Supplementing in the 1st Month
Sometimes, breastfeeding doesn’t go smoothly right from day one. Many factors can impact the learning curve with positioning and latching, or interfere with the body’s natural ability to produce enough milk. Examples include:
Difficult birth circumstances
Newborn jaundice
Prematurity
Mom-baby separation, and
Tongue tie.
When breastfeeding problems arise in the early days, most lactation support professionals agree on these three strategies, in order:
Feed the baby (well nourished, well-hydrated infants breastfeed better)
Build and protect the milk supply (if baby isn’t latching well and often, this can be done by hand expression/pumping)
Keep baby oriented to and practicing at the breast – positioning and latching almost always improve with practice.
This post focuses on step one.
If direct breastfeeding is your goal, we recommend feeding your baby without using a bottle. Why? Infants learn very quickly where their milk comes from. Avoiding bottles while establishing breastfeeding reduces the risk of your baby developing nipple confusion.
There are several alternate or “non-bottle” methods of feeding expressed human milk or formula to infants, to ensure their nutrition and hydration needs are met while breastfeeding challenges are being addressed. Download our Guidelines for Non-Bottle Infant Feeding for details on these methods:
feeding tube at the breast (if baby will latch)
finger feeding (using a feeding tube)
syringe feeding
cup feeding
spoon feeding
Holding and feeding baby skin-to-skin on the chest keeps baby oriented to the breast. This can be done regardless of what supplementing method you choose.
There is no solid evidence that favors one supplementing method over another. We recommend you use the method that works best for you and causes the least amount of stress for you and your baby.
If you are supplementing, ask your doctor, lactation consultant, or pediatric dietician for advice on how much milk your baby needs per day of life, based on their weight and nutrition needs.
Many breastfeeding issues can be resolved quickly with timely, quality support. If you are experiencing difficulties breastfeeding in the early days, the sooner you get help the better. Please contact us, if we are not already working with you!
DISCLAIMER: We know when you surf the web for information, you can get conflicting results, and it’s not easy to know whether you are finding evidence-based, high quality recommendations. That’s part of our job here at Kodiak KINDNESS; we are here to support your informed decisions about infant feeding through your baby’s first year. We’ve done some background work, and to the best of our knowledge, this post reflects current best practices. However, the information contained in this post and any links contained herein is for your informational use only; it is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Furthermore, Kodiak KINDNESS is not responsible for the accuracy of any information contained in this post or links contained herein; it is for you to review at your own risk and discuss, as needed, with your health care professional in order to make a plan that suits your individual circumstances.