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21 Responses to “What Is One Piece Of Advice That You Think Is Essential To Be Sucessful Breastfeeding?”
My response comes from the experience of being unsuccessful.
Don’t pump in order to build your supply. It doesn’t work, it’s time that could be spend actually nursing and it leads to despair because you end up counting your success in terms of ounces in a bottle rather than a satisfied baby.
If you must supplement, don’t agree to do so without also a consultation with a lactation counselor that involves a concrete plan for weaning the baby (and yourself) off formula feeding once you leave the hospital. Once you get home, think of yourself as a breast feeder first, even if circumstances require some continued supplementation.
Be confident. Don’t assume that physical “failures” in late pregnancy, labor and delivery automatically translate into failure at breastfeeding.
Try not to take it too hard or make it about too much about yourself or your feelings. Don’t brood, don’t cry, just nurse.
I think the best piece of info I got early on was about cluster feeding-there is an article on this on Kellymom site-basically, its normal for a newborn to nurse all the time, and it gets better. So many people quit because their baby doens’t take each breast for 10 minuted eveyr 3 hours, thus they assume they do not have enough. My pediatrician’s office had their own LC and she was a lifesaver. Another great piece of advice was to strip the baby down to his diaper and hold him more when he was a newborn-you have all these well meaning visitors that want to snatch the baby away from you, but you really need that contact ot facilitate breastfeeding-let friends and family help with everything else while you bond with baby!
Perseverance. Patience. Knowledge. Determination.
I knew i wanted to breastfeed so i read everything to do with breastfeeding before my daughter was born. I knew what to do as soon as it came to it. Experience is also good, my nurse was a great help as i was so confused with all the information the other nurses gave me. Nurse on this breast for so long…wait this long….blah, it was all crap.
Also dont be afraid to ask questions!! I must have been a nuisance but i didnt care, i was so determined to get it right.
You just have to handle the pain, it does get better. I had a c-section and the cramping i got when i breastfed was excruciating…but that went away too.
I think its important to know that you dont have to be so gentle too. I was so gentle until the nurse showed me i could just ’shove’ her onto the breast open mouthed. It worked great!
DO NOT supplement with formula, i can guarantee 90% of the women that do will fall onto using formula.
Know that it does come naturally, thats what are breasts were made to do.
Saying this, dont feel guilty if you dont get it right and decide to formula feed. Thats perfectly ok too. At the end of the day its your baby and its your choice how to feed them.
Knowledge before baby arrives is invaluable. Learn about everything that has to do with nursing before hand, especially how to deal with any problems that may arise.
Another thing that is important is a successful nursing relationship, IMO, is stubbornness and perseverance. Without those I would have given up.
If you don’t breastfeed, it doesn’t make you a bad mom.
I never knew that breastfeeding would be work. You both have to practice to become good. It doesn’t come naturally.
If you are frustrated, try to give it 6 weeks. If you are truely unhappy, quit.
I didn’t know it was physically impossible for some women to nurse( I have insufficient glandular tissue)
Relax. Relax. Relax. When you are stressed out because the baby is not latching on or your having a hard time, the baby feels your stress and it makes for a bad situation for the both of you. Sing your favorite song or think of all the beautiful things that you will do with your baby as he/she grows and be happy. Relax both your mind and your body
I think it’s important to remember that all breastfeeding problems have breastfeeding solutions - and your baby will not starve before you can get knowledgeable help (IBCLC).
If a health care provider recommends formula as a solution, get a second opinion, from someone who specializes in lactation.
I had a very hard time with breastfeeding in the beginning because my baby’s nose kept getting blocked up against my breast. Finally I figured out that my shoulder was hunched forward. When I rolled back my shoulder, my baby’s nose suddenly had more room and she could breathe! Changing my posture was a huge reason why I was able to successfully breastfeed. (btw, I saw 3 LC’s and not one of them ever noticed I was hunched forward.)
If you have a normal, full term baby then wait several days for your milk to come in and know your baby will not starve. Enlist help for a week or so so you can focus on getting nursing established.
Don’t pump. Pumping extremely ruined my supply and added to my depression. After I got off my anti depressants from postpardum depression, I relactated. I have more milk now than I did ever before. My twins are now 7 months old and I’m happily breastfeeding.
Knowledge is not the same as hands on experience, it’s okay to use a nipple shield if it means you will be successful, and forget the shame - you are taking care of your infant in a manner that is best for the child and is protected by law.
Always know that breastfeeding problems are temporary, and usually quickly and easily fixable once you get the RIGHT support.
(Oh and babies may not pee the first 24-36 hours, and that is normal. This is more for breastfed babies but is also true for both.)
If you’re just starting, give yourself short term goals for how long you will breast feed. Start with 3 weeks to 3 months, to 6 months etc. That way, you’ll feel less discouraged!`
Expect that it will be trying at first but know that if you keep going, it will get easier and will eventually becoming something that you both enjoy! While breast feeding is natural, it’s not easy at first.
Good luck!
Dont keep any formula in the house. If its not around, you are less likely to use it. Plus, theres the reality that it does get better after a few days/weeks. A proper latch is key to success.
To seek help from a lactation consultant when things aren’t going the way they should. We had a lot of trouble with latching, and it would have been better if I had gotten the proper help from an expert.
December 7th, 2009 at 8:51 am
My response comes from the experience of being unsuccessful.
Don’t pump in order to build your supply. It doesn’t work, it’s time that could be spend actually nursing and it leads to despair because you end up counting your success in terms of ounces in a bottle rather than a satisfied baby.
If you must supplement, don’t agree to do so without also a consultation with a lactation counselor that involves a concrete plan for weaning the baby (and yourself) off formula feeding once you leave the hospital. Once you get home, think of yourself as a breast feeder first, even if circumstances require some continued supplementation.
