What can I do to prepare for BFing?

[yaya]

With DS I BF till 4mos then had to stop after 5 consequetive bouts of mastitis. Needlessto say I was very diasppointed and would liek to BF for longer this time. A little history, I have rather falt nipples so BFing was never comfortable to say the least, also I had A LOT of milk so DS never emptied the4 breast which led to the mastitis. My doc told me not to pump after feed as I would only produce more milk.
Any tips on how to 'get it right' this time round? TIA

[lisi's mum]

Yaya, can you make an appointment with an LC before your next one arrives? Maybe a personal consult would help? If you want, a friend of mine is one who I'm sure would be happy to help over the phone - her Italian's as good as your average South Tyrolian (ie, should work  ) but English is non-existant.

If you want I can pass on her phone number.

In the mean time, here's the la leche league's italian web site http://www.lllitalia.org/Sito/Home.html

Katie 

[Samuel's mum]

Good for you for wanting to be prepared and thinking ahead.

I'm wondering whether perhaps last time you actually had one case of mastitis that you never recovered from and the bacteria was never eradicated. Or your doctor didn't take a swab and prescribe a focused antibiotic. Anyway - focus on the future.

The second time round things will be different - the mouth/nipple/tongue combination varies everytime. Flat nipples can make things tricky but speaking from experience it's not always a problem - the key is good latching advice. There are some opinions that some of the methods used to help inverted nipples can be adapted to help flat nipples before birth e.g. wearing breast shells designed to bring nipples out or using a plunger type device and not everyone agrees with that.
http://www.breastfeeding-basics.com/html/flat_inverted.shtml


In the case of oversupply there are techniques that can be used like block nursing or even cool compresses to minimise blood flow. This is something that can be fixed with expert advice assuming you have the same problem again - you may well not.

Definitely take up the offer of an LC. Good Luck.

[binxyboo]

I have flat nipples and ended up nursing successfully, so it can be done!

What helped was for me to massage my breast before feeding and to put Riley on to feed after letdown had occurred. If you have lots of milk this may work well for you as well. My nipples did get more erect as letdown occurred. I have read on another site of Moms who rub ice on the nipples before feeding and this seems to work wonders for them. It definitely became less of a problem as Riley got older and got used to things. Also making sure I was holding the breast properly when attempting the latch on.

I would def. recommend a visit with a LC before you give birth so they can do a breastexam and offer suggestions. Also google Jack Newman and visit his website, tons of info on there about all aspects of nursing. If I think of anything else I'll add it later...

[shimzy]

Patience... lots and lots of patience 

I nursed my daughter for the first 4/5 wks and truly wish I had stuck it through. I wished I had more patience to stick it through because I hear so many times that it becomes so easy as you pass the 2 month mark... I was so close   

(I didnt nurse my son other than the first day).

[yaya]

I got to 4mos so thats pretty good but I dont think i'm well predisposed to BFing, as I said, it was always painful and i stuck with it for DS but after 5 bouts of mastitis in 1 month I had to stop