Advice for first time breastfeeders?

[LeahLo]

I am currently 33 weeks pregnant with my first baby (a girl) and I am planning on breastfeeding. I have not taken any classes yet, but I am learning all I can from doing my own research and I plan on meeting with a lactation consultant in the hospital, as I have heard that they are extremely helpful. I was just wondering what tips/advice any of the experienced breast feeding mothers on here could offer someone making their first attempt. I am sure that with everything else involving motherhood there are several life saving bits of knowledge out there. Any information (rather it be about latching, pumping, weaning, etc.) would be appreciated!

[dziejen]

Find La Leche League in your area and attend a meeting while still pregnant so you can connect with your local Leaders and have their numbers if you have questions after your daughter arrives. It is nice to be familiar with the voice on the other end of the line if you need some assistance. Plus the mother-to-mother support is great.
It is great that you have been doing your own research; expect everything to go well and know that you have resources available if you need them. Also, the best advice I received in the first weeks is to watch the baby, not the clock. Your baby will tell you when she is hungry.
Wishing you a great birth and babymoon!

[alegna]

In no particular order:

avoid artificial nipples as much as possible- none for the first 4-6 weeks
plan to succeed
plan to do nothing in the first couple of months- nurse, feed you and change diapers
plan to sleep with baby and nurse all night
have no formula in the house
have any bottles or pacifiers put away
have a number for a LLL leader or lactation consultant
have lots of ready-to-eat snacks

good luck!

-Angela

[fruitfulmomma]

keep a glass of water nearby while nursing

[tessie]

Originally Posted by fruitfulmomma

keep a glass of water nearby while nursing

And snacks in the bedside drawer. eat while you feed in the early days to keep up your energy levels. (My poor child was constantly covered in crumbs and splodges of dinner. )

Also, purchase lansinoh and if you have any pain (and some pain can be normal in the beginning as long as it's only at the very start of the feed) apply after every feed.

If you do have difficulties they can usually be solved with the right help so make sure you have the numbers on hand before the baby gets here.

I would also attend a class or meet with a group if possible, It's much easier to learn from real people than from books, especially when learning about the correct latch, positions etc.

Good luck!

[Llyra]

Find a pediatrician or family doctor for baby ahead of time, and ask that doctor some very careful questions about his/her support for breastfeeding. When do they recommend supplementing? What age do they think is right for weaning? How would they recommend you handle slow weight gain, or jaundice? What age do they feel is right for solids? Then go and do some research on your own, on kellymom.com or the La Leche League site. You'll be able to figure out whether you have a care provider for baby who's going to stand by breastfeeding even if things don't go perfectly by the book.

Get the name of a good local certified lactation consultant-- one who can see you in your home, if necessary. Medela's website has a search engine; that's where I found my LC, and she was invaluable when DS was gaining slowly and the ped was pushing formula.

If you have a partner, get that partner on board. My husband was my best support. When things got rough and I wanted to quit, he reminded me how important breastfeeding was. He understood from the start that breastfeeding is a commitment of time and mama's energy, and was ready to carry the load of other household and baby-related responsibilities to support me. If you can convince your partner, it's a good idea to pass on some facts about breastfeeding so that person knows kind of what it's going to be like.

Plan on a few weeks where you mostly stay home with baby and work on getting breastfeeding established. I struggled a lot with "helpful" relatives who wanted to come over and "just hold baby awhile while you sleep, don't worry about us, we'll be fine" and it really undermined breastfeeding on demand. I'd find my mom with DS screaming his head off, trying to stick a pacifier in his mouth to avoid waking me, when he was starving. If you have friends or relatives who are going to criticize, or try to take over, or monopolize your time, or act all astonished when you're not willing to go out at all hours of the day and night, or whatever, get yourself geared up to tell them to either do something useful like the laundry, or come back in a few weeks when you and baby have had some time together.

I probably have like a zillion more, but I'll leave it at that. And what Angela said-- lose the artificial nipples. Not all babies are subject to nipple confusion. Some go back and forth from bottle and paci to breast with no trouble. My DD2 always did. But when nipple confusion does happen, you don't know until it's really late in the game, and it can be a battle for you and hard on baby to overcome. I fought that battle with my other two kids, and with DD1 I lost, and never did get her back to breastfeeding. So make a commitment-- no bottles or paci for at least a month, if not longer, no matter what. If baby MUST have supplementing, use a medicine dropper or a tiny cup, or look into a supplemental nursing system.

[Epona]

Milk does not come in right away. Your baby is not starving. She is crying to nurse often, not because she is wasting away, but because it is nature's way of bringing the milk in faster. The more you nurse her, the faster your milk will arrive. I repeat, she is not starving, it's perfectly normal. She does not need a bottle of water or formula. She's fine. She getting colostrum, and your milk is coming, and mother nature has thrived on this system for a long time!

