What have the past 6 weeks looked like in our household? Mom breastfeeding and Dad changing diapers and Sister throwing tempers. I remember when my older child was a newborn, just 3 years ago, and the whole new parent thing was SO overwhelming. Now it is a piece of cake! (Yes new parents, there is a light at the end of the tunnel!) I think that it helps that my baby boy has a very laid back disposition. Anyway, let's get to the main focus of this post, breastfeeding.
It was never a question for me as to whether I would breast feed my children. I was raised in a family, where MY mom instilled in me the lesson that a woman's body serves the purpose of bearing children. (She had a grand total of one, me!)
If you are a new mother or a mother to be and are looking for a little advice on breastfeeding, I am happy to share my experiences with you!
My first child was BF until she was almost 3 years old and I am not ashamed to admit it. We weaned only last September so remembering the HOWs of BFing was not too hard the following May!
Before my daughter arrived, I read a TON of books (as you might have gathered, if you have read any previous posts). From each I "stole" ideas that I kept in my "mommy toolbox" for future reference.
Some things that I want to share, that I hope will make it easier for new moms, I hope!
Your first milk that comes in, is almost nothing! Don't freak out if you think that you are starving your baby when he is a newborn, as the milk is hardly drops. Luckily he has stored up nutrients for for this case! Don't freak out and just relax.
To get a good latch, you can gently open the babies mouth, with your thumb. This will almost be as big as they can open. You are looking for a YAWN mouth. I have to do this sometimes, even with my 6 week old. When he is feeling lazy or extra hungry he latches on with a fish mouth! If you do not get a good latch, you will get sore boobs! : (
When you are a new mommy, your boobs will be sore, but it should only last a few days. IT IS WORTH IT! I've heard advice of "roughing up" your nipples with wash cloths before birth, but I don't buy it!
After the baby arrives, get used to learning how to manually expressing milk. The main and most important reason for doing this is so that you can learn how to release pressure for engorged boobs. This might happen around the 3rd to 6th week. Also if you start to get soreness due to back pressure, you can be sure that the flow is not happening enough and an infection will start to fester. The last thing you want is to have mastitis at this point. Practice expressing in the shower or while sitting down watching TV into a washcloth. Focus on massaging the sore spots and to unclog ducts.
Remind yourself that you can do it! Mothers have been BFing forever! Not until the invent of "formula" have woman NOT BF their kids (unless you were an aristocrat with money for a wet nurse!) : )
Finally- Throw out or donate all of the formula samples that you get. DO NOT let Gerber sabotage you by their consumerism.
Supplies you will need/ want:
Pads- you will leak like crazy!!
I have tried many pillow and the Boppy is my favorite!
and YAY! Dr. Sears! :)
materials that you MIGHT need
a hand pump if you are planning on running errands and need a sitter (or dad!) to feed the baby
bpa free bottles with the lowest flow nipple (to simulate breast milk flow)
You should avoid pacifiers. It messes with their good latching habits. BOTH of my children have never had a pacifier (in fact my 3 years old saw a peer with one and asked me what it was!)
You won't have to wash bottles very often, and won't have to buy expensive formula.
A plus for moms, you will loose an extra 500 calories a day while BFing (think, same calories as running for an hour!) and there are instances of less chance of breast cancer for BFing moms!
I would love to hear about your BF stories and ideas (I am sure I have forgot some great ideas in this post).
Search Amazon.com for breastfeeding
As Kali's mom, I have to co-sign all the benefits of breastfeeding. Not only is it the easiest way to feed, but it helps bond the mom and baby in the best possible way. No getting up in the middle of the night, looking for a bottle and warming it, and waking mom up doing so. All you need is a semi-awake condition to pop baby on and snooze until baby is done!
ReplyDeleteAnd in my day, I read we lost 1000 calories a day nursing, which I choose to believe! :-)
I know I went pre-delivery 170 lbs. to 124 after Kali was 3 months old. Love it! (ok, I packed on a little too much weight, but it was a long cold winter in Colorado, let me tell you!)
I'm not a believer in binkys, why go there? Let the baby learn to self-comfort. And my feeling is, as long as they are dry and fed, they don't have the need for some oral gratification, which is only going to lead to more oral fixation later, making us believe we need to be comforted by food!
Don't even start.
Kali nursed until 18 months, and she self-weaned cutting out nursings as she started eating, finally getting down to morning and night.
With breastfeeding, you don't have to worry about what the companies are supplementing in the formulas, everything the baby is getting is the right formula, until they start eating table food. As long as mom eats right, and supplements with vitamins, the baby is eating right also.
Hope I didn't cut into the next blog, can't resist my two cents worth! I did raise a happy healthy baby, with very little body fat, so I must have done something right!
love you!
Mom (Katie) Grandma