Breastfeeding advice wanted

[charliekay]

Hi ladies, I'm looking for some advice regarding breast feeding. I formula fed my first son but I'm really warming to the idea of breast feeding this time but I'm terrified I won't be able to or baby won't take to it. I'm also worried about breast feeding in public, I'm just not confident enough to do it in the middle of a cafe in front of strangers. Any tips or advice you can give would be greatly appreciated x

 

[LilianA]

If thats what you decide to do then no worries about baby not taking to it if you introduce it as his first option ...also i have nursed in public many times but with a cover and noone was able to see anything at all ..it felt weird maybe the first couple times but then you get so used to it

 

[BethMaassen]

When I started breastfeeding my daughter, it was difficult, I won't lie. And for most of the early months I supplemented with formula. That was until I was producing enough to satisfy her. I was set on breastfeeding exclusively, but supplementing worked. And because of not being comfortable in public. I would give her formula. Pumping has not worked for me. My breast simply won't respond to it. I have since gotten more use to nursing in public. But I normally retreat to the privacy of my car to do so.

Best thing, I could suggest is supplement if need be. And if you can, pump to feed baby in public with a bottle. OR get a nursing cover. (I have one, and DD will just push it away, so it is useless).

I am not that experienced with it. SO That's the best advice I can give. I hope it helps.

 

[icklemonster]

I breastfed DD for 10 months and the most honest best advice I can give is the follows:

I don't care what anyone says, breastfeeding is sore to start with (if I hadn't been given this honest advice from my friend I would have quit week one). If you had someone playing with your nips all day they would become sore! But they WILL toughen up, and around week 6, the first 10 seconds of of toe curling pain will go away and then it is plain sailing. I hear some women say you shouldn't say it is painful as it will put people off, but I call BS on this, as labour is the most painful thing you can go through and I'm here having number 2 - you do what is best for your children.

I was told by several professionals I had a great latch early on - ask for help in hospital to check your latch - I asked 3 different midwives to check I was doing it right.

Get nipple shields if needed if your nipples are too sore - I did in the early days and they were a life saver - also because I had very fast letdown and the nipple shields slowed the flow down too.

Pump a few extra ounces every night and save it in the fridge/freezer. I would never have stuck with BF'ing if I had to be available to BF 24/7. This allowed me to still go on date nights with DH, have nights out with friends, and DD be babysat by my Mum / MiLs

I introduced an expressed bottle when DD was 1 week old - some say this is too early, but a couple of women in my NCT group who waited for the recommended month then couldn't get their children to take a bottle. I was confident breastfeeding was established after week one so felt confident to offer much earlier.

In terms of feeding - find out where your local breastfeeding rooms in shops/malls are if you don't feel confident feeding in public. Also buy a shawl. I was a little embarrassed early on but as time went on I became so much more confident and had some great breastfeeding clothes where baby's head would really cover everything and I'd just look like I was cuddling baby! Check out breastvests so you can still wear your old clothes too.

I'm sure someone will shoot me down for some of the above advice as it goes against some advice, but this is honestly what worked for me. I only planned on BF'ing until 4 months and loved it so much I fed for a further 6 months. Just remember, aim for week 6 and it WILL get easier and then it is amazing xxx

 

[Misscalais]

I only successfully breast fed my 2nd bub. With him it hurt for 6 weeks and then all of a sudden it wasn't painful any more hopefully will be able to breast feed this baby too.
Don't be down on yourself though if it doesn't happen, as long as mum and bub are happy and fed thats all that matters
Oh and i have a special breast feeding cover that i used in public. Much easier then using a muslin cloth etc

 

[charliekay]

Thanks for all the advice. I'm definitely going to give it a go xx

 

[LockandKey]

I've successfully exclusively breastfed both my kiddos for over a year, so here's the best advice I can give, and sorry if I repeat anything already said.

I'll start with this warning, breastfeeding hurts, but only at first, and this is totally normal. Your nipples may crack or bleed, so buy some nipple cream beforehand to rub on after each feeding. Don't worry, they are completely safe for baby to consume. The pain will most likely last anywhere between 2-6 weeks, usually by then your nipples have toughened up and it's no longer painful.

