Benefits of a Breastfeeding Buffet

You’ve paid for the buffet, you sit down at your table and awkwardly get straight back up to start the buffet tour!
You eat more than you usually would - if you’re in true holiday mode!

Put this in the context of a breastfed baby, having flexible, frequent and uninterrupted opportunities to breastfeed skin to skin as much as they want, and maybe more than they usually would!

Reasons I would encourage a breastfeeding buffet:
• Night 2 with your newborn! These babies are cleverly asking your body to produce the amount of milk needed for them to thrive! Open the buffet!
• Concerns about milk supply or baby weight
• Baby has difficulty latching or maintaining a feed
• Breast refusal or baby becoming increasingly fussy at the breast
• After any surgical or medical intervention (for baby) because breastfeeding and skin to skin has an analgesic effect.
• Witching hours to help baby suckle and have skin to skin as a way of ‘dialling them back down’ (remember, this is how they process the information their brain received throughout their whole day!)
• Cluster feeding - to speed up the process of baby placing their big order for future milk supply!

Having a bath with baby (safely) can sometimes take the pressure off them feeding and can be an excellent tactic to get baby feeding in a biologically supported, semi-reclined position.

Your job is to offer what you can to babies (whether it be food, comfort, sleep…) and not every baby will take up every opportunity.

As always, if you feel your baby and yourself need extra support with breastfeeding seek support!