BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Breast Feeding => Topic started by: jaxnp on June 09, 2004, 21:19:44 pm
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I've been thinking lately on bf #2, and what it was like with ds, and the things I would have done differently to make it more successful. I'd like you to share your ideas as well, now that you're seasoned breastfeeding mommies! Here's what I would have done differently (and try to do next time):
*No pacifier right away--I think ds got too used to the feel of sucking the pacifier, and started to prefer it to the breast. Also, I think it would have been better to soothe more of his sucking desires by breastfeeding than the binky, as it would have increased my milk supply
*Fewer bottles--this was tough with ds, as I had to go back to work PT when he was 3 mo old to 6 mo, and he had to take a bottle, so he had 2 bottles every day, and definitely started to prefer them to the breast. Next time, I will offer the occasional bottle, but since I'll be home, the baby won't need to take bottles regularly.
*Nipple care--boy, were those first few weeks agony! Because I had flat nipples and sensitive skin, I had a really hard time with cracked, bleeding nipples, and it hurt sooo much at first. I have heard some new tips since then that I will try next time, in addition to lanolin: rubbing a tiny bit of anbesol on your nipple before a feeding to numb the area (and it won't hurt the baby), cold cabbage leaves applied to the nipples, soothies gel packs for sore nipples. Anyone else have tips for this??
*Hopefully, having a better nurser! David was okay, but really would have preferred to be a bottle baby, which I was not okay with. He was kind of lazy at the breast, and never used it for comfort, just on and off, bam! We made it 11 months before he weaned himself, and overall had a successful nursing relationship, but I hope the next baby will be more into the breast, just to make it easier on both of us.
Let's hear your tips!
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The thing that made the biggest difference for me was having a dh that learned about BF alongside me. He read the books, paid attention in the class and really tried to learn from the nurses at the hospital. At 3am with a screaming hungry newborn I was not in the best of mind, he could very patiently help get him to latch on and help with positioning (which with a C-section can be a problem)
My problem was Xavier ate for about 75 min, and every two hours, so I got about 30-40 minutes of free time, he also spit up soooooo very much with my fast let down and abundance of milk, and the reflux that I know this time around I need to find out how to deal with those things in case they pop up again.
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Sore Nipple Care: work on correct latch right away, making sure enough areola is in the mouth, flipping the lips out (like a fish), make sure tongue is sticking out between lower lip and breast. Curl baby's body around yours because it relaxes them. Try changing breastfeeding positions/holding them differently. Don't let your breasts become engorged, baby can't latch properly. (I had flat nipples too, and this was tough) Discontinue bottles or pacifiers if your nipples are sore, because sore nipples are an indication of improper latch, and baby is "confused" from sucking on different kinds of nipples. Use a lanolin cream before and after feeding, and go without a bra when practical.
**My #1 breastfeeding advice is to nurse your baby in a baby sling. This helped me have so much more freedom to get out of the house and nurse in public (without exposing myself, LOL). I hope this will help free up my hands with 2 under 2!**
**Breastfeeding SUPPORT is essential. I don't think anyone doesn't have a day or week that they just want to quit because bottle feeding seems easier. It was successful to me to surround myself with only people that wanted me to succeed at breastfeeding, people who wouldn't say, "just give the baby a bottle." I knew better than to discuss breastfeeding with my pro-formula pediatrician. My La Leche support group is what got me through, and we nursed for a year, through a milk-protein intolerance and reflux!**
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Well...my list will look very different. Obviously based on our experiences!
- If anyone tells you what you eat doesn't effect your baby DON"T LISTEN - even if it's a healthcare professional. If your baby has reflux, excessive gas, excema, is very fussy, has mucus in their diaper...you might be dealing with a food allergy/sensitivity. If something you eat bothers YOU your body fights it with anti-bodies which end up in your breastmilk. Common food allergies are tomatoes, peanuts, soy, corn, dairy, sugar, eggs and yeast (includes anything fermented). Look at your reactions to foods (gas, skin problems, burping) and keep a symptom diary (yours and DCs) to help determine if there is a problem. After I figure this out DS was soooo much better within 4 days it was amazing.
- Don't be afraid of formula and bottles. If you need to have someone give DC a bottle of formula so you can get some rest then DO IT. Having an extremely sleep deprived mom isn't good for your baby.
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Things I'd recommend to new and returning bf'ers:
1. Have a copy of "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" from La Leche League - is it a VERY valuable resource. At least scan it before baby arrives so you are familiar with the contents. That way if/when you have questions you can go back and find what you need more easily.
2. Have at most 2 very comfy, multi-cup sized nursing bras before you bring baby home. You will not know your full nursing bra size for at least a couple of weeks, and you may want to wear them to bed to keep your bed dry. Once you're more sure of your nursing size, purchase more to suit.
3. Make sure you have something that gives you adequate back and arm support. Regular pillows actually serve just fine for this.
4. Be very much aware that what YOU eat DOES make it through to baby, so watch for reactions that tell you something you ate made baby unhappy.
