When I was pregnant with DS my mom told me to toughen up my nipples before DS arrived. I know it sounds silly. About a month before he was due she told me that every time I was in the shower twist, pull, pinch & squeeze my nipples. I did this everyday for about a month and I didn't have hardly any nipple pain when it was time to breast feed. I will be doing again this time. I also put creams & coconut oil on my nipples after every feeding. I never once had cracking or bleeding. Toughen up those nipples ladies!!
Anyone else have awesome tips?
Re: Best breast feeding tip I ever got!! STM here
Also, if you hear a clicking noise they generally aren't on correctly and need to be relatched.
First BPP 1.24.14
EDD 9.26.14
Baby Cooper John born on 9.24.14 6lbs9oz
Also, change those pads often...thrush is not fun at all.
Though many people find that believe they have sensitivities, which can be real, it's okay to eat what you want until proven otherwise.
baby #3 arrived in September 2014...cannot get ticker to work no matter what I try!
I'm trying to exfoliate. No idea of the "toughening up" aspect. Hmmmm. I lotion them all the time
But the dry Canadian air always wins. Always.
So much great advice! I agree about the support system (for me it was friends, my husband and my mom), having water and snacks ready, and not quitting on a bad day. I gave myself until 6 weeks and after that it got a lot easier ( though still a struggle until 8 or so). I'm glad a few people spoke up about "toughening the nipples..." this is NOT a good idea.
I also learned that supplementing with formula is NOT a nursing death sentence, as long as you are careful about taking care of your supply (ie, I pumped whenever LO had formula because he couldn't latch properly).
A good tip I learned was to squeeze the breast into a "nipple sandwich" -- like a hamburger? for LO if you are having trouble latching, and to remember that they need to take the aureole in, not just the nipple.
If you have prolonged soreness that doesn't resolve with relatching, talk to a lactation consultant because something isn't right.
You can also have strange feeling let down. Some people don't feel it while others (like myself) have a tingling almost painful letdown. Mine only lasted a few seconds and through nursing 2 kiddos now, I know that's just me.
Ow. The start of this thread caused me pain just reading it.
- Definitely take note of what everyone said about what a good latch looks like, and try to see one before you start trying it yourself. Videos, etc, or even a friend who is willing to show you. I didn't know what to do when starting with DD (she was born a week before my class was scheduled to be), and none of the lactation-trained nurses were around at the time, so I bumbled around and did it all wrong.
- Use a good nipple cream, or let breastmilk dry on your nipples after nursing. Personally, I hated the smell of Lansinoh (plus it was so stiff, I found it uncomfortable to try to spread it on my nipples), so I used the Earth Mama Angel Baby one. This time I picked up the Mother Love one, it gets great reviews.
- Initially, nursing or pumping will probably give you cramps/contractions. At breastfeeding class they told us not to hesitate to tell the nursing staff about it and they'd supply you with motrin etc. I'm allergic, so I used an electric heating pad every time I pumped or tried to nurse (this was only for the first week or two), and that helped my cramps a lot. Make sure if you use heat while breastfeeding the baby that you keep a pillow or two between the heating pad and the baby.
- Even if you don't have leakage issues, nipple/breast pads are great to keep your nipple cream off of your bras to minimize staining.
- If you plan to pump at all, even if you don't actually pump in the hospital, bring your flanges with you and have a lactation person at the hospital take a look and make sure you have the right size for you. I started with the wrong flange size and that was pretty painful.
- Ask if your pediatrician's office has a lactation person. Ours does, and it was nice to go in and get some tips, plus have her weigh the baby before and after a feeding to get an idea of how much she was eating.
- I've already booked my lactation consultant for this baby (lol over-preparing much?) and we spoke last week. She actually recommended renting a scale to use to track baby's weight gain, and said it's a great way to ease parents' concerns (especially dads who maybe aren't as dead-set on breastfeeding) about baby's weight gain. I may do that this time, because I know last time DH was always worried that DD wasn't eating enough.
- If you end up pumping exclusively or for most of the time, it's harder to properly empty your breasts and keep your supply up. So, make sure you hand-express while you pump. There are videos on that online, I think, but basically you need to massage your breasts while the pump is going, and try to push the milk all the way forward so the pump can get it. I probably doubled my output doing that.
- If you have to pump from day one, when you're still only making colostrum and not really milk yet, try to hand-express a bit. The pump isn't great at getting that stuff out (I didn't really get anything from the pump til day 5 or so, but I could hand-express). Lactation consultants at the hospital should be able to help you, and there are videos online. You can hand-express into a teaspoon and freeze it til you need it.
DD1, born 4/10/11 at 32 weeks
Cooking #2
DD1, born 4/10/11 at 32 weeks
Cooking #2
DD1, born 4/10/11 at 32 weeks
Cooking #2
Plus all of the other great info!! I'm definitely one that wants to know as much as possible!!!
The best BF tip I ever got is to remember that the most important thing is that your baby gets fed. If BFing is challenging for you/and or baby, you are not a failure for switching to formula.
Before the baby is born, discuss with your partner what situations you're willing to work through, and when it might be time to call it quits. It's important that you're both on the same page so that you don't have a partner who is either begging you to quit as soon as it gets a little tough, or one who is overly pushy when you know that it's time to move on to plan B.
Your happiness and well being as a mother is just as important as your baby's happiness and well being. Never forget that.
If you do end up switching to formula, the Fearless Formula Feeder is a great resource to check out. It is not anti-BFing at all, but it offers a lot of interesting insight and tips into FF, and has some great support stories.
www.fearlessformulafeeder.com
Oscar born October 2011
Miscarriage at 8 weeks (August 2013)
DD due September 1, 2014