First timer needs your advice

[notready123]

Right, so I've decided I'm going to BF. What are your top tips? Pls give me general advice.

Do I need to express as well as feed from breast? Why?

If I get problems, can I just express?

The thought of formula makes me shudder....... I think natural is best....

PS. Does it hurt? What's a nipple shield for? How long do they breast feed for, I've seen some people do if till over two tears old?

 

[sept2010]

Be prepared to experience some pain from sore nipples..invest in some good quality nipple cream

and spend time learning to get ur lil one to latch on properly if they are not doing so already. This will help stop the pain lasting longer than it needs to.

You dont have to express. Thats only for if you need someone else to feed lo. I.e. ur partner or if you are going back to work and dont want to use formula.

Nipple shields are supposedly for protecting your nipples from becoming sore. Some people find them helpful. I have never used them. The early weeks breastfeeding hurts. Only for the first minute or less of each feed. This gets better as the weeks go by as your nipples get used to a lil one suckling on them!! This latch pain is normal... but is also the reason many give up...so perserverance is needed!!

You can exclusively express aswell if that works better for you. But nothing can take milk out of a breast better than a baby!


How long you breastfeed your lo is entirely up to you!! I managed 18 months with my first but wanted to feed her for 2yrs. Had to stop as she was just comfort feeding at night and neither of us were getting any sleep!!

 

[staralfur]

General advice: Clusterfeeding is normal. Constant feeding does not mean that you're not producing enough milk. As long your LO is having the appropriate amount of wet/dirty diapers, and gaining weight, then you're making enough.

You don't need to express unless you're planning on leaving your LO. If you're not going back to work/school for a while then you should be fine without expressing. It is nice to have a date night or day away occasionally, so you may choose to pump for that.

If you run into problems you're probably going to want to do everything you can to fix them. I would exhaust all options to continue nursing before I decided to exclusively pump. Pumping is a pain and often takes a lot more work. But obviously if nursing problems can't be overcome, it is an option.

It does hurt while your nipples adjust. The best thing you can do is make sure the latch is good, and it should stop feeling uncomfortable after a couple of weeks.

A nipple shield is often used to help with latch or protect nipples if they're in really bad shape. Babies can become dependent on nursing with them, though, so it's one of those things I'd avoid unless absolutely necessary.

How long they nurse for is totally up to you and your baby. You can feed for however long both of you want to.

 

[CandyDay]

The advice already given is great.
If you have a breastfeeding group or La Leche league in your area. Go to some meetups before you have your LO. Then you can get advice and you will have someone to call and somewhere to go if you do run into problems.
Make yourself aware of tongue tie in case your LO has it. It can make bfing hard and painful but its an easy fix.
The womanly art of breastfeeding is a great book and you might want to look at getting it.

 

[keela]

I second the la leche. They are an amazing resource!

 

[notready123]

Thank you so much! I'm sure I will have more questions as the weeks go by and when LO arrives. I like the idea of expressing to give nipples a rest (right?) and so DH can get involved.