5. Enlist support from wherever you can find it.
6. Stand your ground when it comes to what you want.
Other things that I found out for myself:
1. Learning to nurse laying down was the best thing ever for night nursings. I was able to doze and get more sleep that way.
2. When comfort nursing, stick to one side between naps. It helps to maintain the EASY routine.
3. In the early weeks, allow the idle breast to FREELY leak into a towel or cloth diaper. This helped tremendously with preventing engorgement.
4. With rather large breasts and nipples, I learned that I HAD to pinch my nipple down in order to fit it far enough into baby's mouth to get a good latch. It went against advice, but it also got rid of my pain and made it easier for dd to eat.
5. Above all....try to relax. :D One of the best parts of bf'ing for me was having to take the time to simply relax and let dd have at it. With #1 I was able to take advantage of the prolactin release and allow myself to fall asleep along with dd when we nursed. I couldn't do that with #2, but I was still able to enjoy the underlying calm and quiet that came while dd's noise box was occupied. :wink:
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Wonderful advice! Keep it coming![/b]
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Alot of what I was going to post has already been said, especially learning to nurse laying down so you can get some sleep :wink: !
My goal was to nurse for 6 months (still nursing at 12.5 months) but very early on I wondered how anyone could possibly do it for more than a few weeks!
So my tip is to make very small goals, "I will stick it out until 2 weeks" Then when you get there you will probably think, "I can make it one more week" then one more month and so on. I remember at 6 months thinking "wow! I can't believe I made it, and after all that work lets keep going! it's easy now!"
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The following Word document waswas sent to me by Dr Jack Newman, who is the big breastfeeding doctor around here (his book was named one of the best parenting books of 2000 by Amazon.com...).
It includes an explanation of how to tell if the baby is actually eating, as opposed to just sucking; now I can easily determine when dd has crossed over from nursing to eat into recreational nursing.
I have another file that has diagrams demonstrating a good latch, but I can't seem to post it because of the image types that it contains. I'm happy to forward it to anyone who would like it, though. It's a Word document, too.
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Hello,
I am currently breastfeeding my third baby (he is 7 months old now) and found I was still learning stuff about br/feeding this time around.
The first time, I nursed far too long in the first few days ie before the milk comes in properly and let my dd nurse for up to 45 minutes on each breast (she was simply comfort sucking but I did not realise it at the time). After three days my nipples were cracked and bleeding and very painful. I managed to carry on feeding with the use of nipple shields, which eased the pain, but unfortunately she got used to then and would not latch on without. Never mind, I still carried on feeding her for 7 months with the shields. This was a bit of a nuisance, but I got used to it.
Second time around I was determined not to make the same mistake again, so built up the duration of feeding very gradually. First day each feed no longer than 5 minutes at a time and then break the latch. I might feed a few times in quick succession, but it helped the nipples to get used to it and the milk a chance to come in. My milk came in very soon after that and at about day 3 was able to nurse for about 15 minutes. I think that building up the length of time gradually is very important. I fed my ds also for about 7 months with no problems.
The third time around, I ended up with very sore nipples, despite using the above method of gradually increasing the time and I could not understand how I could be doing it wrong when I had already done it twice before... It turned out that I had thrush on my nipples, which spread into my breasts (very painful), even though the baby had no symptoms of having it. I ended up treating the baby, treating my nipples with a cream and having an oral anti-thrush tablet (don't know what else to call it) and this did the trick! Hurray! I am now still breastfeeding at 7 months and have no intentions of stopping before he is at least 12 months old - I am enjoying it far too much. He does this lovely thing where his arm strokes me as I am feeding him - it is just adorable and very cozy.
To any ladies out there contemplating it: give it a try, get as much information as you can and ask for help from someone who can come and sit with you if need be, to show you how exactly to latch on.
Good luck and happy feeding!
Astrid
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I agree that correct latching is key, and it can be very hard to tell if you have never done it when the baby is on properly. All I can say is that it genuinely feels different when the baby is correctly latched and is sucking properly. What helped me was to keep remembering "tummy to mummy, nose to nipple", which was a phrase on some pamphlet, but the nose to nipple thing makes sure that the baby is correctly positioned to latch on. Also, dont be afraid to ask for help in the hospital...I had nurse midwives coming over to me all the time to help me out the first few days, and while it was a bit ...um...over familiar to have some woman you dont know grab a bit of your boob and stuff it into your baby, it did help. Also, to know if baby is really feeding adn not just comfort sucking...look at the jaw line and watch how it moves because it will look different when the baby is actually eating.
Best advice though is to be determined and stick with it. There were lots of times I wanted to give up, but I knew what I was doing was right.
Also, and this is really petty...get some good videos...you need something to do while you are parked on the sofa all day.
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One more final thought...I have no idea why she told me to do this and frankly I dont care, but when the midwife visited me on the fourth day and my milk still had not come in, she suggested I eat chocolate. I dont know if it was about consuming extra calories, or making the milk taste sweeter to get baby to eat more, but how often does a health professional TELL you to eat chocolate. So I obeyed dutifully and my milk came in the next morning.
