Things I learned in the first 6 weeks of breastfeeding

[jessplussomeonenew]

I'd thought I was well prepared for breastfeeding (reading, classes, watching friends etc) but there were some things I never heard beforehand which would have been really useful to know. I claim no expertise beyond my own experience of getting through the first six weeks of feeding :) but thought I'd share - and encourage others to do likewise - practical hints that I wished I'd known:

That "nose to nipple" is a good way to work out how far across your body the baby should be, but the chin should actually be closer to the breast than the nose when latching on.

That a good latch involves a mouth that's open wider than looks physically possible for a tiny baby's mouth!

That trying to visually check the latch during a feed a) tends to pull the nipple out and make the latch worse and b) can miss problems; how it feels is a far better guide to how it's going.

That for cradle/cross-cradle it's good to hold the baby's tummy in tightly to my body to help them feel secure - it also helps to tuck the lower arm out of the way below the body before bringing the baby in.

How to do sandwich and flipple/extended latch techniques.

That getting the baby's body into the right position before attempting to latch is more than half the battle - having help from another pair of hands can really help as you work this out!

That once the baby's in position you need to wait for a good gape and then move quickly to get the nipple in before it closes again.

That you shouldn't hold the back of the head or press the head against the nipple but instead bring the head close by supporting the side of the head (cradle) or neck (cross-cradle).

Hope this is helpful to someone!

Breast compressions were brilliant for DS2 too - the only thing that kept him going on the breast when he kept falling asleep.

It's a very easy technique to learn. Here's a . Here's a description of breast compression. You only need to do this when it's not going well, so if baby is not getting enough milk because eg flow is slow so he's falling asleep instead of finishing a feed.

Sorry, I keep thinking of more things. Both DC fed for 40mins+ at first, on and on and on. By 8 weeks DS had got it down to 10 mins - then I worried that he was not having enough.

It's normal for them to speed up as they get stronger and faster and better at it.

DD didn't ever crack that and always fed for at least half an hour.

My one tip: blocked ducts are agony. Don't pussyfoot round them. Get the painkillers in and treat them aggressively. Hot compress, wide toothed comb towards nipple and feed, feed, feed until the feckers are slurped free. Kellymom is a great site.

3 months!!!! I was hoping to see things getting better now I had reached 7 weeks. Dear God, how do you do this?!

I ff DD1 for a while. I am coming to the conclusion it is far easier than this bf malarkey!

Squizita- GF is not famed for making bfing sound easy. All that expressing and timing I wouldn't give it too much thought. Her area of expertise is routine not being trained in bf.

I have no intention of breastfeeding when I have a baby. It's not something I even want to try and the judgement I get for this is absolutely shocking.

Don't mean to hijack the thread, just wanted to say that some of us just don't want to breastfeed and we shouldn't be forced and shamed by society, midwives and lactation counsellors.

That's fine Rose, but why come onto this thread, indeed why read it if you have no interest in BF? That's a hijack if ever I saw one.

But this thread was nothing to do with judging those who want to ff Rose

Um yeah this is more about people who happen to breastfeed swapping tips.
No controversy or anything!
Tbh I'm not bothered how people feed and was set to "go with the flow" feeding wise but BFIng seems to work for me at the moment.

DS1 I really struggled and gave up at 3 months, which I felt very sad about.

DS2, I went with the "if in doubt, get 'em out" philosophy. I just didn't worry about all that "is he snacking? surely he can't be hungry again? should I try to distract him?" I just showed him a nipple pretty much any time he squawked. Although I was tired (exhausted, really) from pretty much constant bfing, it was a lot lot lot easier than the first time around.

Also, if you have a strong flow like I did (ie your nipples squirt milk into baby's mouth which seems to overwhelm him so that he pulls away spluttering and crying): feeding lying down. Wish I'd been less afraid of this the first time around.

I'm currently ph with ds2 and hoping for a much better experience this time around.
Ds1 is now 12 but I struggled to get him to latch. I was in hospital for 5 days and all the midwives would do was come and shove him into my boob then disappear. He would then come off boob. I was in constant tears thinking how comes he'll latch for mw but not for me.
Day 4 in hospital they had a change of staff and a very lovely midwife saw how I was struggling and came back with some nipple shields. Turned out I had inverted nipples (I just thought my boobs were normal). Those shields saved my sanity.
This time around I have purchased a wonderful gizmo that will gently pull my nipples out so hopefully by time baby is here I'll have no issue.

Rose that was a bit of a random daft post! Why read this if you've made your choice?!

Frog, when did you stop having to lie down to feed? I'm 7 weeks in and I would like to leave the house.