Be confident. Don’t assume that physical “failures” in late pregnancy, labor and delivery automatically translate into failure at breastfeeding.
Try not to take it too hard or make it about too much about yourself or your feelings. Don’t brood, don’t cry, just nurse.
December 7th, 2009 at 11:59 am
I think the best piece of info I got early on was about cluster feeding-there is an article on this on Kellymom site-basically, its normal for a newborn to nurse all the time, and it gets better. So many people quit because their baby doens’t take each breast for 10 minuted eveyr 3 hours, thus they assume they do not have enough. My pediatrician’s office had their own LC and she was a lifesaver. Another great piece of advice was to strip the baby down to his diaper and hold him more when he was a newborn-you have all these well meaning visitors that want to snatch the baby away from you, but you really need that contact ot facilitate breastfeeding-let friends and family help with everything else while you bond with baby!
December 7th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Perseverance. Patience. Knowledge. Determination.
I knew i wanted to breastfeed so i read everything to do with breastfeeding before my daughter was born. I knew what to do as soon as it came to it. Experience is also good, my nurse was a great help as i was so confused with all the information the other nurses gave me. Nurse on this breast for so long…wait this long….blah, it was all crap.
Also dont be afraid to ask questions!! I must have been a nuisance but i didnt care, i was so determined to get it right.
You just have to handle the pain, it does get better. I had a c-section and the cramping i got when i breastfed was excruciating…but that went away too.
I think its important to know that you dont have to be so gentle too. I was so gentle until the nurse showed me i could just ’shove’ her onto the breast open mouthed. It worked great!
DO NOT supplement with formula, i can guarantee 90% of the women that do will fall onto using formula.
Know that it does come naturally, thats what are breasts were made to do.
Saying this, dont feel guilty if you dont get it right and decide to formula feed. Thats perfectly ok too. At the end of the day its your baby and its your choice how to feed them.
December 7th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Knowledge before baby arrives is invaluable. Learn about everything that has to do with nursing before hand, especially how to deal with any problems that may arise.
Another thing that is important is a successful nursing relationship, IMO, is stubbornness and perseverance. Without those I would have given up.
December 8th, 2009 at 12:51 am
If you don’t breastfeed, it doesn’t make you a bad mom.
I never knew that breastfeeding would be work. You both have to practice to become good. It doesn’t come naturally.
If you are frustrated, try to give it 6 weeks. If you are truely unhappy, quit.
I didn’t know it was physically impossible for some women to nurse( I have insufficient glandular tissue)
December 8th, 2009 at 2:25 am
Relax. Relax. Relax. When you are stressed out because the baby is not latching on or your having a hard time, the baby feels your stress and it makes for a bad situation for the both of you. Sing your favorite song or think of all the beautiful things that you will do with your baby as he/she grows and be happy. Relax both your mind and your body
December 8th, 2009 at 8:58 am
I think it’s important to remember that all breastfeeding problems have breastfeeding solutions - and your baby will not starve before you can get knowledgeable help (IBCLC).
If a health care provider recommends formula as a solution, get a second opinion, from someone who specializes in lactation.
December 8th, 2009 at 8:58 am
I had a very hard time with breastfeeding in the beginning because my baby’s nose kept getting blocked up against my breast. Finally I figured out that my shoulder was hunched forward. When I rolled back my shoulder, my baby’s nose suddenly had more room and she could breathe! Changing my posture was a huge reason why I was able to successfully breastfeed. (btw, I saw 3 LC’s and not one of them ever noticed I was hunched forward.)
December 8th, 2009 at 9:37 am
If you have a normal, full term baby then wait several days for your milk to come in and know your baby will not starve. Enlist help for a week or so so you can focus on getting nursing established.
December 8th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Don’t pump. Pumping extremely ruined my supply and added to my depression. After I got off my anti depressants from postpardum depression, I relactated. I have more milk now than I did ever before. My twins are now 7 months old and I’m happily breastfeeding.
December 8th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Knowledge is not the same as hands on experience, it’s okay to use a nipple shield if it means you will be successful, and forget the shame - you are taking care of your infant in a manner that is best for the child and is protected by law.
December 9th, 2009 at 1:03 am
Always know that breastfeeding problems are temporary, and usually quickly and easily fixable once you get the RIGHT support.
(Oh and babies may not pee the first 24-36 hours, and that is normal. This is more for breastfed babies but is also true for both.)
December 9th, 2009 at 7:40 am
If you’re just starting, give yourself short term goals for how long you will breast feed. Start with 3 weeks to 3 months, to 6 months etc. That way, you’ll feel less discouraged!`
December 9th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Expect that it will be trying at first but know that if you keep going, it will get easier and will eventually becoming something that you both enjoy! While breast feeding is natural, it’s not easy at first.
Good luck!
December 9th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Dont keep any formula in the house. If its not around, you are less likely to use it. Plus, theres the reality that it does get better after a few days/weeks. A proper latch is key to success.
December 9th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Be patient with both yourself and your baby - it’s a learning process for both of you. And while it might not be easy, it is rewarding. Good luck!
December 10th, 2009 at 12:41 am
To seek help from a lactation consultant when things aren’t going the way they should. We had a lot of trouble with latching, and it would have been better if I had gotten the proper help from an expert.
December 10th, 2009 at 3:50 am
always surround yourself with family support. If they hadnt been there for me I probably wouldnt have made it through the first two months
December 10th, 2009 at 9:02 am
If it hurts, the baby is latched on wrong…take the baby off and reposition
December 10th, 2009 at 11:32 am
paitence and…keep trying. make sure once baby is born you try as soon as it is possible. good luck!
December 10th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
patience
and breasts
water to keep supply up