Give me all of your Advice! I need Breastfeeding for Dummies!!

[mkyerby16]

I'm currently 33 weeks and feel SO incredibly lost and stupid when it comes to breastfeeding! My mom never was able to successfully bf for very long so I feel like I don't have anyone to go to. I was planning on taking a class at the hospital, but I missed out. I was hoping some of you ladies could non-judgmentally tell me the most basics of what I need to know and tips I might need along the way. I mean seriously like breastfeeding 101 for dummies. Lol

Questions that have been running through my mind have included: What not to eat/ what medicines to avoid... I'm assuming the meds are pretty much the same as if you were pregnant. Then I've heard some ladies say they feed their baby on one breast one time and the other the next and alternate but then I've read to offer baby both breasts. Do you feed from both in one feeding? When do you burp a BF baby? Do you change their diaper then feed and have them fall asleep or feed then change? Will giving a pacifier right away confuse them? Then there's the bottle/pumping issues... I'll probably be going back to work at about 6 weeks. How do I begin pumping while still producing enough milk to BF? When do I start this and when do I introduce a bottle in order for things to be okay by time I go back to work. How often will I pump? Will I need to switch to pumping only or still BF sometimes?

Seriously I sound like a complete idiot I know, but how are you supposed to know all of these things!? I appreciate anything you could tell me SO much.

 

[Missyann]

That hospital class may not be your only resource where you live. Check if there is a la leche league that meets near you. Also look into talking to a lactation consultant. Those would be your best resources. Good luck! I hope BF works out for you and your little one.

 

[FarmMom]

I learned most of what i know from the book "the womanly art of breastfeeding" from la leche league, and the lactation specialist at the hospital helped us initially latch. Like the pp said, i'd try to attend a la leche league meeting before you have the baby and they can help with all your questions.

 

[threebirds]

Hi there,
Hope the bfeeding has got off to a good start for you. I did find it tricky, confusing & sore to begin with and 5 mnths in I still have some difficult times but am so pleased Ive been able to do it. To begin with LO will probably want to feed litrle and often, so if one boob is enough then start with the other boob on the next feed & burp / wind after the feed. I found it all a bit overwhelming to begin with but getting a good latch & position is key. I just search on youtube & found videos to watch, and that was helpful. We did get extra support in hospital though as baby was premature. Take any help you can get. If you can, leave the dummy until your baby really gets the hang of bfeeding & the same with pumping - if you can get into a good bfeeding routine first I think that is recommended. Good luck x

 

[Ruth 1980]

Hi! Good luck with the birth of your baby
My idiots guide would be:
1) Don't expect it to be easy. That way, if it is then it's a bonus. If it's not, you weren't expecting any different anyway.
2) your milk won't "come in" for a couple/few days. At first your baby's tummy is tiny, so they'll just be drinking colostrum. You'll feel like they're not getting anything, totally normal.
3) The milk comes in and you get two giant, veiny watermelons arrive on your chest This also brings potential issues, you might spray milk as it comes out fast and doesn't know how to regulate itself.
4) Keep notes in your phone (you'll be so tired you'll forget which boob you last fed from and when) I would have a page for the the day and write
07.15 x10mins on left, 4mins on right
09.25 x12mins on right, 5mins on left ...... Etc etc
5) As seen above: usually you feed baby til empty on one side then offer the other. If baby isn't interested you leave it. Next time you feed you start with the boob you didn't feed off/ ended the last feed with.
6) Try and avoid dummy for the first few weeks if you can. If they're a screamer and it helps, then use it and don't beat yourself up.
7) Come on here and scream HELP whenever you need to! x

 

[Lemonade]

- Most meds to avoid are pretty much the same as when you are pregnant, yes, but you can take Ibuprofen and some other pain killers when breast feeding. There isn't any food that I have avoided.

- I read that it was a good idea to feed on one breast until baby stops/ it is empty (although I never know when mine are empty?!) and then if they are still awake, offer the other breast. So that's what I do. Some of my friends alternate breasts at feedings. I don't think it matters too much, unless baby is still hungry after one breast.

- I burp after each breast. I try for a minute or so and if she doesn't burp, I assume the wind has gone down instead of coming up! My baby has never suffered with colic though, if yours does you might want to try harder to make sure he burps.

- The diaper thing is tricky. I used to do it between breasts so that she stayed awake if needed. However, in the early days, she tended to poo after each feed so I would need to change it then and it woke her up. So annoying at night! But after a few weeks I stopped needing to change her at night and then just do it every few hours during the day, or when she poos, not necessarily related to feeds.

- The advice on pacifiers/dummies is not to give them until breastfeeding is established (4-6 weeks?), but our baby really, really liked to comfort suck so we ended up giving one at 4 days. It saved our sleep!! She would never take one when hungry, so we weren't worried about her missing out on eating. We had zero issues with nipple confusion and she stopped taking a dummy at about 2 months herself as she discovered her thumb and has never looked back.

- I don't know much about pumping, sorry. So no advice there. We introduced a bottle at 7 days, though, and had no problems.