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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

Things you wish you'd known when you started breastfeeding

99 replies

gastrognome · 15/03/2011 16:53

Just found out that you can stop the flow of milk by pressing hard on the nipple.

Very handy during the early days when baby pops on and off or struggles to latch and let down is quite strong! It's like a magic "Off" button - just wish I'd known this trick when feeding my first daughter, who was BF till she was 2. Would have saved me from a lot of damp clothing!

Also wish I'd known that feeding lying down is a lifesaver. And that most "breastfeeding" tops are rubbish!

Anybody have any other gems they would care to share?

OP posts:

lalamom · 21/03/2011 05:23

co sleeping is the most lovely experience and that it means you can pretty much avoid sleep deprivation- if done safely.

apples82 · 21/03/2011 10:39

lalamom, for a first timer how do you safely co sleep?

RitaMorgan · 21/03/2011 10:48

There's a Unicef/FSID leaflet here

Basically:
keep duvets and pillows away from the baby
firm mattress, no waterbeds
make sure there are no gaps the baby can fall down or get stuck in
don't smoke, drink or take drugs

apples82 · 21/03/2011 11:08

Thanks RitaMorgan for the leaflet link, very interesting.

TK24 · 21/03/2011 12:24

i wish i'd known how heart wrenching it is to have to stop feeding and switch to expressing just so i can return to work!:( 2 weeks left to win the lottery!!

Skillbo · 21/03/2011 14:00

Had to cmment re anal fissures as it seems people aren't convinced they can occur due to bf...

It is due to lack of moisture in the skin from not topping up enough water due to feeding.. everything gets dry, cracks and then - due to where it is - struggles to heal as you use that area a lot!

Have been for treatment on mine but it just won't go. Ironically, the best treatment for it (other than surgery) is Botox - which you can't have when you're breastfeeding!

Oh Happy Days!

So my one tip is KEEP DRINKING - if you're hands are dry, trust me, so are other,less obvious places!

kiwi5 · 22/03/2011 08:16

fab postings, almost wet myself laughing (really should keep up with the kegels aye?)
am justing seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and starting not to loathe BF (gorgeous girl is 12 weeks today). it has taken a while but we are getting there.

browniebear · 22/03/2011 10:36

That it would be heart breaking to think about stopping. I keep getting asked 'are you still feeding him??' I'm going to start lying I think so it can be our little secret.

Is it wrong to want another baby just to have the experience all over again?

kktpj · 22/03/2011 16:35

oh
how every post makes sense
why o why did i not find this sooner

soangryIcouldspit · 22/03/2011 18:37

To feed regularly in the first day or so if you have a sleepy baby

Sleepy baby techniques - e.g. switching sides when they stop suckling, waking them gently between

how fantastic it is when they're older and they can show you how much they like it (ds smiles for "boo" like nothing on earth and fizzes with excitement for it)

not all babies pull away when they're full. Lots of em fall asleep on the boob.

you can't always hear audible drinking

not everyone feels a letdown

there is more than one letdown per feed

it's okay for them not to poo for AGES

you can survive your child biting you and they WILL learn NOT to do it!

they do eventually sleep through the night

Celia76 · 23/03/2011 11:01

Brilliant thread!

I am certain that one of the reasons I stopped breastfeeding DS1 and 2 at 2 weeks is because I thiought that if my nipples hurt and babies were cluster feeding every evening I was doing something wrong and completely lost faith in my ability to feed my babies (DS2 also had a tongue tie which complicated things). Made worse by the health visitor and midwife saying if it hurts I was doing it wrong.

With DS3 I expected the pain, the cluster feeding etc etc and here we are at 4 weeks getting long fine (but obviously completely knackered!).

It is such a myth that bf comes easily/naturally to all mothers. I would say it is one of the hardest things I have ever done, but on a positive note I feel a huge sense of achievement.

sh77 · 23/03/2011 23:15

DS is 3 weeks old and is cluster feeding all day. Never knew such a thing existed. I am finding it very exhausting. It was quite a shock to experience it as I read about feeding every 3 hours.

cocoachannel · 24/03/2011 05:13

sh77- DD is 25 days old and we're going through the same thing. Exhausting.

cocoachannel · 24/03/2011 05:22

I wish I'd known that there is such a thing as too much information. That every HCP would have different advice. That every man on thre street would have different advice, for that matter!

That you don't have to use one of the two positions demonstrated straight after birth.

And most of all those women, relaxing whilst simultaneously sipping coffee in the local cafe probably have babies older than three weeks (at least I hope so!)...

cocoachannel · 24/03/2011 05:24

Relaxing, breastfeeding, and sipping coffee that should say!

