first time mom questions..

[myangel167]

Hello!

Im going to be a mommy for the first time in january. I plan on exclusively breast feeding. I'm curious about a few things...


Right after she is born, will she eat? Or do newborns not eat for a couple hours?

Also, How will I know that she is ready/hungry? Will she start suckling and smacking her lips or something? Or do I just put my nipple near her lips and wait till she latches?

Will I automatically have milk/colostrum right away? Like, will my body make it while I'm giving birth?

I read that babys tummy is only the size of a walnut so she will eat very little but very often the first couple weeks. How often do you feed? Do you have a schedule or does baby signal u when they are hungry?

Also, in the hospital, I want to feed my baby and relax/clean myself up a little before any visitors come. Is that reasonable? DO you think family will be offended by that? I just dont want to be attempting to breast feed for the first time ever and have a friend or my MIL watching, you know? and I would rather people just wait to come visit, then me having to kick them out for like an hour.

 

[cflower04]

Generally it is best to feed as soon after birth as possible. Within the first hour is best before the baby gets too sleepy.

You'll get used to your baby quickly and naturally know when it's hungry. It's recommended to feed them before they start crying. Look out for lip smacking etc. DS starts sucking his hands when he is hungry.

It's best to feed your baby on demand so when ever they are hungry... This could be every hour or every three hours etc. Every baby is different and your baby will change as it goes through growth spurts.

 

[noon_child]

If you want to breastfeed they will try to encourage you to feed her soon after birth.

Newborns often 'mouth' and 'root' when hungry and then cry when too hungry, but when they are very new it is not unusual for them to be frustratingly sleepy and it can be a struggle to get them interested in latching.

Some people are leaking cholostrum for months while pregnant. I never noticed this happening to me, but when the time came to feed it was there.

There appears to be different advice being given about how often to feed newborns. I was told to feed on demand but to wake her to feed at least every 2hrs round the clock until she regained her birthweight. Others have been told not to wake them unless they are going more than 4hrs between feeds. Some babies get in to routines early, others have no routine ever. There is a lot of cluster feeding to build your supply in the early weeks/months, so schedules can change too.

There wasn't any kind of waiting room at our hospital so we had no family hanging round anyway. Even if they are in the hospital there are usually restrictions on who can come in to the delivery room, and that is likely to be where you first do a feed. It is absolutely reasonable to ask for no visitors. I spent most of the first week naked from the waist up trying to establish breastfeeding so visitors were not high on my priorities!

 

[myangel167]

thanks noonchild! i appreciate the info!

 

[armywife11]

Right after she is born, will she eat? Or do newborns not eat for a couple hours?

My daughter nursed around 30 min after birth.. my son 13 min


Also, How will I know that she is ready/hungry? Will she start suckling and smacking her lips or something? Or do I just put my nipple near her lips and wait till she latches?

They will give clear signs. My daughter rooted and cried, my son sucks his hand or roots when you hold him.

Will I automatically have milk/colostrum right away? Like, will my body make it while I'm giving birth?

I leaked it while pregnant with both. Not everyone does though.. your body will prepare it in time for baby.

I read that babys tummy is only the size of a walnut so she will eat very little but very often the first couple weeks. How often do you feed? Do you have a schedule or does baby signal u when they are hungry?

This depends on the baby, my kids are different and my daughter cluster fed more early on where as my son really hasn't aside from the day my milk came in. I never followed a schedule. I always waited for them to tell me they were hungry. They were both term and healthy. I found waking either of them resulted in a mad baby who really didn't want to or outright refused to nurse.

Also, in the hospital, I want to feed my baby and relax/clean myself up a little before any visitors come. Is that reasonable? DO you think family will be offended by that? I just dont want to be attempting to breast feed for the first time ever and have a friend or my MIL watching, you know? and I would rather people just wait to come visit, then me having to kick them out for like an hour.

I would say it's reasonable. It's your body and your baby. I actually nursed both of my kids before we ever told family babies had arrived. My daughter we had visitors that night but only for a brief moment (my parents). My son everyone waited till the next morning to visit.

 

[irish_cob]

You may need to help your baby a bit more than just putting your nipple near her lips. When mine was a newborn I had to help her latch by following the basics - nose to nipple, brush her lips with the nipple, wait for her to open wide then help guide the breast into her mouth. Remember it's breastfeeding not nipple feeding so you want to make sure she's got a good mouthful. Can you take any bfing classes? I would suggest if not then having a look at kellymom or other resources so you know how to help her latch. At 9 months old my daughter just grabs on now, neither of us have to even think about it!

Same for the feeding cues, have a read about it, crying is a late one, fussing, sucking hands, rooting etc are earlier cues. You can't over feed a bf baby and it's comforting for them being on the boob so my mantra was always try boob first whenever she was fussy! Just feed on demand and don't worry about a routine, it will fall into place!

My baby didn't feed for a few hours after birth and she was quite mucousy and sniffly the first night and wasn't too bothered about feeding so we didn't really get into the swing until after 24 hours but she was fine and it's not always a problem if they don't feed immediately.

I was told that once your baby has regained her birth weight, as long as she is healthy and term there's no need to wake her up to feed.

Hope this helps x

 

[myangel167]

THank u so much for all your responses ladies! U have been so helpful! I watched a couple youtube videos and I read up some more on bfing. I didnt even know what "rooting" meant at first! I think my hospital offers free bf classes, which I plan on taking. Im taking a "bringing baby home-first time parents" class in november, and a labor/delivery class in december. My baby is due jan 10.