|
|
A mother needs to make sure that her baby is awake
before putting him to breast.
If the baby is sleepy, she might try
unwrapping him to cool him down a little bit,
rubbing his back,
dimming the lights,
talking to him,
changing his diaper,
or sitting him up.
Some people will rub the hair on the baby's
head backward from the back of
the neck to the forehead. This has to be done gently.
The goal is not to upset the baby but to gently stimulate him.
Mothers need to be alert to the cues of their infant.
If the baby is awake and looking around,
this is an ideal time to put the baby to breast.
Babies who are alert, moving their arms and legs, opening and closing their
mouths, or sucking on fingers or a hand may also be trying to tell mother
that they are ready to nurse. Crying is a late sign of wanting to nurse.
If a mother waits until the baby is crying or until a
certain amount of time has elapsed since the last feeding
it may be much more difficult to get the infant to breastfeed
than when he was in a calmer state (
Neifert, 1999
).
|
