Breastfeeding with very very large breast

[rachelsimon1978]

I'm mother of one child expecting my second child. When my first child was born I had terrible
time trying to feed him. I'm large breasted, not just large but very very large and feeding him with huge boobs was such a challenge that I was not totally successful in breastfeeding I must say. It was frustrating and wondered why do I have these melon like breast (Only while feeding of course) because of it I was not able to feed my child properly.
Now that I'm expecting my second child and breast seems to be bigger compared to fist time, I'm really worried.I would appreciate any advice from not just large but very vary large breasted women, because they can understand my plight.

Rachel

[veganone]

No suggestions, sorry. I'm just large breasted... DD is 13 weeks now and I'm just now starting to be able to do sidelaying without suffocating her. But, wanted to offer support. Maybe you could try to find a good LC early to help you right away? I wish I'd done that - the hospital one was out of town for Labor Day weekend and we didn't see her until 4 days pp.

[jes_mar_wak_hod]

I completely understand. When my dd was born it was soooo awkward. I was holding her at my breast but had no CLUE how to help her latch on. My breast was 3 times bigger than her head!! I have to laugh when I watch videos of that time, I just looked so clumsy. It came to me tho, and I don't really know what to tell you other than consult a lactation specialist. GL!!

[welsh]

Originally Posted by veganone

I'm just now starting to be able to do sidelaying without suffocating her..

nak
me too! so happy!:
my challenge was that I have huge areola too so it took us 4 LC visits to get latch right.
Good Luck! You may need help but it'll work out just fine.

[nurtureyourbabies]

I had to do the football hold for the first few weeks, until we both got it down. I know it is hard and frustrating, but you will find the position that works for you. Don't be afraid to talk to an LC or go to a LLL meeting!

[Bellejar]

I am a DDD and I found myself holding my breast with any hold but a football hold. So much so that my wrist hurt. The biggest challenge was when mine were really little it got progressively easier as they got bigger.

[glendora]

All hail Big Boobied Mamas!

It's all about the football hold and a Boppy pillow. I just stuck him up under my armpit and aimed. Heh. Now that he knows how to latch like a old pro, we're branching out.

[psichick78]

I'm glad I'm not the only one.
I'm an H cup and breastfeeding was really tough at the beginning. My daughter is 6 weeks old now and it's getting easier everyday.
Football hold is everything. Still not really able to nurse while laying on my side and that's a bummer. Also bought a sling but if I nurse her while she's in it, poor thing can't breathe! LOL

Ahh, to be chesty

[dctexan]

I ditto what everyone else is saying. I am a F/G right now. Breastfeeding with large boobs is its own challenge (and it IS slightly disturbing when your boob is larger than your child's head). For the first few days I did the football hold (with like a million pillows) but it wasn't great. Then I was stuck in the cross cradle with a My Breast Friend (MBF) pillow for several weeks (and it was STILL a 2-handed operation since I needed to support/guide the babe's head with one hand and hold my boob with the other). We were finally able to move to side lying (but even now I STILL have to use one hand to press the breast away from his nose). Over the past few weeks we have been able to branch out to nursing without MBF or sidelying, but those sessions are never THAT great (more of a snack than a meal...and things are always better if I have something to rest DS on, either the diaper bag or a pillow) and they always involve two hands. The only time I have successfully done one handed nursing (other than lying down or using MBF) is in the ringsling. I am so jealous of those women who can nurse one handed (or even hands free!) all the time.

[mysticmomma]

I was an H before my BR a year before my daughter was born. I'm a E/F now. While nursing my daughter I was back up to a G. I found nursing in the sling to be the most helpful, buecause I could smoosh my boob into the right position annd it would stay there. Lying almost on my back, but with a pillow under half of me worked well with baby nursing on bottom boob, as well as total side lying with baby on a pillow next to me nursing on the top boob. It gets easier as they get older, and you need to define your own success wrt breastfeeding when you encounter challenges. I think you did a great thing and will do even better with this one.

Trisha

[rachelsimon1978]

Thanks for the response and all your support, because thats what I need right now. I'm actually quite large compared to even larger women who are in this forum. I haven't measured recently but I was 40JJ or K before my first child was born. During my pregnancy and after that I must have gone up couple cup sizes. I always had firm and fuller breast and because of which I can't see my nipple and when the time to feed came after delivery my breast were firm as hell and so it made it hard for me to feed the baby in any position. When I tried football I could not see where my baby mouth was going I had to take my husband's help to feed him, which was not convenient since he is not around all the time.
So because of which I had pump and feed him, which is not a nice feeling as feeding directly. Any advice form the experts is welcome and I'm willing to try my best this time around and feed my baby.

