will get.
7. Do not feed formula instead of breastfeeding
If you stop breastfeeding or give your baby formula instead of breastfeeding, your body stops receiving signals to make more breast milk. Your supply will decline unless you pump in place of that feeding. And, even though pumping can help build and maintain your milk supply, it’s not the same as breastfeeding. Your baby does a much better job than a breast pump, so try to breastfeed as often as you can.
8. Breastfeed with both breasts
During the first few weeks, breastfeeding from both sides during each feeding will help build a strong supply of breast milk. If you always start on the same side, that breast may make more milk and become larger than the other. After the first few weeks, when you feel comfortable with the amount of breast milk you are producing, you can continue to breastfeed on both sides.
9. Keep your baby awake during breastfeeding
During the first week after birth, most newborns sleep a lot. So you should not only wake her up every three hours to breastfeed. To keep baby awake, gently stroke his legs, change his diaper, burp him, or remove him from the blanket or blanket so he doesn’t feel so warm and cozy. By waking up and breastfeeding your baby, he or she will be able to get enough nutrition for the body, which also helps you create a healthy supply of breast milk.
10. emotional connection with the child
While breastfeeding is basically a good therapy for a premature baby, skin-to-skin contact has many benefits for full-term newborns as well. Skin-to-skin, also called kangaroo care, is a way of holding a baby. The child, wearing only a diaper and a cap, is placed on the mother’s bare chest and covered with a blanket. Direct skin-to-skin contact reduces baby’s stress, improves his breathing and regulates his body temperature.
11. Eat a balanced diet
It’s definitely a good idea to try to eat a little better while breastfeeding. Lactation and making breast milk require a good amount of energy. So, to build a healthy milk supply, fuel your body with well-balanced meals and healthy snacks. You can include some milk-boosting foods such as oatmeal, green vegetables and almonds in your daily diet to help you get those needed extra calories.
12. Try to get plenty of rest
Fatigue and stress can have a negative impact on your milk supply. However, when you’re a busy new mom, it can be difficult to find time to relax. Try taking a nap while baby is sleeping and know that it’s OK to ask for help. When you’re relaxed and not so stressed, your body can put that extra energy into producing healthy breast milk.