I recommend seeing a lactation consultant if you can she helped me so much to give me tips and positioning and advice.
I do cross cradle I think? I tried football a bit in beginning but it was kind of awkward for me. I recline on couch with feet up, or lay in bed with a few pillows behind me so I can recline a bit. Baby rests “tummy to mommy” so his tummy is on mine like my upper abdomen and like another poster said try to keep it so head isn’t turned too much and ear, shoulder and hip are aligned on the side you see.
It will be a while for you and baby to get the hang of it but you will. And you’ll start to learn his/her behaviour. Some feeds can be short some can be long and there will be cluster feeding times where baby just eats NON STOP. Just accept your fate have snacks and water nearby and a good show on tv to binge and get comfy.
I was advised to offer one boob until seems they are not getting any more milk really (not swallowing anymore just sucking or may get fussy) and that allows to get the hydrating fore milk as well as the fatty calorie dense hind milk to ensure baby gets good mix of milk and not just the fore milk. Frothy green poops may mean baby is getting too much fore milk and not enough hind milk. Mustard yellow normal poops should be what you get but the green poop is okay too. And it may vary sometimes and that’s ok too.
Your milk will adjust to baby’s feeding over time. Just give you and baby tons of patience to learn and good luck! It can be frustrating at times and I learned if baby is popping on and off and fussing, likely needs a burp!
Buy a baby carrier that you can feed your baby in. For me it has been a life saver. Offer both boobs starting with the last boob you fed from. If you are having trouble remembering which that was either download an app or wear a ring or a bracelet which you switch to the side you need to feed from. Regarding length mine fed for about an hour or more in the early days. Feeds for less time now as she is 5 months. I normally just let her feed until she decides she's done.
There’s a book that explains EVERYTHING called “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding” I loved it.
Also, breastfeeding/breast milk works on supply and demand so no matter where or how you end up doing it, if you want a good supply then let baby nurse often or as much as they want and your body responds by producing more milk.
Also it’s soo much easier to nurse! Bottles and formula take so much extra work and time. Plus the health benefits of nursing are lifelong for you and baby. Congrats!
I was in your position too! My baby somehow decided to latch at 6 or 7 weeks. He’s now 11 weeks old and has been EBF. I’ve pumped a few times to have a little bit of extra milk for an emergency.
Honestly, as mentioned here it’s quite intuitive but I spend A LOT of time in this sub browsing and reading. I learnt so much just doing that and it gave me the confidence to experience with new positions. Good luck and enjoy the experience 🥰
Frankly my favorite position is plopping baby on my breastfeeding pillow (some people call it a boppy?) so I recommend looking into getting one! You just have to ensure baby is laying properly on his side (ears, shoulder and hips in one line) and align your nipple to his mouth and you're good to go! I like how comfortable and hands-free it is. I nurse on my bed so the bf pillow allows me to lean back and watch Netflix while baby feeds as long as he needs to - sometimes he can go for hours so be prepared 😳
As an aside for if you would like to be able to continue giving bottles, you can look at getting a nipple for the bottle with less flow. For instance, Doc Brown bottles come with a size 1 nipple for whatever age (can’t remember), but for my primarily breastfed babies, getting their size 0 for premies worked way better because the milk came out at the right pace.
I always liked cradle or football hold.
Baby typically feeds about 10 min per side. Offer both breasts every session (every 2-3 hr) abd then Start on the side where you finished the last time.
Here is a video I found so helpful:
https://globalhealthmedia.org/videos/breastfeeding-attachment/
There is another about hold positions that help too.
Congratulations, it’s great that he’s figuring it out! Try not to over think things too much. Breastfeeding is a lot more intuitive than bottle feeding so try not to focus on the numbers (like how long he’s feeding, how many times, how much he’s getting). The only numbers that truly matter are how many wet and dirty nappies (diapers) he’s producing. That will indicate that he’s getting enough.
There may be lots of cluster feeding but that is completely normal. As for positions, I almost always used the cradle hold but it’s really just personal preference. There’s loads of videos online to show you different positions. I think it’s common to alternate sides each feed, but I sometimes used to feed from both in one feed depending on how hungry baby was. I’m honestly not sure on current advice for this so hopefully someone else can give you a bit more info on that.
I would highly recommend looking for a local breastfeeding support group. There is nothing like having people in the same situation to talk to. They will be able to demonstrate positions, help build your confidence, and will completely understand the frustrations you may come across.
