Baby Care

Posts Tagged ‘Brestfeeding’

One dilemma new moms face is how are they going to feed their new babies.  There are two types of baby care feeding, breastfeeding and bottle feeding.  It is wise for the mom to decide before the baby is born because nutritionists come to your room the day you are admitted to find out if you are going to breast feed.  If your answer is yes, then they will send a breastfeeding coach to your room.

The breastfeeding coach supplies you with information on how to breast feed your baby so that you are a little prepared when baby is born.  This information shows you different types of positions to hold the baby so that it is more comfortable for you when feeding.

1) The football position – This is when you hold the baby in one arm in the manner that football players hold the football when they are running with the ball.  If you are right handed, then you hold the babies head with the palm of your hand.  Your right arm will be under their back and their feet will be behind your arm.  Your left hand to hold the breast in position so that you can lunge (my choice of words) the baby’s head carefully onto the breast so that the mouth is around the areola.

It is much more comfortable to place a pillow under your arm and the baby resting on the pillow (in newborn stage) before you start breastfeeding to prevent your arm from getting tired.

2)  Cradle Position – This is when you hold the baby with the bend of your arm under their head and their body up against yours.  Their stomachs should be placed up against your stomach with the entire body aligned straight in the same direction to minimize discomfort.  It is easier to do this in a chair so that you can rest your arm (with the baby in it, of course) on it.

3) Cross Cradle Position – This is just like the cradle except you are holding the baby with the other arm.  Instead of holding the baby in the right arm on the right breast, you will be holding the baby with your left arm on the right breast.  This gives you more head control to make sure the mouth is carefully around the areola when feeding.

4) Tailor – This is when you hold the baby across your lap normally (for older kids) with right arm behind head and them feeding on right breast.  Something like cradle but with older kids.

5) Lying down – This is the “lazy” position (again my own words).  You lay on your side, let’s say the right side, and baby is lying right next to you.  This makes it easier to direct your breast into babies mouth correctly.  It also eliminates having to hold the baby during feeding.

Breastfeeding is the recommended baby care feeding because you are giving the sweet baby all the necessary natural nutrients that help fight certain immune diseases.  It also gives them a better IQ.