(Pregnant Girl Wants To Know!) Suggestions to make BFing as easy as possible

[Stiina]

Hi girls! YOU are the pros so I came here for advice!!

I really want to breastfeed. I have heard lots of horror stories about how hard it is and latching on can be a big problem...but I also know all the positives too.

Anyway, I'm wondering if there's anything I can do right at the start to make sure it goes good right from the beginning.

I am planning on being a royal BIT*H in the hospital, and demanding that my baby be plunked onto me, IMMEDIATELY, if not SOONER, after the birth! None of this cleaning, bathing, weighing, garbage first. My greasy, bloody, slimy, baby will be on my chest right after it comes out of me! I believe that the rooting instinct will kick in right away (am I wrong in this? Do babies want to eat right away?) and that will give my baby the best chance possible.

Good plan? Will it work?

How do things usually go? This is my first so I don't really know the order of how doctors do it. But I do know they usually clean the baby off and stuff before the mom gets to hold it.

How long can the umbilical cord stay attached? Is that why they clean the baby right away, cause the UC has to come off asap?

I'm just used to cows...the UC just gets ripped off when the calf falls onto the ground (if she's standing) or when she gets up to lick the calf (if she gave birth laying down).

Any more ideas? What did you do to make BFing go as smoothly as possible?

Thanks ladies!

 

[Arcanegirl]

I think it depends on the hospital and your midwife to cleaning etc, also your birth plan.

My midwife gave me the baby straight away and i pulled my top up for skin to skin contact, he wasnt cleaned though my amniotic fluid gave him a wash lol. The cord was cut after a good while, after it had stopped pulsing i think and i was encouraged to breastfeed 30 mins after he was born.

 

[amelia222]

Make sure you let them know your wishes (which it sounds like you will have no problems doing!). The cord does not have to be cut right away, assuming no complications it should not be cut until it stops pulsing and can be left much longer.

Alice was put right on to my chest when she was born and the midwife encouraged me to try to get her feeding within the first 1/2 hour or so. I think most babies at least lick and try to suck fairly soon after birth but Alice swallowed a lot of blood/fluids so she wasn't interested. The most you can do is offer and try to get your baby latched in the first few hours but don't stress if it takes a few tries, Alice took almost 24 hours before she showed any interest.

If all goes well with the birth, most hospitals will leave the baby on you for about an hour before taking it away to get cleaned up, weighed, etc. But discuss it with your doctor and ask what the normal procedure is at your hospital and you can always ask for whatever you want within reason.

 

[Lucy_lu_84]

My MW was good she asked do you want skin to skin contact...which I did. So she plonked him on me skin for cuddles. Then she asked me how I was feeding and Joshua was already rooting around looking to eat lol Hungry boy - still the same
He seemed to know what he was doing, and the MW helped to make sure he was attached correctly.

My baby wasn't cleaned at all... not until the next day when i asked to be shown how to bath him. But guess differen't places are different.

Just let them know what you want! Also if when you come to feed the baby on your own later on you are struggled to get him to latch just ask for help. That's what I did, and the MW's were brilliant. They even said next time you feed, buz the bell and I willl come check him. They showed me different holds to... I found the rugby ball hold easier to start with.

So my adivce get as much help while you are in hospital as you can Good luck

 

[mrsholmes]

Scott was placed on my chest straight away and just rubbed down, but I didnt get to feed him for about1.5 hours as I needed to have blood taken, deliver after birth and then get stiched up. but hubby did skin to skin while this was happening and scott was already rooting around!

I found lying down the best as i was in so much pain down below!
I found a v pillow a god send lol
be prepared how hard the first few days are, scotts latch was fine but hes got a really strong suck and it took its toll on my nipples, i recommended lanosih from day one and after every feed

 

[asacia]

I had a lot of problems breastfeeding (DS didn't feed from me directly until 8.5 weeks old, and we had other problems - clampdown bite reflex and low supply). What got me through it was knowing where to get help (My Mum - a breastfeeding counsellor, here, KellyMom forums and La Leche League). It also helped to know how to say NO when people wanted to do things differently to how I wanted. The main thing was knowing that almost every single breastfeeding problem can be overcome with the right help and support.

