She’d settled Fiona in a chair with her back and her feet supported.
Fiona wriggled again and held out her arms. ‘Yes. I really wanted to put her straight on the breast after she was delivered, but she was totally out for the count.’
Tia nodded. ‘You had pethidine during your labour, and it can make the baby sleepy.’ She placed the baby in Fiona’s arms, positioning her carefully. ‘That’s right. We want her mouth to be opposite the nipple, just like that—perfect.’
Fiona stared down at her baby daughter. ‘Does the position really matter?’
‘Oh, yes. It’s vital if you’re not going to get sore and disheartened by the whole thing. Everyone thinks that breastfeeding is instinctive, but it isn’t, you know.’ Her voice was soft as she tucked the baby into a good position, moving Fiona’s arm so that she supported the baby’s shoulders. ‘It’s a skill that has to be learned like any other. That’s great, Fiona. You can use your fingers to support her head—like that. Brilliant.’
She slipped a hand behind the baby’s downy head and gently moved the baby’s mouth against the nipple, encouraging her to suck. ‘Come on, sweetheart, take a nice big mouthful for me…’
‘Oh!’ Fiona breathed in sharply and then looked up, her eyes misty. ‘She’s doing it! I can feel it.’
‘That’s great.’ Tia watched the baby closely, checking that she was sucking properly. ‘You’re both doing really well.’
‘So is that it? I expected it to be more complicated than that.’
Tia smiled. ‘Well, sometimes it is. And for the first few days it’s a good idea to let someone help you put her on the breast so that we can check that she’s feeding properly.’
Fiona stared down at her daughter with an awed expression in her eyes. ‘I can’t believe that it doesn’t hurt. I always expected it to.’
Tia shook her head. ‘It shouldn’t hurt. Not if she’s latched on properly.’
‘And how do I know that?’
‘Well, for a start there shouldn’t be any pain,’ Tia said, ‘and also if you look down you can see that she’s taken the whole of the nipple and some of the breast into her mouth. That’s how it works, you see. The nipple goes right back as far as the soft palate and that’s what makes her suck. Her lower jaw closes on the actual breast tissue and she uses suction to strip the breast of milk. You’ll feel her feeding but it should never be painful.’
‘And what if I can’t make enough milk?’
Tia gave a lopsided smile. ‘Well, that’s where nature is very clever. It’s all about supply and demand. The more you put the baby to the breast, the more milk you produce.’
Fiona gave a contented sigh and settled down to enjoy feeding her daughter.
‘You have a very unusual name.’ She glanced up at Tia with a curious smile. ‘What’s its origin?’
Tia pulled a face. ‘It’s short for Portia.’
Fiona lifted her eyebrows. ‘As in The Merchant of Venice?’
Tia gave a nod and a rueful smile. ‘My parents were actors.’
‘It’s a pretty name,’ Fiona commented, breaking off as her husband walked into the room, a bag of coins and a sheet of paper clasped in his hand.
‘Mike, look!’ Fiona spoke softly so that she didn’t disturb the baby. ‘She’s feeding!’
Mike Adams flopped onto the bed and grinned soppily at his wife. ‘Clever girl. I knew you could do it.’
‘It’s her that’s doing it, not me.’ Fiona touched her daughter’s downy head with her fingers. ‘She’s brilliant.’
‘She knows what’s good for her,’ Mike said stoutly, and Fiona gave him a wry look.
‘And you, too, of course. You can’t get up in the night if I’m breastfeeding.’
‘Oops. Caught out!’ Mike smiled sheepishly. ‘I’ll do the nappies.’
Fiona smiled placidly. ‘Too right you will. And the winding.’ She frowned at her husband. ‘You look really rumpled. As if you slept in your clothes.’
Mike gave a short laugh. ‘Sleep? Just remind me what that is again. You may have been the one who had the baby, but I’m exhausted!’