5 things I wish I'd known before I started breastfeeding

[twinklegreen]

just reflecting really.

What things do you wish you'd known before you had your baby?

Mine are;

1. the tingling sensation when you get a let down, as it describes in the books, can actually be quite toe-curling, and is completely normal.

2. It can take up to 7 days for your milk to come in.

3. the REAL experts in breastfeeding hold IBCLC or Breastfeeding counsellor training. Midwives and HV's often have very little training (Even sometimes if they are an infant feeding co-ordinator) and often give out incorrect or out of date information and advice. :(

4. You should try to feed your baby as soon as possible after birth, not wait until someone gives you permission. :)

5. The smell of EBF baby's poo is actually quite addictive

Anyone else?

I heart breastfeeding!! (Haven't done it for nearly 7 years mind!)

1. It hurts a lot to begin with and you will cry, whilst your baby is screaming, and your DH may even join in! BUT the soreness gradually gets better and about 6 weeks in you suddenly notice that you can't actually feel the baby sucking at all, which is wierd.

1. Newborns suck hard and for aaaaaaaages. But it's quite nice to take advantage of that and just rest up and feed.

1. It is a lovely bonding experience that the bottle will never match (sorry).

1. You need EXPERT advice to do it right.

1. Little problems can soon become mastisis/abcess if you do not keep your eye on the ball and seek help if you get any pain. Read up on how to avoid blockages before birth.....and make sure you feed that baby as soon as you start to feel uncomfortable. Even if it means waking the little bugger up.

oh, and your boobs will get MASSIVE, like huuuge, no matter how small they were before. But that's just at first. Once things settle down they will too.

I am training to be a counsellor, I love it so much. Fascinating subject.

1. you will need to eat lots of toast, often in bed brought to you by dh as you are very busy feeding the baby

1. you can breastfeed lying down

1. when well established you can use formula too - it won't ruin things

1. some pads are more comfy than others so dont buy lots until you've tried a few

1. you might lose weight when you finish yippee!

Don't know about 5 points but you need to be prepared for people trying to put you off breastfeeding. Expect lots of "you should have formula in just in case/he's x weeks old now he needs a bottle/we weaned at a month old and it never did our DD any harm/surely he's too old for that now/you can't carry on once you go back to work/your milk isn't enough, you need to introduce solids" etc etc. Especially from well meaning older relatives.
Oh yes, and eating porridge brings on loads of breast milk. That is true, at least in my experience.

1. eat like a pig, the number of people who say they haven't got any milk, then say they have been so exhausted and haven't eaten for 2 days FFS someone feed that woman!!

1. Yes if it hurts see someone for help but for some people it just does hurt. I hate the NHS leaflets that say if it hurts you are doing it wrong. Maybe, but not necessarily.

1. When you feed at night give them one side, if they drift off wake them up by doing a nappy change and then give the other side. I had ones that slept through early and I am sure this is why.

1. You still need to properly burp a bf baby, get someone to show you how, do it for 5 mins, not 5 secs.

1. I don't actually think it's great to let a baby snack all the time, when I did this it was bad for my mental health, never let my boobs recover and the baby never had a proper deep slurping feed. Often when they cry it's not because they are hungry, it's something else and you do learn. I assumed hunger last instead of first. BTW I am not saying leave it 3/4 hours between feeds but 1 or 2 should be fine. I also didn't feed for more than 45 mins in one go. Appreciate this might not be good in all situations.

Gosh some of these experiences are so different to mine! I didn't need expert help, DD did snack a lot, I did lose weight v quickly while bf and in fact struggled to keep the weight on despite eating huge amounts of cake!

1. That Johnsons Breast Pads are the only ones that work and are comfortable.

2. That feeding on demand does not mean feed whenever baby cries.

3. That I did not need to buy bottles, sterilizer and other paraphernalia 'just in case'.

4. That BF babies can go a week without pooing.

5. That I am the best judge of what my baby needs, not the HV (who convinced me to try formula with DS1 because he wasn't following The Line on The Chart ), not the PIL's who at me BF past 6 months (and who's attitude probably contributed to me stopping BF DS2 at 7 months) . I'm on DS3 now and BF has been a breeze, he's sleeping through at 10 weeks (despite a nurse informing me this was impossible in a BF baby), he's a healthy weight (by my guess, I don't take him to clinic) and I intend to carry on until he is at least 1yo, regardless of any

Longtalljosie - I am very of "struggled to keep the weight on despite eating huge amounts of cake"

I know - I was a lucky cow. And I got totally used to being half a stone below my pre-preg weight (which is where it settled). And then I stopped when DD was 13 months, and the half stone re-appeared within weeks

EmmatheFox. My baby is also mostly sleeping through at nine weeks (8pm-5ish) and it has been suggested to me that I should wake her up for a feed in the night. She is gaining weight on a perfect curve with the Line on the Charts, so why the hell would I do that?

rocketleaf - Yes because that would happen! Why on earth would anyone do that with a healthy weight baby?! "Oh, I appear to be having a full nights sleep again, this will not do!"

1. Do not let a MW man handle your boobs & pull at your nipples to try & express some milk for your NB. Let the baby have some serious skin to skin time & figure it out!

1. BF is not something that most people can just do and it's a skill that needs to be learnt by you AND your baby!

1. Some babies just aren't interested! DD was a nighmare feeder, took 5 days to get her to latch at all, lost alot of weight, made my nipples very cracked & sore & bleeding with her fussing & lack of interest. Latch was checked by 4 different people who all said it was perfect, but she just didn't want to feed if any effort on her part was required! She is nearly 3 & still rubbish with food, but she is happy & healthy.

