Hey mama, today let's chat about all the newborn breastfeeding tips that I know.
Deciding whether or not to breastfeed your baby is a huge decision and if you are anything like me you are doing all the research you can to make yourself as informed as possible about it.
As a mom of 4 who nursed them all, I am giving you my top newborn breastfeeding tips that will help you!
You are going to learn about all the newborn breastfeeding tips from newborn breastfeeding positions, newborn breastfeeding schedule, breastfeeding products, and more.
After learning about all of these newborn breastfeeding tips, you are going to feel prepared to start this breastfeeding journey with your newborn.
Let's jump into the best newborn breastfeeding tips that every nursing mom should know about.
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Best Newborn Breastfeeding Tips
Hey Mama! I am so proud of you for considering breastfeeding your newborn. Not that I have anything against using formula, I have done that too.
But there is nothing like breastfeeding. You are bonding with your newborn in a way like no other. Your baby is also learning that you are pretty important, you are the FOOD!
No bones about it, it will exhaust you but you can do this!
If you have questions that weren’t answered here or just want to chat, please leave them in the comments below and I will get back to you asap!
Newborn Breastfeeding
1. Breastfeeding is HARD WORK.
And I mean hard work, mama! Your body is working to produce milk for your newborn but it will leave you exhausted.
2. Breastfeeding takes DEDICATION.
You are on call for the duration of your breastfeeding journey 24/7. No one else can do it but you.
That may seem daunting but if you can make it to your goal easily by getting on a schedule.
3. Breastfeeding is TIME-CONSUMING.
Babies eat all the time at first, and when they are going through a growth spurt. And they can get anywhere from 10 minutes to 40ish minutes at a time.
So, find some good books, podcasts, movies, and so on that can entertain you. And get comfortable.
I was able to get through so many books while I was nursing.
4. You will have questions, and that is ok.
Contact your doctor and the lactation nurse(s) in your birthing center. They are a wealth of knowledge that can be so helpful.
I called multiple times with my 1st baby.
5. Equip yourself with the right breastfeeding items.
There aren’t many but they make a world of difference.
I am going to go over those next.
Newborn Breastfeeding Products
1. Nursing Bras
Nursing bras are tailor-made for this task, so use them.
There are so many on the market, and I tried a few before I landed on these nursing bras.
Super sexy, I know! But you are a breastfeeding mom now, sometimes you will have to go with the practical.
Don’t worry, will be back in your regular/sexy bra before you know it.
2. Night Nursing Bras
You will want to wear this night nursing bra while you sleep. They are so comfortable and easy to work with when you are exhausted.
I wore them day and night for the first few weeks because they are that comfy and they helped with my tender breasts.
These bras also work well to hold your nursing pads in place so you don’t leak all over.
3. Nursing Pads
And speaking of nursing pads, you should check these out.
They help prevent almost all leaks from getting on your shirt, yes you will leak. Leaking mostly happened to me overnight.
I tried other ones and these were the most absorbent and comfortable.
These also stayed in place amazingly.
4. Nipple Cream
Hopefully, this won't happen to you but you may have sore or cracked nipples due to breastfeeding. Your nipples are not used to being a food source!
Sorry to say, if this happens it hurts.
You will want to have this nipple cream on hand. It will help to heal quickly and it is safe for your baby.
A little goes a long way!
5. Nursing Pillow
Your newborn is going to get heavy. Give your back, arms, and neck a break with this nursing pillow.
You are also going to be sore around your tummy and this pillow will help keep your baby off of it until you heal.
This pillow is amazing. It held up for my 4 babies and then 4 other babies since I did in-home daycare.
6. Breast Therapy Pack
If your breasts are sore due to engorgement, plugged milk ducts, or a variety of other reasons, these breast therapy packs can help.
They are so good, flexible to fit right where you need, and can be used hot or cold.
Newborn Breastfeeding Positions
According to What to Expect.com, these are the most common breastfeeding positions.
- Cradle Hold
- Crossover Hold
- Football Hold
- Laid-back Position
- Side-lying position
Try them all out to see which is the most comfortable for you and which is most comfortable for your baby. You never know which one is going to work best for you.
Don't be afraid to switch things up either. One position may work for a while and then your baby may not like it anymore.
Personally, I landed on the cradle hold for all of my babies. But I did give each of them a try with each baby.
Newborn Breastfeeding Schedule
You and your baby are new at this breastfeeding thing, so it may take a little bit to get into a schedule. Don’t worry about it! It will come soon enough.
For the first 2 weeks or so, it is fine to let your baby eat whenever they are hungry. Their tummies are so small and can’t store enough milk to keep their hunger down.
After the 2-week point, I would work on a schedule. It will take some work too.
The schedule to shoot for is about every 2.5 – 3 hours during the day. So, if you start feeding at 9 a.m. the next time you should expect to feed it about noon. It doesn't have to be exact.
