if you're planning to breastfeed....

[Clementine]

it's the very best thing i could've have done looking back. BUT i wish someone had told me how difficult it is in the beginning.(for some, not all) then maybe i wouldn't have gotten so worried and upset.

i had a cracked, bleeding nipple because he wasn't latched on correctly. now THAT was pain! it hurt before my milk came in properly, and it was just difficult to get used to. i cried when i had to use a breast pump because it was so damn FREAKY to me to see this machine attached to what USED to be MY boobs and now they're someone else's and the whirrrrring sound the pump made made me feel sick.:n
i almost gave up so many times during the first two weeks. i saw a FANTASTIC lactation consultant who showed me correct positioning (trying to do it properly by looking at pictures in a book just didn't work for me) and she explained EVERYTHING so well. i didn't have any problems from there on. the nurses at the hospital did show me, but only one position and i really didn't get it from them. i think i was still in an 'i just had a baby' haze.
so, to sum up....see a lactation consultant! there's usually one at the pediatricians office or the hospital and don't give up! it gets easier!!!! and it's just the very best thing you can do for your baby:O

rishta
xxxxx
not having to heat up bottles in the middle of the night and rarely any bottles to wash and sterilize is pretty great too ;)

[stupidANDcontagious]

Hi Rishta!! First of all, my belated congratulations on your son! I am so happy you are both happy and well.

I too am breast feeding, but luckily I had absolutely no problems with it. I had a c-section at 6pm the day he was born and at midnight I was still in recovery and asked for my son so I could give it a try. He latched on immediately and perfectly and hasn't stopped since. I did use nipple shields for a little while because my left nipple was being weird but it's cool now. I have a really nice pump too so I store milk so my husband can feed him. The lactation nurse at my hospital was AMAZING. She would check up on me and make sure Vincent was still latching correctly, showed me how to massage and sooth engorged breasts. I was in the hospital for 5 days and towards the end I was REALLY engorged so the nurse brought me a hand pump. That was a joke so my husband went out and bought the Medela Pump In Style which was SO worth the $275 or so we spent on it. My son goes from breast to the occasional bottle with ease, so when I need to sleep for a long period my husband can feed him. I love breast feeding so much, plus I am losing weight and my baby is so big and healthy. I can't say enough good things about breast feeding.

[Ryoko!]

I have so much support from my Sis in law, mother in law, hell even my husband. plus the birthing center has a 24 hour lactation support system. You can even have a nurse come to your house and help you if you need one. It's no wonder they are rated #8 for the countries best breastfeeding centers in the U.S.
I really wish all hospitials would adopt these policies, the biggest reason most wemon quit is becuase of the lack of support from their families or from the hospitial staff. They gave me a book the day I visited the hospitial (the first thing they asked..."are you planning on breastfeeding?") called the nursing mothers companion, which I highly recommend...i had NO IDEA there could be so much to breastfeeding!
So hopefully, I'll be able to do it as easily as Stupid and Contagious, but if I don't, I have TONS of support.

[Clementine]

thank you s&c!
congratulations to YOU!!! i'm right in there with you with the c-section thing. pretty weird, huh?
i got past my pump-phobia, luckily! i think it's because the first one i tried was VERY painful, but the medela one we got is MUCH better.
i agree, breastfeeding is fantastic. the best thing is watching him grow and knowing he's being nourished by me. wow!
ooh i forgot to mention i got mastitis (blocked milk duct causing hard, swollen masses with red blotches) my left breast as well. that was taken care of with anti-biotics. i'm still so glad i kept going with it.
i wish you so much good luck, ryoko!
all these new babies round here is fantastic!
if you get a chance, s&g tell us all about the beebee!

rishta

[Vik]

I wish they didn't tell you that if it hurts, you're doing it wrong or it's not working. My best friend gave up cuz it hurt so she thought it wasn't going to work for them. She didn't talk to me about it till looong afterward, cuz I'd've told her it hurts for about a wk. But then it gets better. :a

[soMnUS]

I had nurses come to my house to check on how it was going and they all said my baby was latched properly but I had cracked, dried, bleeding, blistered nipples for the first month and a half and there was no thrush either. My friend had NO problems from the beginning. When my baby was 2 months old he quit taking the breast on his own because we had a week straight of 40 degree Celcius weather and we would instantly sweat and be massively uncomfortable and he didn't like that. I wasn't too happy after having a month and a half of constant nipple pain... Every experience is different.<p>Afterwards my neighbor told me something I will try next baby. For the last month of your pregnancy run a soft fingernail brush over your nipples 6 times before bed everyday. Her mom told her to do this, she did and she was toughened up before baby was born.

[hot kachina]

I'm with Julie -- I never had any problems breastfeeding, but I also never pumped milk. Taylor was exclusively breastfed. When we finally got around to trying a bottle with expressed breastmilk, he wasn't having it.

Definitely find a support group through your hospital or through the La Leche leauge http://www.lalecheleague.org/
the site is also excellent. You have a plethora of breastfeeding help sites online but having the resources Ryoko! has would be great to look into. And it's true that if it's painful, you're probably doing it wrong, but DON'T WORRY. It should be the most natual thing in the world but it doesn't make it easy for everyone.

You have support here, too. Ask questions! I breastfed FOREVER, even way after Tay started on solid foods. But that's what we felt comfortable with and there was no reason to stop. People were amazed that Taylor nursed with a full set of teeth. I was only bit once, and it hurt so much I thought I would never do it again, but it only meant he wasn't hungry anymore. If the baby bites, he's not hungry.

Keep us updated!

[Clementine]

just a boost for the mums to be :)

[angeles]

okay, and I just want to reiterate that if you choose not to breastfeed, that also may be a good decision. Reading this thread kinda makes me feel guilty because I chose not to breastfeed because of time restraints. And I shouldn't feel guilty because I still enjoyed the time that I had feeding my son at 4 am, getting the bottle ready, sitting and watching him feed... Gosh, makes me wish he was that small again. :p he won't even let me cradle him anymore (unless he got a boo-boo) :p

-angeles

[DevasMa]

A little tip:
Instant relief for sore, cracked nipples - change positions. Try nursing lying down on your side. This will bring immediate relief.

devas

[kali]

That actually works...changing positions, I mean. I thought breastfeeding would be a little sore but I wasn't prepared for the pain I had. It was because she wouldn't latch right, I KNEW that it was, but I couldn't seem to get her to at first. I had read all the books, but an actual flailing newborn who wouldn't open her mouth all the way was hard to deal with. It was to the point where I cried everytime I fed her and almost passed out.

I told my midwife this when she came over, and she didn't take me seriously at first...but my lovely sister devas gave me the advice to try lying down and it worked! Within 24 hours the pain was almost gone; it must have changed the way she latched on or something. After a day of lying down to breasfeed we seemed to get the hang of it I suppose, no more trouble, ever.

So it is worth a try if you are having trouble.

Devas is just full of wisdom. And chocolate pudding.

Kali

[Clementine]

Originally posted by angeles
okay, and I just want to reiterate that if you choose not to breastfeed, that also may be a good decision. Reading this thread kinda makes me feel guilty because I chose not to breastfeed because of time restraints. And I shouldn't feel guilty because I still enjoyed the time that I had feeding my son at 4 am, getting the bottle ready, sitting and watching him feed... Gosh, makes me wish he was that small again. :p he won't even let me cradle him anymore (unless he got a boo-boo) :p

-angeles

i posted this in another thread but i think it belongs here :) good mommys are good mommys no matter how they feed their babies. both nursing AND bottle feeding takes lots of love and time.


i have to say i am more than a little disturbed by this.

i LOVE breastfeeding my son. no doubt about it. and i am so happy that more and more mothers are choosing to breastfeed and that societal attitudes are evolving....finally!

BUT!! i also see another problem becoming more and more prevalent. attitudes of what i jokingly call the 'nursin' nazis.'

i could not agree more about the benefits of nursing for both mother and child and their relationship together. but i have a serious problem with the amount of pressure mothers are put under these days to breast feed and to continue to do so even past the point of their own comfort and emotional well being. (not wanting to have their shirts lifted etc)

my dear friend charlotte was unable to nurse for medical reasons and she has told me of her deep seated jealousy of my nursing with such ease. she was made to feel that since she didn't breastfeed, she was somehow depriving her children of life and love. this is WRONG. i blame the pediatricians, some of the nurses in the hospital and even some of the nursing mothers who were around her at the time.

i also believe it is ESPECIALLY wrong to make a mother feel guilty for wanting to take back her boobs!! we give everything to our children and love them to no end....however, there will come a day when i'm ready to have a little independence from my son and i'll be especially proud of nourishing him and watching him grow to the point he's able to feed himself. however, i refuse to be made to feel guilty for not nursing him to school age!

[DevasMa]

mmmm pudding...

[DevasMa]

I'm not sure why someone would feel insulted or guilty over posts pertaining to breastfeeding advice/support. No where in this thread has anyone said anything negative about not nursing. Perhaps those feeling guilty have issues with themselves.
I, personally, am not going to feel guilty for advocating breastfeeding.
devas

[Clementine]

again i will state that this is not about POSTS HERE being negative. this i a VERY comfortable and supportive group. i am a breasfeeding advocate and do it in a positive way, but i have witnessed many situations in which mothers have been treated horribly for choosing formula.

bleh

[Her Every Cry]

Originally posted by kali
It was because she wouldn't latch right, I KNEW that it was, but I couldn't seem to get her to at first. I had read all the books, but an actual flailing newborn who wouldn't open her mouth all the way was hard to deal with. It was to the point where I cried everytime I fed her and almost passed out.



Kali

I went through that same thing in the first few days with my son....my nipples were cracked and they HURT so bad Id cry every time I fed him. Luckly the nurses at the hospital made me feed him in front of them so they could see what I was doing wrong...then they showed me different ways to feed him that would be more comfortable....in all it took about a week before I got into the swing of it...I breastfed my son for a year and a half...when I got him off the breast it was because I was preganant with my daughter and knew that breastfeeding a newborn and a toddler would be WAY too much for me....So when my daughter was born I had a year and a half of experience that had ended five months before she came so I figured Id be in great shape for lessening the pain the second time around....as it turned out I had JUST as much trouble getting my daughter latched on correctly and again it took about a week to get it right and get my cracked sore nipples back to healthy....When I had problems with her I felt so down on myself because I KNEW how to breastfeed....it took me three days to realize the obvious....SHE didnt know how to breastfeed. It hurt because she was learning how to latch on and how to get the milk out...and I was learning how to respond to her needs...

The moral of the story is give yourself and your baby time to work it out and ASK your doctors, nurses and midwives for help...thats what they are there for.


Someone on here addressed the nursing nazi's. I know what you are talking about...but it doesnt start and stop with nursing...I call them the parenting nazi's. There are a lot of people in this world that think that what works for them SHOULD work for everyone else and then proceed to berate anyone who doesnt follow their opinions. That goes from nursing, to rooming in, to how much and what kind of tv you let your kids watch...to anything else you can think of. And for each Nazi you meet on one side of the issue there is an equally forceful nazi on the other side. Here is my advice...We all as parents are trying to do the best we can for our kids. Hearing ideas and thoughts is great and helpful and I personally will listen to any idea that is given to me. But the only person who can determine what is going to work for a particular family is the people involved....so lets be a little less hard on each other...and more importantly, dont be so hard on yourself. As long as you love your child and you are trying to right by him or her then you are doing a good enough job. There is no such thing as the "perfect" parent.

[Her Every Cry]

By the way...that last bit wasnt directed at anyone...it was just a general feeling I have.