Not all babies are born good nursers. Your baby might need a little extra help latching or staying latched. If you are giving birth in a hospital or birthing center, ask for as much help and advice while there as possible! Being physically shown will be a great benefit, but the best way to encourage a baby who is having trouble is to nurse skin to skin. Strip your baby down to nothing but a diaper, and hold them close to your bare chest. The smell of your milk will encourage them to keep trying. A lot of women said this technique has worked wonders for them.

If you end up with a chewer like my son was and you start to get blisters on your nipples, don't give up, buy yourself a nipple shield. This thin little piece will protect your nipples, and encourage baby to suck rather than chew. I used mine for only 2 weeks and after that DS was a nursing pro.

It may take a few days for your milk to come in, for me it usually takes 5 days after birth. During that time, your baby will most likely lose weight, and losing up to 10% of their body weight is completely normal too, so don't panic, babies are born with extra fat on them for this very reason. You can encourage your milk to come in a bit sooner with the use of a pump if you have one.

Engorgement happens, and it sucks! It's painful. The best way to help ease this is stand in a hot shower and massage your breasts to encourage the excess milk out. Engorgement can also happen in the early stages because not all your milk ducts have opened up yet. Hold a warm damp cloth over your nipples to help them open quicker.

The first month is the hardest!!!!! Your baby will want to be latched for hours on end for 2-4 weeks. This is called cluster feeding, and it happens because they are not only going through a growth spurt, but pumping up your milk supply. It is very important to let baby nurse for as long as they want, as often as they want. The way breastfeeding works is all supply and demand, the more they demand, the more your body will make. I do not advise supplementing as this could have a negative affect on your supply. It will be tough to get through, but once you get past that first month hump, it is usually smooth sailing from there.

Your baby will have periods of growth spurts where they are cranky and hungry. This might leave you wondering if you are producing enough, usually this isn't the case, it's just because they are growing and will want to eat more, and increase your supply some more in the process.

Buy some nursing pads, you will leak!

I've always breastfed in public with a cover and no one ever gave me a problem.

 

[Rainstorm]

I was determined to breastfeed, but at first it was hard cos he didn't latch properly and my milk wouldn't come down, and to make matters worse he went in the NICU. We would see him every three hours and spend the whole hour together trying to get him to lach. It was very frustrating, but eventually we both managed to get the hang of things and I ended up EBFing for 6 months and then Bf to sleep till he was 15 months old

 

[Mushymilkfor2]

Lock and icklemonster hit the nail on the head!

Especially the point about it hurting in the beginning. I was told it wouldn't and if it did, I was doing something wrong. That made me feel so much worse! It does, and will hurt, but the pain does go away!

Cluster feeding made me feel like I wasn't producing enough, it's hard and feels never ending but all part of the process. Supplementing at that point will only slow your supply down.

Good luck!

 

[lau86]

The only advice I could give is that most babies know what to do, in the first few weeks they do feed ALOT! Like my ds2 literally didn't get off me for the first few weeks. But the midwife was coming, checking his latch, that he was pooing weeing enough and he gained weight brilliantly.
I bf 2 babies for a yr and a half in total, I hardly ever fed in public. The only times really was when I had ds2 and I was out and had got ds1 a snack/ lunch somewhere and couldn't exactly move him whilst he was in the middle of it! I just thought f**k it! I'm being discreet! I'm not flashing my boobs everywhere if people want to be offended that's their issue. Otherwise I fed in nursing rooms/ the car/ before we went out (which once they're on a bit of a schedule is fairly easy to do). All you can do is have a go, if it doesn't work out at least you'll know you tried

 

[Mthoodmom]

Everyone has such good advice, all I want to add is that breastfed babies nurse A LOT in the first 6 weeks. Like more than you could imagine. Don't be surprised if you feel like all you do is nurse the baby, this is completely normal!

As for nursing in public, once you get comfortable with the whole process at home, you may find nursing in public to be no big deal. Many babies are fine with nursing under a blanket, and you will become an expert at whipping your boob out without anyone noticing.

Best of luck to you!