Friend just had baby; struggling with BF. Your best tips please!

[Wallace]

She really wants to BF but is worried she will not manage.

baby is latching on, mostly with help of midwifes. Not staying latched on for long.

it was a hard delivery: lots of drugs, forceps and snips.

I think a list of tips i could print out and give to her might help.

I have also told her that when she is out of hosp I can come and give her practical help.

Thanks

It may not make me popular on here but the thing that really, really helped me through those awful early days was a very good friend saying, it isn't the end of the world if you decide not to do it and use a bottle. It sounds perverse but taking the pressure off stopped me feeling so stressed and wound up and made the whole thing easier. I ended up breastfeeding for 6 months!

So true MiniMarmite, especially for those who are rubbish at doing "nothing". We bought Season 1 of Westwing for the contraction-timing-waiting-game. Completely transfixed by it and DH bought the boxset for me to watch whilst bf.... can a tv programe be referred to as a 'page turner'? It's a bit like 24, any excuse to watch the next one (and the next one and...). Perfect for making someone forget about anything she feels she should be doing apart from bf for the first weeks.

Completely agree with lying down for feeds - is she co-sleeping?

Oh, yes, along the lines of mrsfix's DVD boxset: SKY+!! I recorded any amount of dross interesting programs and watched them in the wee small hours with small baby shaped leech attached to me.

Glad to hear night went well for your friend and her baba .

Thanks very much. They went home the other day. I haven't heard how it is going - I'm presuming they are rather busy

Oranges - I did say that to her . And she knows what a keen breastfeeder I am. I did even really really mean it. What makes me sad is when people stop feeding whne they haven't had adequate support.