Be sure that the hospital staff, nurses and doctors, know that you do not want your baby to have bottles or a pacifier. Insist on this. Be very mindful of hospital procedures, and keep your baby with you at all times if at all possible. Some hospitals are very breastfeeding supportive, and do all they can to encourage success in breastfeeding for all mother baby pairs, others do not take this approach. Your best advocate for breastfeeding success is you!!

Skin to skin helps breastfeeding begin. Babies yearn to be skin to skin at all times. The more time baby spends skin to skin, the better they gain weight, the deeper they bond, and the more secure they feel. Unwrap the standard hospital "burrito swaddle" put your diapered baby between your bare breasts, then cover both of you with a blanket. Baby will be nice and warm on your chest. If mommy is not available for skin to skin right away, daddy, or grandma, or mommy's close friend or sister can help with the job. Remember, when others who are not mother are touching the newborn, proper handwashing is a MUST!

Unless your baby is medically fragile and requires nursery care, your baby should be with you, in your room, at all times. If baby must travel to the nursery for any reason, daddy or another trusted individual should go with baby, to make sure that no pacifiers or bottles are given in your abscence. Babies belong with their mothers whenever possible. Most modern US hospitals know and respect this fact.

Babies need very little to eat in those first couple of days before the milk comes in. Colostrum is fed from the breast in very small portions. 1-2 teaspoons at a time. The more time beby spends suckling the breast, the sooner the mature milk "comes in", the deeper the mother baby bond. Allow baby to nurse very, very often, and spend most of those first couple of days at the breast, "practicing"

The birth of a new baby is such an exciting time in your life. Family and friends celebrate with you, after the long awaited day finally arrives! They all long to see the baby, to see mommy and make sure she is well, and give their best wishes! But the hospital is not the place to begin this long awaited visitation. New mothers need privacy. They need privacy to learn to breastfeed, to get to know their baby, and to keep germ exposures to a minimum. Once mother and baby are home, and have rested a day or two, then visitors can come, during certain hours, 1-2 at a time.

You may not realize just how exhausting having visitors can be, but I can assure you, it will drain what little energy you have.

If you choose to follow this advice, please know that the hospital staff is your biggest ally in keeping visitors away or at a minimum. You don't have to "be the bad guy". Hospital staff can be very helpful in this way, keeping visitation to an absolute minimum, if at all. They really are so valuable in helping visitors respect parent's wishes.

Sometimes the nurse, baby's grandma, or someone else may suggest supplementing your baby with formula, sometimes on day 1. If it's really needed, the baby's doctor or your Lactation Consultant will order supplementation for medical reasons. Otherwise, everyone should be patient and give mom and baby time to get to know each other and find their rhythm.

If a supplement is needed, almost all hospitals offer a breast pump for mommy to pump her colostrum for baby, so that formula can be avoided altogether.

The best thing to help your baby get well is the sound of your voice, your prescence, your milk. If your baby is too sick to be held skin to skin, providing your milk is a wonderful way to take an active role in your baby's care and recovery. Talk to your baby, sing to your baby, read stories into the isolette. Baby knows the sound of your voice, and will know you are there!

Ask to see the in-house lactation consultant – and keep asking, until she is available! If baby cannot nurse, or is unwell, begin pumping within 2 hours of birth, and pump every 3 hours for 20 minutes until baby can return to the breast! Save every drop for baby. Remember, it’s not about quantity in those first days, it’s about stimulation!