I am scared to death of the pain (I know childbirth is painful, but it is over with quickly, chapped and cracked nipples hang around for awhile)
Any tricks or tips you'd like to offer? Anything you wish you had known before you started breastfeeding?Advice from mothers who have breastfed please?
There are some steps you can take now to help make your breastfeeding experience as smooth as possible. Here's some of my favorite tips:
1) Consider having a natural, unmedicated delivery. Epidurals are associated with more breastfeeding issues for many reasons, and there's a lot of evidence to support this. See these links:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/200鈥?/a>
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16227311/
2) If your pregnancy is low risk, you might consider a hospital adjacent or freestanding birth center, or even a homebirth. Studies show that homebirth is as safe or safer for low risk pregnancies as hospital birth, when attended by a trained midwife: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/lifematt鈥?/a> Birth centers are also good options for low risk pregnancies. The fewer interventions you have, the better your chances of having a positive breastfeeding experience. This can also minimize the number of interruptions after the baby is born, which can give you more time to nurse your baby uninterrupted.
3) Have your baby nurse within an hour of birth - preferably within the first half hour. Research shows that the sucking reflex starts to diminish significantly after the first hour, so getting the baby to the breast within an hour is crucial for developing a good nursing relationship and helping your milk come in faster.
4) Nurse your baby frequently and on cue. Don't limit their time at the breast. Frequent nursing helps bring your milk in faster. You can also do breast compressions to help your milk come in. Place your hand far back on the breast in a C shape, and move your hand toward the nipple, pressing firmly but not hurting you, like you're massaging it. This helps stimulate the flow: http://kellymom.com/newman/15breast_comp鈥?/a>
5) Have your baby room in with you, if you're in the hospital, so you can nurse him/her often.
6) Avoid artificial nipples for the first 4-6 weeks. This can cause nipple confusion, and it will only make breastfeeding more difficult. If you give birth in a hospital, you might want to consider making a sign for your door and your baby's bassinet that says ';No bottles or pacifiers';. Don't assume that hospital staff won't give your baby a bottle or paci if you're breastfeeding. This is another good reason to keep the baby rooming in with you.
7) Babies' bodies are designed to thrive on colostrum until your milk comes in. Most mothers notice that their milk comes in sooner with each child they have (mine came in on day 2 with my second, as opposed to day 7 with my first). If your milk is still not in after 6 days and your baby has lost more than 10% of his/her body weight, I would contact an IBCLC - international board certified lactation consultant. Your local hospital should have one on staff, and they should be able to help you. If your baby absolutely needs to be supplemented, try to do so with a supplemental nursing system instead of a bottle. This way, the baby will still be stimulating the breast while getting the supplement, and they won't have any nipple confusion from a bottle.
8) Don't be afraid to take your baby away from visitors/grandparents/friends who are holding and cuddling him, if he/she needs to be fed. Your baby's needs come first. If baby needs to eat, feed him/her.
9) Newborns are often very lazy and sleepy at the breast, so you might need to stimulate them to wake up a little and nurse. Try pumping their arm in circles, tickling their feet, stripping them down to a diaper and nursing them skin-to-skin, do breast compressions to stimulate the flow and encourage them to suck more, or place a wet cloth on their back (provided it's not too cold where you are).
Be aware that it is very rare for a woman to have truly low milk supply when she is breastfeeding her baby often, on cue, and not limiting your baby's time at the breast. Trying to put your baby on a schedule can make your milk take longer to come in, cause your supply to drop, and contribute to weight gain issues. You can't nurse a newborn baby too much.
Kellymom.com is a great resource for breastfeeding information. There's tons of helpful, evidence-based information there: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/index.html
Dr. Jack Newman also has a lot of info and videos at his website: http://www.drjacknewman.com/
I really like the book ';So That's What They're For!'; It's a great book for expectant and breastfeeding mothers. It's lighthearted, funny, and easy to read, but it's also packed with information: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593372鈥?/a>
Good luck!Advice from mothers who have breastfed please?
If you your hospital offerslactation help, I would have them come in right after you deliver. The key is to start breastfeeding correctly from the beginning to make sure you do not have any issues other than the tenderness for the first week. You should not feel any toe curling pain, if you do, then something isn't right. I wouldn't pump unless you need to go somewhere because that could make you have an overload of milk. If your hospital offers a breastfeeding class, take it. I know alot of the problems people have is lack of education on breastfeeding. If you run into problems like weight gain, talk to your lactation consultant and the pediatrician. You shouldn't have problems with cracked nipples and all if you are doing it right. Get help and stay with the help, to make sure things go right, it's easy after that. You can also call your local La Leache League to see if there's a meetup group in your area.
Talk to your midwife or hospital about having a consultation with a lactation consultant. Also there are some great breastfeeding books like Breastfeeding by Dr Sears. Breastfeeding is a learned art and it will be so helpful to get someone to teach you how right away, when do do it right it is not painful but rather a very wonderful experience. I actually just got done nursing my 1yr son right before I got online tonight. It's a way to stay bonded to your baby and breast milk is best for there health. Your making a wonderful choice and just don't give up practice makes perfect!
I loved Breastfeeding. It didn't really hurt at all. I think for a week on my second week breastfeeding I was a little sore but I got lotion that worked wonders. We had a hard start because my daughter was learning but thanks to the nurse who never let me give up it came easy to us. I also pumped at work to, that didnt hurt. I think the worse pain for me was when my daughter started to sleep all-night I'd wake up filled with milk! Good Luck :) I hope it works out for you and baby.
