Breastfeeding essentials

Coping with night feeds

Becoming a parent is a very special time. Getting to know your new baby and learning how to care for their needs can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. However, it can also be challenging, especially when you are tired, and your baby is wakeful and wanting to feed frequently during the night. It might be reassuring to know that it is both normal and essential for your baby to feed during the night. Babies grow quickly in the early weeks and months of their lives and have very small stomachs. Therefore, they need to feed around the clock to meet their needs. This great leaflet talks about how top tips for night feeds.

Breastfeeding and returning to work

Going back to work or study may be the first time you have been separated from your baby for long periods. Continuing to breastfeed helps to keep the close relationship you’ve built up, providing your baby with extra comfort and security for as long as you both want. You don’t need to stop breastfeeding just because you’re returning to work or study. Many women find ways to continue breastfeeding their baby. Employers and course providers have certain obligations towards breastfeeding women to support your return to work or study. For more information, visit: Breastfeeding when you return to work | UNICEF Parenting

Introducing solid foods

Breast milk is all the nutrition your baby needs for their first 6 months of life. At around 6 months, your baby should start to do 3 things which indicates they are ready for solid foods.

1. Stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady
2. Co-ordinate their eyes, hand and mouth so that they can look at the food, pick it up and put it in their mouth all by themselves
3. Swallow food

Babies who are not ready will push their food back out, so they get more around their face than they do in their mouths. The Department of Health now recommends that babies be exclusively breastfed for at least six months and that breastfeeding is continued, with the addition of appropriate weaning foods, for as long as the mother and baby want. For more information, visit: Weaning – Best Start in Life – NHS