You will soon learn how it feels when your baby is breastfeeding well. In the early days, ask yourself what you can see, feel and hear
You should see:
- Your baby happily feeding, not fidgeting around.
- Her mouth wide open, with the bottom lip turned out.
- Rounded and plump cheeks.
- Some of the areola (the brown area of your nipple) showing above her top lip.
- Your baby taking quick sucks followed by longer, deeper sucks as your milk starts to flow.
You should feel:
- Comfortable and relaxed.
- No pain in your breast.
You should hear:
- Sounds of milk being swallowed.
- A change in the speed of swallowing from small quick gulps to longer deeper swallows.
Your baby is not properly attached if:
- You see pinched-in lips or her cheeks being sucked in.
- You hear clicking noises or lip smacking.
- You feel pain in your breast throughout the feed. If this is the case, take her off the breast by sliding your finger between her lips and your skin, and try again.
Bounty
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Comments
my baby was feeding fine for
my baby was feeding fine for the first week then all of a sudden wasn't taking to the nipple what so ever, so i had to express it but then i had a good idea and started to use nipple shield they are not the best but they do the job and he gets what he needs and he is satisfied.
My baby is 7 weeks and
My baby is 7 weeks and latches perfectly initially and throughout the feed follows the definitions of correct feeding as described in the article - however whilst following this still manages to use his tongue to push so he's only sucking the nipple - leading to agonising red and sore nipples. Plus, despite originally feeding solely by bf I wasn't producing anything like enough milk to satisfy him - he was screaming in hunger constantly despite me having to feed him for upto 1.5hrs at a time and then starting again only 1hr later. I've therefore made the decision to combination feed and refuse to feel guilty about it despite the judgement that's everywhere on this matter. Literally every baby is different and all that you can ask of yourself is that you make 100% effort to do the best you can - and this includes adapting if the perceived 'right thing' isn't actually what's best for your baby.
Breast feeding - sore nipples