Talk to me about breastfeeding ONE baby

I breastfed my twins for 6 months and I fell like I have NO clue what to do with one baby. My twins were in the NICU so I started off pumping right away and then eventually had a crazy way of doing things that worked for the both of them.

Anyway..here are some questions I have:

-I assume you start bfing right after birth? How often does a newborn look to eat?

-Did your baby go to the nursery at night or stay with you.

-Each nursing session...do you offer both sides? Or do one side each session?

-When did you start pumping if at all?

-Did you bring a boppy to the hospital?

any other tips/suggestions welcome

Talk to me about breastfeeding ONE baby

I started bfing right away. In the hospital, I feel like I was nursing her every 2-3 hours. SHe stayed in the nursery and they brought her to me because I had a CS and literally couldn't get out of the bed to get her the first few nights. They brought her to me every 3 hours, or less if she was crying. I offered both sides. I was always told you want to completely drain one breast before offering another so sometimes she would want the other side, and sometimes not. I started pumping around 2 weeks after having her, but offering a bottle about 4 weeks after she was born. I brought the boppy and it really helped a lot. Even though I had a CS, it didn't hurt at all to have the boppy leaning there. Good luck!

Re: Talk to me about breastfeeding ONE baby

-I assume you start bfing right after birth?
I tried in recovery but DD never latched and they took her to the nursery. Tried again about 3 hours later. In the hospital I had a rough time and usually only got her to nurse for a few minutes at a time.

-How often does a newborn look to eat?
About every two hours, sometimes less (as in one hour) and sometimes more.

-Did your baby go to the nursery at night or stay with you.
I planned to have her stay with me but I hadn't slept in 36+ hours so I sent her to the nursery the first night and she stayed with me the second night. DH stayed both nights so he was the one to get up to change her and all that which helped.

-Each nursing session...do you offer both sides? Or do one side each session?
Let the baby finish the first side, do a diaper change if they fall asleep after, and then offer the second side. They may or may not take it but as PP said, you want them to finish the first side first to get to the fattier hind milk.

-When did you start pumping if at all?
About 2 weeks maybe but I only had a manual pump at that point. When I finally got DD to take a bottle at 2 months I invested in the double electric but only pumped 2-3 mornings a week at most.

-Did you bring a boppy to the hospital?
I didn't bring it and never used it at home either.

any other tips/suggestions welcome
Good luck! I'd love to think it would be a breeze after pumping for twins, but nursing is a lot of work and stress in the beginning. Hang in there bc it gets so much easier!

Re: Talk to me about breastfeeding ONE baby

-I assume you start bfing right after birth? How often does a newborn look to eat?
I started as soon as they gave both of my boys to me. In the very beginning they ate every 1 to 2 hours and the sessions could last up to 30 min. each.

-Did your baby go to the nursery at night or stay with you.
DS1 stayed in the nursery & they brought him to me. I had problems w/how the nurses handled that, so I had my 2nd ds stay with me.

-Each nursing session...do you offer both sides? Or do one side each session?
In the beginning I offer both sides, but with both kids I quickly found that they preferred to nurse on only 1 side per session.

-When did you start pumping if at all?
I think that I started at 4 weeks this time. I had too small of a freezer stash with my first, so I made sure that I started much sooner this time around. I usually pumped once or twice a day & it was awkward at first, but I'd pump one side as I was actually nursing on the other. I found I got a lot more by doing it that way.


-Did you bring a boppy to the hospital?
Yep!

Message edited 1/29/2013 9:04:47 AM.

Re: Talk to me about breastfeeding ONE baby

-I assume you start bfing right after birth? How often does a newborn look to eat?
~ BF ASAP! Mine started nursing at about 1 minute after birth. Newborns nurse a lot. Mine wanted to nurse every hour for a few days then it stretched out to longer periods. The more they nurse the faster your milk comes in.

-Did your baby go to the nursery at night or stay with you.
~ my kids were born in California and Arizona. My hospitals didn't even have a nursery. I would never let them leave my side even if they did though.

-Each nursing session...do you offer both sides? Or do one side each session?
~ let them nurse until they pop off! Don't time and remove them early. The hind milk is what they are trying to get and removing them too early could cause problems. If baby still seems hungry after coming unmatched then offer second breast. My son only wanted one breast at a time until he was older.