I thought I was quite well prepared for BF pre-baby and had done an NCT session on it. Actually on reflection the only practical thing they really spoke about was latching, and not a lot else. I wasn't prepared at all. DD is now 3 and a half weeks old. Here's what I've learnt so far:

1. Cluster feeding in the evenings and at night. No-one told me about this. Indeed, I had been told several times that a newborn will on average feed every 2 hours. No-one told me that a newborn can have feed-a-thons for sometimes 3 hours with brief (say 10 min) breaks inbetween. On DD's first night home I had an awful night with her as I kept thinking 'she can't be hungry again, she must be too hot, cold, need comfort, etc, etc'. Of course she cried all night because she was starving. On a similar note...

2. Before your milk comes in (and you only have colostrum) your baby will be hungry constantly because they only have tiny tummies and colostrum isn't very filling. Expect to be feeding near enough constantly.

3. When your milk does come in your boobs will feel very full and hard. I learnt very quickly that I needed to go bra shopping soon after my milk came in (from being a C cup pre-pregnancy, to a DD in pregnancy, after my milk came in I got professionally sized up at Mothercare and I was now an F cup and my boobs are now enormous)! Be prepared to go bra shopping after your milk comes in!

4. Get help with the first few feeds, and by help I mean let a midwife watch you feed and give you advice, but don't let them latch baby on for you. Unhelpfully the hospital midwifes 'helped' by popping her on my boob for me, which solved the immediate problem but didn't help teach me at all how to do it myself. Thankfully my community midwife really helped with this, but if I had been shown what to do in the hospital it may have avoided me getting a cracked nipple on my left boob in the first day of solo attempts, which bloody hurt for a good couple of weeks afterwards!

5. Breast feeding is painful for a lot of people, or at least the letdown is, even if you are doing everything right. After being told the whole time in my NCT class that 'if it hurts, your doing it wrong' I kept thinking I must be doing something wrong when it hurt when I first put DD on my boobs. Having been checked now by a couple of midwives, I know now that I'm not doing it wrong, it's just the first 30 seconds of letdown is toe-curlingly painful for a lot of people. I wish the professionals would be a lot more realistic about this with people. I sometimes think they gloss over this a bit in a bid not to put people of BF, but in reality I think more accurate information would help a lot of people.

6. If you get a cracked nipple, nipple shields will really help. Also get some decent nipple cream.

Sorry, that's a bit of an essay! xxx

Oh, and 7) expressing takes time to learn, and at first can take nearly an hour to express enough for a feed. It's worth it though when you have give a feed or two to DH and go to bed for a few hours for some sleep!

I read The womanly art of breastfeeding by La Leche prior to birthing DS - it mentally prepared me for the cluster feeding, let-down, blibs, engorgement and the bone-shattering tiredness. As did the breastfeeding helpline and my mother (who breastfed me, thank Gods, so she did not think I was strange).

The first week was the worst (collecting columstrum with a syringe - aaargh!) - but I have been doing it now for over 15 months. I just kept telling myself "I will do it for three months, then 6 months, then a year...we are now on course for the two year mark.

I wish someone had told me it gets easier with time and morphs into a magic comfort/cuddle/bad day tool. It's a lifesaver when DS is teething and will not eat anything as I know he still getting the calories from breastmilk.

So, yes. The next friend of mine to get pregnant will have the La Leche book alongside my congratulations card. :-)

I have not read the thread, so this may have already been said, but if, like me, you have problem after problem at a time you need it least, it's okay to stop! I cried for a week, and beat myself up for longer for 'letting DS down.' It seems ridiculous now!

Oh, and if you need to express for a bit, hire a hospital grade pump as it's SO much easier!

^ Brilliant post BreakingBuddhist!

My brilliant SIL gave me top breast feeding tips over the phone! re the wide mouth - she told me to let the baby latch then hook a finger inside his bottom lip and pull it gently down to get a good wide mouth. Never failed.

These are all great tips - and highlight the fact that antenatally, preparing for the practicalities of breastfeeding in any sort of precise, detailed way is less helpful than supporting confidence and acceptance that the baby and you will find your own ways of doing things.

Mothers often say 'I wish I'd known....' or 'they should have told me....'

But the only actual practicalities you need to know before the baby is born is that it is normal for the baby to breastfeed a lot, it is good for the baby to breastfeed a lot, and that for most problems, the right support and a knowledgable pair of eyes, can help (and where to get this sort of help). I'd prob add something about how to know the baby is breastfeeding well (nappies, what effective breastfeeding looks and feels like).

All the excellent tips about holding and positioning the baby, and the million ways this can be done, can be learnt afterwards, IMO :)

Lol here's one from me... buy a sling that's truly from birth not 7 1/2 lb. Because your baby might not cone out that big! Oh ooh my aching arms. Bubs is keen to use said sling/grow fast and is feeding hourly then likes a cuddly burp. I'll have biceps like a boxer by the end of this!

Oh and in defence of midwives. .. not all of them give bad advice - mine are very common sense (with them longer after birth due to my own medical history). Watched me, gave some tips. Told me to "feed her when she's hungry, whether that's after 4 minutes or 4 hours". Even suggested a safe way to Co sleep which I know us unusual for them.