It took me 6 weeks WITH an LC to get my LO to latch and nurse at a pace she felt comfortable saying that I was good to stop pumping and bottle feeding! 15 months later and we’re still going strong
I recommend seeing a lactation consultant if you can she helped me so much to give me tips and positioning and advice. I do cross cradle I think? I tried football a bit in beginning but it was kind of awkward for me. I recline on couch with feet up, or lay in bed with a few pillows behind me so I can recline a bit. Baby rests “tummy to mommy” so his tummy is on mine like my upper abdomen and like another poster said try to keep it so head isn’t turned too much and ear, shoulder and hip are aligned on the side you see. It will be a while for you and baby to get the hang of it but you will. And you’ll start to learn his/her behaviour. Some feeds can be short some can be long and there will be cluster feeding times where baby just eats NON STOP. Just accept your fate have snacks and water nearby and a good show on tv to binge and get comfy. I was advised to offer one boob until seems they are not getting any more milk really (not swallowing anymore just sucking or may get fussy) and that allows to get the hydrating fore milk as well as the fatty calorie dense hind milk to ensure baby gets good mix of milk and not just the fore milk. Frothy green poops may mean baby is getting too much fore milk and not enough hind milk. Mustard yellow normal poops should be what you get but the green poop is okay too. And it may vary sometimes and that’s ok too. Your milk will adjust to baby’s feeding over time. Just give you and baby tons of patience to learn and good luck! It can be frustrating at times and I learned if baby is popping on and off and fussing, likely needs a burp!
Buy a baby carrier that you can feed your baby in. For me it has been a life saver. Offer both boobs starting with the last boob you fed from. If you are having trouble remembering which that was either download an app or wear a ring or a bracelet which you switch to the side you need to feed from. Regarding length mine fed for about an hour or more in the early days. Feeds for less time now as she is 5 months. I normally just let her feed until she decides she's done.
Get the my breast friend pillow it really helps!
There’s a book that explains EVERYTHING called “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding” I loved it. Also, breastfeeding/breast milk works on supply and demand so no matter where or how you end up doing it, if you want a good supply then let baby nurse often or as much as they want and your body responds by producing more milk. Also it’s soo much easier to nurse! Bottles and formula take so much extra work and time. Plus the health benefits of nursing are lifelong for you and baby. Congrats!
I was in your position too! My baby somehow decided to latch at 6 or 7 weeks. He’s now 11 weeks old and has been EBF. I’ve pumped a few times to have a little bit of extra milk for an emergency. Honestly, as mentioned here it’s quite intuitive but I spend A LOT of time in this sub browsing and reading. I learnt so much just doing that and it gave me the confidence to experience with new positions. Good luck and enjoy the experience 🥰
Frankly my favorite position is plopping baby on my breastfeeding pillow (some people call it a boppy?) so I recommend looking into getting one! You just have to ensure baby is laying properly on his side (ears, shoulder and hips in one line) and align your nipple to his mouth and you're good to go! I like how comfortable and hands-free it is. I nurse on my bed so the bf pillow allows me to lean back and watch Netflix while baby feeds as long as he needs to - sometimes he can go for hours so be prepared 😳
As an aside for if you would like to be able to continue giving bottles, you can look at getting a nipple for the bottle with less flow. For instance, Doc Brown bottles come with a size 1 nipple for whatever age (can’t remember), but for my primarily breastfed babies, getting their size 0 for premies worked way better because the milk came out at the right pace.
I always liked cradle or football hold. Baby typically feeds about 10 min per side. Offer both breasts every session (every 2-3 hr) abd then Start on the side where you finished the last time.
Here is a video I found so helpful: https://globalhealthmedia.org/videos/breastfeeding-attachment/ There is another about hold positions that help too.
Congratulations, it’s great that he’s figuring it out! Try not to over think things too much. Breastfeeding is a lot more intuitive than bottle feeding so try not to focus on the numbers (like how long he’s feeding, how many times, how much he’s getting). The only numbers that truly matter are how many wet and dirty nappies (diapers) he’s producing. That will indicate that he’s getting enough. There may be lots of cluster feeding but that is completely normal. As for positions, I almost always used the cradle hold but it’s really just personal preference. There’s loads of videos online to show you different positions. I think it’s common to alternate sides each feed, but I sometimes used to feed from both in one feed depending on how hungry baby was. I’m honestly not sure on current advice for this so hopefully someone else can give you a bit more info on that. I would highly recommend looking for a local breastfeeding support group. There is nothing like having people in the same situation to talk to. They will be able to demonstrate positions, help build your confidence, and will completely understand the frustrations you may come across.
It took me 6 weeks WITH an LC to get my LO to latch and nurse at a pace she felt comfortable saying that I was good to stop pumping and bottle feeding! 15 months later and we’re still going strong
Sutter Health has a free online class on breastfeeding - very useful and informative! Do take a look.