07/09/2020
𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫!!!
A newborn who’s “refusing” to latch is a newborn who’s unable to latch, so if you’ve been given the advice to keep waiting until baby is hungry, then absolutely disregard that advice! A starving baby can turn into a dehydrated baby who’s doesn’t even have energy to latch.
Similarly, if your newborn is too sleepy to nurse frequently (at least every 2-3 hours in the early days), getting feeds into them will help them perk up and become more active.
Whatever the scenario, these steps help you on your way to a healthy breastfeeding journey:
▪️𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲: spoon, syringe or cup
Are preferred. Expressed milk is first choice, donor milk or artificial milk are other options.
▪️𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲: hand express, start early and often. If you’re not sure how often, that’s where the IBCLC comes in. Be sure to check my video on hand expression for the proper technique. Use a pump after hand expressing if available to stimulate the breasts even more.
▪️𝐃𝐨 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐧: Take your top off, undress baby down to the diaper, and just put them on your bare chest. It doesn’t have to be feeding time to do this! there’s no limit on how often and how long you can do skin to skin. There’s also no expiry date on when this stops working. Skin to skin is the mother of all reset buttons, whenever there’s a problem with breastfeeding.
▪️𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐁𝐂𝐋𝐂: while it’s very important for your pediatrician to be involved in assessing the situation, I can almost guarantee you that you will get inappropriate feeding advice from a physician, unless they also hold some lactation credentials. So if or human milk feeding is a priority to you, call an IBCLC as soon as possible.
If you’re having trouble with latching your newborn, (or any age baby), give me a call. Even through virtual appointments, I am able to support you through the situation and guide you into finding a solution!