I was told by many medical professionals that I should give up, that it wouldn't work. We got through it though. There are very few problems that cannot be overcome if you look for help.

 

[mama2b]

I didn't hold Lucas until about 10mins after he was born and I think he fed about 5 mins after.

I was in shock tbh, think it was combination of the pain and the pethdine, I was so spaced out that I don't phsically think I could of held him ! It was also always part of our plan that my oh would hold him first.

 

[Stiina]

Wow, thanks for all the great advice girls!! And all your personal stories - it makes it easier to relate. How frustrating that medical 'professionals' encourage mothers to give up and try something else...100 years ago there WASN'T anything else! So there's gotta be a way, right? You ladies are proof! Thanks so much!

I've since looked up if Canada had a La Leche League (GREAT name, by the way! lol!) and we do have one! And there's a group in the city I'll be giving birth in! I'm so excited!!! I really didn't think the city would have anything, but they even have lactation specialists and everything!

And MrsHolmes, I will definitely be getting some of that lanolin stuff. I've heard wonderful things about it! Thank you for the recommendation.

Again, ladies...THANK YOU!

 

[belladonna]

Sorry to hijack- but what can you use if you are alergic to lanolin?

 

[Blah11]

My baby was put on my naked chest right away as soon as she was born. The cord was cut by my mum when she was on my chest because my OH didn't want to cut it, and she was given her vitD as I got the jab to help the placenta come out quicker.
I gave her a rub with the towel to get the gunk off her and she rooted immediately She didnt actually feed though. Anyway I had a cuddle with her whilst the placenta was delivered and they checked me out down there for tears or grazes. When I was ready they weighed her and put a nappy on her, wrapped her in a blanket and left me to it. The MWs didnt disturb me until I was ready to be transfered to the post natal ward which was about 5 hours later!
When I was in post natal (i had to stay in overnight) a nurse helped her latch on and made sure she had a feed. We had to strip her naked and blow on her face b/c she kept falling asleep before she fed lol.

I loved my whole birth experience cant wait to do it again.

 

[hellohefalump]

With breastfeeding, I think the most important thing is to latch your baby on right. If you do it wrong, it will hurt and might cause all sorts of problems, like the baby not stimulating the milk enough, etc.

There's lots of support out there. I found a wonderful group, when my daughter was 3 days old, and they showed me exactly what a correct latch was meant to look and feel like, and I went on to successfully breastfeed for 21 months.

It was difficult at first. Because of my bad start in the hospital (nobody told me you weren't meant to just stick the nipple in the baby's mouth!), when I wasn't latching on right and no body told me, I had very sore nipples. I also struggled to get the correct latch, even when I knew what I was trying to do, so I got mastitis several times from blocked ducts.

I'd say it's important to persevere. I did peer supporter training not so long ago, and one thing we were told, was everyone gets it in the end if they persevere, simply because the baby's mouth grows bigger and the latch is then no longer such a problem.

So yeah, access support, and try to get the latch right!

 

[Panda_Ally]

Sorry to hijack- but what can you use if you are alergic to lanolin?

Try vaseline or expressing a bit of milk after baby hs finished feeding and rubbing it on ur niple.. the antibodies will help sore nips...

Holly went straight on my chest when she was born and her cord cut about 5 mins later... I had trouble delivering my placenta and then had to have stitches so it was about an hour before i got to feed her but she latched on fine, althought it was a very weird feeling at first... I'm sure i could of fed her sooner if i had asked my midwife but TBH i was so in shock but the birth i didnt really think about feeding her that soon until the midwife promted me too!

 

[Brockie]

my birth was horrific and i dont even remember if i held him first or if OH did !!! i think he fed after about half an hour tho after i had been stitched up and got my bearings a bit!!!! OH told me the sex which is what i had asked for xx i do remember he was really clean when he came out tho!

long as u tell them what u want im sure most hospitals will oblige xx

im hoping for a better experience next time!!!

