after you give birth and those next 24 hours can be really critical and really confusing
and while my specialty is birth i actually have a perfect expert to go to today to get some real
trustworthy information about the first 24 hours breastfeeding she has her own channel on youtube
that you definitely should check out i'm going to put all the links below
her name is alison tolman her channel is new little life allison tolman is an ibclc which
is an internationally board certified lactation consultant that's the highest level of expertise
you can get in the breastfeeding field definitely an expert she's also a licensed practical nurse
she's a birth doula a certified childbirth educator she's a mom of three boys herself
and she is the perfect person to go to with all of my questions about the first 24 hours okay allison
i think as soon as you're finished with giving birth it's like the next hard stage begins you
think okay i did it done baby is out but really sometimes an even bigger more confusing challenge
i feel like starts right i totally agree yeah yeah so i would love to talk about like those first 24
hours what are those what do we need to know what are the main things to think about in those first
hours and i know the question i get as a doula all the time is when should you do
the first latch like is it immediately is it is there a time frame what are your
best recommendations on this yeah that's a great question and um i worked as a doula for
a while too so i've gotten to see that first hour especially a lot of times and ideally the first
latch happens within that first hour now that can be a little different depending on how your birth
goes right so if you had a c-section your first hour is going to look a little bit differently
than someone who had a vaginal uncomplicated birth if you're at home that even looks a little bit
different too so but ideally within that first hour and there's a couple reasons for that one
is because that's when the baby is most alert and the mom too so your hormones are kind of got you
on this high you and baby and in that first hour you're you're riding it you can you can
latch on and the baby's awake and alert after that first hour both of you kind of crash a little bit
and so it can be a little more tricky because you're both tired and exhausted but don't feel
pressure to start that latch right away definitely give yourself a moment to breathe you do not have
to deliver that baby and then stress about getting that that latch right the first hour feels longer
sometimes so take a breath enjoy that baby let you know finish up you can often deliver the placenta
and things like that you can also feed the baby while that's happening but just let it happen
so if we're that first latch within the first hour what about how often in the first 24 hours
are we thinking is right for uh feeding the baby i know that's a really big concern for mothers
how do i know my baby's getting enough milk like i want to feed my baby so they can grow and we
recommend feeding on demand so that just means whenever the baby is hungry even if they just
ate 10 minutes ago if you're getting hunger cues from them we allow them to eat again and in the
first 24 hours and and few days babies will eat a lot so colostrum is your first milk that you have
and it comes in really small quantities but it is rich in nutrients and fats it is also digested
very quickly so the baby only needs a few drops of colostrum to feel full and get the nutrients that
they need but you're going to have to feed them more often because it's so easy to run through
their system so you definitely have milk in the beginning it's just colostrum it's the first milk
and so we feeding as often as they want is really going to bring in your milk supply and be the best
for the baby going forward if you want a number um typically babies eat eight to 12 times in 24 hours
all right so you can do the math there and you're like okay every two hours i need to feed the baby
um but specifically with babies that first 24 hours it's probably going to be more than that
smaller feedings um but often and that's very normal so really feeding on demand is the best
thing you can do in those first few days with any board knowing that it's a small quantity
is helpful right just like it's not it's the turnover in their stomach right it fills it
fills up empties fills up empties and so that's yeah super normal i think sometimes also it's hard
and even like those 24 hours are are so new and trying to learn everything and thinking you know
i'm feeding every hour or you know what's going on constant that sometimes people project like
this is my new reality for the next year you know you're gonna do anything else ever again
yeah right right and so it's good to know like this is the beginning this is not always going to
be like this sure but yeah this can be difficult but yeah so how do i are there any like i'm one
that if i can like check okay i'm doing it right this happened that happened are there things that
are good signs to know that we're we're getting this breastfeeding journey off to a good start
um i i really like how you phrase that question how do i know that i'm doing things right
and i think moms get caught up in that word a lot and if there was one right way to do this i would
absolutely tell it to you right now so that you can pick them off and be like i nailed it um but
