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Breastfeeding
DeAndraM01
member
Veteran BF's can I get a little advice?
DeAndraM01
member
Well, I am really wanting to breastfeed, with this being my first baby.
I just want to know, what should I expect in those first few weeks.
I have been trying to read up on it and a lot of sites make breastfeeding seem so horribly painful.
I would rather hear from people with a bit of experience.
Is it really always as painful as everyone says? What hurts? And if I can breastfeed, what should I expect in general when breastfeeding?
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Re: Veteran BF's can I get a little advice?
Those first few days you're recovering from childbirth too, so everything's a little painful. BFing hurts about as bad as everything else. It's a learning experience for both you and your LO so it takes a while for both of you to learn how to breastfeed.
www.kellymom.com is an awesome online resource, but I would suggest taking a breastfeeding class either before your baby is born or sometimes your hospital will have one during your stay there. You can also request help from a lactation consultant at the hospital and your nurses should be able to help too.
IMO, the first week is the hardest and it all gets better from there.
First, congratulations! And kudos on your decision to breastfeed!
Yeah, it hurts at first. I think I cried as much as DS did at first while he was learning to latch. With me, he had a shallow latch so he would just take the tip of my nipple in his mouth and "walk" his way on, which hurts like hell. My best advice would be to get with a lactation consultant right after your LO is born so you can learn how to position correctly.
After a few weeks your LO gets used to it and so do your nipples, so it gets less painful. Just grit your teeth and bear down through it if it hurts, you can do it. Don't give up! And make sure that your DH/partner is on board so that you can have help with the latch at first, the first few times I nursed DS it was me, my husband and the lactation consultant all manhandling me (while my parents watched) to get him on correctly.
Finally, make it your only job the first few weeks to nurse your baby. Have other people do everything else - clean, cook, etc. You nurse and sleep and that's it, if you can do it that way. Before long you'll be so good at it you can practically unload the dishwasher while you're nursing.
Hope this helps some!
Read up on kellymom.com and get a book that's just about breastfeeding (from the library, if you want to look at a few before you buy). I like "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" and "Breastfeeding Made Simple".
Go to a La Leche League meeting while pregnant. Ask questions - even if you think they might be stupid questions. These women all wondered the same thing. I found it really reassuring to talk to real, live women that all had made it breastfeeding even if the start was rough.
I did have some pain at the start of every feed for the first couple or three weeks. It wasn't THAT bad - it did make me grit my teeth, though. It went away when my baby grew a bit and latched better.
And now breastfeeding is so easy. I am so happy we've made it this far and I have no intentions of quitting until he's ready to stop.
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Congrats on your little one!
Is it really always as painful as everyone says? It was painful for a few weeks.
What hurts? Just the nipples for me. It felt like I had an extremely bad sunburn and everything was irritating.
And if I can breastfeed, what should I expect in general when breastfeeding? Expect it to be tough at first, but a wonderful experience for both you and your little one! It will be something that you'll need to be committed to as it takes a very, very long time for the baby to eat in the beginning (maybe 30 minutes of eating - repeat every two or three hours). But, it gets better and easier. My little guy can be done eating in 5-8 minutes now and he only nurses three times a day.
Best advice I ever heard: Don't quit on a bad day!
I made small goals for myself (first one was just six weeks).
YOU CAN DO IT!
Thank you! This was helpful!
congrats to you on the baby! I did a TON of researched and talked to all of my friends who BF their babies and after BFing my son I learned everyone's experience is so different! I was expected and was prepared for a struggle but DS latched right away (and I had a c/s so I didn't see him for 1 hour) and I have never had any pain, cracked nipples, etc etc from it ever. He never even had a bottle until he was 8 weeks old so for that entire time he was breastfed each and every time he needed to be fed.
This board and kellymom.com were very helpful to me. Stay determined and it will work! best of luck to you!
I also had pain that I was able to figure out. A. the latch, which I worked with 4 lactation consultants in the hospital and one that came to my house. The one that came to my house was wonderful. She spent 1 1/2 hours with us. (we also had a sleepy baby that wouldn't stay awake). The saying, if it hurts it's probably the latch is very true. However, I also found that B. I had an allergy to Lanolin, within 2 days of stopping, I felt so much better. I had been applying that stuff like frosting a cake!
It was more difficult than I thought, but I had a lot of emotional support and at 5 weeks everything seemed to click and it was a lot easier. Don't be afraid to ask for help. As one other mom suggested go to a LL meeting while pregnant, get to know the leaders, they can help once LO arrives. Also have the LL leader or LC show you different holds. I didn't like some of the hold they taught in the breastfeeding class.
IF things do get tough, just take it one day at a time or even one feeding at a time. Once you and LO get it down, it's so rewarding and gets easier. Good luck and congrats!