They have cream that you can put on your nipples that helps a lot..No one told me my breast would get engorged and it hurts like hell what I did 2 help with the pain is pump just a lil soo they went soo hard and I use frozen cabagge to put on my breast it helps a lot... So u buy a head of cabbage and you pull it apart and freeze them and just pull them out as you need them the cup your breast really good... Hope this helps...
I breastfed both my girls and it was the best thing I could of done for them.Yes at first your nipples will be sore and some people's nipples do crack (mine did) and I cried and cried but like another mom said to u. DO NOT GIVE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! once all the crappy stuff is done (4-10 days it's one of the easiest things you can do.
Good luck and I hope it works out for you.
don't be afraid to ask questions. sometimes its hard to get the baby to latch on and can get frustrating for you both, but keep working with it, its worth it :) while your in the hospital don't be afraid to ask questions, they have people there who can help you:) good luck!!
the best advice I got was ';don't give up'; don't let the option of falling back on formula allow you to give up too soon.
For the chap crack nipples get nipple butter. They sell them at Motherhood Maternity. I did not think it would be something I would need, but OMG I did!
It is better than lotion..... which I would not use during breast feeding.
Also you will be sore, and hurt sometimes. Use a warm wet wash cloth on your breasts, and it feels better. Also warm shower water hitting your breasts.
Do not forget to get pads for your bra. You will leak sometimes, and a bra soaked with your milk is no fun.
It will hurt, and feel weird at first. You will get the hang of it, and let the nurses help you.
Many of these answers are good -- the thing to remember is that you do have to find your own path for what works for you.
I HIGHLY recommend following a program called Babywise -- I used it with my first and third children and it made a huge difference. It revolves around a very flexible schedule which allows your baby to learn how to sleep and gives you ample time to recover between feedings. I started it the second week with mine and by 8 weeks they were sleeping through the night and gained weight at record paces and I had no trouble with my milk supply. There are some people who say it is too rigid, but those who find it rigid are not implementing it properly, because the flexibility of the schedule that makes it work.
The best advice I can give is the same as some others: Don't give up. It really is worth the effort, and it is not always easy, but it is totally worth it. One time it took me 17 minutes to latch my son (my first child) onto my left breast, I thought I was going to fall apart. He was crying, I was crying, we were both sweating buckets and I called my sister in desperation and she reminded me that he had only been alive for four days. Everything is new to him and me, and somehow that calmed me enough and then he latched right on. It helps to have a mentor, a mom who has nursed successfully is a good start. Me being able to call my big sis at 2 a.m. was a huge help for me.
Some babies don't latch on as well as others, but just like parenting, you do the best you can and that is all you can do ... :D
Oh, almost forgot, get a good pump. When you are starting to doubt your milk supply (we all do at one time or another), you can pump and see what you are getting out -- it's hard to tell when they are nursing, except with the regular wet diapers and weight gain, but there is so much of a mental aspect with breast feeding, it helps to have that for reassuring purposes. Medella Pump InStyle pumps are just outstanding. I have had mine for 8 years and three babies and it's still working for me. Not cheap, probably around $260, but it's a great pump.
Good luck!! :D
The pain can be bad but it is the worst in the first few days. 2 of mine that breast fed did not really hurt too much at all but my last baby it was so bad. She was a great nurser and would suck so hard and it hurt but after a few weeks it did not hurt at all. (it is different for everyone though)
Leaning over on the side of a bed or sitting hunched over will help the milk flow. As well as hot showers.
You will most likely get very large within the first week or 2 but it may go down a little once the baby starts eating more so don't run out and buy all new bras in the first week.
Get a nursing bra and a nursing tank, these are great!
Positioning is something that depends on you and baby. Keep trying different positions until you find one that works,
Instead of trying to feed for 15 - 30 minutes on one side and then the same on the other side you can do 5 minutes on each and just keep alternating until baby is full. This worked best for me because as I fed on one side the other would fill back up.
Try to start with t he side that does not have as much milk and then switch to the full side. I still stayed fuller on one side but it helped to keep it within reason.
Eat good, both healthy and eat for 2 just like when you are pregnant. But even bigger drink, drink, drink. Milk, water and juice of course. Pop will dry you up real fast so keep it to a minimum.
Tell the doc and nurse before you give birth that you want to nurse. I did not and my son had one bottle and then would never take to nursing even with all the help I got. The bottle is much easier to drink from, it comes pouring out into their mouth instead of them sucking hard.
Use the special lotions to keep from chapping. I never had a huge problem with this but I was soar with my 4th baby. It only lasted a few weeks and then I was fine and never used it again, but good to have on hand in case.
I know it sounds funny but you can roll out your nipple before the baby starts sucking and make sure that the whole nipple is in the babies mouth. It will hurt so much more if it just sucks on the end. It is a learning process for baby as much as it is for you.
I never had success with pumping except the first month or so. Some people have more success with pumping than they do actually nursing so play it by ear and see what works for you. (I prefer manual pumps but some hate them).
Nursing is much like pregnancies in the fact that it is different for everyone and even from one baby to the next.
Good luck and I hope this helps. I wish someone would have told me some of these things but I had to figure them out by trial and error. You are making a good choice though and try to give it a month because it usually gets easier after a month. I would nurse over bottle feed any day. Some say bottles are easier but when your getting up 5 time throughout the night it is much easier to whip it out than go make a bottle, warm it just right, and then thoroughly clean the bottle and then back to bed.
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