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I agree - some really good advice here.... I just thought I would add one more thing - I found having a breast pump invaluable in the beginning as my one breast got so engorged that dd could not latch on for a couple of days - so I pumped off that breast each feed time I think, then gave her some ebm (as well as feeding off the other side). Of course it would have been better to prevent the engorgement in the first place!! :)
I had heaps of trouble in the beginning, but am soooo glad I stuck with it!
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Magic number 6. I had the usual problems, mastitis, thrush, engorgement, bleeding nipples, squirting supply, nipple spasms. I was told that you should alwyas try it for 6 weeks before you give up. And now it's smoot sailing.
I discovered cups. A bit like nipple guards but with a shell over the top. They are plastic shells tht sit over the nipples and stop clothes from rubbing on the nipples. These were the ultimate relief and saviour. I also found that they collected milk that expressed while baby was on the other nipple which I now keep and use to mix with baby food.
In Australia we have this magical cream called Paw Paw ointment. It is better than lanolin and amazing stuff. It is made from fermented paw paw and has incredible healing properties. It is great for nappie rash, cracked skin and sore nipples and safe to ingest. It's very popular here in the desert as it also works well for dry skin. It absorbs quickly so is not a barrier cream, more a healing oitment.
Changing positions regularly. This gave relief to my cracked nipples. I would rotate positions (traditional, football, laying on side, laying on back with baby on top) to circulate pressure around nipple at feeding time.
My husband had a terrible cold for a week and was terrified that baby would get it. He only got a runny nose and I am convinced this is because of my antibodies he recieved through breastmilk (and all the garlic I ate!)
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It's all great advice. I'd just like to say that remembering, 'Breast is best' has always helped me perservere when the going got tough and my daughter seemed too hungry for what I could provide, my boobs were too sore or swollen to bear, or I was just so exhausted that I nearly gave in to formula feeding. Breast feeding my daughter has been the most amazing experience I have ever had, and I feel that she and I have a special bond now that nothing can ever take away.
Remember that breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world, and by doing it you are giving you child the BEST possible start in the world. It is something that only a mother can do for her child, and that no-one can ever take away from you both.
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Hi, great to hear everyone's advice. When I had my 2nd baby, a dd, I told the midwife that I often had cracked nipples when feeding my ds. She said one way to check was to look at their bottom lip, it should be curled out and not under. If it is curled under and you keep taking them off to latch on properly and they won't, is to flick their bottom lip out with your finger. Hope this helps.
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I'm going on 14 mo. with only one feed a day, so I am still learning. As for the beginning:
-A BF class and support group, in your home and out of home, helped sooooo much!
-A book about BF that I kept by the chair to read and re-read while nursing.
-Lanolin worked great for me!
-I got mastitis, so I will definetly try to "empty the breast" when feeding. Which can be hard when it's your first time and your feeding every 1 to 2 hours but after DS was on I wouldn't feel engorged and I would keep him on quite a while.
-Remembering to listen for good swallowing so there's less air, sounds like "Caa-Caa"
-Little to no pain means good latch so relatching sometimes happened a lot in one sitting. Sometimes it did feel like I was sitting there for hours but towards 3mo. I would sometimes read a book or played cell phone games and time would go by, as now I don't get to do those things....
-As mentioned, setting small goals (ie, "I'll try 3 weeks, then another 3, to two more months, to which took me way past a year and missing it already).
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I had a few - not many hiccups in the first 4 weeks but i got our local lactation consultant to come and visit us at home - best $40 dollars i ever spent, Allison was great. And so inexpensive, she really gave me the confidence keep going after a horror mastitis (can't spell anymore) episode too !!!
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One thing I would say is to go by what suits you and your baby and not get hung up on what the books or other people say, remember every baby is different!
I spent the first 3 weeks sick with worry because Hope would not feed for longer than 5 minutes before falling asleep, everything I read said that the fat rich milk doesn't even come in until 10 minutes into the feed and so I was petrified that my baby was starving! Even my midwife was trying to come up with ways to keep her feeding longer (including telling me to pinch her ear if she fell asleep! :? ) Needless to say she has flourished and been known to regularly put on between 8 and 12 ounces in a week! And her feeds have never really increased in length.
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1. Do not give up! I wanted to quit soooo many times and I am so glad I did not.
2. For us, it was not an option to give formula, and I feel that this is a sucking hole one gets into, so we avoided it like the plague.
3. Drink BEER - one a day ups my supply very, very well. Goya Malt beverage if you must stay away from alcohol or anything resembling it.
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Nipples were so sore after three days, that I expressed for the next four days to heal and then used nipple shields for a week.
I then went straight back to breast feeding without a problem - no more sore nipples!
Breast shields are a God-send!
