Besides being the optimal source of nutrition for your baby in her first year, nursing has obvious psychological benefits for both mother and baby. At birth, infants see only 12 to 15 inches, the distance between a nursing baby and its mother’s face. Studies have found that infants as young as 1 week prefer the smell of their own mother’s milk.

Many psychologists believe the nursing baby enjoys a sense of security from the warmth and presence of the mother, especially when there’s skin-to-skin contact during feeding. Parents of bottle-fed babies may be tempted to prop bottles in the baby’s mouth, with no human contact during feeding. But a nursing mother must cuddle her infant closely many times during the day. Nursing becomes more than a way to feed a baby; it’s a source of warmth and comfort.

When the baby is being fed and nurtured in this way, it’s natural for her to fall asleep quickly. When you know how much she can consume in one feeding, try to gently nudge her awake if she falls asleep too soon. You can easily rouse her with a little tickle of the feet.  Otherwise, she’ll get hungry sooner and you’ll be feeding her more often.

Breast-feeding is good for new mothers as well as for their babies. There are no bottles to sterilize and no formula to buy, measure and mix. It may be easier for a nursing mother to lose the pounds of pregnancy as well, since nursing uses up extra calories. Lactation also stimulates the uterus to contract back to its original size.

A nursing mother is forced to get needed rest. She must sit down, put her feet up, and relax every few hours to nurse. Nursing at night is easy as well. No one has to stumble to the refrigerator for a bottle and warm it while the baby cries. If she’s lying down, a mother can doze while she nurses.

37. Getting comfortable
Breastfeeding is absolutely natural, but it still has to be learned. Much will depend on “reading” the signals your baby gives you. But you can make things far easier by getting settled for a breastfeeding session-which could last for an hour. Lying down is ideal for night-time feeds. For other sessions, seek good back support, such as sitting on a low chair with no arms, or lying up against a bed headstead with plenty of pillows behind you.

38. Guiding your baby to latch on
Once settled, take a deep breath and relax your shoulders. If in private, take off your top to make it easier for baby to “latch on”, that is to be correctly placed on your breast and sucking efficiently. Use your baby’s natural reflex to “root” (seek out) and to suck. If you or baby, take another deep breath and start again.

39. Managing your milk flow
Your baby doesn’t just suck. She “milk” the breast by pressing on your milk supply at the base of the areola (the coloured area around the nipple). Don’t worry about “supply”. Your baby’s sucking stimulates “demand”. However, when your milk comes in, your breast may become engorged and sore for a few days. This makes the nipple go flat so it is hard for baby to latch on. Try these steps to help baby latch on and quickly relieve any engorgement.

40. Changing over during a feed
Let your baby suck for at least 10 to 15 minutes on one breast at each feed. After you’ve burped her, or she has had a short nap, slip a finger between her jaws to break her suction and offer her the other breast. She may be hungry enough to drain this one, too, or she may just suck for comfort. In either case, let her suck till she falls fast asleep.

41. Coping with leaking breasts
Your breast may leak a lot between feeds in the early weeks. You cannot prevent this, but it will diminish as your breasts settle down and supply matches your baby’s demand. To cope with this problem – and protect your cloches – wear disposable or fabric – washable breast pads inside your bra. These will absorb some of the dripping. Change the pads frequently, as wetness near your skin may make your sore.

42. Soothing sore nipples
Sore, red nipples usually result from your baby not latching on properly. Check that she takes the whole nipple and areola area into her mouth, and that her temples and ears are moving (that is, her jaw muscles are working hard). Cracked nipples give you shooting pains during feeding, but don’t stop feeds, as you may become engorged and make the problem worse.

43. Expressing milk by hand
Expressing your own milk means you can freeze it (for up to one mouth) and someone else can give it to your baby – which allows you greater freedom and flexibility. It is an easy and painless process. Help the flow of milk  by applying a warm flannel first.

44. Expressing milk by pump
Expressing with a purpose-made pump can work far quicker and be less tiring than hand expressing. Choose a “syringe”-type pump where the outer cylinder converts into a bottle. First soften your breast with warm water and massage them as if expressing by hand. The feeling an your milk ducts should be like your baby’s jaws.

45. First-year feeding routines
How long should a feed last? How many feeds should I give my baby in 24 hours? Can I tell when she is going to be hungry? Such question are all part of the emotional and practical worries of feeding a baby in the first year. Bear in mind the following tips when planning a feeding routine.
BREAST FEEDING TIPS:

• Always feed your baby as often as she seems hungry. And give her as much as the wants
• For the fist month at least, do not try to establish an inflexible routine.
• If you started off in the first two weeks by feeding your newborn 10 times in 24 hours, this should be reduced to eight feeds, then six, after a further six weeks.
• By two months expect to be feeding about every four hours.
• By three months plans for five feeds a day plus two night feeds.
• By four no five months plan for four feeds a day plus some solids.
• By six months your routine should be two breast-feeds a day: early morning and bedtime.
• By nine months you should be beginning a bedtime feed only.
• If you both want to, you can continue to breast-feed well into your baby’s second