What's your best breast feeding advice!

JuneMrs

With LO #1 I fought tooth and nail to get her and keep her exclusively breast fed. It took a lot of lactation support and my wonderful Mom keeping me encouraged. I've had so many girlfriends quit only to find out they were given bad information and could have breast fed with the right education/support. If you successfully breast fed what are your best tips, and if you supplemented, or struggled and ended up switching to formula what do you feel would have helped you continue? I'm trying to help with the lactation program where I am delivering this time to support new Mom's in getting started, and continuing to breast feed with a focus on Mom's who want to but are struggling for whatever reason (this obviously excludes Mom's who don't get milk in or have complications that prevent bf, etc).

My best tips from LO are to get a lactation nurse/support group.
One of the things I struggled with was feeding frequency everyone told me bf babies eat every 2 hours but my LO slept a lot at night and needed hourly feedings to gain weight at first.

Any other tips or ideas to help make this program a success?

InLovewSB

I think it helped that before the baby was here I read a good book "So That's What They're For" and went to a breastfeeding class put on by the hospital. I like to have a certain level of knowledge going into something like this, and it gave me confidence to know there were different holds to try, how to bring the baby to breast, so forth.

haziedaze

Every new mom should know what a good latch looks like (from a video or another mom, not stick figure drawings) and should know how to tell when baby is swallowing.

Moms should be introduced to a couple of positioning options and problem solving tips before leaving and should know how to recognize and cope with engorgement and the latch issues it causes.

Moms should be encouraged to BF on demand and frequently, no less than 8 times in 24 hours and more often if attempts are unsuccessful (poor latch, no swallowing).

Those are my thoughts as a preemie mom who still managed to EBF once home and a pediatrician who see tons of newborn babies and helps moms through those first hard days.

I think the real challenge is conveying this knowledge when moms are tired/hormonal postpartum. I think videos are really underutilized and breastfeeding groups can be lifesavers! There was a great one at a hospital near me that was $5 a class suggested donation, run by a lactation consultant and had a scale available. I met some of my mommy besties there too!

ncbelle

I'd ditto everything mentioned.  I think having some sense of what to expect is beyond important.  We have this idea that breastfeeding is "natural" so it just sort of happens.  And women need to know that often there are bumps - and that most bumps can be overcome.  They also need good support - at home and from professionals when needed.  I think understanding what normal newborn nursing looks like is also key - kellymom's "first days" page on normal newborn nursing is great info.

ktpaladino

I did absolutely no reading, research, or education before hand and I was the most naive, ill-equipped mom ever in the history of breast feeding. My biggest advice is to go to some La Leache League meetings while pregnant and read books on the topic to best prepare yourself. It is really freakin hard work. We got off to a very rough start when DS came 3 weeks early and then were plagued with pretty much every problem in the book. I have no idea how I was able to persist and breastfeed exclusively and successfully for 16 months. I continue to go to meetings, educate myself, participate in the community board here, and am really glad I'm going to have a clue this time around.

iverske9

I think hearing first off from my mother, and other friends that the first two or three weeks SUCK breastfeeding. It was not easy, and we both did not know what we were doing...oh and lets not forget how tired you are and crazy from the hormones. Knowing this made me realize while it was hard I was not the first woman who was going through this. 

Second was definitely joining a breastfeeding group that you could go, ask questions, a LC was there and other mothers who have been through it all before during and the same time as you. This was imperative to learning. 

I also made the nurses help me right away at every feeding. 

jessib10

The best little bit of knowledge I would share is that it doesn't come natural for everyone, and it's ok to struggle at first. Just be ready, and not afraid or ashamed to ask for help.

momofmanyinthemitten

It was said before, but feeding on demand was really great for my supply.

Mama-Bear

It can hurt, A LOT, even with a perfect latch.  When I had DS1 the LC came in my room to check on us, she said his latch couldn't have been better but my gosh it hurt.  After a week or so I tried the Avent nipple protectors for about 24 hours (to give them a break), after the 24 hours they were healed and it no longer hurt.  Nursing is a round the clock job, it's really going to suck at times, but if you can get through the first few weeks, it's so incredibly rewarding.  I really miss nursing.

SparkySharky

Keep it b/t you and the baby. Vent to your DH, but don't let him weigh in on how things should be problem-solved. Your instincts are the best guide and sometimes the DH will just pile his fears on top of yours and muddy-up your ability to know what's most likely happening and the best way to solve it. 

E.g. (if I'm being to vague), after 4 months of biting, things had gotten to where I had to remove DS, stop feeding, cover up, get up, put him down, walk away, and take a 3-5 minute break in order to communicate to him not to bite. B/c he was so distractable during feedings, anything less just didn't have an effect on him. So I let my husband know what I'm doing in advance and tell him not to interfere if the baby cries. Well. DS does cry and it's effing awful. Just awful. It still makes me want to cry. I'm sitting in another room and he's crying and crawling toward me. I'm only going to wait 3 minutes (the minimum) b/c it's effing awful not going to him, not comforting him, not giving him what he wants. I'm about 1 minute out and my effing DH comes out of the bedroom and scoops DS up, yells at me for being a bad mom, and in spite of frantic pleas and frustrated, exhausted tears, gives him a bottle. I was so mad. So frustrated. Had tried so hard and put up with so much pain for so many months (did I mention I was also pregnant during the 4 months he was biting?) - that it's amazing my DH lived past that moment. Needless to say, I couldn't get DS to BF much after that - it was very brief and we ended up usually giving him a bottle and then I'd finish pumping. I was having supply issues, so maybe it was more that than our traumatic experience... Pretty soon he stopped altogether.

Anyhoo, make sure your DH knows this is your thing. You're in control and his only role is to let you vent when you need to and be supportive in every creative way imaginable.

dunvilles

My advice "never quit on a bad day."

Chichigo

The nurses at my hospital were incredibly helpful. Each nurse working in maternity is a lactation consultant, and they had many different approaches (like driving with different teachers before getting licensed). The head LC checked in many times and made sure he could latch and I could support him in various positions and on each breast.

PrimRoseMama

dunvilles said:

My advice "never quit on a bad day."

Exactly. The first 4-6 weeks are tough it out weeks. Seek all the help you can find & all the support you can find.

Also, don't beat yourself up if it doesn't work out. :x

themarquis0

Focus on weight gain.

Even if you worry that you're not producing enough, put such thoughts out out of your head if baby is gaining weight on schedule.

A lot of women quit breastfeeding prematurely because they think they are not making enough for whatever reason.  Enough = baby gains weight.

If you're not sure and you're really worried, have a lactation consultant or ped do a pre- and post-feed weight on the baby. 

J&Jaggies06

Don't quit on a hard day.

cerafina205

Seek the LC's help in the hospital. She taught me about the correct latch and even gave me a nipple shield. For whatever reason I found pumping easier because it hurt like hell when LO would latch on. Every now and then I try having her latch on but it always hurts! So my other advice would is to be ready to buy a good pump if Breastfeeding doesn't work out.

KariB509

If you're returning to work after having baby and you plan to continue breastfeeding, pump at work as often as you would nurse if you were at home with baby. No exceptions. I didn't do this and ended up having to supplement with formula because my supply was affected.