Any Breast Feeding Tips? Dos and donts?

Just wondering what advice you would give regarding breast feeding. I'm hoping to BF and would love input.

Re: Any Breast Feeding Tips? Dos and donts?

hmmm, let's see...

Make she you put the baby on the breast right away, say, in the recovery room.

The more you let him/her suckle the more milk you will get.

Your milk will not come in for a few days, but IT WILL come in. Collastrum is super important and very filling so your baby doesn't need any extra nurishment, like formula even though people will tell you that you should suppliment "untill your milk comes in". That 's not the case!

Don;t be afraid to call for a lactation consiltant. They can be very pushy and sometimes deserve their loving nickmane of "lacation nazi" but they do knwo what they are talking about and they are on your side!

Have patience and don't be discouraged. It's very hard at first but it will get better and will turn into the greatest joy! I am in the process of weaning and I am actually very sad to let this special bond between me and my son go!

Good luck!

Edited because I can't spell

Message edited 4/21/2006 3:15:49 PM.

Re: Any Breast Feeding Tips? Dos and donts?

Make sure you tell the nurses that you do NOT want the baby fed formula under no circumstances.

Re: Any Breast Feeding Tips? Dos and donts?

you have FM

Re: Any Breast Feeding Tips? Dos and donts?

Don't give up to early. It can be super discouraging and your hormones will already make you feel vulnerable. I asked the nurse for help and she man-handled me a bit but it did help. I'm glad I did it -there were so many benefits Good Luck.

Re: Any Breast Feeding Tips? Dos and donts?

I would say.....

Don't supplement with formula. It will only hurt your supply. Your baby will get what she needs from you. If she has wet diapers and poops she's doing fine. I believe its 6 wet diapers a day, maybe 8. I don't remember for sure.

Don't expect it to come naturally even though its a natural thing. It takes some practice and getting used to but once you've got it down it is an amazing thing.

Don't rush the bottle (if you plan to pump) but don't wait too long. They say between 4-6 weeks is a good time to start.

If you're going to pump make sure you are using a good pump so that you don't hurt your supply at all.

Most of all enjoy it. It is such a beautiful way to bond with your baby.

Re: Any Breast Feeding Tips? Dos and donts?

Go to a La Leche meeting before you have the baby if you can so that you know what support is available to you. Have phone numbers ready with you of La Leche leaders or friends who have breastfed recently. Get help, you will need it!

Your job for the first few weeks will be to feed the baby almost non-stop all day long. Don't resist. Rent lots of movies and make a comfy nursing nest in front of the TV. (Buy Tivo and a Netflix subscribtion and you'll be all set! LOL)

If your hubby wants to help, he can do so by feeding you, not the baby. He can also hold the baby when he/she falls asleep -- newborn babies love to sleep in arms, and they'll love daddy's arms just as much as yours. Your job is to nurse, everyone else can take care of the rest.

This is often stated, but I'll repeat -- sleep when the baby sleeps, regardless of time of day. Baby may not know the difference between night and day for weeks.

Ohhh and buy a great nursing pillow (or two). I had both a boppy and "My Breast Friend" which were very helpful. If you are short a nursing stool will also help you be more comfortable.

Have Lansinoh cream on hand in case you need it and nursing pads for when you start leaking.

As others have said, don't supplement unless your baby has lost a lot of weight and the pediatrician orders you to. Supply problems are rare, trust your body to make all the milk your baby needs!!

Re: Any Breast Feeding Tips? Dos and donts?

Everyone has given great advice...

Did you take any classes??? I didnt, because I figured the lactation nurse would help me.... and well- she was good for nothing, and didnt even come visit me until I was walking out the door...

Re: Any Breast Feeding Tips? Dos and donts?

I recommend taking a class. I didn't and looking back I wish I did. Also let your ped and hospital know that you do not want to suuplement and have them bring you the baby. La Leche has a new mother to mother chat forum if you have additional questions.

Re: Any Breast Feeding Tips? Dos and donts?

dont panic when your baby smells like garlic after you had Italian food.

Re: Any Breast Feeding Tips? Dos and donts?

Posted by JennyGirl

Don't give up to early. It can be super discouraging and your hormones will already make you feel vulnerable. I asked the nurse for help and she man-handled me a bit but it did help. I'm glad I did it -there were so many benefits Good Luck.

Re: Any Breast Feeding Tips? Dos and donts?

