Baby's First Week
This page contains articles and tips that I have written
related to baby's first week of life and breastfeeding.
The First Week - Rest,
rest, rest!
We are so excited for our baby to arrive -
by the end of our pregnancy we can be downright impatient! We can't
wait to hold our baby in our arms and finally get to meet this new
little person. We have visions of showing off our precious offspring,
breastfeeding blissfully, and looking lovingly into our partner's eyes.
All of this is possible, of course, but a big reality after giving
birth is that our body is exhausted!! Birth, no matter how it goes,
uses up a lot of our body's resources and our body goes through many changes,
both physically and hormonally. And then, if that's not enough, right
after birth, we're handed the biggest life-changing event of our lives -
the 24/7 love and care of a new little person. Our bodies have
changed, our family has grown, we are now "Mom" and "Dad", and the
result is an overwhelming need for rest.
The
first week is crucial for resting and recovering following the birth. Here are some tried and true tips and tricks for maximizing rest during the first week of your baby's life:
1. Make your number one priority skin-to-skin care of baby and breastfeeding comfortably. This (almost) automatically forces you to rest!
2. Make your other number one priority to sleep as much as possible whenever you can, especially when baby sleeps! Spell each other off as well - have one partner nap while the other is skin-to-skin with an awake baby.
3. Limit visitors! I can't stress this enough. Baby's are often awake during the nights of their first week, and sleeping during the days. So while parents should be napping when their baby sleeps during the day, they are visiting with friends and family. When visitors do visit, do not stop the skin-to-skin care of baby, and stay in your pj's. This will stop some visitors in their tracks, but also send out the correct message of what you are focusing on right now - giving baby the best possible start. There's always time later to be the perfect host and hostess - baby's first week is not that time!!!
4. Ask for help! For your baby shower, or any time someone asks how they can help, ask for a meal that is dropped off at your home, or for a gift certificate to a restaurant that delivers, or for a fruit basket left on your doorstep. If you have other children, ask friends to take them to the park or over to their house for a playdate. As cute as newborn clothes are, the money is better spent helping you to recover with yummy food.
5. Leave a sign on your door (make it as pretty or polite as you wish) letting unexpected visitors know that you are sleeping. Also, record a phone message with baby details on it, letting callers know you will return messages in the next week or so.
6. During an awake time, create an e-mail or blog a page about baby - including as many pictures as you can, and send it out to all your friends and family.
Smilebox was used recently by a friend of mine for this purpose - the result was gorgeous! This will help friends feel included shortly after the birth and spare you repeating details over and over. (as endearing as every one of those details are!!) After you recover, you'll have the energy to share all the details of baby as many times over as you wish!! You can also include a request for support in this e-mail.
7. Plan for Dad to stay home from work for as much time as possible. Many Dads often take a week - can he take two? Can he go back to work on a Thursday or Friday so the weekend is near?
8. If family is staying with you to help, make sure you let them help!! Allow yourself to be pampered - let them bring your drinks and meals, clean your dishes, vacuum your floors, and whatever else tickles their fancy. One day, you may find yourself doing the same thing for another new mother. It feels good to help someone - so give them the gift of helping you!
The First Week - Early and often!!
The
birth of the placenta causes an abrupt decline in hormones which
initiates the start of copious milk production. Colostrum is available
for the first few days in small quantities, and then the milk supply
increases somewhere between days 2-5.
The
first week is crucial for establishing your long term milk supply.
Frequent feeding during the early days stimulates the development of
prolactin receptor sites (receptor sites for a breastfeeding hormone)
in the breast. The theory is that a woman's milk supply is controlled
by the number of prolactin receptor sites, and not by the amount of
circulating prolactin. Therefore, the first week can determine your milk
supply for the next year! What does this mean to you? Ensure that
baby is at the breast early and often!!! The World Health Organization
recommends that baby come to the breast within 30 minutes of birth (see
their full recommendations for successful breastfeeding here).
Also, keeping baby skin-to-skin with mom as much as possible in the
first week ensures optimal support of the milk supply. As baby becomes
hungry, they will start to bob their head on your chest and look for
the breast. Support them as they slowly make their way to your breast,
and presto, before you know it, they have self-attached!! Just how
nature intended. See a video of the breast crawl here.
If baby is sleepy, or Mom and baby are separated at birth, you can use
an electric hospital-grade double breast pump to provide the
stimulation to your breasts to preserve your milk supply, and seek out
knowledgeable breastfeeding support to ensure that you pass through any
difficulties as quickly as possible.