1. Formula is not the devil & you should not under any circumstances beat yourself up for FF. (Voice of experience as I felt massively guilty for switching to FF at 14 weeks, but it was what was best for us all!)

1. Don't stress about it, try & relax, and go with the flow! (No pun intended!!) :o

I will try again when I have DC2, but I know now that if it doesn't work out it IS NOT the end of the world & I WILL still have a bond with my baby!!

Rocketleaf ignore them my dd slept through from 2months, it just doesn't fit in with the bf feed all the tine crap that gets forced down your throat. No wonder so many are put off it!

LoveBeing don't worry, I fully intend to. I love my sleep too much!! (like mother, like daughter!)

Emma they are just jealous!?

I thought of another one...

• do not let your MW convince you to take your baby to hospital because they havent pooed for 8 days, when they are otherwise happy, contented and not in pain. You will waste a Sunday afternoon, 2 doctors time and then they will poo EVERYWHERE just before the nurse gives them a suppository making you look like rather idiotic. :o Some BF babies just don't poo that often.

rocketleaf - I would agree to your last point (listen to your own instinct).

My DC3 at just 2 weeks did have another symptom, however, but he hadn't pooed and just 8 hours after visiting my doctors fully expecting the 'it's normal, go home' line, he was in intensive care recovering from a major operation on his bowels.

My HV advised that it was nothing to worry about - I went to the doctors off my own back, Thank God!

Blimey, maybe my MW wasn't so wrong after all. Better safe than sorry, eh? Hope your DS is fully recovered now.

1. That if your baby is born just within term, some reflexes may not have been established yet. DD could suck perfectly well, but she didn't know how to swallow.

2. If this is the case, you can EBM and cupfeed the baby. This means that she will discover that it is easier to get food by latching on and that she will get more if she does.

3. that it gives you a brilliant reason to sit on the sofa and watch Sherlock

4. that you will be so proud of persevering and seeing your little one's dimples, knowing it's all down to you.

To add another one.

HVs, midwifes and doctors generally know NOTHING about breastfeeding.
The amount of times I have been offered help and advice on breastfeeding by the health professional. It's like they have never even read a book on breastfeeding.

Eariler this week my doctor told me that after 2/3 months babies do not need night feeds. WTF?!

don't be alarmed if when "checking supply" and your partner is standing 2m from you, he gets a face full of milky goodness.. ehem.

That nipple shields are a God send. I couldn't get my newborn to latch on as my nips were completely flat. I had to feed my DD off a syringe for the first 3 days which was horrible for both of us (especially with night shift midwife tutting at me about it). My darling mother came to my rescue and remembered nipple shields. DH rushed out to 24 hour chemist to buy them and hey presto, DD was feeding like a dream in no time. They gave her something to latch on to and helped ease my boobs into BF'ing. I used them for the first 2 weeks and then was fine... Till the mastitis that is grimaces...

ppl arent told how difficult breastfeeding can be in the beginning, prob why so many ppl give up.
2 amazing products 2 get you thru the sore/painful stage....

1. nipple shields (can get tehm for less than a fiver but theyre worth soooo much more)
2. lansinoh nipple cream (much better than others i've tried. am pregnant with #3 and dont intend to use any others. currently £8 in mothercare. may not b cheap but im sure you dont even need one tube to last thru your b'feeding days/nights )

i have both of these items ready for when this little un arrives in a few weeks

if your breasts start to feel uncomfortable/you're worried about mastitis, massage your breast whilst feeding, esp if there are any lumps concentrate on massaging these, they'll go within a day or so

1 - that it will really hurt, but that you can push through the pain
2 - your baby may feed for up to 3 hours in the early days
3 - your nipples will bleed
4 - you get an amazing high from breastfeeding as pheronomes are released.
5 - that should you have another baby and breastfeed baby no 2, your nipples will be like pieces of old leather and it won't hurt - I stupidly thought I'd go through all the pain again with baby no 2!

nb: my above message is of course my experience of breastfeeding and was my experience of it.

rocketleaf my DD slept through from 8wks old. just like that. and she was (still is) fully Bf. some people talk utter crap about babies they really do. this is my first and I'm amazed at the so-called experts and their sheer arrogance. from what I can tell each baby is different and you work out what you/they need to get through.

(wispering) I'm struggling to keep the weight on too. Bf has just taken everything and I'm eating like a horse

1. That if you are sitting on the sofa BFing then you are busy and doing something important - do not feel guilty about the mounting laundry pile, filthy bathroom etc and take full advantage of the opportunity to read/watch tv/stare at your baby.
2. That just because people keep asking about how often/how long your baby feeds does not mean you should start recording times/duration (and even worse, spending ages poring over the data trying to ascertain a pattern - it won't make you feel any more in control so just go with the flow!).
3. That you can switch sides when feeding lying down by adjusting your own position rather than moving the baby to your other side (thanks MN!).
4. That knowing you and you alone are responsible for your baby's dimpled knees and chubby thighs will make you feel impossibly proud.
5. That watching your baby snuggle into you and latch on with an eager grin will still make your heart melt, 12 months on.

Lol at leather nips. I must have had leather nips from the outset as they've never been sore with DS1 - well just the once when I was a bit overenthusiastic with the hand pump...