If your Newborn Could Talk

“Wow being born is quite a workout! I should try to breastfeed within an hour of birth but then I may want to sleep a lot for the next 24 hours.”

“I would love to be held skin to skin with you as much as possible, just ask the nurse how to do it safely.”

“Watch me for signs that I am getting interested in eating, like moving my lips and trying to put my hands in my mouth, or when I start to wake up and move my arms and legs.”

“If I’m sleepy, but need to eat, try unwrapping me or changing my diaper. Still sleepy? Keep holding me skin to skin and try again in an hour!”

“Did you know that your body started making milk for me early in your pregnancy? My stomach is very tiny, about the size of a small marble; I don’t need much milk; you have all that I need!”

“If I don’t latch on to your breast in that first 12-24 hours or if I have trouble, could you hand-express some of that “Liquid Gold” that I’ve been hearing about onto my lips or ask the nurse to show you how to feed it to me with a tiny spoon?”

“Even though breastfeeding is ‘natural’ we may need some help and guidance from our nurse; ask for help if I can’t latch on or have our nurse watch to see how we are doing.”

“Once I’ve woken up a bit more, (after the first 24 hours), I am probably going to want to eat often. (I especially like eating at night when you want to sleep!) I should now want to nurse at least 8-12 times in a 24-hour period. Feeding me frequently will help you make more milk for me!”

“If you put me down when I am done feeding, I may soon wake up and want to nurse again. This is not because I am hungry, but because this is comforting.”

“I am excited to meet your family and friends but we need lots of time to get to know each other and you need your sleep too, Mom!”