Breastfeeding in hospital can be a little challenging first few days.... the lac of nutrient dense foods and small narrow hospital beds can be little uncomfortable, some tips when breastfeeding during your hospital stay are :
〰️ keep hydrated, with water and warm teas, the hospitals provide this but maybe bring some still tea (breastfeeding tea) have this on stand by all thru the day
〰️ eat snacks and every main meal, when your healing do not skip a meal, this will slow your milk coming in, nourish your body right. Get your partner or family member to bring some snacks, fruits, warm oatmeal so you can make it yourself, easy to warm soups with broths. White bread and cheese can make you even more constipated..
〰️ bring a breastfeeding pillow with you some hospitals provide these but usually they are quite hard and with beads. Especially having a csections it’s good to have this pillow so your hands can be free
〰️ asking for help, don’t be afraid to buzz that bell in your room, the nurses are there to look after you, during corona there are strict hospital hours for dads to visit which means the mums are not getting the support they need during the first few days. So use that bell when you need, don’t Try do everything on your own
〰️ skin to skin , after babe has fed keep them close or during changing times if it’s nice and warm in your room, have a snuggle with your new babe
〰️ there are many apps to track your feeding times and frequency, a easy way is to keep a hair band on your wrist and switch sides which one you did last time.
〰️ shower every day or evening which ever works, as soon as your partner comes this is the first thing you could do, wash the birth off you with the help from the nurse while dad can have snuggles with baby. If your feeling good will give you the energy to feed.
〰️try nursing every 2/3 hours and don’t let baby sleep longer than 4 hours.
〰️ it’s normal for babe to loose some weight the first few days while your milk comes in, ask how much weight is to much with your nurse on duty if this is something to worry about or not, be informed
Picture : Pauline Bossdorf
