Did you know that… in a vaginal birth, if a baby is put right away on your belly, he’s able to crawl to your breast?! This is a pretty cool thing to watch -although it doesn’t happen too often in hospital births-. This is because, babies are super alert during the first hour after birth, and the first thing he will do is look for is your breast, nothing else. It’s a survival instinct!
After that, the next 24 hours, your baby will probably fall into a deep sleepy state. He’s recovering from labor. So as you. Because, yes, being born is hard!
During that period, is extremely important to place your baby Skin2Skin. That means, placing him on his bare tummy on top of your bare chest Hold the nice clothes that grandma made with her own hands for the next day. For now, your baby just need to be close to you; feel your skin and the warmth and smell of your body. Nothing else. If you do this, don’t worry if the baby don’t wake up often to eat. Unless there’s a medical reason, these first 24 hours is your period of grace. Besides, he’s already in the kitchen. When he’s ready, he’ll grab a snack…
Should you leave him all wrapped in a swaddle as the nurse handled him to you?
Nop! Go ahead and unwrap the little peanut and put him Skin2Skin with a blanket on top of you two. Don’t worry, your body will keep his body temperature better than any blanket. Your body will keep him stable as he feels safe when he’s close to mommy. And finally, your body will encourage him to eat, as that is a nice kitchen!