help with breastfeeding

[fashionlover]

just had baby 3 days ago and am totally overwhelmed with this breastfeeding thing. my milk is just now coming in but I'm afraid im not producing enough to be sufficient. Also, how often do you feed. Would be grateful for any tips

 

[Serafina83]

So lomg as you feed on demand then you will have enough. The first few weeks are very demanding but gets so much easier once supply is properly established. In regards to how to feed bring nipple to nose then bring nipple into babas mouth making sue a good amoint of boob goes in mouth and listen out for swallowing! Good luck xx

 

[staralfur]

Feed whenever the baby wants to nurse. For a lot of newborns that's pretty much all the time.

Your baby needs to feed to bring in your milk and build your supply. So it might seem like they can't possibly be hungry again, but they're just doing what they need to do to ensure that they'll be getting enough.

If your baby is having the appropriate amount of wet/dirty diapers, then they're getting enough.

 

[danielle1984]

Read this: https://nurshable.com/2012/05/27/six-week-growth-spurt/
This can help you

 

[firsttime83]

A friend told me, breastfeeding is challenging for 3 weeks... stick to it for 3 weeks and it will gets easier. This is so true!

When your milk comes in, your boobs are so engorged and hard and I don't care what they say, my nipples felt raw! If they are sore, I was told to count to 10 when she latched (I had to count to 20). Nipple cream, freezer packs after feedings!!

My LO is now a little over 6 weeks. We bottle feed once a day (my OH does) and seeing the cleaning and effort, so happy now I stuck with it! BF is really convenient.

Everyone worries their baby isn't getting enough milk, so pay attention to their dirty diapers. I wrote every feeding down, how much time they fed, amount of dirty diapers etc and brought it to my first appointment just to be reassured.

Hope this helps. I know it is hard!! Message me if you would like... I'm only a few weeks ahead of you (almost 7 weeks) so it is still fresh!

 

[Nervous_1]

Tips:

Use lansinoh lanolin to stop your nipples becoming red raw! It's safe to leave on even when feeding baby and helps to heal sore nipples really fast.

If you're in pain you can take paracetamol and/or ibuprofen. The pain should die down after about 2-3 weeks when you stop being so engorged.

Get a breastfeeding cushion and, if you have the space for it, a nursing chair. Really helped me to relax when feeding, which in turn meant baby relaxed too. They pick up on any nerves/tension in you and find it harder to nurse.

Feed as often as baby wants, even if it was only 5 minutes ago. Remember that newborns have a tummy the size of a marble and that breastmilk digests fast, that's why they want feeding so much.

Get your latch checked a few times by your midwife/health visitor/anyone else in your area who can help. Sounds simple, but perfecting your latch early on really will help to lessen any pain you're in/

 

[Here_we_go]

As long as you feed on demand, you can never go wrong. Watch for rooting, sucking on fists, waving fist infront of mouth, etc.

I never really paid much attention to the clock to see how freqently my daughter ended up eating. Sometimes she fed every hour for 30-45 minutes, sometimes she fed every 20 min for about 10-15 min. And then when the cluster session would hit in the evening before bed, it'd be pretty much nonstop nursing with a bit of good 'ol fussing thrown in for good measure During those times, I'd put her against my shoulder to burp her (also allow us both to calm down) and then I'd offer the other side, sometimes doing this several times before she'd finally settle in for her meal. It can be frustrating.

It's easy to "psych" yourself out when you don't have a bottle to judge how many oz's lil one is getting and when he/she is screaming their head off. Just remember that they are new to this just as you are and they are learning too. As long as you have dirty diapers, you know LO is getting milk.

Good luck