You may have given a lot of thought to your birth plan, but have you thought of your breastfeeding plan? If you keep these 3 things in mind - you will be set up to meet your breastfeeding goals.

1. Take advantage of the first “golden hour” in skin to skin with your Baby. Babies have a magical window when they are first born - they have such a strong drive to figure out how to eat! As long as Baby is stable, they should be placed directly on your chest. From here, babies know just what to do: they recover from the birth (hearing your heartbeat will calm them) and soon they will get active - rooting around, head bobbing and “crawling” to find your breast.

2. Learn & practice hand expression and use it during the first golden hour. You will be surprised how much colostrum (first milk) is ready and waiting for your Baby! When you express those first drops out- it will help Baby find the breast and latch better. Also, early hand expression in the first hour will help your milk supply increase faster. Remember - more milk out, more milk in! This is also an extremely valuable skill if Baby was born early, or if the birth plan did not go as expected. If you are separated from your Baby for any reason, you can start hand expressing right away and all those precious drops of colostrum can be collected in a spoon or a small cup and given to your Baby when they are ready.

3. Take a breastfeeding class while you are pregnant! Learn all about what to expect, your Baby’s hunger cues, how to hand express (you can safely practice after 39 weeks) and so much more.

Contact: hello@milkguide.com 440-723-1224