Getting baby in the right position and helping baby latch on correctly is about the most difficult and the most crucial part of breast feeding. To start off well, get your baby’s lower jaw to latch on from behind/under the nipple. This may involve tilting baby’s head back a little. It is important that the lower jaw makes contact with your breast before the upper jaw. Make sure baby’s mouth is open wide enough and a great proportion of the areola and some of the lower part of the breast is inside the baby’s mouth.

Ensure that the entire nipple and areola is well inside baby’s mouth with the nipple almost making contact with the upper inner part of baby’s mouth (the roof of the mouth-to stimulate baby to suck). If you don’t get the right latch on and you continue with it, you are would soon begin having pains in a few days’ time.

Before attempting to insert your nipple for sucking, wait for baby to open his mouth. When breastfeeding; your baby’s nose should be almost touching your breast. Don’t be afraid that they can’t breathe, because if they can’t, they would pull out immediately. Please see image below. It shows

Breastfeeding isn’t meant to be painful. If you are feeling pain when breastfeeding, then you are doing it wrongly. Release the latch (Separate from the baby and try again).

breastfeeding correct latch

Feed before your baby gets hungry. Some moms choose to feed every two hours or three (about 8 – 10 times a day). Observe your baby; most babies give signs when they feel like eating not just crying and yawning but also sighing, sucking fingers,  giggling and maybe smiling too. If you take time to observe your little one, you too can know what signs he or she gives and it makes things a lot easier for you, your baby and any caregiver or domestic help you may have.

After breastfeeding, express just enough milk to spread/rub on the nipples. It really helps with the dryness and cracking. It can help prevent soreness too.

Get the best position that works for you and your baby. Lying down to nurse works for some but for others, it makes milk wriggle through from inside the mouth into baby’s ear. This can lead to an infection. We suggest you sit up straight when breastfeeding and have a pillow on your back so you are comfortable. If you wish, you can get a four to six inch foot high stool to raise your legs a little for extra comfort instead of forming artificial heels with your legs. It helps raise your baby up too. If you must lie down, make sure baby is facing upwards and not also lying on his side.

breastfeeding correct latch

Pay attention when your baby is breastfeeding. Watch him or her closely not only for choking but also make sure he isn’t going to sneeze. Newborns and infants sneeze often at the slightest irritation. If your baby sneezes while latched on to your breast, it creates a bite like feeling and can be so so painful on your tender breasts even when they have no teeth, just gums. Now imagine the pain when some teeth are involved. This is another source of pains in the breasts. So if he is about to sneeze, separate baby from the breast until he sneezes, then continue.

If you experience blocked milk ducts, where you know your breast is full of milk but has a sudden lump becomes painful and supplying little milk, try to massage it with warm water. Or use warm (or warmer) bag. A bag which contains fluid and this bag can be heated up. Place it on your breast. If you don’t have a warm bag, take a sachet of pure water and put in a pot and boil it. Don’t boil too much or it may make the bag too weak. Just warm to be warm enough to have some effect and then hold it on your breast. It should help. Please don’t use hot water, use warm water. And try those whose bags have better thickness. If your warming bag is really hot, wait for it to cool a little before placing. You could also try to massage it gently when you are breastfeeding. Blocked milk ducts are caused by not breastfeeding often or not utilizing your milk supply. So if baby is already fed, use a breast pump to extract and store. Also it could be caused by using bras that are hard and strong as they put pressure. Using your normal bras when breastfeeding could have some consequences.

breastfeeding correct latch

If you have large breasts and large nipples but your baby has a small mouth, you may have difficulty starting but that’s no problem, gently squish your nipple so it can fit. And to separate baby from breastfeeding, don’t just pull away, insert your index finger through the side of baby’s mouth. Do this gently. Another reason why your hands must be washed clean always.

If your nipple is small or short or inverted (pointing inwards) or bent and baby can’t find it long enough to latch onto, consider latch assist or nipple everter. It is a small tool that does a big job.

For flat, inverted and depressed nipples

Learn to improvise. This helps save lots of money. For example, instead of panicking when they ran out of nursing pads, some women bought sanitary pads that are ultra-thin, then folded and used them. Another example of improvising is using a normal pillow instead of buying a nursing pillow or buying storage bottles instead of non-reusable milk storage bags.

