June 2012 Moms
venussapphire
member
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Breastfeeding
venussapphire
member
This is my first pregnancy so I am really worried about breastfeeding. Mainly because I know nothing about it and am worried I won't know how, or won't feed the baby enough. Can you recommend some good books or websites about breastfeeding so I can do some research before the baby gets here?
Thank you!
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Re: Breastfeeding
My hospital offered a class, which I thought was very helpful. The La Leche League is also a good resource.
This is a great website. That, my lactation consultant at my clinic and my local LLL were invaluable to help me make it this far. We are still BF here. Some La Leche Leagues have some crazy members. Many are not like that and they are also not representative of everyone who BF. Just keep that in mind. You need to have a good, knowledgeable support system to make it. DH needs to be on board and supportive. It took 4 hands to BF DD the first 5 weeks. Just be prepared that it is NOT easy and probably won't be for at least 6-12 weeks. You could have infections, bleeding, and pain for a while. Also keep in mind baby will LIVE on your boob for the first 6 weeks at least. This does not mean your supply is low, just that your baby is growing and by nursing is establishing your milk supply. There are growth spurts around 2, 4, 6, 9 and 12 weeks and then again around 5-6 months, 9 months and 12 months. Good luck!
www.kellymom.com
I think more people should. We are so unprepared for the challenges of BF. I wish someone had told me all the bad stuff. I'm just grateful for the awesome support system my family, DH and my doc were!
Ditto everyone else on LLL and Kellymom. I would also say that everyone talks about how natural breastfeeding is, and in the beginning (at least for me), it felt like one of the most unnatural things ever. DS didn't really know what he was doing, neither did I. Even having been through Bradley birthing classes (which cover a fair bit about BFing) and several LLL meetings, I think I expected DS to know how to latch or I thought that I would instinctively know what to do. Yikes. It wasn't like that at all.
It took several weeks to get the hang of it. Now, once we had it all figured out, it was the most natural wonderful part about being a mom for me. But there were days I really wondered if we would ever get there.
If it's something you know you want to do - keep at it, because it does get easier. (And do NOT hesitate to get help from a LLL leader or an LC).
might be late but I agree with LLL and Kellymom.com, i recommend it to EVERY BF mom regardless of it's their first or 10th. The one thing I can tell you is read who is producing the work, if it's from a formula company they are telling you the basics but not where to go to get help or work thru the problems. They wanna tell you what they are told to but rather than how to get help they throw the 90% end up getting supplemented and don't feel guilt lines and why to pick their formula.
I also say if you are giving birth in a hospital make it clear you are BREAST ONLY and get as much help as you can in the first few days. Some kids are great and make it so simple and then others are in need of real help and it get definately get fustrated and overwhelmed.