any tips to make breastfeeding easier?

[yougotafastcar]

Failed to breastfeed DS 3 years ago, as I gave up after 3 days because I couldn't bear the pain.

Due to be induced with DD tomorrow at 40+12. She is expected to be 9lb+, so not a small baby! I really want to breastfeed but am very worried about not being able to stick at it. I know colostrum is already here but I just wondered if anyone knew of any tips to get through it or of any important things I should remember that will help?!

Thanks in advance

My best tips would be to always always unlatch if it hurts (after the first couple of seconds) and re-latch to try again. Look up the exaggerated latch technique (also called the flipple I believe) which can help get a good latch established. Different positions like biological nurturing or the rugby hold can help as well.

If it continues to hurt despite the latch seeming ok, or if your baby seems hungry/not putting on weight despite several lengthy feeds a day then get them checked for tongue tie. Midwives and HVs are often not experts at checking for tongue tie, so you may have to be insistent/persistent and get a second or third opinion.

Lansinoh (or any other lanolin cream) is really good at helping with sore nipples. You won't need a huge amount but putting it on after each feed will help.

Buy some lansinoh nipple cream (it comes in a purple tube) and apply after every feed, especially for the first few days

Whilst you are in hospital buzz the midwife for EVERY feed to get them to check the latch is ok and the baby is sucking properly and is correctly attached. Hopefully this will help to prevent any pain/soreness starting due to incorrect latch. Basically if it hurts then the baby is not correctly latched, and don't continue feeding just take them off and re-latch them.

Find out if there are any breastfeeding groups nearby and go along and get the latch checked, they are full of helpful advice regarding positions, latch and any issues.

I second Lansinoh ointment - the stuff is a miracle worker on sore nipples

Agree lansinoh is fab and def in attach for a good latch
Please please ask for help even when you are home! I wish I had asked for help sooner with ds1

Whilst you are in hospital buzz the midwife for EVERY feed to get them to check the latch is ok and the baby is sucking properly and is correctly attached

Good luck with that! Postnatal wards are very busy and most m/w are clueless about breastfeeding. If you're very lucky you might come across one that knows what a correct latch is AND has time to help you.

In my experience any breastfeeding queries were met with the offer of a bottle. Baby crying? bottle. Feeding AGAIN, let me get you a bottle, give yourself a break.

My advice would be to go on your instinct. Feed as often as you can, and watch for wee/poo coming out the other end. If that's happening, you're doing good. I found just leaving the baby on the breast easiest, as it was the latching/unlatching that was painful and sore. Once they were on we were fine. Do what works for you.

Don't listen to myths such as you can't breastfeed a big baby, or that they aren't getting enough if they feed frequently (or non stop!).

Oh and don't weigh or go to HV clinics unless you're worried about something...

Oh and don't bother pumping or with bottles etc. Concentrate on getting the bf established first :)

Have bought lansinoh cream already, so I should put it on after every feed, even if they're not sore yet? Last time I only used it when the blood and cracks had appeared!

I'm worried because with DS it was so sore but midwives insisted his latch was "beautiful, and I can't understand why its hurting". He was 9lb 2oz and a very strong sucker. He was born at 7pm, pretty much fed all night and by the next day I was sobbing when he had to be fed and couldn't have him latched on for more then a few minutes, if that.

Thanks for the advice so far

Go along to a baby cage or similar as soon as you can! The support from other BFing mums and peer supporters is vital.
Speak to a lactation consultant in hospital if you can, I saw her every day I was there pretty much.
Frequent feeding is not always a sign of lack of milk. Especially not if they are peeing and pooing, and gaining weight. It's one of the biggest BFing myths I find.
Congratulations and hope induction goes well!

Baby cafe, not cage! Bloody autocorrect!

The latch can look fine from the outside but can still be wrong. If it hurts then there may be something subtle that is going on with the latch. De-latch and try again if it hurts is such good advice. You will find a way of getting comfortable.

It's worth pointing out that each baby is different and what happened last time is not guaranteed to happen again.