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I hope this does not sound to blunt, I am not very good at writing but wanted to give my view on this subject. As a trained proffesional of 13 years there is only one reason I feel breast feeding fails, and that is that the use of demand feeding is used to literally. Demand feeding does not mean as soon as you baby cry's to breast feed, and this is a mistake most mums make. I have a friend also a nanny who has just had a baby and is breast feeding, she agrees as I do, she feeds her baby to what its body requires but not every 2 minites to pasify the baby. By doing this the baby goes up to three hours between feeds, never cry's, is always happy, and at each feed she always makes sure the baby has the hind milk. The baby feeds for up 20 min's and that is its feed, not constantly when ever it makes a sound. A baby weather breastfed or not needs a pattern in the day or they will just keep crying out of being unsettled.
To many mothers feel demand feeding means the baby crys then you feed all threw the day maybe every 15 mins or half hour. This is not the case and this is not feeding, a baby needs to learn to settle itself in other ways besides suckling all day, after all when it is older just because it cry's you are not going to give into it every five mins are you.
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Doesn't sound too blunt to me, just fits in with Tracy's philosophy. :)
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Well, I do agree with what you've said, but only after the baby turns 6 weeks or so at least. With a newborn baby I think you SHOULD feed totally on demand, even if that does mean every half and hour or more. When they're that tiny the comfort of nursing is all that makes sense to them, they don't have any other way of soothing themselves, also they have come from an environment where food is in constant supply, they've never been hungry before and it must be a scary feeling for them. Making a newborn baby wait for food is just cruel in my opinion.
However once they are a bit older it is true that you can feed too often, and of course it doesn't make sense to try to feed them every time they cry.
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Hi I totally agree, when a baby is first born its tummy is so fragile that it needs to just take the amount of milk its tummy can cope with, but by 6 weeks you should be able to develop a routine that requires baby feeding at around every 3 hours, but of course that does depend on the size of the baby and how hungry the little one is. I do feel as well that it can develop into a problem if you let baby fall asleep on the breast, I used to have an employer who would tickle the babies feet or touch its ears slightly just to keep it sucking, this way the baby had its full feed instead of a 5 min one that meant it woke every 2 mins for more milk leading to 24 hour feeding and little sleep for mum. Hope this sounds like common sence. I am not a mum and cannot have children, but feel I have learned allot over the years that can help mums.
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poppins have you ever read "the womanly art of breastfeeding" by LLL?
Your philosophy treats nursing purely as a source of food which is a recent western adaption on nursing. MANY mums need to nurse more frequently than every 3 hours to maintain their milk supply but because some people expect bf babies to play by FF rules, consequently problems occur such as not producing enough milk - this problem is unheard of in countries where baby is allowed to nurse frequently.
Human milk is digested and leaves the gut within 1 1/2 to 2 hrs of being consumed, hence why some babies need feeding more frequently than 3-4 hrs, bm is also a drink to baby, how often do you go 3 hrs without a drink and youre tum is much larger than a 6 week old babys. If we look at nature we can see patterns of how animals nurse - animals whose milk is high in protein tend to nurse once or twice a day and gain weight very quickly, animals whose milk is low in protein nurse frequently and take small amounts, they grow slower. Human milk is low in protein and babies who are allowed access freely to the breast will nurse little and often as nature intended - we are expecting them to behave unnaturally and then are surprised when we encounter problems.
That is of course only considering nursing as a source of food when in reality breastfeeding is a pain reliever, comforter and bond with mum.
Recent research also now tells us mums have the capacity to hold differing amounts of milk in their "initial store" (because we know the breast is never empty) some can hold enough for their baby to nurse 4 hourly and be content, some need to nurse every 2 hrs to meet babys needs.
I am not trying to say the minute a baby makes a sound you should nurse, this is taking away their voice in the same way as a pacifier, however I think the secret of babywhispering is listening to YOUR baby, following HIS cues and meeting HIS needs not expecting every baby to go 3 hours between feeds.
To make breastfeeding succesful the advice I would give is to treat your baby as an individual, never compare to ff or even other breastfed babes. Inform yourself about growth spurts, nursing strikes and other things to expect so you dont panic when you get there and lastly surround yourself with support.
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Hiya Purpley, I was wondering if you'd be coming in on this one! :D i think the problem comes with the differing interpretations of 'feeding on demand'.
I started off very much planning to feed on demand, but to me that meant feed whenever they cry because no-one had told me any different! So I came a cropper pretty early on- partly because I was inexperienced and partly because my baby gave hungry cues for all sorts of things! If she was tired she would start rooting, if she had wind she would start rooting, and so on and so on. You might say 'Well why not just feed her then, if she's asking for it?' The trouble was that if she wasn't actually hungry and I tried to feed her, as soon as the letdown happened she would become hysterical! This had alot to do with the fact that I have a very fast and strong letdown, so the milk would spray down her throat which often upset her even if she was hungry let alone if she wasn't.
So I ended up not knowing whether I was coming or going. It was particularly bad in the evenings when she had colic, from the way she was acting I would swear that she was hungry- rooting, crying, trying to latch on to everything in sight, but then I would try to feed her and as soon as the milk arrrived she would start crying even worse! I used to dread trying to feed her, the whole thing was very stressful.
