Closed 1st Wednesday of each month.
The first few days of breastfeeding can be some of the most stressful. There is one word that comes to mind for moms navigating this journey from stress to success: grace. I wish someone had told me that when I had my first son.
Before he was born, I had already decided: I was going to breastfeed, I was going to build my supply, and we were going to make it to a year. These were my preset expectations. But the truth is, most first-time moms don’t realize how unrealistic those expectations can be until they meet their baby. Babies don’t operate on our timelines, and they certainly don’t function according to our carefully planned schedules. They are not robots.
Babies eat when they feel like it, not on the two-hour schedules we set on our phones before birth. They don’t latch consistently just because it’s convenient for them. It’s a necessity. If there’s one takeaway from this piece, mama, it’s this: give yourself grace. It can take days—or even weeks—to establish a feeding routine that works for both you and your baby.
Let me share a few key things that can make your journey easier in those early days...
First, latch as often as your baby wants.
Feeding on demand takes pressure off you while giving your baby the practice they need. Why practice? Because babies are learning to use muscles, they’ve never used before to pull milk from the breast. They must coordinate their jaws, cheeks, and tongue while also managing to breathe. It’s a rhythm: suckle, swallow, breathe—over and over again.
If you’ve ever driven a manual car, think of it like shifting gears. That’s essentially what your baby is learning in these early weeks. The more practice they get, the better they become at latching. Frequent nursing also signals your body to produce prolactin—milk—which helps build your supply. Even if your baby wants to latch every 30 minutes to an hour, let them if you can. Pumps can be helpful, but if your baby is able to latch, that direct connection is incredibly powerful.
Second, diaper counts can save your sanity.
It might sound strange, but it’s true: what goes in must come out. One of the biggest worries moms have is whether they’re making enough milk. Watching the pump output or timing feeds rarely eases that anxiety. Diaper counts, however, can.
If your baby is having at least six wet diapers a day, that’s a good sign they are hydrated. Just like adults, infrequent, dark, strong-smelling urine can indicate dehydration. As for bowel movements, frequent yellow, seedy stools are another reassuring sign that your baby is getting enough milk. In short, diaper output is one of the most reliable indicators of intake.
Third, don't pass on skin-to-skin time.
Next is something often overlooked because we assume we’re already doing it: skin-to-skin contact. It may seem obvious, but many don’t fully realize its impact. Skin-to-skin helps regulate both baby and mom. It increases oxytocin—the bonding hormone—while lowering cortisol, the stress hormone.
After birth, a mother’s body and hormones go through an intense shift. Simply holding your baby close can help stabilize those changes. Skin-to-skin can also support emotional well-being and help combat postpartum challenges. Even though the umbilical cord has been cut, your baby still needs that closeness—and so do you.
~ Krista, WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor