Getting started - tips (and encouragement) for the first week of breastfeeding

[Carriel]

Hi
Ok final few requests for stuff for the next mumsnet book on pregnancy - I promise! Although it's essentially a pregnancy book we've decided to include a few threads on feeding - breast and bottle - and although I'm sure the advice I need is buried in the site somewhere, there's just so much I thought it might be easier to start again!
So if you can cast your minds back to those first fearful days (and remember most folks reading the book will still be pregnant) - what tips/advice/hints would have helped you most when you were starting out breastfeeding?
I'm also putting requests for advice from those who chose not to breastfeed and for those who had particular breastfeeding problems, so please look out for those.
FWIW I wish someone had said to me:
get a counsellor to visit as soon as possible to check positioning
and
it will hurt like hell, but it will get better..

Thanks in advance
Carriel

While you are still in hospital, don't feel guilty about calling for a midwife each and every time that you try to latch your baby on. My ds was a reluctant feeder, but the midwifes were great at helping me getting him latched on.

And as others have said, don't worry about bottle/nipply confusion: after a couple fo weeks I was encouraged (by the breast feeding counsellor at the hospital) to give ds EBM for every alternate feed, just to ENCOURAGE him to suck and so I could see how much he was feeding (the lazy little sod had, we eventually realised, been PRETENDING to suck without actually swallowing anything, so that I would stop trying to wake him up!).

PS I also never felt a let down!

Am I the only one whose mind goes blank as soon as I know a request is for the mumsnet book??? I think I have performance anxiety!

Will try and think of some words of wisdom, promise

Some babies will feed for hours at certain times of the day. My dd and at least two friends' babies wanted to feed from 7pm until 10-10.30; emptying one boob, swapping over, emptying that one , swapping back etc. Don't be afraid to offer the odd bottle if this happens (dd had one bottle a night from about 3 weeks to give my sore nipples a break!). Advantage is that she was fully tanked up so slept well until c.3 am.

Another piece of good advice I was given - and would give - is that it can take up to 8 weeks to get the feeding going smoothly - so don't give up in despair before then just because it is taking too long.

It WILL get easier!!!

Message withdrawn

Bloss - I won't disagree with you about the importance of properly trained bf counsellors. I was fortunate in that the sister on my ward was head of the breast feeding advisory group at the hospital and very experienced, and she also introduced me (while I was still IN hospital) to the bf support group that was held there every week, run by two experienced breast feeding counsellors/midwives. It was great, because I was able to get the additional support as soon as I needed it (ds didn't gain weight, so they lent me an electric pump, referred him to the consultant paediatrician and eventually decided stuff it, he's following his own growth curve because he was manifestly obviously thriving).

But you're right Bloss - some of the midwifes were better than others in the advice that they gave!

One bit of negative advice I would give is "beware of HVs"! Some are great, but others will encourage you to give formula unnecessarily.

On a more positive note, take the opportunity to go to any breast feeding workshops that are offered ante-natally. It may not mean much at the time, but you may remember something that was said - especially if they have a couple of bf mums there as "examples" - and use that as inspiration if/when you are struggling. It worked for me - and apparently I returned the favour when I in turn was inspiration to a later mum who had been to one of the workshops that I had helped at.

The only thing I can think to add is that you WILL produce enough milk and you can take steps to increase your milk supply (as well as your body's natural response to increased sucking behaviour by your baby during growth spurts). Both my mum and mil are convinced that they HAD to use bottles for me and dh 9respectively!) was because they couldn't produce enough milk and kept telling me that it was ok to stop b/f. I didn't/haven't and it's great (although the occasional bottle wouldn't go astray with ds2 - just wish he would take it!)

A tip for 2nd-timers - it's a different baby so he or she may feed very differently to number 1. With my first I couldn't understand why everyone said breastfeeding was painful. Apart from some soreness on one side (which was quickly resolved with some positioning advice from NCT counsellor) I never had any pain whatsoever, no sore nipples, no engoregement, no blocked ducts; just hypersensitive boobs. 2nd time round - ow ow ow! And although the various pains were at their worst for the first couple of months, the little darling is still very rough on my poor boobs at 6m old.

I would agree with the have confidence in your boobs to supply everything neeeded - if in doubt I would try to hand express a little and the shot of milk in the eye normally convinced me!

If you can get to a breast feeding group BEFORE having the baby. I wish I'd done this just to see the positions etc. Plus it would have been really easy to go after having met people in advance.

Also - it's not always like it says in the books. Be prepared for feeding frenzies in the evening, possibly morning or other time of day - this really is normal. I felt in the first few weeks I just had to go with the flow, and I found this constant need for the breast harder than the pain. It has settled down, I now can have a life as well as bf

Another thing: we're told it takes 6-8 weeks to establish breastfeeding, but you may well find that it seems to take longer. At least, you may have the milk supply sorted out by then, but your body is not convinced. It took me nearer 3-4 months before my appetite and thirst returned to normal, and before I felt that my milk supply was not immediately affected by not getting enough food/drink/rest, and also before my boobs stopped feeling like engorged melons.

I agree boyandgirl. If I hadn't had enough to drink during the day, it really took a toll on my supply - I actually felt lighter and ds was clearly not satisfied. I'd agree with your timescale of things too - really hadn't thought about it until now!