How to get a baby to properly latch on

By Kathleen Huggins, RN, MS, IBCLC Best-selling author of "The Nursing Mother’s Companion"

Wrap the pillow around your body with the zippered side toward your lap. Secure the pillow snugly by adjusting the buckle. Wrapping the pillow just below your breasts may place the baby at the best height for an excellent latch.

(Note from mamaNANA: Kathleen Huggins is referring to the My Brest Friend pillow, the one that we propose.)

With the arm opposite the breast that you are offering to the baby, hold the baby so that he/she is facing you. Support the baby’s head, neck, and shoulders with your hand, placing your thumb behind and below one ear, your index finger behind and below the other.

Hold the baby’s lower body close to your free breast. Using the hand behind your baby’s head, tip his/her head back slightly so that the chin is closer to the breast you are offering than the nose is.

Support the breast with your free hand. Your thumb should be about an inch or two behind the nipple, and your index finger should be directly across from your thumb on the opposite side of the nipple. Bring your thumb and index finger together slightly, compressing the breast right in front of the baby’s nose and just below the chin. This will shape the breast to match your baby’s mouth.

Continue to compress the breast with your thumb and index finger. Align the baby’s nose with your nipple and touch the baby’s upper lip with the nipple. When the baby opens his/her mouth very wide, quickly pull the baby onto the breast, chin first. The baby should take more of the tissue below the nipple than above. Keep your fingers in place, compressing the breast, until the baby is actively sucking.