Also, go ahead an pump off the engorgement. People will tell you "NO! You'll up your supply!". Yes, that can be a byproduct, but it is easily remedied. By pumping off the excess, you are more comfortable, avoid plugged ducts, and allow your daughter to latch well. The excess milk can be donated, placed in the freezer for an emergency, put in your coffee, or fed to the cat. You can even set it aside in the fridge to put on diaper rash, it works really well. Your supply rights itself pretty quickly, and you can drop off pumping sooner than you might expect.

Young babies often cluster feed. Usually in the evenings. No she is not starving. Cluster feeding is a normal way to up your supply, shes acting on natural instincts, and is not starving. She does no need a bottle. But you will.

Congrats on your babe!

[madeleines_mom]

Visit www.drjacknewman.com and www.kellymom.com often for advice. Dr. Newman's site is awesome because it gives you videos of proper latches and the "breastfeeding help" section addresses soo many areas of concern. You can also email him if you can't find an answer to something and he usually will get back to you really quickly!

Kellymom also has had every answer to almost every single one of my BFing questions.

[BakerALM]

Tell yourself that you will Breastfeed no matter what! NO Bottles no passifers in the first 6wks. Nurse early and often, don't wait for a crying baby that is just too late. Feed as soon as they start to lick lips, squirm, move their mouth in that nursing sort of way. Nursing fixes almost everything!

If you do have problems espeically EXTREME pain IMO just stick it out until you can find someone who can help you fix it. Don't fall into the trap that I find alot of moms fall into when they have EXTREME pain they "take a break from breastfeeding and use a bottle until they can find help". Usually that just makes the problem worse in the long run and more painful for the mom so just sticking with it even if you are crying in pain short term WILL pay off in the long run. (this said from experence!) A few days of pain eventhough it feels like a lifetime is short when compaired to the length of time you will nurse your babe. Totally worth it, just like Labor!

Also enjoy the good times they are only little once!

[Super~Single~Mama]

Have the attitude that nursing fixes all baby ills. B/c it does! Anytime baby fusses, cries, looks in your direction, acts the slightest bit hungry, or anything just nurse. If your baby nurses, or acts happy then that's what they wanted. If it doesn't fix the problem check the diaper. Nursing is step 1 - diaper is step 2 - nursing is step 3 - etc. when anything is wrong.

No artificial nipples - particularly in the hospital!!! Don't let your baby go to the nursery - she will for sure get a paci there. If your baby does go to the nursery make sure she is accompanied by a family member who will honor your wishes for no paci's. Seriously - Paci's can do serious damage. A friend introduced a paci way too early and her baby never latched at all.

[Latte Mama]

I hope that you will be one of the lucky Moms with a babe that latches beautifully and you have great success from day one.

But if not, know this, for breastfeeding problems there are breastfeeding solutions. Do NOT send your DP out at 3 am for a can of formula even in your weakest moment. You can do this.

Do not let any hospital staff bully you into "supplementing" your newborn unecessarily. They will try this for several easily remedied common condition such as jaundice and low blood sugar. Do your research and make your own decisions.

Understand that the majority of doctors know little to nothing about breastfeeding so you cannot expect to rely on them for information. They do not know about meds safe for BF and many times tell moms to wean for ridiculous reasons. If you ever need to take medication, google "lactmed" which is a NIH database for BF/meds. Most meds are compatible.
I second kellymom.com which is a lifesaver for BF moms, great info and great links.

One last thing, the first month is the hardest. Once BF is established it gets so much easier. At 5 months, it was nothing to latch my DS on and walk around the house getting stuff done, easy peasy. Now at a year, we are still going strong.

Good luck and congrats!

[maddymama]

Hi Mama,
You've gotten tons of great advice from other mamas here on this thread. For me, it's all about the latch. Don't feel bad for spending a ton of time in the first few days/feedings getting the latch correct. It will save your some pain and frustration later on.
With DD1, I was in such a hurry to feed her in the hospital I didn't really worry about establishing a good latch- much pain, many clogged ducts, and a bout of mastitis later, I learned my lesson. With DD2, I spent a ton of time (I mean maybe an hour at some feedings) getting her to latch on correctly before I let her feed. No pain, no clogged ducts, no mastitis, and she learned how to latch on quickly and well within 48 hours.
Work with a good LLL leader or LC if you need to.
Water, water, water, and snacks, snack, snacks.....
Good luck!
~maddymama

[cdmommie]

Originally Posted by LeahLo

I am currently 33 weeks pregnant with my first baby (a girl) and I am planning on breastfeeding. I have not taken any classes yet, but I am learning all I can from doing my own research and I plan on meeting with a lactation consultant in the hospital, as I have heard that they are extremely helpful. I was just wondering what tips/advice any of the experienced breast feeding mothers on here could offer someone making their first attempt. I am sure that with everything else involving motherhood there are several life saving bits of knowledge out there. Any information (rather it be about latching, pumping, weaning, etc.) would be appreciated!