 

[happyfamily123]

I didn't feed my son for probably an hour. There were so many other things going on that needed to be taken care of. But he did great. I'm not sure it's so vital to do it the second they come out but in those first hours after they are born I think it's important because they are super aware and then zonk out for the next twenty four hours.

 

[Stiina]

Sorry to hijack- but what can you use if you are alergic to lanolin?

No worries! It's good to know! Thanks panda for the reply!

I loved my whole birth experience cant wait to do it again.

Aww, I hope my story turns out like this too!!!!

What great stories! Sorry to whoever posted this (I forgot to press the quote button!) -about your husband telling you the sex of the baby - what a FANTASTIC idea!!!!! I'm writing that one down for the birth plan!! Thank you so much!

Also, everyone! Thank you so much for your stories! It really helps to hear diverse stories and how everyone managed! Keep 'em coming!

 

[codegirl]

Getting your baby to latch as soon as possible is important. However, all is not lost if for some reason this cannot happen. Because of some events that happened during Edward's birth he had to be worked on immediatly after he was born and I wasn't able to hold him for a bit after and we are still BF As disappointing as it was not to have him put on my chest for us to experience the rooting, it was not the end of our bf adventure.

Lots of skin on skin contact when you are in the hospital and when you get home is great. Also, I would start looking now for a good lactation consultant in your area (if possible) that way, if you have any problems at all you have someone to contact right away.

It took me 5.5 weeks to solve our bf problems. I know this because I was going to quit at 6 weeks because it was so painful. I finally got help from a great LC who took one look at me and said "you have a yeast infection"... bingo!! With the right medication the pain went away. If I hadn't kept looking for help, we would not be bf now.

You know that if you have any questions, I'm here for you!!

I'm so proud of you for wanting this so badly and doing your homework. You go girl!!!

 

[beancounter]

I didn't get to feed Finn for days, didn't have skin to skin, he was rushed off to neonatal after I got to see him but I was still successful in breastfeeding him, it would have been great to have the birth experience I wanted but if you don't, BF is still possible. I went to an NCT course on it before he was born, that was very helpful.

 

[Sherileigh]

I'm in Manitoba, and here it just depends how your birth is, we had some complications, baby's HR dropping, and they whisked him off, they wouldn't have given a crap what I wanted and TBH I just wanted to know my baby was ok, so gladly let them take the lead. Just be prepared for anything, don't be disappointed if everything doesn't go exactly as planned, all that matters is that you and your baby are healthy. And BTW I desperately wanted to BF, my boy REFUSES to latch! We still try every day and there's always a slim chance that he will, but we pump and at least we're both getting the benefits. We just have to do whatever works!
Good luck!

 

[Twist]

Hey there, I'm in Alberta, and my baby was put onto my chest as soon as she was out, blood and all She then had to be taken to be checked over by a specialty unit, but this was done in the same room and didn't take that long. They cleaned her up a bit and then back onto my chest. She was all wrapped up at this point and we cuddled while the Dr.s stiched me up. We attempted one feed within the first hour, but she just nuzzled and sorta sucked a bit, latch wasn't right yet, but never expected it to be right of the bat. I did skin to skin with her once I was moved back to the postnatal ward 9about two hours after birth, and from then on I attemted to feed her every two hours, doing the skin to skin first each time and waiting for her to root and show interest. I read that babies don't really get their appetite for a couple days, not to mention that our milk hasn't come in yet so it is more to get the colostrum and the bonding stuff that is important at this time. The biggest advice I can give you is to expect the unexpected, and know that it can still all work out the way you want it to. Our LO was jaundiced and ended up back in the hospital at two days old with a suspected infection. I also had a post partum hemorage, which they were worried would affect my milk coming in, therefore, I had to supplement her with formula as well as pump my own BM... We had problems with the latch, possibly because she was also getting a bottle from the start??? I felt really bad b/c I wanted to BF exclusively, and I felt like a bit of a failure. Also, it hurt,... nothing you can't deal with,... but there were times when I thought,.... using only bottles would be so much easier,... and then I felt guilty again lol. I was lucky enough to get into a BF clinic right away and saw them once a week for three weeks. After two weeks I was able to stop using formula and after another week I stopped pumping and was BF exclusively, it took until about 5-6 weeks for things to feel "natural" and comfortable and pain free. So yes, it was a journey, expect a bit of pain, if you don't have any, Great!, but if you do, at least it won't be a shock. Expect that it will take a while until both you and baby are good at it, sure it is natural, but so is sex, and we all know that can take a while to perfect as well right? But best of all, Expect it to be wonderful and SO rewarding once you get to that point where it all falls into place!!!

