How to properly attach a baby while breastfeeding
You learn how to properly attach your baby in the maternity hospital, but when we arrive home with the newborn, it is not difficult to forget the basic rules in the heat of the struggle and slip into breastfeeding a bit "on a punk". However, if we attach our baby correctly, we can avoid a number of inconveniences.
So as a reminder:
Make yourself comfortable
We all know situations when the baby is crying, we are currently on the trot and we really don't feel like breastfeeding for the next half hour. However, resist the temptation to breastfeed "on the run" or while sitting "on half your ass". Especially in the beginning, you and your baby are just learning the right technique and you need to concentrate. Breastfeeding, like any meal, should take place calmly and undisturbed. No fast food.
Put baby to breast, not breast to baby
This point is related to the previous one. Sit comfortably, put a nursing pillow or other support and support the elbow of the hand that is holding the baby, so that it does not hang in the air and does not start to hurt you after a while. Thanks to this support, you can lift the baby and hold it high enough so that you don't have to hunch over and bend forward. Your back will take a lot of work in motherhood even without it, so save it :)
Cuddling only after eating!
You would love them, wouldn't you? But be careful, if you touch the baby's face while breastfeeding, you distract his attention from the food and confuse the sucking reflex. Thus, the baby may needlessly expel air or let go of the breast and suckle again. Therefore, hold off on cuddling until after breastfeeding. A superhuman task, we know…
Head and body in one axis
This is one of the most common mistakes. Notice if your baby does not have the body in rotation compared to the head, i.e. the baby's nose is pointing towards you, but the tummy is towards the ceiling. If so, turn the baby so that his ear, shoulder and hip are on the same axis. He will swallow much better, drink faster and not swallow as much air.
Nose from the breast, chin in the breast
Another rule of correct fit is the position of the head, which should be slightly tilted. You can achieve this by slightly pulling the baby down a few centimeters after sucking, which will detach the nose from the breast (this will make it easier for him to breathe while drinking) and the chin will, on the contrary, "stick" into it.
Meringue wide open, areola inside
Properly grasping the nipple is essential so that you do not get hurt by latching on and the nipple does not start to bleed. Therefore, before the baby sucks, make sure that the baby's nipple is wide open so that it sucks the nipple and almost the entire areola deep into the mouth. If your baby sucks on your nipple with pursed lips (as if sucking with a straw), you will squirm and he won't eat properly. As much as you probably don't want to undergo suctioning again, we advise you to do it. Gently remove the baby's breast, then lick his lip with the nipple and wait until he begins to lap at it with the nipple as open as possible.
Ugh, sounds like a taller girl, doesn't it? It is not surprising that new mothers have a lot of trouble at the beginning of breastfeeding (see also the article Beginning of breastfeeding ). But it is not for nothing that they say that practice makes perfect. Soon you won't have to think about the technique anymore and it will work itself out, you'll see :)