A little lansinoh after a feed can help with healing any small damage so that it doesn't get worse.

Also, when your milk comes in, if you have very engorged breasts, it can help to hand express a small amount to soften them before attempting to latch on. Have a look online at videos/guides on how to hand express so that you're prepared if you need to.

Midwives will often tell you that if it hurts it's not being done correctly but from lots of anecdotal experience I think for some women that's just not true - it's just a bit more painful for some women, say if you have sensitive nipples/areolae or if the baby has a high palate or a very strong suck. Keep on with the Lansinoh and maybe take some paracetamol to help if it's painful while you're establishing the latch. I thought it was excruciating when I first started breastfeeding DD but it got a lot better when the milk came in and I got used to the latch. Very best of luck and I hope it all goes smoothly!

I agree with what Micah said for the most part, although the ward where I had DS1 was bloody brilliant - I asked someone to come and spot me and give me feedback every time he fed, they did and a bottle was never mentioned, even when he did the crazy, all night continuous feeding interspersed by shrieking that you describe. I was just given reassurance that it was normal and that I was doing well.

I would only latch and unlatch if absolutely necessary - the repeated re-latching is absolutely excruciating. Those rapid sucks when they're getting latched on are toe-curlingly, scream-inducingly awful in the early days and will put you off BFing quicker than just gritting your teeth through a feed.

The fact that you got cracked and bleeding so quickly suggests your DC1 may have been tongue tied, so I would insist on assessment for one BEFORE you are discharged. Ask for their breastfeeding lead if possible to do the assessment.

Pain - despite what people saying about it not hurting, I think that's actually hooey. I think some lucky people have no pain, ever, but others do until they toughen up. I had pain with DS2 despite having fed DS1 for so long I could get a perfect latch blindfolded - this was confirmed by many people. You just have to grit your teeth for a while and think, 'If this is the biggest sacrifice I have to make as a parent, I shall consider myself very lucky!'

A word of caution about Lansinoh - wipe it off before a feed. It can cause the baby's latch to slip, which will cause you more pain. The very best thing for cracked and sore nipples is actually a liberal application of expressed BM - it's antiseptic, sterile and has antibacterial properties so is ideal. When I went through the cracked and bleeding stage with DS2, I made up a bit of a poultice after every feed of a massive slathering of Lansinoh over a thorough layer of EBM, covered by a breast pad with a little more EBM squeezed onto it. I also just fed off one side and expressed off the other for a day or two to give each nipple a rest and I was pain-free by week three with DS2. DS1 took 10 weeks (ugh...) but I didn't know all the tricks then!

Getting over the Everest of the pain and exhaustion of the first few weeks feels impossible but the feeling of achievement once you do it is indescribable. Best thing I've ever done All the best with DC2

Thank you all, will look up the techniques that have been suggested. Think I am more worried about breastfeeding then labour!

I didn't actually make it to my milk coming in last time (gave up on day 3, milk came in on day 4/5) please tell me it does get easier when there's milk there to come out?!

Will be looking back over this thread in the next few days, there is a breastfeeding group in the childrens centre 5 minutes away on a Thursday afternoon, hopefully she will be born quickly and I can rush to that, rather then waiting a week!

Baby cage made me laugh, I did wonder!

My tip is to feed often and don't wait 3 hours or till they get hungry. If they are hungry it is harder. I would have the baby in bed with you at first, using a bfeeding pillow if necessary and feed really often. Also do lots of skin to skin contact this helps the baby to be relaxed and comfortable.

Firstly - get anything about "size" of baby out of your head. The size of your baby doesn't affect your breastfeeding capability (except for very small premies who might find it hard to open their mouths enough).

Secondly get real life support. Find out the nearest groups and go to them. There are things about breastfeeding that we aren't told, such as cluster feeding at night when new mums feel like it's the end of the world and their baby isn't getting enough (they are - it's natural for them to act like they're not). Meeting other new mums going through it can be a real life saver.

