Breast feeding help!!!

[laura20]

I will be breast feeding my first baby from October when he is born. Does anyone have any advise/tips at all as I am quite worried.

There are lots of good sources of information around so it's worth doing a bit of reading and finding out about sources of support in case you need them.

I found 'the food of love' a really good book. I know others rate 'the womanly art of breastfeeding'. Be careful which books you trust as some have outdated information - e.g. the advice is to feed when the baby shows you they are hungry rather than to a schedule but some books still suggest that and it can sometimes cause problems (though not always of course). Worth having a watch of some videos of a good attachment/latch and position as unfortunately at first you don't just point the baby at your breast and let them get on with it, you have to make sure they have a really wide mouth.

Kellymom is a great site, here's the section on what to expect with newborns: kellymom.com/bf/normal/newborn-nursing/
Also note down the helpline numbers. They are staffed by breastfeeding counsellors and really helpful. Here's a link: www.thebabycafe.org/breastfeeding-help/2-helpline-numbers.html

The site I've linked to also has a search facility to find face to face support groups which can be invaluable to get advice on how the baby is positioned and attached to your breast, which is really important for making sure they are getting the milk out well and stopping you from getting sore. There may be others not on that site in your area.

Also lurk on here, you'll learn loads.

Do spend time getting very familiar with the steps to achieve a good latch in advance.

My biggest piece of advice is to find a step-by-step 'how to latch' guide and print it out and keep it somewhere accessible for when you get home with the baby. I was feeding ok when I left hospital, but when my milk came in and the shape of my breasts changed DS couldn't latch properly, even when I expressed first to soften them. Everything I learned dropped out of my head due to tiredness, stress and frustration. Eventually one night DH and I found a step by step guide and followed it to the letter and suddenly he latched on and has been great ever since. You just need to remember each step (nose to nipple, bring baby to breast not other way around etc.) and you'll hopefully be ok. It's just hard to remember in the heat of the moment.

It takes a bit of time but hopefully you'll get there.