Female: --is a little latch on mother leader. Debra: And this is the essence of mother to mother support. We are mothers who have done it, have breastfed and mothered young children who are helping other mothers. Female: Given that breastfeeding seems so natural, it may seem strange that women would need technical or even emotional guidance but it's not always as easy as it looks. Female: I had a terrible sore nipple. My daughter had a marked preference for one side over the other because we look symmetrical but we’re not. You know we’re each a little bit different. Debra: The kind of questions you get in the beginning have to do with latch on mothers with sore nipples, engorgement, how to know when the baby is getting enough, things like that. Female: She has wet enough diapers. She has enough bowel movements. Female: Breastfeeding experts agree that one key to successful breastfeeding is correct latch on. Female: When the bay is properly latched on, the mother should see a wide open mouth with lips that are flanged out with the nose and the chin gently touching the breast. Female: And while the entire nipple should be well inside the baby’s mouth, only the first inch or so of areola needs to be covered. Debra: Some people have larger areola, don’t get carried away. You don’t have to engulf your whole breast. Female: If a baby isn’t latched on correctly, breastfeeding can be uncomfortable. And the baby may not be getting all the milk he needs. Debra: I get called with a three fold problem. My nipples are sore, my baby’s hungry all the time and I'm engorged. And it seems like three problems but it's all the same problem. When the baby doesn’t latch on well, the mother gets sore and the baby doesn’t transfer the milk so the baby is hungry and the milk is still in the mother. Female: And these difficulties maybe enough to discourage an already exhausted mom from continuing to breastfeed. Before she started breastfeeding her twins, Debra Taft breastfed their older brother Thomas for 20 months. But she almost gave it up because she feared he wasn’t getting enough milk. Debra: I didn’t think he was gaining enough weight because he was a constant sucker. He’d be on the breast for a whole hour then he’d sleep for two then on another hour. Female: So Debra went to a lactation consultant who explained that Thomas was feeding longer and less effectively because he wasn’t latched on correctly. Debra: I think he wants to eat Thomas? And the problem was solved. He could put on more weight. Female: Another key to a successful breastfeeding is proper positioning. Debra: Now Valeria is in a good position because she’s tummy to tummy with her mother so that her ear, her shoulder and her hip are in line. Her mouth is in front of the breast and she can latch on and swallow well without having to turn her head or reposition. And of course we know when the baby is finished because they latch off, break the suction. Female: of course for moms like Debra who are breastfeeding more than one child, the preferred position maybe one called the football hold. And given how long and how often mom will be breastfeeding, her comfort is important too. Debra: I'm breastfeeding either in their room, my room or the living room, wherever there is a nice big chair. I tried doing it on the floor but the logistics of getting up is awful. Female: And for Debra, there is another minor complication of breastfeeding. While many mothers are able to breastfeed discreetly in public, twins make that a more difficult task. Debra: Getting out in public is a little tricky. We haven’t quite gotten that yet. So I feed them. They fall asleep. I run out for half an hour, an hour, I run back in the car and we’re home for the next feeding. I've gotten bolder with having kids but I don’t know if I'm that good.