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Breastfeeding Tips
Hi moms and moms to be! I see a lot of posts with questions on bf and latching. I thought I would write a little post. I breast fed my first dd for 2 years and have experienced many of the pitfalls. As soon as my dd was born they placed her on my chest and she latched on right away. At first the feeding went very well. But then my milk began to come in the day I was discharged. My breasts became two large hard boulders overnight! I looked like Dolly Parton with the worst boob job in history.
The engorgement from my milk coming in made them hot and hard. Every time I went to nurse my dd the milk would squirt out like a fire hydrant and she would get milk all over her. I was leaking literally 24/7 and I thought it would never end. Because they were so full and hard it made latching so difficult. My nipples just seemed so large for her tiny mouth. In those early days the only way she would open wide enough was when she was crying. And thanks to the latching difficulty my nipples were getting so much abuse. Breastfeeding shouldn’t hurt and you should re-latch if it hurts after the first 20 seconds. I was re-latching several times every session and I’m sure that is what helped save my nipples in the long run. Also expressing a little by hand before feeding (just to make the boob pliable) made latching a lot easier since I could compress my areola better than when they were hard and full of milk. Thankfully as the books promised the engorgement only lasted a max of 2-3 days and latching gradually got easier as my milk supply evened out.
My best latching tips are to try many different positions but always bring baby to your breast and not the other way around. You should never be hunched over baby. Instead use pillows to support your baby in the position. In order to latch well I used the "hamburger" method. Basically squeeze your areola and nipple together and begin by inserting the bottom areola first, then the nipple, and finally the top areola. It takes lots of practice to get good at doing this quickly. Eventually you won't need to do this when baby gets big enough and learns how to latch on their own. It's easier for them when their mouths get bigger.
Using vitamin e oil and Lansinoh’s Soothies breast pads also helped to save my nipples. I tried lanolin cream too but didn't like it as much. I also had plastic nipple cups to put in my bra to keep the fabric off my sensitive nipples. I rubbed breast milk on my nipples after every feed and let them air dry for at least a few minutes. The breast milk trick is probably the best one of all of these. There are antibacterial properties in breast milk which aid the healing process and also lower your chances of getting an infection like thrush or mastitis. You should never wash your nipples with soap. Washing with water when you normally shower is all that is necessary. Washing your nipples after every feed is not recommended either as it can damage your nipples and wash away the natural substances excreted by the glands on the nipple which keep them clean and moist (this is why soap is especially bad).
A quick note on supplementation. Supplementation is fine but not until after your milk supply is established. If you supplement before that time your body will not know how much milk to make for your baby and this can sabotage your breast feeding ability. This is because breast feeding is a supply and demand system. The more your baby demands, the more your body will produce.
It's hard for ftm's to know if their baby is getting enough from the breast. Here are the main signs to look for; 4-6 wet diapers a day (starting from the 4th day of breast feeding), baby is nursing frequently (8-12+ times in 24 hours), hearing baby swallowing while nursing, baby is allowed to nurse as long as they want from one breast (this is especially important so the baby can get the rich fatty hindmilk - let baby nurse until they "pop" off on their own. This can be anywhere from 20-45 mins during a growth spurt), baby is gaining weight.
Bottle feeding too early can also interfere with breast feeding because it can make your baby a lazy nurser since breast feeding requires more work to get milk out than bottle feeding.
The more you have baby at your breast the better for your supply.
Growth spurts: your baby will nurse even more frequently and for longer (and can be irritable) while going through a growth spurt. In my experience this can last anywhere from 3-7 days. It can make you feel like baby isn't getting enough when they suddenly want to nurse more but this is actually a good thing. It's natures way of increasing your milk supply to accommodate your growing baby. The typical growth spurts are 7-10 days, 2-3 weeks, 4-6 weeks, 3 months, 4 months, 6 months and 9 months (there are some after that but less frequent). The best thing you can do is nurse nurse nurse during a growth spurt!
I’d say breastfeeding for me significantly improved after 2 weeks and then became completely second nature around 2 months. I really fell in love with breast feeding so I wanted to share my experience to help other moms be successful breast feeders too. Good luck and congrats on your new additions!
The engorgement from my milk coming in made them hot and hard. Every time I went to nurse my dd the milk would squirt out like a fire hydrant and she would get milk all over her. I was leaking literally 24/7 and I thought it would never end. Because they were so full and hard it made latching so difficult. My nipples just seemed so large for her tiny mouth. In those early days the only way she would open wide enough was when she was crying. And thanks to the latching difficulty my nipples were getting so much abuse. Breastfeeding shouldn’t hurt and you should re-latch if it hurts after the first 20 seconds. I was re-latching several times every session and I’m sure that is what helped save my nipples in the long run. Also expressing a little by hand before feeding (just to make the boob pliable) made latching a lot easier since I could compress my areola better than when they were hard and full of milk. Thankfully as the books promised the engorgement only lasted a max of 2-3 days and latching gradually got easier as my milk supply evened out.