Thirdly - sore nips. I found that the following helped: after feed rub milk all over nipple (use a mirror because your nipples are probably bigger than you think they are), then once that has dried apply lansinoh.

Fourthly - during the aforementioned cluster feeding, get someone to bring you a small glass of wine. It will make you feel human.

Once your milk comes in, I found it much better, ds thought it was Xmas! You just have to get through the first few days of them trying to get your supply up. Its hard but once you get the hang of it, its great. I love breastfeeding.
I found it so easy to breastfeed on a pillow, I still do. Its easy and frees up my hands to drink my cuppa or eat over him.

relax and think that little bundle is yours. When your baby is crying, that is the best time to learn how to feed the baby, because their mouth is wide open with hunger, and if your nipples are big they hold with little persuasion. If not, then squeeze a little milk into their mouth, they will appreciate it. and
if that doesn't work, put your finger into their mouth let then suck and then take out your finger and put the nipple back into their mouth.
Soon your will learn when the baby is sucking. best of luck

Yes, definitely in my experience the pain got much better when my milk came in. It was much less sharp and nippy (though I continued to have a bit of pain for a while - I was grateful that friends had told me to expect this!) It never quite got so bad I had to stop, so I kept telling myself "just one more feed" until it got much less painful and got through it that way.

Try different positions, too, as sometimes some put less pressure on the nipple - I have large breasts anyway so it often felt better when I learnt to feed lying down as I didn't have to hold baby as well as check the latch and so on. And a breastfeeding counsellor showed me how to do "biological nurturing" (where the baby sort of climbs up your chest and latches on herself), which I didn't end up using that often but occasionally was good for changing the pressure when it was painful latching on.

I second using the breast milk and Lansinoh. In the end I think I just have overly sensitive areolae and nipples and DD never liked opening her mouth that wide and had a ferocious suck (could finish an entire feed in four minutes!) so I think that was ultimately why it was uncomfortable and there wasn't much I could do about those things!
You may well find that with another baby there's less pain as the baby sucks differently. The birth can also make a difference - I had a nasty instrumental birth, was shocked and very tired and my milk came in very very late (which no-one told me could happen - I only read it in a book months later that birth trauma affects time for milk to come in!) With a second birth you normally now what to expect a bit more so that may make a difference too.

Good luck - I ended up bf for two years so was definitely glad I made it through the early days!

To all those recommending Lansinoh - is that the only cream that's any good? Are the other creams not much use?

You've had a lot of good advice here so I don't have much to add.
But with my 2nd dc despite feeding ds for 14mo I couldn't get the latch right and it was agony.
Midwife sorted it on day 5 and I could have kissed her. So always get latch checked and checked

There's nothing quite like Lansinoh, Bazza. Yes, it costs a bomb, but there's nothing to compare. I have heard of some people getting their GPs to prescribe it for them...?

I will be a voice of caution and say that milk coming in made no difference with the pain for me - possibly made it slightly worse as, as a PP said, the initial engorgement can make it more difficult for them to latch effectively. Hand or pump expressing before a feed can help 'deflate' a bit and lift the nipple to help.

Being really relaxed and not nervous or anxious is helpful. Maybe listen to music or calming sounds or if you prefer watch TV. Soon you will be bfing and MNing!

Read kellymom.com - it's the best advice you'll find outside some really good lactation consultants and La Leche League, IME.

Good luck!

The Womanly Art Of Breastfeeding is a fantastic book, I read it before DD was born and it helped immensely. Lansinoh (very fine layer, don't cake it on) plus rub some milk into your nips and air dry as often as possible. Keep de-latching and re-latching until it's right. Lansinoh can be hard to get out of the tube, sit it in a bowl of warm water to soften it. Get a comfy seat or better yet stay in bed and feed feed feed.

Thank you all for your tips and advice, I'll be back here in the middle of the night over the next few days, I'm sure!

I'll just do my best to relax & I'm determined not to let it go this time and keep asking for help - easier said then done though of course