(That posting on MN, whilst bfing at 5.30am is tricky!)

Original poster

gastrognome · 24/03/2011 08:36

So many great comments on here.

Didn't know about mumsnet when I had DD1 but wish I had! Luckily I did discover www.kellymom.com pretty early on and it was a lifesaver in those early days! (not so keen on the forums there though...)

OP posts:

GeekLove · 24/03/2011 22:08

That a newborns suction is quite capable of raising blisters on nipples within a couple of feeds.

That you can still feed even if you have managed t take the skin off one of your nipples. Latchig on hurts like he'll though!

Your nipples WILL still heal even wiu regular feeds - make sure they have plenty of air drying and Lanisloh.

Feeding a newborn for day 1 and 2 can be surprisingly quick - but then a newborns stomach is only about 2cm^3.

Newborns might not wee much for the first few days since colustrum doesn't have that much water - it had a greasy appearance and can be clear to orange in colour.

petisa · 25/03/2011 16:16

that a newborn might want to be latched on for 12 hours straight and then sleep for hours and hours, and then repeat, in the first couple of days. no need to reach for formula or wake baby, just feed when they want to and sleep when they do.

that a baby that is a few weeks old might want to feed every hour and cluster feed for 5 hours in the evening. this is normal and baby is getting enough.

that you might need to use 3 tubes of lansinoh over the course of a couple of months before it stops hurting! (we must have had a crap latch!)

yy to the primark vests - i have about 12 of them! i think they were a pound each?

that you might not have to feed out and about much as your baby will only feed lying down somewhere quiet and dark

lurcherlover · 25/03/2011 20:49

That when you start breastfeeding you automatically become a member of an exclusive club of women with its own support network - and how fantastic this is. I love going to my breastfeeding support group each week (every bf woman should find one of these - it helps so much, even when you're not having any problems with feeding). I love that automatic feeding of solidarity you get when you feed in public and another woman is doing the same.

How empowering it feels - I used to be so embarrassed by my teeny weeny boobs. Now they have made my DS grow to nearly 19lb at 5 months with no formula or food, just breastmilk - I am so proud of them and even if they return to their tiny size once I stop feeding I will never be embarrassed again. I will miss my lovely cleavage though....

That feeding lying down when you're both a bit sleepy is one of the loveliest ways to spend time with your baby.

And one negative (the only one I can think of): that bottle refusal is really common and can be a real source of worry when thinking about returning to work.

ShinyMoonInAPurpleSky · 25/03/2011 21:31

That my milk actually hadn't come in and that despite what everyone else said, I wasn't producing enough as proven by the 2 whole days it took for my milk to dry up when I stopped trying after 4 weeks of continuous feeding, expressing and wondering why I didn't love bf or why I didn't feel bonded with my baby.

petisa I agree about the feeding/sleeping thing. Formula was forced on a 4 hour old ds by midwives because he didn't want to wake up to feed, even my MIL went in and yelled at them for that because she knew what I didn't from experience - dh himself didn't feed for 24 hours after birth before going on a feeding frenzy. The midwives scared the shit out of me saying my baby would become seriously ill if he didn't have the formula.

ShinyMoonInAPurpleSky · 25/03/2011 21:37

I think I'm going to have to leave this thread now because I'm getting quite upset reading how lovely you all feel feeding your baby and how much your baby loves it :( I wish I had experienced that, I really hope I can next time I have a baby.

Before I started I wish I had known that sometimes it doesn't work no matter how hard you want it too.

petisa · 25/03/2011 21:52

Aw Shiny bf was a total disaster for me first time round too, has been easy this time around, so don't lose hope! [un-MN hug]

Yes when my dd2 was born she fed for a while and then went to sleep for about 9 hours I think and then fed for 12! Then slept for about 6 hours or so... and the midwives tried to get me to give her formula too and told me she was going to get ill if I didn't. It's hard to brazen that sort of pressure out, it plants a seed of doubt in your mind. This time round I politely told everyone to fuck off and leave us both alone to get on with it basically - well not in those words!

mamsnet · 25/03/2011 22:32

So jealous of those of you that are still feeding..

I never would have thought before my children were born that I would look back on BF as one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.. From start to finish.. Mastitis and the works..

InvaderZim · 26/03/2011 06:59

I wish someone had told me that if things go badly at first (crappy latch, kept falling asleep, readmitted to hospital and needed to express and use formula) that breastfeeding can still be established!

I cried through the whole 2 days we were in the hospital because not one HCP told me it was possible.

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