DH and I took a BF class at my hospital and it was great. You should look into that, I also had an amazing LC she took the time to come and visit me everyday, and help Julia latch on. I was in the hospital for 4 days (C-section), so it gave me more time to get the hang of it. Good luck!

Re: Any Breast Feeding Tips? Dos and donts?

All of the above advice is great. The only thing I would add is to definitely have Lansinoh cream with you in the hospital. The baby latching on could make you sore in the beginning and the cream really helps. Also always have a glass of water with you during feedings as you will get very thirsty yourself. At least that is what happened with me. I also supplemented with one bottle of formula at midnight that my dh fed to my son so I could sleep a little. I would say do whatever works best for you. My son was up every two hours for the first 6 weeks so I needed some relief. And definitely nap when your baby naps. I don't think I would have survived without doing this.

Re: Any Breast Feeding Tips? Dos and donts?

I agree with many things here. Take a class before. Don't give up early. At the beggining it can be difficult but later is wonderful. I wanted to give up and i'm so glad that I didn't.

I had a basket with the Lasinoh cream, a bottle of water and burp cloths close to me all of the times. The first week I bought the Breast Friend Pillow and it was the best.

Re: Any Breast Feeding Tips? Dos and donts?

With my first daughter, it was so drilled into my head not to supplement with formula....when we brought her home she was screaming in hunger and I was trying and trying to feed her, but making almost no milk. On the fourth day I was pumping my heart out to try and get my supply going, and was only getting drops of colostrum, which I fed her with a syringe. Finally at 5am, I was freaking out and called the maternity ward crying bc I didn't know what to do. They told me to give her 2 ounces of formula, and she FINALLY slept, and so did we. She got maybe two more bottles of 2 ounces each, and by then my milk came in and all was good. With my second daughter, I was trying to nurse for about 48 hours and my milk had not come in. Instead of going nuts and being sleep deprived, I just gave her one ounce of formula, she slept for 2-3 hours, I got some rest, gave her one more ounce of formula and then my milk was in and all was good. Those little two ounces of formula made all the difference! I'm just telling this story because maybe the people who say "don't give formula under any circumstances" shouldn't be quite so strict! I went on to nurse both babies happily for months to come, even though I gave them that dreaded formula.
More importantly, the advice of don't give up too early is the most important to follow. It really truly ***** in the beginning - but all of a sudden, (it really takes about 4 weeks to get to this point, maybe 5 or 6 even) there you are, your baby is suckling away, your making plenty of milk, you love the feeling of nursing, and you say, thank God I stuck with it, and it is a feeling of being proud of yourself like you have no idea!

Edited to say, boppy's are great, I have two of them - but in the very beginning, especially if you have a smallish baby, they can be difficult to use. I almost gave up with my first daughter, but I went to a LC first. All she did was lend me a brest friend pillow and it was like a miracle. It is more "stiff" and gives the baby more support, and also elevates their head a little. With my second daughter, I just used the boppy, I think because I had more experience and confidence with how to hold my baby.

Message edited 4/22/2006 9:50:15 PM.

Re: Any Breast Feeding Tips? Dos and donts?

Without reading what everyone already posted:

Have confidence..Have Faith and do not be afraid to get professional help.
I have heard so many women resist getting professional help but honestly a good LC can help you in many ways.

Now that it isn't 2nd nature to many of us to breastfeed as it is in many other cultures. It is okay to need a bit of time to get used to it all.

Read and keep in your hospital bag: A Nursing Mother's Companion Guide and if you plan on going back to work: A Working Mother's Guide to Nursing. Both are great resources and when in doubt, give you a place to get information.

If someone tells you that you need to use formula ask WHY and get information on how to correct whatever problem they say you/baby have. If something someone says sounds anti-BF, question the information and advise. While I know formula works for some women, giving it to Molly because I was forced to by a horrible hospital Ped destroyed my nursing relationship with my daughter. The formula was NOT the problem, the bottle was. And I did not have proper help to correct my supply problem until I left the hospital.

We are all here to help you!!!!

Re: Any Breast Feeding Tips? Dos and donts?

Also see if your hospital has a Breast feeding support group. Hopefully they offer it weekly. You will need all of the support you can get in the beginning. My hospital only had it monthly and it was torture waiting for it. I finally called an LC and it was the best thing I could have done. Then I found another hospital that had the group weekly and went to that often.

Good Luck

Re: Any Breast Feeding Tips? Dos and donts?