Breastfeeding looks easy to anybody who has never had a baby. What can be so difficult in snapping open the bra button and putting the baby to breast?
While the source may be natural, nursing know-how, especially for newbie mums and their babies, often doesn’t come naturally at all at first. I remember my first week after delivery. Choo!. The struggle was real. Fortunately, my baby learned how to latch pretty quickly.
For 4 days after I had my Sonshine, I wasn’t lactating. I felt like a failure. Ordinary milk, I can’t produce. But I kept at it till I figured it out.
The more you know about technique (how to position baby), mechanics (how to know the baby is getting enough milk) and logistics (when a meal is over and when it’s time for another), the more confident and empowered you’ll feel.
So I didn’t lactate for a few days. I got a Breast Pump but it didn’t work for me. I went on YouTube to watch videos, tah, no milk still. Here’s what worked;
1. I drank plenty of water to stay hydrated
2. Hot Pap
3. Massage both breasts with warm water starting from beneath to the top. You simply wipe your breasts with a warm face towel.
When your milk comes in
Breast milk arrives in three stages. Nature designed each for your baby’s age, making it the perfect food from the first day to the tenth and beyond:
Colostrum: When you have your baby, for the first few days you’ll notice a thin, yellowy (sometimes clear) discharge from your breasts called colostrum.
Transitional milk: Next is transitional milk, which your breasts serve up between colostrum and mature milk. It contains lower levels of immunoglobulins and protein than colostrum but has more lactose, fat, and calories.
Mature milk: This is the mature milk. Though it looks like watery skim milk, it’s packed with all the fat and other nutrients that growing babies need.#NewMumsHub
