Aa
need help with breastfeeding!!! please answer
My baby is 3 weeka old. He is doing great but im having such a hard time because my nipples are so sore. I have had to pump and give him bottlea because im so sore. He latches perfect o just need tips and advice on how i can get past this and nurse exclusively. Please help me ladiea. Ftm here.
If you are sore, you have a bad latch. Bf should never be painful. I will post below my best bf tips:
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.
Breast feeding and uterine contractions: You will experience uterine contractions while breast feeding for the first week or so, they will start out strong and get weaker with each feed as your uterus slowly shrinks back down to its original size. This is obviously ideal as it will help you return to your pre pregnancy size sooner and also reduces post partum bleeding. Some ibuprofen is a good way to ease the pain.
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.
Quick note on which breast to use. What worked for me was 1 breast per feeding (alternating each breast at each feed) unless my dd was going through a growth spurt and then I would offer the 2nd breast and start with that same breast at the next feeding. This allows maximum hind milk. Also, it is normal for one breast to produce more than another. For me, it was my left breast. This didn't change the way I fed my dd though. And yes, you might look slightly lopsided but it won't stay that way. ;)
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. Yes, there are bottles on the market that claim to work more like breast feeding. However, it's not true. There are no bottles like breast feeding. Its the special tongue movement on the nipple that can't be duplicated with a bottle. A good rule of thumb is not to introduce a bottle until after the 3 week mark. Of course, there are some babies that don't have a problem going between breast and bottle from day 1. But you never know what you will get so IMO it's better to wait the 3 weeks until bf is established so you don't have any possibility of sabotaging your breast feeding ability.
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.
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.
Breast feeding and uterine contractions: You will experience uterine contractions while breast feeding for the first week or so, they will start out strong and get weaker with each feed as your uterus slowly shrinks back down to its original size. This is obviously ideal as it will help you return to your pre pregnancy size sooner and also reduces post partum bleeding. Some ibuprofen is a good way to ease the pain.
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.
Quick note on which breast to use. What worked for me was 1 breast per feeding (alternating each breast at each feed) unless my dd was going through a growth spurt and then I would offer the 2nd breast and start with that same breast at the next feeding. This allows maximum hind milk. Also, it is normal for one breast to produce more than another. For me, it was my left breast. This didn't change the way I fed my dd though. And yes, you might look slightly lopsided but it won't stay that way. ;)
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. Yes, there are bottles on the market that claim to work more like breast feeding. However, it's not true. There are no bottles like breast feeding. Its the special tongue movement on the nipple that can't be duplicated with a bottle. A good rule of thumb is not to introduce a bottle until after the 3 week mark. Of course, there are some babies that don't have a problem going between breast and bottle from day 1. But you never know what you will get so IMO it's better to wait the 3 weeks until bf is established so you don't have any possibility of sabotaging your breast feeding ability.
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.
Put some of your actual breast milk on yourself. It helps with the cracks and soreness. Also, the lactation specialist at my hospital gave me some gel pads. They are amazing. They work the same way for burns. It helps hydrate
If your nipples are sore, he might not be latching on correctly. I would see a lactation consultant, they can give you some good ways of being able to do it. I know with my first, the football hold worked best for me until she was about 3 months old, then I could hold her across me
Bump
I just had my baby 12 days ago I was having horrible nipple soreness until someone told me about a different cream.. It's called nursing care by the first years I got it from walmart and it works so much better then the lanolin cream they give you at the hospital!!! Good luch and hope it works for you!
Put breast milk on your nipples and let it dry. It will help a ton!!! I never had to deal with soreness I was lucky. My son had a really good latch, maybe you should try different positions?. Tough threw it and it will be so rewarding! I exclusively breastfed for 9 months
Lanolin cream worked wonders for me! They have a brand called Lansinoh at Target, Walmart, Babies R Us, really anywhere. It's a purple little tube. I used it after every single feeding! For at least a couple months. I put it on after every feeding and then the nursing pads (same brand) it would nourish the skin back to new by the time I would feed again. And it's completely safe for baby to ingest. I BF my first for only a month cause it hurt so bad and I didn't use the cream after every feeding. I started pumping and it just started to drive me crazy :( with my other 2 boys I nursed them for 13 months each. But the cream was a life saver for me! Hope it helps!! The cream is like $8 btw! ;)
You are almost through the worst of it. They sell those nipple shields too. I never used them but I hear they help. Sunlight is supposed to help too.
Try finding more comfortable positions so it won't feel like the baby is tugging. A lasinoh (spell check) nipple cream helps with the tenderness and chafing. When you do pump, try not to turn the setting to high because that can make them hurt as well. Oh and try hot showers, that heat works wonders I promise.
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