I also had a very over-abundant supply, far too much for just one baby! So frequent feeding just made that worse as well, which in turn made the letdown even stronger and feeding even harder!
It wasn't until I tried to space out how often I was feeding her a bit, and she started to calm down and give clearer signals that things started to improve for us. Once I spaced feeds out to every 2 hours the horrible fussing and crying at the breast got much better. Even now though I don't stick to a set time between feeds, now she's older she gives much clearer signals for hunger so I generally know when she needs to nurse and I follow her rather than a schedule. Often she does go 3 hours, but almost as often it's 2 hours, sometimes 1 1/2 and sometimes even 4 hours!
But if I get it wrong and try to nurse her when she's not hungry she still throws a tantrum! :wink:
So no, I don't believe in making a baby wait if they need to nurse, be it for comfort or food. But I DO believe that you can nurse too often once the first few weeks are over. So some sort of clock watching can be helpful, just as long as you use time as a guide and not as a master!!
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Hiya
I think Rosie you did a perfect job of reading your babes needs which is exactly my point :)
From experience what can work for one dosent work for another which is why strict 3 hr schedules will not suit every baby. The mums who dont have fast letdown, whose babies have a weak suck or those that just love to nurse at a leisurely pace (I remember you saying Hope was always an extremely fast eater)
For some mums, nursing if baby is tired or has colic works for them, after all breastfeeding is both a relaxant and a painkiller so its natural they may show feeding cues around this time and for many mums its natural to nurse, this may not be the route for some babies (ie with fast letdown, reflux etc) but may work better for others.
The point I was trying to make is they are individuals and each situation and baby should be treated as such just as you did with Hope.
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Absolutely! :D I wish I HAD been able to nurse Hope more for comfort, it would certainly make life easier for her in situations like colic, vaccinations etc. and I do feel sad when I think that some mums deny their baby that comfort.
But I agree with Poppins that demand feeding can be taken the wrong way. When I first had Hope I honestly did think that it meant feed whenever they cry! And no-one told me any different, none of the books I read until Baby Whisperer explained about hunger cues etc. in any depth, so I had no idea how you could tell, apart from rooting which, as I said, she did alot anyway!
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Help I have started a row. Sorry I did not mean to. To be honist I agree that babies are all different and all individual and some need more milk some less. All I meant was that if you give your baby a good feed, lay it down to sleep then not feed every 5 mins, then you can get on with things and the baby is not confused. Even a breast feed baby if fed properly can go a good amount of time so that it can be placed in pram/cot and mum can get a rest, but if baby is fed every 2 mins as soon as it makes a sound then it comes to rely on this as a pasifyer and not for food. The main aim for the breast is for food, yes mum and baby bond threw this and it can give baby comfort, but not to the extent that the baby becomes dependant on the breast for security. I will add that sometimes when baby cry's it is for other reasons such as its nappy, collic, or something else, if suckling is always given to a crying baby, often the real reason for a cry can be misunderstood. I just think you need to learn to read your baby, and know when it is crying for food, when for just a good old fashioned cuddle/love, which dad should be able to give as well, or when it is sick or has colic. I generally have learned with each of my charges, admitidly by the time I have them sole charge they are bottle fed, I am around alot when they are breastfed though, but by understanding what cryies the baby is displaying, I can fix a problem they have and they rarly cry. Sometimes I can even look at there faces and body language and anticipate what the problem is. You do need to get the feed pattern right though for each individual baby, as they are all different. Please I hope I have not started another to do.
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Purpley I am sorry if I caused offence. I am sure you are a wonderfull mother and breastfeeding teacher. :D I was not saying anything against yours or any other mothers ways or views, this is just what I have experienced threw looking after many, many different babies over 12 years threw a ten hour day. I guess it is just child observation that has taught me as well as the actuall process of the feeding. I am sure though I still have a lot to learn from qualified people such as yourself.
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poppins not at all! I certainly havent taken any offence and didnt consider it a row I thought we were just exchanging views and ideas :D
I agree totally with reading babes cues - all I was trying to add is some mums do need to nurse much more frequently than 3 hourly but because they read things saying baby should go 3-4 hrs etc they try and follow this resulting in a lack of milk.
I think perhaps a couple of articles say what I'm trying to say better:
http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBJulAug03p126.html
http://www.lalecheleague.org/ba/May99.html
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Don't worry! It's not a row! Me and Purpley are very much of the same mind, I think, when it comes to this subject. I'm not disagreeing with her at all, just saying that I agree with you that 'feed on demand' can be taken too literally.
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Whilst on topic, this is quite an interesting read:
http://www.fix.net/%7Erprewett/evidence.html
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I think I've been too successful! DS is 14 months and still going strong.
He has not taken a bottle since he was 6 weeks old, and has never had a dummy.
He will drink water from a cup so I know he can do it, but will not take milk from a cup.
I want to wean him from the boob, but I don't know how to go about it.
At the moment he is not too well, either teething or a cold/virus and is using me for lots of comfort. He still wakes during the night and if I don't offer him the breast, he lifts my t-shirt up :shock:
Help!!!