My best latching tips are to try many different positions but always bring baby to your breast and not the other way around. You should never be hunched over baby. Instead use pillows to support your baby in the position. In order to latch well I used the "hamburger" method. Basically squeeze your areola and nipple together and begin by inserting the bottom areola first, then the nipple, and finally the top areola. It takes lots of practice to get good at doing this quickly. Eventually you won't need to do this when baby gets big enough and learns how to latch on their own. It's easier for them when their mouths get bigger.
Using vitamin e oil and Lansinoh’s Soothies breast pads also helped to save my nipples. I tried lanolin cream too but didn't like it as much. I also had plastic nipple cups to put in my bra to keep the fabric off my sensitive nipples. I rubbed breast milk on my nipples after every feed and let them air dry for at least a few minutes. The breast milk trick is probably the best one of all of these. There are antibacterial properties in breast milk which aid the healing process and also lower your chances of getting an infection like thrush or mastitis. You should never wash your nipples with soap. Washing with water when you normally shower is all that is necessary. Washing your nipples after every feed is not recommended either as it can damage your nipples and wash away the natural substances excreted by the glands on the nipple which keep them clean and moist (this is why soap is especially bad).
A quick note on supplementation. Supplementation is fine but not until after your milk supply is established. If you supplement before that time your body will not know how much milk to make for your baby and this can sabotage your breast feeding ability. This is because breast feeding is a supply and demand system. The more your baby demands, the more your body will produce.
It's hard for ftm's to know if their baby is getting enough from the breast. Here are the main signs to look for; 4-6 wet diapers a day (starting from the 4th day of breast feeding), baby is nursing frequently (8-12+ times in 24 hours), hearing baby swallowing while nursing, baby is allowed to nurse as long as they want from one breast (this is especially important so the baby can get the rich fatty hindmilk - let baby nurse until they "pop" off on their own. This can be anywhere from 20-45 mins during a growth spurt), baby is gaining weight.
Bottle feeding too early can also interfere with breast feeding because it can make your baby a lazy nurser since breast feeding requires more work to get milk out than bottle feeding.
The more you have baby at your breast the better for your supply.
Growth spurts: your baby will nurse even more frequently and for longer (and can be irritable) while going through a growth spurt. In my experience this can last anywhere from 3-7 days. It can make you feel like baby isn't getting enough when they suddenly want to nurse more but this is actually a good thing. It's natures way of increasing your milk supply to accommodate your growing baby. The typical growth spurts are 7-10 days, 2-3 weeks, 4-6 weeks, 3 months, 4 months, 6 months and 9 months (there are some after that but less frequent). The best thing you can do is nurse nurse nurse during a growth spurt!
I’d say breastfeeding for me significantly improved after 2 weeks and then became completely second nature around 2 months. I really fell in love with breast feeding so I wanted to share my experience to help other moms be successful breast feeders too. Good luck and congrats on your new additions!
Im 20 ftm. Going to breastfeed. I feel so much better knowing things now other than just the benefits breastfeeding provides. Thanks for the post.
Wow. Super information. Thank.you. and good luck to all of u mommys
Thanks so much for your post
Bumping this so more women see it!
Great post. Yes once you get over the first few days of it being a new thing it's usually smooth sailing. I nursed my daughter till she was 17 1/2 months. I'm due in 7 weeks with baby 2 and hope to have the same thing with him. Putting baby on your chest right after delivery and allowing them to nurse right away is the best thing ever! My daughter latched on within 20 minutes of being born. It's a natural thing for them to do so starting early really helps. And the bonding time is that much better
Very useful tips! Definitely relatch if it hurts! I did with my daughter and we breastfed for fourteen months. I watched my sister nurse her daughter (they weaned around eighteen months) and all that girl had in her mouth was nipple! Ouch! Don't be afraid to correct their latch, it's better for both of you in the long run!
Thank you for sharing!!
Omg you rock! Thank you for the post. My due date is 9 days away and breast feeding has been on my mind constantly. This helps A LOT! :)
Very helpful
As a FTM who plans on breastfeeding I find this post very useful! Thank you so much for sharing. I'm feeling a lot more confident about breastfeeding now... although not looking forward to the discomfort. Thank you for this post!
Ty for the info, mama.
*post partum weight loss
Absolutely! These were just my tips but the benefits are endless both to you and baby including reduced risk or breast and cervical cancer, immunities for your baby, always available pacifier ;), no cleaning bottles, no cost of formula, quick post partial weight loss (I was at pre-pregnancy weight by 2 weeks post partum)... The list goes on!
This is very informative thank you, its very nice to hear a woman's experience, especially since you've tried more than once!!! ... I just want to add don't forget about the Oxytocin! Breastfeeding releases oxytocin "the feel good hormone" which creates a great bonding experience as well as right after giving birth, will help your uterus contract back down to normal and decrease risk for hemorrhage.
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