Immediately postpartum is not the best time to be learning new information, you may have more difficulty processing it due to the nature and whirlwind of the post-birth bustle. By taking a prenatal breastfeeding class in-person or online, you will be more familiar with your baby's feeding cues and ready to tackle that first latch on day one with confidence. Protect The Golden HourThe golden hour is the first hour immediately following your baby's birth. This is a time where your baby should be left undisturbed on your body skin-to-skin until after the first feeding has finished. By protecting this time, you increase your chances of being available when your baby first starts to show feeding cues. You can help them navigate to the breast quickly and efficiently, avoiding excess crying or escalating to a point that they need to calm down. If you have a surgical birth, your provider may be open to beginning skin-to-skin in the operating room if you and baby are doing well. If not, when you return to your recovery room plan to get comfy and snuggle in together for your oh so sweet golden hour and give your baby a chance to root around and find the breast.
If you haven't had an opportunity to meet your lactation consultant prenatally, plan to schedule your first consult by 3 and 5 days postpartum. Clients working with a lactation consultant in the first week of life are far more likely to see their baby regain their birth weight by the two week time frame. Watch The Baby Not The ClockHow long should you feed your baby? Ten minutes? Fifteen? Thirty? You will begin to notice two types of suck patterns when your baby is nursing. A nutritive suck is an active suck that leads to milk removal and calorie intake. When looking for this type of suck pattern observe your baby's chin, it should be pumping and driving the let down. Often the temple is seen pulsing, and active drinking noises can be heard such as a "kaw" when baby is swallowing (after the first 3-5 days). The non-nutritive suck pattern is one that is usually observed when baby is falling or has fallen asleep at the breast. This pattern is more relaxed through the jaw with the movement often feeling like a quivering vs a pulling, like in a nutritive sucking pattern. During this time is when you may be able to unlatch your baby and lay them down for a bit, as they are in a deeper stage of sleep. If your newborn slows down their nutritive sucking pattern to a non-nutritive one, try rousing them to drink more by adding in breast massage or compression, tickling their feet, or wiping their forehead with a cool cloth. If your they will not rouse to drink more and are on the first breast, break their latch, take a short break to burp and wake baby a bit, and then offer the other side before they fall too deeply into sleep.
Are you the main cook in your home? Consider making a meal plan for the first two weeks postpartum during your pregnancy to reduce decision fatigue on your part later. The Instant Pot, freezer meals, meal preparation services, Grub Hub and Postmates can all help you feed yourself while you are busy feeding your baby in those early weeks.
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First, narrowing down your choices for midwifery care. When planning a home or birth center birth in Oklahoma you are likely to hire a midwife to oversee your prenatal, labor, and postpartum healthcare. Midwives take a relatively low number of clients each month compared to busy OBGYN practices, this means that their schedules fill up faster. Plan to reach out to your midwifery care potentials early to schedule meet and greet consults before they are fully booked! So, what happens if your midwife can't attend your birth? What if they are already at someone else's birth?! We have a healthy and growing population of out-of-hospital birth midwives in Oklahoma! A midwife will have a list of back up midwives that they trust to care for you in their absence. Similarly your midwife may need to send a back up provider to another birth because they are currently serving you at your birth! When I found out I was expecting my last baby I reached out to my midwife to secure services. Although she was available, it turns out she had planned to leave the country for vacation just days after my due date. Midwifery care was very important to me for my prenatal care, and I chose to remain with the midwife I desired and hoped she would be able to attend my birth but feeling comfortable knowing that our plan B was also in place should I birth while she was gone. She WAS able to attend my birth, and I am so grateful to have stayed in her care. It was exceptional and exactly what I needed.
Lastly, you will need to decide where you will birth your baby. Your midwife may offer both home birth and birth center options, or home birth only. If there are any birth centers near you, call and schedule a tour to visit so you can see the facility and ask any questions you may have. If you choose to have your baby in your home (a lovely choice!) your midwifery team will bring all the same safety equipment that would be available at the birthing center to your home. When choosing a home birth, your provider will generally plan to visit you in your home for a prenatal in your last month of pregnancy to familiarize themselves with your home's location and layout.
 During this complete childbirth education series you will learn relaxation techniques so that you can give your baby a welcome that is calm, gentle, and safe; achieving birth fulfillment–awake and alert–in a totally relaxed state of mind and body. HypnoBirthing® classes are taught in a format of five, 2 1/2-hour units.
Included in your Registration:
Together we will:
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