Wendy
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Hi there
Are you wanting to wean your LO totally or just prevent night feeding? I ask because many mums dont know there are lots of benefits still to your baby nursing at 14mths - If you havent got any info on this yell and I will dig some out :)
When either stopping nightfeeds or stopping nursing altogether it is important to tread quite carefully as nursing is not just a nutritional bond but also an emotional source of comfort and a way your baby connects with you. To suddenly withold feeds can be quite disressing for baby not old enough to comprehend why and some mums suggest this an indication baby still needs whatever comfort/bond it is providing so when not allowing baby to self wean care does need to be taken to make the transition as smooth as possible.
I will hunt out some info for you if that would help?
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Purpley,
I initially want to stop night feedings and eventually stop altogether.. I would like my body back for a short while as we want to have another baby soon.
You are an angel!! :lol:
Ta very much, Wendy
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Just to go back to subject of sore nipples. My mother-in-law (a retired obstetrician!) told me whilst I was pregnant to rub cream (any bodycream) in to my nipples every time I had a shower to toughen them up before the baby arrived. I did this with both babies. My first baby fed ALL THE TIME(!!!) and although my nipples were uncomfortable and a bit sore, they never bled or were really bad. Second baby is very quick feeder and esp in beginning spaced out her feeds so my nipples had a bit more of a chance. I know this advice is only helpful if you are pregant, but if you are pregant I would recommend doing this as it did seem to work well for me.
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I have been reading through the posts & totally agree with Poppins re : feeding on demand, I made this mistake with dd. Everytime she made a noise I fed her, I fed her to sleep, I fed her if she had wind I fed herfor comfort. This led to her having no routine, at 4years old she still cannot manage to fall asleep alone, she was extremely sick whenever she was picked up, or moved in any way because she was so full to the brim constantly & if I fed her lying down & she fell asleep feeding I would leave her on no matter how long that was - minutes or hours & if she woke in the night I just put her in bed with me & fed her as it was the easiest option as a result she never slept properly & regularly through the night until she was 3 yrs old!. Everybody I knew (none of whom breastfed) said I should switch to formula cause my life would be much easier - they were right in a way but just following a routine like EASY would have made my life much easier. I bf her for 12 months & loved every minute but this time with ds I have not made the same mistake & he has been on EASY since 6 wks. I do still occassionaly feed him when it's not necessary - after immunisations, if he is extremely upset when we are out etc but not very often. I do this because to me one of the great advantages of breastfeeding is being able to pacify your baby very quickly and easily when the need arises. On the whole though if you demand feed you are more likely to end up sore, feel you have no time to call your own & a baby who will probably be very windy or sicky & very demanding. I had to start dd on baby rice at 11 wks in the mistaken belief she was constantly hungry - it never occurred to me that babies cry for anything other than food. So my tip is remember just because the breast is always there doesn't mean it has to be constantly used, if you were formula feeding even ifyou had ten bottles made up you wouldn't feed them one after another to your baby just because it quitened them - the same goes for breastfeeding.
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My dd pediatrician was nagging me to supplement b/c my dd had jaundice, but i just kept going at it, putting her to the breast every 1 1/2 hour to 2 hour to get the milk to come in. I also used fenugreet tea. sometimes called mother's milk tea. it is supposed to help increase or help your milk to come in. It isn't the best tasting stuff, but was okay with milk and sugar. I think that it really helped and will use it again with my next baby.
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Fenugreek also comes in capsule form if you don't like the taste of the tea. I took it for a week or so a couple times when my supply was down and it definitely helped, along with regular pumping.
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Here are the things that I did/would do next time.
1. Feed immediately after the birth (as soon as you can)
2. No pacifier. I gave dd a pacifier when she was over 4 weeks old but only for sleeping not for during the day. During the day I nursed her for comfort and for feeds and my milk supply definitely benefitted from that.
3. Looking after nipples is soooo NB. I rubbed mine with breast milk after every feed, and also air dried them. No soap on them ever but I think what helped the most was making sure she was latched on correctly.
4. Correct information. This is sooo important. I didn't read the La Leche book until she was over 6 weeks old and I wish I had read it sooner as I wouldn't have worried about all the things that I did worry about.
I think those 4 were about the most important for me. My dd was really into the breast and I hope that the next baby is too.
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Many of my friends gave up after a couple of weeks or so b-f.ing, they wanted their husbands to take more of the work by bottlefeeding!!! So my tip is to think of the bonding you get between you & your baby that no one else can get, they way he looks up at you when he has mouthful of milk, satisfied! I used nipple shields for 13 months on ds1 & tried sooooo hard not to with ds 2, now 4 months, but the pain was so excruciating, I had no one to help me (foreigner in foreign land!) & I spent all my time crying. Sooooo I went back to nipple shields & hey presto, success. he is a fat & healthy 4 month old. Ds1 very healthy too! So, to mums like me, don´t worry about nipple shields, if they work for your baby, then use it!