-When did you start pumping if at all?
~ never. Unless you need to build a stash or something then there is no reason to ever pump.

-Did you bring a boppy to the hospital?
~ no. Regular pillows worked fine until I got home. I only stay in the hospital for 24 hours PP.

Re: Talk to me about breastfeeding ONE baby

-I assume you start bfing right after birth? How often does a newborn look to eat?

DD was in the NICU for 3 days she was formula fed because I was recovering. I tried to breastfeed her when she was in NICU but it was all the way on the other side of the hospital and we did not have a good latch so she had a combo of formula and breast milk

-Did your baby go to the nursery at night or stay with you.

My roommate had her baby come every night and breastfed when he cried. When DD was out of the NICU I had her stay with me and we tried to breastfeed but when I got a fever that wouldnt go away and was on crazy antibiotics I had to pump and dump so I had her stay in the nursery and they bottle fed her.

-Each nursing session...do you offer both sides? Or do one side each session?

I only offered one side a feeding because I had over supply. she would cluster feed because my let down was so fast.

-When did you start pumping if at all?

I started to pump to build a stash maybe about 2 weeks in. My breasts were engorged from over supply

-Did you bring a boppy to the hospital?

No i had a c section and I was told by my LC that the football hold would be more comfortable and I used a pillow.

Re: Talk to me about breastfeeding ONE baby

-I assume you start bfing right after birth? How often does a newborn look to eat? I had a CS and my baby went straight to NICU :( I offered breast about 11 hours after giving birth. she latched on but my milk hasn't come in yet (i was induced). she ate formula every 3 hours and i pumped to stimulate milk flow every few hours.

-Did your baby go to the nursery at night or stay with you - Nursery

-Each nursing session...do you offer both sides? Or do one side each session? offered both

-When did you start pumping if at all? initially, i pumped in the hospital since my baby was in NICU. Milk finally came in the day i got home and i pumped because i was engorged and baby was still learning how to properly latch on.

-Did you bring a boppy to the hospital? no

Re: Talk to me about breastfeeding ONE baby

-I assume you start bfing right after birth?
I started when they moved me to my own room which was pretty quickly after birth

How often does a newborn look to eat?
DD eats about every 3 hours but yesterday and today it was about every 2 hours...I think its time to give her more. I pump because we had difficulties latching after several attempts and almost a week at home I decided to exclusively pump.


-Did your baby go to the nursery at night or stay with you.
DD stayed with me both nights because I was trying to BF and didn't want her in the nursery at all.

-Each nursing session...do you offer both sides? Or do one side each session?
I was offering both sides but it took some time for my milk to com in (almost 2 weeks) so I just pump and give it to her in a bottle

-When did you start pumping if at all?
I started on day 2 to try to avoid supplementing with formula but i had to choice but to supplement until about week after DD birth

-Did you bring a boppy to the hospital?
I didn't

any other tips/suggestions welcome
Be patient and keep trying it will work out it just takes time

Re: Talk to me about breastfeeding ONE baby

All I can say is that it definitely will be easier!!! Not that I know what it is like with one. I'm just assuming.

Re: Talk to me about breastfeeding ONE baby

I assume you start bfing right after birth? How often does a newborn look to eat?
I had a CS so as soon as we went to recovery, they took the baby, washed him up and gave him to me to breast feed. He fed every 2 hours or so.

-Did your baby go to the nursery at night or stay with you?
I sent the baby to the nursery at night and they brought him to me to feed.

-Each nursing session...do you offer both sides? Or do one side each session?
I offered both sides for about 15 - 20 minutes each.

-When did you start pumping if at all?
I started pumping my last day in the hospital. My nips were REALLY sore and red and scabbed (TMI). I had the LC come in because it was so painful to feed the baby. So i started pumping my last day in the hospital and continued when i got home. If i wasnt going to feed him off both breasts, he would feed off one breast for 20-30 minutes and i would pump the other.

-Did you bring a boppy to the hospital?
I did and i am SO glad i did. Not sure if you are having a CS but it definitely helped with BF'ing during recovery.

I had to stop BF'Ing after 3 weeks due to getting sick with unexplained fevers and it was just way too painful for me and hard with having the twins around. After DH went back to work it was just me and the three kids. If you are able to have help for a bit until you get yourself on a routine, i definitely recommend it. I felt terrible about having to stop BF'ing but i just couldn't do it anymore. I was making myself sick and crazy over it.

