Your Early Feeding Questions, Answered (Pt.1 Olivia Hinge)
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The Tiny Big Joys Podcast | Guest: Olivia Hinge | Host: Olivia Parker
Olivia Hinge is back, and this time your questions lead the way. Part 1 covers the early weeks of feeding: the sleepy baby who drifts off at the breast, the latch that looks right but still hurts, the weigh-in that leaves you second-guessing, and the evenings when your baby wants to feed on and off for hours. Olivia answers each one calmly and practically, and almost every answer starts in the same place: look at the whole picture, not just one moment. She shares the hands-on techniques that help a sleepy baby keep feeding, explains why tongue tie is so often blamed and why releasing it should come last, and gives clear, reassuring guidance on what's normal tenderness and what's worth a check-in. This episode covers sleep and milk supply, positioning a sleepy baby, breast compressions, latch pain, tongue function and tongue tie, assisted births and bodywork, baby massage, nipple pain, chin-first latching, birth weight and centiles, topping up and triple feeding, cluster feeding, growth spurts and mental leaps, and green poos.
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Olivia Hinge is NHS midwife, lactation consultant, and mother of three. Olivia's work is shaped by both her clinical expertise and her own early struggles with breastfeeding her first daughter — an experience that gave her a deep understanding of how physically, emotionally, and mentally demanding feeding a baby can be. She is the author of A Judgment-Free Guide to Feeding Your Baby: Boobs, Bottles and All, and shares practical, evidence-based advice to her community of parents daily. Find Olivia at @olivia_lactation_consultant on Instagram.
Olivia Hinge @olivia_lactation_consultant
Key Takeaways
Poor sleep doesn't automatically mean low supply. Many babies are simply bright buttons learning new skills. Look at the whole picture and get your baby weighed. Unless there's a weight issue, supply is very unlikely to be the cause.
Every mother and baby has their own dance. Laid-back feeding isn't the answer for everyone. Sitting upright can work beautifully too, and if what you're doing works for you, you're doing it right.
Skin to skin wakes up feeding reflexes. Undress a sleepy baby and bring them onto your chest. "If they're in the restaurant, they're going to place an order."
No gaps, no gravity. Sleepy babies aren't lazy, they're conserving energy. Hold them close so feeding feels easy rather than hard work.
Stroke the underside of their foot. It triggers built-in feeding reflexes and helps keep them awake at the breast.
Breast compressions: the most underrated technique. When your baby pauses, gently squeeze at the chest wall, then release. It helps milk, including the fattier milk, flow with less effort.
If the latch looks good but hurts, something else is going on. Chin up, head tilted back, like downing a pint of water, so the nipple reaches the soft spot further back in the mouth.
Ask who is trained in tongue function. Not every health professional is routinely trained to assess it, so it's okay to ask for someone with a bigger skill set.
Tongue tie should be the last piece of the jigsaw. Positioning, attachment and any tension from birth come first, so a release can actually help.
Babies often unravel by being held. Bodywork helps some families and not others. Baby massage with a natural oil is a beautiful, free skill anyone can learn.
Some early tenderness is normal. A toe-curling first 10 to 20 seconds that then eases is part of learning. Cracks, bleeding, bruising, or a nipple that looks squashed after feeds are your cue to get skilled help early.
Hard at first doesn't mean you're doing it wrong. It's a new dance for both of you, and with the right support things can get better quickly.
Lead with the chin. Moving from "nose to nipple" to "chin first" helps your baby open wide and relax into the latch.
Big babies sometimes "catch down". A baby born on a high centile may take longer to regain birth weight and settle at a more average weight. Slow weight gain with fewer poos still deserves a skilled review.
Ask for feeding support early, not at the crisis point. Crossing one centile line is a good moment for a gentle check-in on how feeding is going.
Triple feeding is meant to be short. A week or two, with a well-fitted pump, should show you a change. Families deserve a clear plan for coming out of it.
Evening cluster feeding is very common. Babies feed on and off for fattier milk and to settle after a busy, stimulating day. Feeding all day and all night, persistent pain or other worries are reasons to check in.
Physical growth vs mental leaps. Growth spurts bring longer feeds for a few days. Mental leaps bring frequent short feeds for lactose-rich milk that fuels brain development. Trust your baby, not the apps.
Green poos can be perfectly normal. They often appear in hot weather or during on-and-off feeding, as your baby digests more lactose.
Coming next week, Part 2: pumping and flange fit, milk storage, mastitis and blocked ducts, the thrush myth, starting solids, night feeds, breastfeeding through pregnancy, and Olivia's tiny big joy.
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