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I came across this product while in the hospital having Kaitlin called Vigilon for cracked nipples. It's a gel patch that you put directly on your nipples and leave there except while nursing, and it works like a second skin, enabling moist healing. It feels great when you put it on, nice and cool, and it works better than lanolin. It's quite expensive, but so worth it! There's only one pharmacy in my area that has it, but I bet you can get it online. It's been a life saver this time, as I've had the blistered, cracked nipples again.
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I've been reading the posts on this subject and I find myself reminiscing and laughing at my own experiences. Only now on baby #2 do I realize that bf.ing is not the answer to a baby every cry! But I do love to bf.
I agree that it is very important to nurse first thing after birth. It helps in so many ways to bond and feel like a mom to this little person you're just now meeting!
I bf my son for 1 year and plan to do the same for my daughter(now 9 months). I had no nipple problems with ds but dd caused me some excrutiating nights. I had never before thought I would not bf, but at 3am, sitting in her room crying as she nursed, I seriously considered quitting ! I'm really glad I stuck it out! I think that bf.ing is the best gift a mom can give her baby and herself.
My best advice, would be to hang in there and to surround yourself with other women who have been successful at bf.ing. It is important to have the support of others in the beginning when you might run into problems!
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The best thing I did was hire the services of a Lactation Consultant. My LC also runs a clinic at a local chemist so I have been in regular contact with her throughout DD’s first year of life. She always makes me feel positive about breastfeeding.
The other thing I would recommend is to trust your instincts; if something does not feel right then it probably isn’t and needs further investigation.
Oh I have one more- don’t get lazy when it comes to your own sleeping positions. Back before I was pregnant I love to sleep on my tummy. When DD was eleven months old I began doing it again and ended up in hospital with a nasty case of mastitis.
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I had an awful time BF my DD, but I stuck it out and now it is the best thing that I have accomplished. My advice is "just hang in there". It usually takes about a month to get good at it. I know that sometimes it feels like it is just not worth all the pain, but it trully is.
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Some BF mothers get a lot of upper back pain or shoulder pain, which comes from carrying the baby, and all the bending over to breastfeed. There is also extra weight on your upper back from the milk and your increased breast size. My upper back and shoulders actually got so bad I had to see a physical therapist. She gave me some great exercises, and I would recommend you see one if your back and shoulder pain is really bad. Don't just keep taking those drugs they gave you at the hospital! : ) That kind of pain is not good or normal!
I also would recommend doing gentle back exercises. You can look these up on the internet. One easy one is to stand against a wall with your shoulders touching the wall, and put your arms straight up against the wall, and then swing then slowly all the way down in front of you, so that they touch the wall again below your hips. Then you go back up, and down, slowly. If you are able to do wall push-ups, those are really good. Or if you can do harder kinds of push-ups, like against a counter or on the floor, even better! You can also lift weights or pull on surgical tubing that has been afixed in a doorjam. Be gentle on yourself because you are extra-flexible after pregnancy. Yoga helps too, but not enough yoga positions really strengthen the upper back specifically, so you might have to do push-ups and weights in addition to a yoga routine. If in doubt, complain of upper back and shoulder pain to your doctor, and request physical therapy.
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I had the same problems with ds (neck/shoulder pain), and also saw a PT. It helped immensely, and I actually still do the stretches every morning, because it feels good. This time around it's not so bad, because I do the stretches and I'm more aware of my posture. My brests tend to get huge while breastfeeding (DD), so good posture is really important, cause they're so heavy.
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Hi, I'm a 40 yo Peruvian mother. I've just had a new baby after 17 years,an even I'm a physician, there are lot of tips I need to re-learn.
I read a post about Chocolate, and I expereinced by myself it is true. In peru tradicional Medicine is very popular, and I noticed that oatmeal and a special kind of potatoe, called "arracacha" realley helped me increase the amount of milk. This last one can be mashed and tastes really good
I have to go back to work in April, when my baby will be about 4 mo, so I would like to read good tips to maintain my breastfeeding
Good wishes from Peru!!! :D :!:
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Hi, I was told to use what I had from mother nature. The midwives said that if I used my own breastmilk and rubbed my nipple before and after every feed then that is the best for prevention of cracked and bleeding nipples.
Along with the obvious correct latch, if it hurts when the baby tries to suckle then you must take the baby from the nipple and try latching on again.
Other breastfeeding mothers told me to buy the creams (so I did) and I never had to use them.
I had large nipples and was very engorged after the first few days and was told to lean over the sink and soak my breasts in warm water to soften the area and release some pressure to help the baby get a better reach. If need be I had to express just a little beofe feeding.
Rhian
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With my first baby bf took a while to become successful. But with my second I have successful bf. The only differents with my two baby's is with my first baby he had to be taken to the resusitar as he pooped will he was inside me because he went into destrees because of the long labour. With my second baby she was delivared straight onto my naked belly. My son refused to bf until he was almost 12 hours old but my daughter bf when she was only 30 minutes old. ?I had both of my baby's at my bed side and not in the nursery and every time the midwifes wanted to take my baby's to the nursery to give me time on my own I refused. No matter were you live the midwives should respect what you want and let you have you baby at you bed side. Having my baby and feeding on demand instead of at set times was the only thing that I did the same with both my baby's and this is what I would say is what has helped me with both my baby's to bf successfully.