Re: Talk to me about breastfeeding ONE baby

- I assume you start bfing right after birth?
I had a cs. DS was brought to me about an 1 1/2 after being stitched up. I nursed him for the first time at that time.

How often does a newborn look to eat?
My little guy nursed every 1.5 hrs for first 6 weeks or so. I forget exactly how long.

-Did your baby go to the nursery at night or stay with you.
My baby was with me the entire time, with the exception on night 2. I sent him to the nursery for 2 hrs.

-Each nursing session...do you offer both sides? Or do one side each session?
When I first started, I offered both. Around 2 months, I did block nursing and offered one breast at a time due to an oversupply.

-When did you start pumping if at all? I started pumping at 2 weeks to build a supply for work.

-Did you bring a boppy to the hospital?
I didn't bring a boppy or breastfriend, but should have.

Re: Talk to me about breastfeeding ONE baby

After nursing twins you have nothing to worry about- I did it reverse and twins are def harder. Your a pro!

You'll probably have an over supply in the beginning because your body is used to the demand of 2- so pump it out and save it! I pumped right away w my son and the twins.

Re: Talk to me about breastfeeding ONE baby

I assume you start bfing right after birth? I had a c section and was in recovery for around 5 hours. I tried that night.

-Did your baby go to the nursery at night or stay with you.
We would send DS to the nursery around midnight and then the nurse would literally drop kick the door around 3am for me to nurse LOL. I did that all four nights....I believe they brought him in as soon as he started crying.

-Each nursing session...do you offer both sides? Or do one side each session?
I ended up pumping within a week because DS had lost a lot and I needed to see how much he was getting. When I didn't pump I would offer both sides.

-When did you start pumping if at all?
Answered above, but I had to right away in the hospital because DS lost so much they made me pump to make sure I was making milk. After that, I pumped all the time to build a stash.

-Did you bring a boppy to the hospital?
Yes, I actually bought 2 and brought one to the hospital. I left that one there. It had been tossed on the floor and was totally gross lol.

My main suggestions is to listen to no one except the LC's. Every nurse tried pushing their ideas off on me including supplementing. Every family member had something to say...It really made BF'ing so much harder. Next time, I am going to tell everyone to shove it

Re: Talk to me about breastfeeding ONE baby

Wow!!! Thanks so much for all the great advice!!!

Re: Talk to me about breastfeeding ONE baby

Posted by allIwant



Anyway..here are some questions I have:

-I assume you start bfing right after birth? How often does a newborn look to eat?

I started BF right away baby latch was fine but it was hard to hold her after me c-secrtion.

Newborns need to eat often. I felt like I was feeding my DD all the time in the first few weeks of life.

-Did your baby go to the nursery at night or stay with you.

I kept my baby with me all the time except when she had to go to the nursery for the light therapy. She was a little jaundiced

-Each nursing session...do you offer both sides? Or do one side each session?

I offered both side because my DD seems to want to eat a lot.
-When did you start pumping if at all?

I started pumping right away in the hospital to help my milk come in. I didn't continue to pump at home until about being home for about 3 weeks. You wont really need to pump if your supply is good or if you want to have some bottles so you can have a break from BF and some one else can feed the baby.

-Did you bring a boppy to the hospital?

I didn't bring anything with me to the hospital to help with BF

any other tips/suggestions welcome

Make sure you drink plenty of water you get extremely thirsty while breast feeding. Also the first few weeks of breast feeding is very hard and you spend most of that time feeding your new born but as you know it gets easier.

Good Luck and congrats on the new baby.

Re: Talk to me about breastfeeding ONE baby

My main suggestions is to listen to no one except the LC's. Every nurse tried pushing their ideas off on me including supplementing. Every family member had something to say...It really made BF'ing so much harder. Next time, I am going to tell everyone to shove it


Great advice

Re: Talk to me about breastfeeding ONE baby

I nursed right after birth. He nursed for 45 mins so we had to actually detach him so we can leave the room. He nursed every hr and a half. I started pumping when he was about 1 week old. I offered both breasts until he was about 7 weeks and really knew what to do. He usually had enough from one breast, but they'll let you know if they need more. I brought my boppy to the hospital and left it in the car, DH got it when i was brought to to the room and i used it ASAP!