What do I need to do to BF successfully second time round?

[crystalgall]

DC2 due in a few days.

With DS I tried to BF but nothing actually happened. He wouldn't latch on properly and there was actually barely anything coming out of me. I tried to express with electric pump and would get a few drops after half an hour?? I once spent 3 hours with him on the boob crying as he just wouldn't feed/nothing came out.
He also had colic for 4 months and I ended up having PND. for my sanity I ended up FF.

I actually FF from the hospital because I was so scared he wasn't getting anyhting to eat as it was just a few measly drops of milk which would come out. I didn't get the swelling/hardening of breasts or a let-down (still don't really understand what they mean) and no one helped me.

So this time would like things to go better. What do I need to know to make sure it goes well? And what did I do wrong last time?

Thanks!

Go to s support group like La Leche a League while you are pregnant. Find out who the best private lactation in your area is in case you need to contact her. Buy the womanly art of breastfeeding. I formula fed 2 before I finally managed to get success at breast feeding but it required really really good support at the start.

I have BF two kids for 12m and 8m (so far) and never felt the 'let down'. No idea what that is or feels like! I'm rubbish at expressing too but mainly because I can't be bothered.

I would say, it's all about supply and demand. If you want to give a bottle of formula then go ahead, but to keep up your supply you'll (initially) need to pump for that missed BF feed. The more demand your baby gives, the more your supply will increase to match it. I hope that makes sense! The more formula you give, without pumping, the more your supply will decrease.

Weight gain and wet nappies are the signs of successful BF rather than how much milk you think you are producing. Best of luck!

Get to know where to get good support - good breastfeeding councellor that you can call anytime. When you need help, you need it fast, as unsolved problems tend to escalate. Good support is crucial. Also, don't panic if your milk doesn't come suddenly on 3-4th day - with both of mine it took couple of weeks to build up the supply, only then I started having full breasts and feel let down.
Hope all goes smoothly this time - every baby is different!

Thanks so far.

I'm confused though. If milk doesn't come in intil day 3-5 then what are the babies getting before then??

I didn't have any of the yellow colostrum I read about either

They have the colostrum, which isn't produced at anywhere near the volume of breast milk. A newborns stomach is tiny - the size of a cherry on day 1 apparently, so they don't need much. I had to express colostrum and did it by hand into a tiny syringe, as the small volumes wouldn't have been enough to use a pump. 5ml was a good effort!

I have EBF two babies (still going with 9 month DS) but have never been able to express more than a few drops and rarely felt a 'let down'.

Before your milk comes in properly, the baby will be having tiny, but very frequent feeds of colostrum. Frequent feeding helps stimulate the milk supply. It is normal for the baby to lose weight during the first few days but it will rapidly regain it once the milk comes in.

It is common for newborns to feed every hour or for hours at a time, and this doesn't mean that breastfeeding isn't working. It is perfectly normal (though hard work).

'The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding' is a good book to read (don't be put off by the title!). Also try going along to your local breastfeeding support group, ideally starting before the baby is born.

Don't be discourage by how much you can (or can't) express (either by hand or with an actual pump) - it doesn't give any indication of how much you produce when baby is suckling.

Don't be put off if baby is fussy at breast or wants to feed constantly in the early days. This is the way that your supply is built up. Many people misread it as a sign that they're not producing enough milk or have an unusually 'hungry' baby and give up/ go to formula.

Baby actually needs very little milk in early weeks at any one feed (pp's comment about they have tiny stomachs).

But yes. Do your research now on where your local bf drop-ins are (this info should be provided by your hospital, or midwife, or you should be able to google it for your local area. The NCT also has a BF helpline that anyone can use. La Leche League are also active in some areas). And I've heard good things about the book 'The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding'

Excellent advice on a website called Kellymom. This is a good place to start: kellymom.com/category/ages/newborn/bf-basics/

Finally, if your baby genuinely seems like it can't latch then be absolutely insistent on getting checked for tongue-tie. DD had this and it was missed by many midwives and bf helpers and GP refused to refer us. I finally went to a private bf drop-in that had a tongue-tie specialist who spotted it instantly.

Hey OP, I think confidence is a lot of the battle in the early days of breastfeeding. A belief that broadly if you are not giving the baby anything else, it is a system that works (obviously there are specific issues that can mean it doesn't but they are not the norm).

The first days can be absolutely awful. My first baby fed for about 18 hours solid out of 24 on the 3rd day. It was the worst day of my life!! He just would not settle not being on the boob. But I had read some basics on BF and I knew it was normal and he was stimulating my milk supply and the milk would come. And it did and by 12 weeks down the line his feeds were all 5 minutes long!

The cluster feeding still caught me by surprise though second time. Hours on end at times in the early weeks. That's because it is really really awful and hard to have a baby attached to your raw nipples for ages :( Both mine very efficient feeders after the first couple months so it does pass quickly.

I really really wouldn't go by what you can see or pump. Babies nappies are the best indicator - if they are producing wet and dirty nappies, they are getting what they need. Kellymom will tell you what to expect on output I can't quite remember.

Hope it goes well, hopefully you know for sure this time that it all works out anyways in the end as long as you feed them something ;)

Thanks all. Ok looks like I panicked and gave up first time.

Will look up BF support and the book thanks.

Will try to persevere although not sure how people do hours of feeding at a time when they've got
Other kids to look after and not hours to settle into a sofa! Obviously people do every day but I'm just so used to only having to take care of DS!

Do you have a sling? If you can learn to feed in a sling it will change your life

Even if you can't master feeding in a sling, baby will sometimes settle for a while in there after a feed and change. Gives time for getting lunch!

It is quite constant for the first while, I think it's a surprise for most people. It certainly was for me with DC1.

For my older two this time I had stashed away a comic/books/cheap toys for busy feeding days if needed. My younger one likes helping with the baby and was quite fascinated from day one which helped!