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hello everyone,my tip if any of you are struggleing with getting baby to latch on.Nipple sheilds were my saviour my dd struggled the first few months.Then the nipple sheilds helped her to stop sucking her bottom lip and open her mouth until we did it without.
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The #1 recommendation I have for making breastfeeding comfortable is Lansinoh brand lanolin. It is the only topical endorsed by the International LaLecha League. You don't have to take it off before feeding. I found it at Target one day when I was pregnant and thought I would try it. I am so glad I did. I had no soreness, cracking, or bleeding. It has made nursing very comfortable. I use it along with the Lansinoh washable nursing pads, that way it doesn't get all over your bra.
Frances
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I bottle fed my 1st, tried bf with my second, & only managed 3 weeks because it was just so painful, i had the usual cracked nipples, and i think now i may have had thrush and eventually got mastitis - owch that really hurt. So I gave up. Now I'm expecting my 3rd baby. I so want to get bf right. I missed bf so much that it contributed to my post natal depression. my 2nd was permanently attached to my breast, i think he was using me for suckling rather than feeding. I thort i may introduce a dummy earlier, and perhaps not feed quite so often. and to find other ways of pacifing the baby instead of immediatly using the breast. I've also been advised not to over feed in the first few days, but to start of with just 5 mins on each breast, to allow nipples to get used to be ing chewed on, and then to build it up. I've also thort about expressing milk, to prevent my breasts from becoming engored, but does that not stiumlate more milk. BF is so confusing. HELP!! I've go 4 months before baby arrives. What are you're thorts. :roll:
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OK I have not read the other posts, but.....
* Go into it KNOWING that the first TWO WEEKS are NOT EASY. Actually in my words PAINFUL... but after that life is sooo great!
* Ask for help
* Don't feel shy about asking for help - it may be natural , but it is not easy.
* Remember this is the BEST THING FOR YOUR CHILD.
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I think what I would recommend for new BF moms in addition to all the other great posts, is to understand prevention, and early symptoms of the two common infections- mastitis and yeast.
I have hardly met a BF woman who hasn't had one or both of these. It can really mess things up and if you know what to look for and how to prevent them from getting too serious, your life can be much easier. I wish I had understood more about these at the beginning!!
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If you have painful nipples that feel like baby is cutting them or slicing them with teeth (even when they don't have teeth) this may help:
For 5 wks after birth I had such tormented nipples, partly from incorrect tongue position (he was lifting it up - caused by having a bottle in hospital supposedly). The other reason was I was not letting the nipples dry out enough after feeding. If only I realised this. I was trying the rub your milk on the nipples but not the 2nd part which is drying them properly.
If you have a cut and don't let air to it, it stays moist and won't heal. The same thing with nipples if you don't let them dry after a feed you may end up with them becoming sensitive and so painful.
I was advised to 1) rub my own milk around them from time to time BUT ALSO 2) blow on them to dry them off or let the air to them for a minute. You can feel if they are still moist they feel a bit softer. Once dry the skin feels a bit firmer again.
This I hope will save you HOURS OF PAIN.
DON'T GIVE UP - I REFUSED TO STOP BECAUSE OF THE CONVENIENCE, NUTRITION, & MONEY SAVING OF BFEEDING it's also a great way to comfort & bond with baby! If you want it go for it!
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There is some really good advice here. My first son was so easy to read.Could always tell when he was hungry and went onto 3 hr feedings withing 2 weeks, was a fast and effeciant feeder. My new guy is not easy to read at all. I can't really tell when he is hungry - so he gets fed most times every 3 hrs sometimes less. At nite he is a lite eater. I have a fast letdown and usually having him in a slight sitting position to help against the sputters, but he still spits up a lot. He seems to always want to suck on something. At times after a feed he seems to get mad that there is still milk coming out-he wants to suck.I only figured that out by putting him on my other breast a few times and he still seemed upset-then I gave him a pacifier and he'd relax. My advice is to relax, follow your own instincts and enjoy the experience. As long as baby is gaining weight, has lots of wet and poopy diapers, you are doing fine. Don't rush the breastfeeding - relax, sit back and watch your little darling. Eventually you will figure it all out. THat you are here reading this shows you will learn all you need too. I have one question - at 4 weeks old, should I wake my baby to feed????????
Momma of two
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3 simple little words, will make a world a difference.
NEVER - GIVE -UP
I had it all: bad case of thrush that lasted 3 months!, very low milk supply (had to take domperidone), baby was 10 lbs so the demand was huge. but through it all I never gave up. I bf my son till he was 13 months. The reason I stopped was cause I had to back to work. so for all you women out there who feel no hope, that they should just give up! DON'T it's soooo worth it trust me. It's soooooo worth it!!!