This should be the same schedule for overnight. Eventually, overnight you will want to get to a point where your baby can make it about 6 – 7 hours without eating.
If you work on it, you can get your baby to sleep that long, or “through the night”, by 2.5 – 3 months old.
Newborn Breastfeeding Time
At first, your newborn won’t take long at all to eat. And it makes sense, they have itty bitty tummies.
But as they grow, feeding time will increase. It is completely normal for your newborn to nurse on the 1st side for 15 – 20 minutes. The second side will then take about 5 – 10 minutes.
This feeding time will be pretty steady unless your baby is going through a growth spurt. In that case, they will want to eat multiple times with very little time in between feedings. This is normal.
Breastfeeding Tips For Latching
Getting your newborn to latch correctly is super important. If you don’t it can cause sore or cracked nipples, and your milk may not let down for your baby.
This article on What To Expect, will explain everything you need to know about getting a proper latch.
They can explain it way better than I can. If I tried explaining it, I would really just copy their article (and you know plagiarizing is a big no – no!)
Breastfeeding Tips For Producing More Milk
Some moms out there are milk-producing machines. I envied every one of you, as this was not me.
I had to work so hard to produce more milk for my babies.
There are some things you can try to help out production though.
Drink an enormous amount of water!
I loved having the Hydro Flask water bottle with me all the time.
If I am being honest, I have 2 of them. I got the 22oz size since it fits in my car and stroller cup holders.
Since I have finished my breastfeeding journey the Stanley Quencher has come out and it is amazing!
Consider lactation supplements.
My doctor told me about these lactation pills which are meant to help increase milk supply. And boy did it.
My milk supply increased so much that I had to start pumping in the mornings after my son had breakfast. It worked great to build up my frozen milk supply.
Also, concentrate on you eating enough healthy fatty foods. My milk was comparable to skim milk but I didn't realize this right away.
By baby number 3, I had to eat a whole avocado, healthy nuts, ice cream, and dark chocolate every single day to keep milk fat up.
Breastfeeding Tips For Pain
You may get so lucky and not have any pain with your breastfeeding experience, and wow, this would be amazing for you!
If you do have some pain, know that it is normal.
When your milk comes in, you may have engorgement and this can leave you feeling tender. There is a section below that I talk all about how to help with this.
When I had my first baby, I had cracked nipples, OUCH!!!
My baby would latch on and I would wince in pain. I called the lactation nurse at my hospital and she recommend I get this nipple cream.
It is so good and healed up my nipples fast, and I was grateful for that.
Another kind of pain that nursing mamas may have is mastitis. I was so fortunate to not get this but so many of my mama friends did.
If you are having these symptoms, make sure you reach out to your doctor. You will most likely have to be put on some medication to get it to go away.
Breastfeeding Tips For Engorgement
Breast engorgement is when your breasts are so full of milk that your baby may have trouble latching or cannot latch at all. It can be quite painful and your breasts may be as hard as rocks.
It took until my 4th baby to experience serious breast engorgement, and I mean it was CRAZY!.
I was so full that there was no way my son could latch on, let alone cross my arms. When I am not prego or nursing I usually have a small chest, 34B, so having boobs that big was quite the experience for me.
Thankfully there are ways to help with engorgement.
You can jump in the shower and let warm to hot water run on your chest, and then manually try to express some milk. It won’t feel good at first to do this but power through.
I was so full though that this wasn’t enough.
My husband, bless his heart, got my breast pump down from the closet and I pumped for a few minutes, only long enough for me to notice that my boobs weren’t hard as rocks anymore.
You can also use those flexible breast therapy packs I mentioned above. They work great for engorgement since you can use them hot or cold.
Breastfeeding and Going Back To Work
If you are wanting to continue breastfeeding your baby while you go back to work, don’t fret, it is completely doable.
It will take some dedication and daily planning on your part.
1. Get the right equipment for it.
This breast pump does a phenomenal job and will last through multiple babies.
It comes with storage milk bottles, a small cooler, a specially made ice pack, along with everything you need to run the pump.
If you end up needing to freeze some extra milk, you need these milk freezer bags.
I used them with all 4 of my babies and never had a problem with leaking.
2. You need to make sure your employer/immediate boss knows you wish to do this.
There should be space for you to go and do this.
3. Try to pump at least 2 times while at work, if possible 3.
This will help keep your milk production up.
4. Drink water while you pump.
It will do wonders to help keep your milk supply up. Water will also help reduce dehydration and stress headaches.
5. When you get settled in to start pumping, scroll through some pictures of your baby.
It could help your milk let down quicker and more fully.
6. Don't be surprised to find out that one of your breasts probably produces more milk than the other.
Mine was about 1 ounce different but one of my sisters would be closer to 2 ounces different.
This post was all about the best newborn breastfeeding tips.
Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions or just need a mama friend to chat with.
I look forward to hearing from you and thanks for stopping by.