My first was REALLY difficult at the beginning. I would tell you just be sure your baby is latching well before you leave the hospital, always remember that IT WILL GET BETTER after the first couple weeks. In fact if you have a hard time in the beginning it is actually a wonderful experience later when it's just a natural wonderful thing. I'm so so thankful I didn't give up on my oldest, I wanted to, I wanted to so bad that first week, but now she's two and still nursing like a pro Also, I would recommend not having ANY formula in the house. It can be very tempting during those sleep deprived days.

[phrogger]

The biggest thing is to just relax. You are learning and so is your baby. Being stressed will make it that much more difficult. You have to just relax, take some deep breaths and keep trying. The first few days that are tough are only a very short time in the overall breast feeding experience.

[cyclamen]

Originally Posted by thyra

Have the attitude that nursing fixes all baby ills. B/c it does! Anytime baby fusses, cries, looks in your direction, acts the slightest bit hungry, or anything just nurse. If your baby nurses, or acts happy then that's what they wanted. If it doesn't fix the problem check the diaper. Nursing is step 1 - diaper is step 2 - nursing is step 3 - etc. when anything is wrong.

As a new mother still in the throes of learning how to breastfeed, this. This, absolutely!

Watch the breast crawl video, just because it's soooo beautiful: http://breastcrawl.org/

Also, if you are delivering in a hospital - or even if you are having a midwife - have a "breastfeeding plan." Things like: please give me the baby directly after birth; baby rooms with me; please examine baby for tongue-tie; no pacifier, no bottle.... etc. Do your research like you would for a birth plan, and make a breastfeeding plan.

If your nipple comes out looking squashed AND you have pain, the latch is bad, and something is wrong no matter what anyone tells you from looking at the latch from the outside. (Though, they say that if it's squashed and it doesn't hurt, you probably don't have an issue.) At least be familiar with posterior tongue-tie, because many caregivers are not familiar with it, and the sooner it is treated, the easier things will go for you.

Have lots of towels at hand.

You CAN take ibuprofen. (Yo, I was popping three at a time to help with the pain and it's definitely one of the things that saved breastfeeding for us. That and my boyfriend rubbing my feet while I cried and DD sucked away.)

It's totally beautiful. They start to smile a lot sooner than you think they will. I mean, I wanted to quit so much sometimes, and she'd just SMILE at me while she was latching on and my heart would just melt. I swear I made it through eight weeks of excruciating pain every time she fed all because of that smile (well, and motrin and a nipple shield, but hopefully none of that will apply to you). And it's still frustrating and it still hurts, but not as bad, but we're in a habit now, so I'm hoping to keep going for a while. So if it's hard, take heart and have confidence!

Congratulations and good luck!

[Amandamanda]

idk if its been said yet, because i havent read the whole thread, but LEARN TO NURSE LYING DOWN! seriously it was such a lifesaver, especially in the early weeks when sleep was so vital.

and just remember that this is what you were MADE to do. you can do it!

[paulamc]

Read up on thrush / yeast infections/ candida ahead of time so that you recognize it if you get it. Jack Newman and Kellymom are both great sites for this. Know that the risk is increased if you get antibiotics during your delivery or at any other time. If this happens, take probiotics/ acidophilus to guard against infection.

It would also be a good idea to read up on plugged ducts and mastitis for that matter, at the same websites.

Good luck!!!

[zinemama]

Get recommendations for a good independent lactation consultant NOW, while you are still pregnant.

I am not knocking all hospital LCs in the least, but not all of them are certified and they don't always bring the best skills to the table. Ask around for a good one and keep her number handy. You may never need it, but a day or so post-partum with nursing issues and sleep deprived is no time to have to start the process of finding one.

[savithny]

Don't take this as negativity -- its not!

Don't be surprised if it is not easy!

It sounds like the simplest thing in the world, right? Every mammal nurses its young!

Except in humans, nursing is learned behavior for a mom, much more than instinct. This is true of many in the animal kingdom -- one zoo finally got one of its mama gorillas to nurture her baby and nurse it rather than abandoning it and refusing care. How did they do it? At the en of the mama gorilla's pregnancy they got human women to sit around outside the enclosure, in plain sight, breastfeeding their infants! Many animals who have never seen it done will freak out and not feed their babies!

So, if you're like many of us whose mothers and aunts and family friends did nto nurse in front of us, it takes work to learn how to do! It may well not come easily at first. It may feel awkward. YOu may feel like you don't know what you're doing. This is NORMAL, and with practice it will get easier and that feeling will pass.

You can do it! Asking questions like this one is a great first step!

[lrlittle]

Originally Posted by Amandamanda

idk if its been said yet, because i havent read the whole thread, but LEARN TO NURSE LYING DOWN! seriously it was such a lifesaver, especially in the early weeks when sleep was so vital.

and just remember that this is what you were MADE to do. you can do it!

This!!! It may take awhile to figure out, but SOOOOOOO worth it.