Breastfeeding for some people is just easy and comes naturally. For others its hard, hard work! Some women can produce tons of milk that they freeze and store and some women like me only produce enough to get through a day maybe 2. Just because you can't produce tons of milk to freeze doesn't mean you have to give up on breastfeeding. I wanted to write down some tips that have helped me (and to remind me) from breastfeeding basics to how to get through and keep on keepin' on.
1) Don't worry about your milk not coming in the first few days of you babies life. The colostrum baby gets is plenty!
2) The lactation consultant will tell you to put baby on both breasts for about 15 minutes or so during each feeding. My nipples were so sore and tender and starting to blister way too bad for this. I made my own decision to use one breast per feeding. I just needed that extra time to let my nipple calm down some!
3) Trying to find that right hold that is comfortable for you and baby can be HARD! Especially if you have never done this before. Don't panic, you will eventually get it even if its 6 months after you've given birth!
4) They say not to give a paci to a baby, however, MY baby was not rolling her tongue like she should have been instead she was sticking it out like a lizard. The soothie that the hospital gives worked great for her and did not confuse her with the nipple, but taught her how to do it!
5) Use lanolin topical on your nipples after EVERY feeding! Also hydrogel pads feel AMAZING!! Stick those bad boys in the fridge for a few minutes and then slap them on there!
6) With the blisters on my nipples and also a week or two later with thrush I was hurting so bad and we were still learning how to breastfeed that I just had to give my nipples some kind of break from bad sucking. So against everything everyone said I went to the breast pump. Used it for about 24 hours and gave her a bottle with a very slow nipple and round nipple (like the soothie) so that my nipples could get used to what it was supposed to feel like and so she could work on her sucking on something other than my poor nipple. It worked and I think it helped with my milk coming in.
7) I am not one of those "pull my boob out in front of everyone to feed my baby" kind of women, so I would pump and give her a bottle when we were out and about. Not to mention trying to get her in a good position while being discrete was almost impossible for me. I breast feed her through the night (laying down which is super easy and almost the only way we can do it right now) and pump about 3-4 times during the day. I believe the trick to producing a lot of milk may be to continue to pump in between feedings so that your body thinks you are needing this much milk. I didn't do this. I am a new mom for starters and could not put my baby down or simply just needed some sleep when she slept. And 2 I was having to go back to work when she was 3 weeks old and just couldn't pump in between feedings otherwise I would get NO work done.
8) Breast pads are your friend. I wear them everyday, all day. If you leak and they get wet CHANGE THEM OUT! Its like sitting in a wet diaper, don't do that its gross and can cause mastitis.
9) Your boobs will be big, they will stay big, when they are full they will be nice and perky, when you feed or pump they will sag like old grandma boobs. It sucks, it's depressing, but I'm told it'll go away and your normal pretty boobs will return!
10) RELAX! Any amount of breast milk is better than NO breastmilk. If all you can get is enough for one day at a time then do it that way. You do NOT have to have some sort of golden stock pile! Once babies hit about 4 months you can start adding baby foods to their diet anyway and wont need as much and then can start freezing some even if its just one bottle's worth a day.
and I can't leave without a picture of our sweet Lakie!
I am not a doctor or professional. I am just a new mom learning how this thing works day by day and these are my opinions.
No comments:
Post a Comment