Author Topic: Preparing  (Read 1411 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline AZmom09

  • BW Aficionado
  • ***
  • Showing Appreciation 0
  • Posts: 103
  • Location:
Preparing
« on: September 13, 2012, 19:31:56 pm »
Hi,
I am due at the end of Oct and am really nervous about nursing. My two other children gave me a really hard time. First had a tongue tie and after he got it clipped i dont think it helped much with nursing. He just never got the latch. I pumped a ton and it was very stressful, he also spat up a TON.
My next was able to latch, but didnt like to nurse! She had bad gas pains too.
So i'm hoping my third time around i'll have some luck!? Are there things i can do to prepare myself for these situations? maybe for the gas issue, whats what i eat and stop eating certain things...? How about being sure i have enough milk... Im just a nervous wreck!
Any advice would help, thanks!

Offline Erin M

  • The Sentinel
  • Global Moderator
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 521
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 16463
  • Location: USA - the midwest...
Re: Preparing
« Reply #1 on: September 13, 2012, 19:38:33 pm »
There's lots of good information here: "I'm pregnant for the first time and think I do want to breastfeed. Help me?"
(I realize you're not pg for the first time, but a lot of the advice rings true no matter if it's your first or not.)

Also, the best thing you can do is find yourself some IRL support now -- whether it be a  lactation consultant, a LLL group, or a hospital breastfeeding group -- and talk to them about your concerns.  Make sure you'll have some help available when the baby comes because when you're dealing with the craziness of a newborn, the last thing you want to do is try to find help.  Expect to spend a lot of time nursing in the early days, so try to figure out what you can do with your other LOs while the baby is nursing -- maybe someone can help, maybe you'll have some new toys/movies for them, maybe your significant other will be around to help. 

Most moms have enough milk, unless there is some sort of medical reason why not -- the absolute best thing you can do in the early days to get that milk supply established is to nurse a ton -- as in somewhere around 10-12 times/24 hours.  Once your milk supply gets going, you should be in good shape.  As for gas, make sure you burp really well after feedings -- actually, I would wonder if you had one baby with latching trouble and one that was very gassy, if overactive letdown/oversupply was an issue for you.  Did you feel like you had milk shooting out of you when your LO latched on?  Sometimes that makes it harder for LOs to nurse, though if you're aware of it, it's easy to work around.

Good luck!

Offline AZmom09

  • BW Aficionado
  • ***
  • Showing Appreciation 0
  • Posts: 103
  • Location:
Re: Preparing
« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2012, 20:09:39 pm »
Thanks, i think its possible i did have an overactive letdown/oversupply. my milk started to slow down once my babies stopped nursing and the pumping wasnt helping much. With my 2nd i pumped for 6 months pretty much, it was a nightmare, and now with 3 kids i dont know how i will have time to do that.
How do i deal with the overactive letdown/oversupply?

Offline Me.and.my.two.boys

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 41
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 3638
  • Me and my boys ❤️
  • Location: UK
Re: Preparing
« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2012, 21:16:47 pm »
I'm due I'm 2 weeks and also had a hard time last time round. I'll post a link to my other thread when Im on the laptop tomorrow, there's loads of info on there :) I'm feeling so much better now about things :)
Kelly, mum of two amazing boys 2008 and 2012

Offline Erin M

  • The Sentinel
  • Global Moderator
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 521
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 16463
  • Location: USA - the midwest...
Re: Preparing
« Reply #4 on: September 14, 2012, 02:24:37 am »
There are quite a few things you can try about it -- some of them are easier, like letting the let down go into a towel (my dd2 used to just latch off once the initial let down came and then latch back on), or pumping through the first let down when nursing, or expressing by hand.  You can also try something like lying back (like in a recliner) while LO nurses, so the force of gravity is going against the milk.  If it's an oversupply issue (not just a let down issue) you can try block feeding, where you only feed off of one side for a few feeds in a row, which helps to down regulate your supply. 

There's some info here: http://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/fast-letdown/  that gives a much more thorough description.  :)

And this is Kelly's thread that she mentioned earlier: I REALLY want to Breast Feed!

Offline Me.and.my.two.boys

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 41
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 3638
  • Me and my boys ❤️
  • Location: UK
Re: Preparing
« Reply #5 on: September 14, 2012, 08:21:06 am »
Thanks Erin :) x
Kelly, mum of two amazing boys 2008 and 2012

Offline Erin M

  • The Sentinel
  • Global Moderator
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 521
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 16463
  • Location: USA - the midwest...
Re: Preparing
« Reply #6 on: September 14, 2012, 11:24:10 am »
:)

Offline Fiver

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 152
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 10105
  • Anyone for omelette?
  • Location: SW UK
Re: Preparing
« Reply #7 on: September 14, 2012, 18:27:46 pm »
If you've had a LO with a TT previously, chance are you might get another one (gassiness can be a symptom, so may be that 2nd LO had an undiagnosed one also).

Erin's given you some great advice already, but adding that as you've already had a LO with a TT to watch out for that from the outset and find yourself someone with experience of checking for and correcting TTs as even some LCs aren't completely up to scratch on finding them, especially if they are posterior ones.
*** Amanda ***




Offline willowsmummy

  • BW Aficionado
  • ***
  • Showing Appreciation 5
  • Posts: 140
  • Mummy to Willow and Travis, my two textbook/angels
  • Location:
Re: Preparing
« Reply #8 on: September 17, 2012, 08:37:21 am »
if you find baby does get windy, ive heard drinking fennel tea is meant to be good :) also have you got a boppy pillow? Get for helping to keep baby in the right position, which helps to get a good latch!! Good luck hun xx