Breastfeeding the First Week: A Little Reassurance From Us to You

If you've started reading up on breastfeeding, you already know there's no shortage of information out there — books, hospital classes, lactation consultants, more articles than you could ever finish. That's a good thing. But it can also feel like a lot when you're running on two hours of sleep and just trying to get through the next feed.

So this isn't another deep-dive guide. After nearly 30 years of welcoming new families into the shop here in St. Louis, we've been lucky enough to sit with a lot of mamas in those early days. Here's the gentle, mom-to-mom version — the handful of things that tend to make week one feel a little less overwhelming.

The first thing worth knowing: it's a learning curve for both of you. Breastfeeding is a skill, and skills take practice. The early fumbling doesn't mean it's not working — it means you're on day two. The first days look different from what you'd expect, too. Your body starts with colostrum, those small amounts of thick golden first milk, and your fuller supply arrives a few days in. Newborns eat constantly in the meantime — around the clock, in long clustered stretches — and as relentless as it feels, that's exactly how it's supposed to go.