How to start breastfeeding baby. It’s best to start breastfeeding in the first hours after your baby is born, preferably with a nurse or lactation consultant nearby to help. Although your baby will instinctively know how to suck, getting your baby in the right position and helping your baby latch may take some practice. Babies are born to breastfeed, but they have to be in the right place to receive their needed sensory cues. That right place is close to their mother, where they can smell her colostrum, hear her heartbeat and breathing, and feel her touch. Some babies will latch deeper if they find their own way to the breast. To help baby find his or her way, moms can try leaning back and resting baby on the chest.
Learning the signs of a hungry baby. Long before baby is crying, he or she shows signs of hunger: rooting, stirring and hands in the mouth. Baby may even start to stretch. Instead of waiting for baby to cry, you should nurse at the first signs of hunger.
Feeding patterns. During the day and night, newborns should be awakened for feedings every two to three hours if they have not roused on their own, with feedings lasting 15 to 45 minutes. Newborns should not go longer than four hours from the beginning of one feeding to the beginning of the next before eating again. When it comes to feeding, not every infant is the same. Some infants will feed on only one side each time while others will feed on both sides. Both patterns are completely normal.
Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine
Link: https://www.hopkinsallchildrens.org/Patients-Families/Parenting/Breastfeeding
