That First Latch: What to Do If It's Not as Easy as You'd Hoped?

We all thought it, we were going to get that perfect golden hour, baby would latch right away and we would feel instantly connected to our little one. All the women who have come before us to breastfeed their babies would stand around us smiling with encouragement. (In our imaginations right?) But what about when it doesn’t manifest as we imagined? If you experience hurdles during labor and the golden hour doesn’t happen like you planned… thats ok mama, its disappointing, but we’re here to tell you you can get back on track. 

The first three days are so important to establishing your milk supply and getting your baby on a good path to weight gain.  Lets give a little background: Your first milk is called colostrum, and its thick, like a milkshake. It takes a lot of sucking to get a milkshake out of a straw, and luckily your baby has a high drive to suck, suck, suck!  This doesn’t mean you don’t have milk, you do, it’s just a different form than what you might expect.  At 72 hours after baby is born, your milk transitions and increases in volume. This is what most women refer to as your “milk coming in”.  It doesn’t happen until around day three, and that’s completely normal, but can feel like forever.  Your baby will want to be next to you and at breast as much as possible to make that transition happen, they know exactly what to do! 

In order for your milk to “come in” baby needs to have a good, deep latch.  This is because a deep latch helps you get your best milk supply and less risk of pain and complications.  

In order to get a good latch we want baby to be calm and not crying hard. Try to calm your little one by swaddling or rocking before putting them to breast.  After baby is calm, position your little one with their tummy close to you. Their ear, shoulder and hip should all be in line. It is important to bring baby’s mouth to your breast, not your breast to baby.  This positioning helps them to feel safe and secure and not in a vulnerable position on their backs, it also helps so you can be as comfortable as possible. 

Once you have baby in position, place your nipple to their nose, with their chin up against the under portion of your breast. This encourages them to open wide to get enough breast in their mouth for a deep latch.  When open wide, bring baby to you. There might be an initial twinge when they latch, breastfeeding isn’t necessarily “comfortable” but it shouldn’t bring tears to your eyes. 

If you have a sharp pain, this means that the latch is too shallow. Take baby off by inserting a finger into the side of their mouth and try again.  The pain comes when the nipple is hitting the hard palate on the roof of their mouth instead of the soft palate that is further back. This means they need more breast tissue in their mouth to ensure a good latch. This is also why we call it breastfeeding instead of nipple feeding. 

It’s ok to not get it perfect the first, second or even third time. Breastfeeding is a learning process between you and your little one, it takes effort and patience.  

When you get that good latch, you might feel uncomfortable, but you wont feel a sharp pain.  Instead, you’ll feel a tugging or pulling sensation. Baby’s lips will be flanged like a duck and you will hear little *sighs* meaning they are swallowing.  When they are satisfied, baby will come off breast by themselves, but it can take some time especially in those first few days of life. Letting them stay there as long as they would like helps you and them adjust to your new life as a team.  

If you ever wonder whether or not your baby has gotten enough milk, watch their hands. A clenched fist means I’m hungry and an open palm means I’m happy and full.  

If you continue to have pain while nursing, please reach out to a lactation consultant to help troubleshoot latching.  You got this mama, and we are here for you. 

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