Baby feeding is a vital part of your continuous child care responsibility. Using feeding time to make eye contact and hold your baby are great ways to increase your mother and child bonding time. This goes for either breast or bottle feeding.

Breast Feeding Baby Considerations

1. Choose a comfortable position. You can choose any position you wish to nurse in, whether that be a seated or laying down position. It should be one that gives you the best feeding position for your baby. This may vary with the baby’s age, your comfort level and even the time of day. Cradle hold is a recommended position, with mom seated upright, holding baby like a cradle. This allows you to hold the baby with one hand and use the other to support or move your breast.

2. Have a  supporting pillow. No matter what position you decide on, get some support! A nursing pillow or using couch or bed pillows helps you hold baby up will save strain on your neck and back.

3. Baby Placement. A good latch is one of the most important parts of breastfeeding comfortably. This directly goes back to a good position of the baby. Your baby should be belly to belly with you and chin to breast. If baby is twisted or has their head turned it can make it not only more difficult for them to get milk, but it can make your nipples sore. While baby is nursing you want to look for a few things to ensure all is well. The baby should have their lips flared around the breast. If you pull the lower lip down a bit (while they are nursing) the tongue should be curled around the breast. You can also usually hear baby swallowing and watch their ears wiggling when actively nursing.

4. Latch! Use your one hand to cup the breast and offer it to baby. Baby should open his or her mouth wide enough to take a good portion of the areola tissue (darker portion of the breast) into the mouth. As baby does this pull them closer to the breast and watch them nurse.

5. Baby needs a break, it’s time to change sides or is finished, simple slip a finger in the corner of their mouth to gently break the suction. If you don’t do this you will cause yourself a lot of pain. You can then offer the other side following the same steps.

Make every breastfeeding time a worth while one! Take into consideration your comfort and your baby’s without compromising your baby’s needs.