there's there's not really one right way so take comfort in that knowing that you can do what's
best for you and your baby and feel good about it a couple of things you can watch for though is
breastfeeding really shouldn't be painful um now to be honest it does take a little bit of learning
curve it's not always like roses and butterflies um but if you're having pain sharp pain cracks on
your nipples bleeding things like that sores that's not normal and we need to fix that
it might be a little tender while you get used to something sucking on your nipples all day long but
it should not be painful so if you're feeling relatively comfortable that's a good sign also
your baby eating wanting to eat often is another great sign so don't think that you don't have
enough milk or that things are going wrong because your baby wants to eat a lot that's actually a
good sign that they're wanting more and more and so you're doing things right by feeding them a lot
if you give birth in a hospital definitely utilize the lactation consultant even if it's just to say
i would like you to come and watch this to make sure we're doing it right they will do that and
i love doing that as a lactation consultant being able to say you're nailing it feel great
about it and keep keep on like it's great and if there's something that we need to work on
we can talk about that too if you have a home birth your midwife can help you with that
or there's lactation consultants in your area so i would definitely utilize the the help that you
have especially in the beginning even if it's just for reassurance someone can look at you and say
you're doing great and then you'll feel confident what are some on the other hand
what are some signs that we should get help i know you mentioned with pain are there any other
things that you know kind of should alert us or the partner should be looking forward to see
i'm sure we need some help here yeah yeah pain is a big one pain during or after breastfeeding not
normal okay um cracks blisters or other nipple concerns it should look relatively the same
shape as it did when it went in probably out a little bit more which is normal but it shouldn't
look like a tuba lipstick with a flat side um the latch something isn't quite right if your baby is
lethargic or not eating well so they're really sleepy they are sleepy in the first 24 hours
i'll tell you that um but uh if you're just like i cannot get this baby to feed it's been six hours
i've tried i'm trying i'm trying that's a problem their diaper output is also a great way to tell
that things are going in right what goes in must come out so they should be having the
appropriate amount of diaper output and we can put a link to a chart down below if you want that
okay so this is what i hear from people a lot that while they're at the hospital they have
different you know shifts of nurses and that they get different information in that 21st
24 hours about like how long to feed baby on each side or you know um what are cues to look
for it's just i feel like sometimes people get worried about hearing different things
from their nurses and that it sometimes can get that um new parent like in a loop of like
which nurse was right and what should i do yeah thoughts on that yeah that's a
a great thing i think that absolutely does happen and you're gonna get that not only
from the nurses but from friends and family and even lactation professionals like i've
you know talked with mothers or like my other lactation consultant said this and i'm like well
that's probably not what i would recommend you know so you're going to get this in a in a wide
variety of places and again i'm going to go back and tell you that there's not one right way to do
this there really is the i and i'm being honest there's not a golden standard that you're missing
so take things with a grain of salt and realize so if we're talking about nurses for example
they all come with their own specific lanes of expertise maybe they had a baby that
really struggled with this one problem then personally and so they're really focused on
you need a nipple shield like that's how you breastfeed but that might just be kind of where
their experience lies i mean you just kind of have to trust your gut a little bit which i know is
not the best answer because you're like i don't know what i'm doing but take all this information
you know you and you know your baby and you know what's best for your family so take it all in and
find a provider that you trust though so you know a nurse you don't have a lot of control over your
nurses in the hospital but a lactation consultant find one that feels good to you find one that you
click with and that you trust and then go from there and i can 100 guarantee that you will make
a mistake that you will do something not ideally and that's just parenthood i mean there's nothing
unique about breastfeeding that is that you're going to do something in an ideal way and that
just is what it is so you just learn and you move on so have some grace with yourself um but really
take in the information and and do what feels best for you you've got those first 24 hours under your
belt what you're probably thinking of next is how does the next week go which alison has an awesome
video over on her channel about the next week that you can find right here and don't forget to check
out the rest of her information and subscribe to our channel and i'll see you guys next time bye
you