The more hydrated you are, the more milk you make. The more water in your body, the more it converts to milk. The less water in your body, the less milk you make. So drink more water, and less sugary drinks…carbonated water that is used to make soft drinks and caffeinated water don’t help with milk production. Ordinary water is just perfect. Drink enough each day.

When breastfeeding please be careful what you eat or drink. Drugs or alcohol should be avoided whether they are prescribed or for social reasons. They find their way into your milk and baby takes them in. If you are breastfeeding and have to take any medicines, please talk to your doctor first, he knows what to do.

When breastfeeding, try not to multitask like working with a computer or doing domestic chores. You could spill on yourself and you could lose concentration even for a second and something could go wrong. If you must multitask, please get a breast pump and a hands free bra.

Hands free Extraction Bra

Nursing is a special time together. You’ll have bumps in the road, but don’t give up. And if you need any help, please contact us. We would love to help. But now we are going to list some items that can help make nursing really easy and fun for you.

The Latch Assist/Nipple Everter: Many women suffer from flat, short, bent, or tiny tip nipples. This is very common and makes feeding their baby such a difficult task. Many women have been struggling with this, not knowing that there is a tool that can help. It becomes more complicated if your baby experiencing a temporary tied tongue or too tired to suck because of illness or born premature. The Nipple Everter can help. It is such a tiny tool but does great work and makes breastfeeding more fun and easier. Please click here to read more about it or place an order.

Nursing Bras and Maternity Bras: They help makes nursing easy for both mommy and baby. They provide fast access to the feeding area for both mommy and baby and immediately afterwards, mommy can get suited up quickly. Nursing bras are also made to be soft by design so that they soothe the nipple which are very sensitive during the late stages of pregnancy or while breastfeeding is taking place. They are without wires so you can sleep in them without having blisters (for women who have to sleep with bras).  We have three bra options on our site. Please check and read about each.

Breast Pumps: Most Moms who know the huge benefits of feeding babies exclusively on breast milk for the first six months to one year of their life don’t joke with it. A breast pump is an indispensable tool to achieve this goal of exclusive breastfeeding. With it, you can extract enough milk for your baby and preserve it for when it becomes needed in case you are not available. We normally recommend the Mothersbond superfast electric breast pump. It is a very effective pump that delivers and is low priced compared to its peers. This is a pump you can buy without having to spend a fortune. Not only is it fast (for a woman who is lactating well), it also improves your breast shape.

Hands free Extraction/Pumping Bras: These bras are mostly used by moms who own breast pumps and wish to remain active even while pumping. Holding a breast pump up with your hands can be exhausting. You sometimes have to hold it up for 30 minutes or even more depending on how well you are lactating. They help you save time especially if you have to pump in the mornings while preparing for work too. They are very comfortable; you can use them as normal bras just in case you find yourself having to wear them out. The extraction holes closes up when they are not in use.

Finally, if you are a new mom and still having big tummy, consider our post pregnancy compression options.

To learn more about any of these breastfeeding related products and also to place an order, please click on them.

The Latch Assist/Nipple Everter: (Helps/Assist women whose nipples are short or flat or bent; makes it hard for baby to latch)

Nursing Bras and Maternity Bras: (Provides easy access for mom and baby to nurse. Also provides comfort for nursing moms that normal bras can’t provide).Option 1.

Mothersbond SuperFast Electric Breast Pumps: (helps extract breast milk for storage and suitable for women practicing exclusive breastfeeding or who have to be away from baby but still wants baby to get full nutrition of her milk)

Hands free Extraction/Pumping Bras: (Helps hold breast pumps in place in case you would be pumping for several minutes and need your hands free).

For Post pregnancy abdominal compression;

Post Pregnancy High Waist Panties

Post-Partum Compression Wear

3 in 1 Post-Pregnancy Abdominal Binder

About Mothersbond

Mothersbond is Nigeria’s No 1 Mother and child care online store and resource center. We support moms and their babies by answering questions on issues of importance to them and also sell high quality yet affordable products that aid the bonding process between mother and baby. We welcome your comments and feedback on our products and write ups. Please sign up on the home page to receive further advice, bonding tips and great products directly to your mail box. You can also ask us a question.

Images Courtesy of Paolo Patruno, bkreader.com, Wikipedia, Michael Brian.