Gabe and I went to a breastfeeding class on Saturday. We were a little nervous that he'd be the only guy there, but it was pretty evenly split. The hospital that I'm delivering at is considered somewhat of a "boutique" hospital; they even have a new wing that is like a 5 star hotel with a suite just for dads. Anyway, the lactation specialist seemed to be very well known in the field.
Some of the things she told us:
Some of the things she told us:
- watch the baby - for hunger cues and whether he is getting enough
- despite what experienced moms tell me about never waking a sleeping baby, it's important to feed a newborn every 3 hours until he's at least 12 lbs. (it's not about the parents getting sleep - it's about the baby)
- tummy to tummy, nose to nipple
- dads seem to grasp the proper holding technique better than moms because of the mechanics of it
- if it hurts, you're not doing it right