[lolar2]

Originally Posted by rachelsimon1978

When I tried football I could not see where my baby mouth was going I had to take my husband's help to feed him, which was not convenient since he is not around all the time.

I had this exact problem with football hold (I am the same bra size as you), plus the baby hated it. He would be perfectly happy, and then as soon as I put him in football hold he'd start to scream.

We pretty much just pumped until I stopped responding to the pump, and with his bubble palate he never was able to latch and suck well; but the most successful nursing times we had were side-lying. I would have to prop him up so he didn't need me to hold him, and then use both hands to hold out my TOP breast in his direction. I also had to do breast compressions but my supply was low, you might not need that. In this way, there were 2 or 3 times when he nursed as much as five whole minutes! If I have any more babies, I plan to start out this way and not try to mess with football hold until nursing is better-established.

[rachelsimon1978]

Originally Posted by lolar2

I had this exact problem with football hold (I am the same bra size as you), plus the baby hated it. He would be perfectly happy, and then as soon as I put him in football hold he'd start to scream.

I thought I was only one with breast size as big as mine, who had tough time feeding. Its good to know that you also went thru the same experience as me.
What is worrying to me is that I'm bigger than before. I measured last night and I'm now 40(O/P) and with firm and fuller bust (Which I always was) it becomes difficult to lead baby's mouth to nipple. When I use to try feeding my first baby I would only see his head and part of his face (I understand you had same problem) and since I have well rounded breast my son would suffocate.Juggling breast in one hand and baby on other was tough as after some time my arms started to hurt with no success. Its kind of funny that it took two people to feed my baby with my husband helping the baby (baby in football position) to latch and I would just support the breast(He made fun saying he is feeding the baby not me) with limited success. I must say my son was not small too.
Now with second baby on its way my breast is already feeling more fuller/firmer bigger and I want to do every thing possible to breast feed this time. Though the baby is 4 months away, I want to chat up with as many large moms and gain experience.

Thanks again for sharing your experience

Rachel

[MaryJaneLouise]

Laying down is a good position too .

[veganone]

I think side laying is hardest, at least for me - I have a verh hard time getting DD's head in the right place/angle and controlling my breast at the same time.

Maybe you could get a mirror to nurse in front of for a while? Then maybe you could see the baby and your nipple?

[lolar2]

I don't know how your budget is, but my plan for next time is to hire a post-partum doula full-time for the first few days at least, to help me with this issue. (We definitely don't have the money for that right now, which is one of many reasons we are waiting to TTC.)

[rachelsimon1978]

Originally Posted by veganone

Maybe you could get a mirror to nurse in front of for a while? Then maybe you could see the baby and your nipple?

It's great idea..frankly it did not occure to be me when I was trying to feed my first baby. Have you tried it your self?
I'm thinking of doing some practice session with mirror before my baby is born. I have a baby size doll which I can put to use..... Lets see how it goes, At least I can get some idea if its gonna work or not.Considering my well rounded bust, it will be interesting to see how I can avoid the bust touching the nose and guide the nipple into the mouth. Ofcourse its not the same as actual baby, but lets see.

[rachelsimon1978]

Originally Posted by MaryJaneLouise

Laying down is a good position too .

lolar2 also mentioned this position, I was wondering would you not want to hold the baby while feeding. I guess this position is good once the baby grows and he/she can find the nipple instead of you having to guide it to her mouth.

[dctexan]

I love the mirror idea!
Do you have a breastfeeding pillow? It really is essential with large boobies (in my opinion) - at least the baby's body will be supported and at the right level...one less thing to wrestle with! I also have very round boobs and I can really only squish/support half of my boob at a time. It worked best for me to hold the boob from the outside (the armpit side) with my four fingers supporting/guiding from the bottom (to lift boob up and aim) and my thumb on top (to hold the flesh away from baby's face/nose). Also in the first 2 weeks it was a struggle getting baby to open his mouth wide enough (he was just so tiny and my boob was so big!), but I just kept with it. Eventually we worked it out.

For sidelying I actually use two pillows to help me out. One behind my back so that I can sort of lean against it/roll slightly back. The other I use to hold the baby wehre I want him (because I need my arm/hand to control the boob. If the babe isn't positioned right, I have to let go of my boob (which breaks the latch) reposition the pillow/baby and then pick my boob back up again and relatch. It was very hard at first (especially with flailing open mouth newborn head - which is why I suggest practicing in the day, in the light, when both of you can handle not nursing for a few minutes in case it doesn't work out) but DS totally had it down now (took several weeks of practice). When he is on the bed and sees me setting up the pillow nest and he get a big smile and rolls on his side all by himself

[dctexan]

This site Sidelying Nursing helped me figure out sidelying (of course I had to substitute a pillow for the hand behind the babe, because my hand has to smush my boob).