Top Tips for Successful Breastfeeding - add your comments here!

[SamanthaB123]

So, I am planning to breastfeed my baby due in October and would like to ask for your tips on making this as successful as possible. Please add your tips below!

Feed whenever your baby wants to - even if that turns out to be every half an hour in the early days/weeks!

Ignore anyone who says "Oh, she can't be hungry again... or who suggests your 3 week old should be in a routine.

Spend lots of time 'skin to skin' in the early days.

Get lots of DVD box sets to entertain you whilst you spend alot of time sitting on the sofa feeding.

Advise your DH/DP that his job will be to fetch , cook & carry for a while whilst you sit on the sofa and feed

Consider co sleeping or a bedside cot - makes night feeds far more manageable.

If you feel things aren't right get help asap - BF counsellor/support group etc. Remember that not all midwives or HVs are experts on BF and may not always be able to give you the best advice.

Read "The Food of Love" by Kate Evans

Spend lots of time on MN (Which you can do whilst feeding

Ditto other replies.

Have some Lanoish cream in your hospital bag. Very useful in the early days.

Do some reading on early BF. www.kellymom.com is a very good site with loads of info on newborn feeding. The mumsnet support on here is fantastic.

Find out any local breastfeeding groups/ BF cafes before you have the baby. You then know where you can get some local hands on knowledge once your baby has arrived.

Enjoy your new bundle

co-sleep

lanisoh or other lanolin cream for sore nipples

aim the nipple up and towards the roof of babies mouth (wish I'd known this the first time)

I second 'the food of love' great book!

Before the baby's born I would watch lots of videos on youtube etc of babies breastfeeding so you're very familiar with the technique and what a good latch looks like.

Definitely get some Lansinoh.

Good luck!

Lots of good tips here. What made the night feeds easier was learning to breastfeed lying down. A midwife at a breastfeeding support group showed me how to get it right.

Have confidence in yourself and enjoy. :)

Invest in a thermal mug and you might actually get a hot drink occassionally!

Also, and the best advice i was given, is if you're struggling lots with breadstfeeding and feeling like you really want to give up, then set yourself a limit of a week to ten days and if things are no better then you can give up and say you at least tried - i've told myself that very often and any problem has always resolved itself within that time, allowing me to continue feeding my baby(ies). It really does work, and helps with the feelings of 'Can i really do this?'

Good luck!

Ditto previous advice, particularly Lansinoh, skin-to-skin and the Kate Evans book.

Know that while breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world, it is still a skill which needs to be learned by both you and your baby - you may find it hard work at times, but persevere and you'll be happy knowing you really are giving your baby the best start.

Don't give yourself a hard time if you hit a tough patch, be good to yourself, get help and keep going!

And lastly, enjoy it! Your baby's face while they feed is just the sweetest thing, you can feel them calm and happy in your arms, and savour the time you spend feeding; it's a small investment timewise in the grand scheme of things, and before you know it they'll be off doing other stuff and won't want to spend hours cuddling with you.

Good luck, and well done for getting advice before you start; that in itself is starting you on the path to success!

Have feeding stations around the house. The most important one will be your night feed station - you need to be comfy and warm with snacks on hand. Also think about getting an ipod for something to listen to if they're long feeding sessions!

Also it will probably be tough in the first few weeks. You might want to give up. Your nipples may hurt, you'll be leaking, you'll be tired etc etc. I don't think you can quite prepare for that though!!!

Also lower your standards. If you're thinking about routines, forget it. If you're thinking about 4 hourly feeds (MIL's classic advice), forget it. Baby may well be hungry every two hours.

Throw away any baby sleep training books as well. They'll make you feel bad for feeding your little one to sleep (it's magic, stick with it I say!), for feeding too often, for feeding on demand etc etc.

Good luck!

Lansinoh, and possibly use it to pre-prepare your nipples before giving birth?

Feed as much as humanly possible during the daytime. This is a bit She Who Must Not Be Named, and possibly controversial, but if your baby decides to sleep for four hours at a stretch during the daytime then that's probably going to delay them getting the idea of day and night. For a very young baby (first couple of weeks), if it's been more than three hours since their last feed then pick them up and wave a nipple at them, they'll probably get the idea.

The aim is not to get them to Sleep Through at six weeks or something unrealistic like that, but to get them going to sleep at night, getting hungry, waking up a tiny bit and grumbling "Hungry!", having a boob shoved at them, feeding and going back to sleep, because it is still Night Time.