 

[Stiina]

...Also, I would start looking now for a good lactation consultant in your area (if possible) that way, if you have any problems at all you have someone to contact right away......

You know that if you have any questions, I'm here for you!!

I'm so proud of you for wanting this so badly and doing your homework. You go girl!!!

I love you Terri!!! I actually talked to my sister yesterday, and she's a Registered Dietician, and she is friends the lady who is the leader of the La Leche league in Saskatoon! So she is going to ask her if there's anything I can do before hand, that will get me 'what I want' in the hospital. I'm so glad I have you girls to encourage me to do my research!

I didn't get to feed Finn for days, didn't have skin to skin, he was rushed off to neonatal after I got to see him but I was still successful in breastfeeding him, it would have been great to have the birth experience I wanted but if you don't, BF is still possible. I went to an NCT course on it before he was born, that was very helpful.

Sorry, beancounter...what is an NCT course?

... I desperately wanted to BF, my boy REFUSES to latch! We still try every day and there's always a slim chance that he will, but we pump and at least we're both getting the benefits. We just have to do whatever works!
Good luck!

I hope I can be as determined as you! Good luck with getting your little guy to latch on. And thank you for the advice!

Hey there, I'm in Alberta, and my baby was put onto my chest as soon as she was out, blood and all She then had to be taken to be checked over by a specialty unit, but this was done in the same room and didn't take that long. They cleaned her up a bit and then back onto my chest. She was all wrapped up at this point and we cuddled while the Dr.s stiched me up. We attempted one feed within the first hour, but she just nuzzled and sorta sucked a bit, latch wasn't right yet, but never expected it to be right of the bat. I did skin to skin with her once I was moved back to the postnatal ward 9about two hours after birth, and from then on I attemted to feed her every two hours, doing the skin to skin first each time and waiting for her to root and show interest. I read that babies don't really get their appetite for a couple days, not to mention that our milk hasn't come in yet so it is more to get the colostrum and the bonding stuff that is important at this time. The biggest advice I can give you is to expect the unexpected, and know that it can still all work out the way you want it to. Our LO was jaundiced and ended up back in the hospital at two days old with a suspected infection. I also had a post partum hemorage, which they were worried would affect my milk coming in, therefore, I had to supplement her with formula as well as pump my own BM... We had problems with the latch, possibly because she was also getting a bottle from the start??? I felt really bad b/c I wanted to BF exclusively, and I felt like a bit of a failure. Also, it hurt,... nothing you can't deal with,... but there were times when I thought,.... using only bottles would be so much easier,... and then I felt guilty again lol. I was lucky enough to get into a BF clinic right away and saw them once a week for three weeks. After two weeks I was able to stop using formula and after another week I stopped pumping and was BF exclusively, it took until about 5-6 weeks for things to feel "natural" and comfortable and pain free. So yes, it was a journey, expect a bit of pain, if you don't have any, Great!, but if you do, at least it won't be a shock. Expect that it will take a while until both you and baby are good at it, sure it is natural, but so is sex, and we all know that can take a while to perfect as well right? But best of all, Expect it to be wonderful and SO rewarding once you get to that point where it all falls into place!!!

What wonderful advice!!! I loved the last bit about how sex is natural too, but it took a while to perfect. We can't expect that mom and baby will know what to do immediately!

It sounds like you had a good experience right at the start, and then had a bit of a setback with the jaundice and your hemmorage. It sounds like BF clinics/La Leche League are lifesavers.

Once again, ladies, you have blown me away! I hope other girls are reading this thread and gaining all your wonderful advice and stories! It's great to know that even if it doesn't all start out 'ideally', breastfeeding can still be successful!!!!