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new to breastfeeding have no idea how to do it!
Hi im expecting due in teh summer, i have other children but never breastfed before. Im hoping to this time but i really have no idea how to do it.
I read up a lot on latching on etc. but really i cannot do anyting about that until baby is here not like i can practice but any tips tht i could remember would be good! feeding im a bit confused about. What is hindmilk & what is let down? ive read people say about fast let down whats that & how do you know you have it is it good or bad?
do you offer both breasts at every feed? if yes would i take the baby off one & put them on the other or wait for them to finish with the 1st one then move onto the next? or do you offer just one boob per feed say right breast one feed & left breast next feed?
sorry for all the questions i am clueless :roll:
I read up a lot on latching on etc. but really i cannot do anyting about that until baby is here not like i can practice but any tips tht i could remember would be good! feeding im a bit confused about. What is hindmilk & what is let down? ive read people say about fast let down whats that & how do you know you have it is it good or bad?
do you offer both breasts at every feed? if yes would i take the baby off one & put them on the other or wait for them to finish with the 1st one then move onto the next? or do you offer just one boob per feed say right breast one feed & left breast next feed?
sorry for all the questions i am clueless :roll:
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Replies
Hope you are well. I was the same I did not have clue what to do either. My local children's centre had a breast feeding peer support worker. I went to see her about 2wks before I gave birth.
It was really helpful she answered all my questions and gave me her moblie number for if I wanted her to do a home visit for when the baby was born.
So I would contact your local health centre/midwife there is so much support out there for ladies that want to breast feed so take advantage it.
Annie
do you have a birth centre in your area? A lot of these have wards where you can stay for continual support for as long as you need after the birth (most big hospitals will want you to go if you have no problems and you dont tend to get much feeding help even if they let you stay). CAN NOT say enough about the one i stayed in, i was battered and bruised after my birth with an upset baby and would never have managed to feed wihtout them, they guided me through every feed until my milk came in and me and bubba were away with it. It isnt like being in hospital, it was a lovely peaceful place and we got off to a fab start.
A breast fed baby is more demanding than a bottle fed one in the beginning, so after bottle feeding your previous children it might seem harder work but honestly - get it off the ground and its the most wonderful thing in the world.
i think the positioning of the baby on the breast is so important - and very hard to know how to do just from reading books - you need someone to support you so birth centre is a fab idea (even if its a journey, and even if you can only stay a night or so) and as annie says breast feeding support workers at childrens centres are great - the help is there, but you have to seek it out. nothing can really prepare you for what it will be like to hold your baby at the breast and get things going till he/she is here but make these contacts now ready for afterwards.
The other important thing is good milk supply, it sounds gross but hand expressing at the end of pregnancy is a fab idea to get things going, i did this and my milk came in within 24 hours of birth - saving us a lot of headaches. peer support workers should be able to explain how to do this.
to answer your questions hindmilk is the richer milk the baby gets second (after the foremilk) the midwives described it to me as the baby getting a drink, followed by starter, main and pudding. Sometimes the baby will want it all and other times just a drink! I was advised to offer one breast per feed in the beginning and let the baby have a full feed on it, offering the other breast the next time. I continue to do this now (LO is nearly 5 months) i only swap if he has been on one for 45 mins or so. Let down is the process by which your brain receievs the message that baby is stimulating your nipple and releases milk into your breast. In the first couple of days, your breasts produce tiny amounts of colostrum and with lots of stimluation after 3 days or so the let down reflex begins working properly and you get the milk (foremilk and hindmilk). Your boobs fill up and baby acts a bit more full, going longer between feeds. Fast let down happens to most people initially as your body goes crazy. Its good and bad - good as bubba gets lots of food, but not so good when your LO chokes as it comes at them so fast. Your let down settles as your body gets used to what the baby needs.
i think also being realistic to how a breast feeding baby will behave = particularly in the beginning - is important so that when you're at your tiredest and most hormonal you know its all normal, that you're doing nothing wrong etc. you need some good solid preparation - again childrens centres are fab as your midwife wont have time to go into detail in your short appointments. Its great you are researching so much and getting prepared, being armed with the information is a cracking start but nothing can replace good old fashioned hands on help when your LO is here. I know a lot of people dont get this and thats a good part of why breast feeding rates are so low in england. this combined with the fact that people arent surrounded by friends and family who openly breast feed anymore, making bottle feeding the norm. But breast feeding is so lovely for mums and babies, and totally doable. Good luck, nothing beats an experienced mum for advice too and there are loads on this forum xx
Again, get in touch with your children's centre, i went on a course while pregnant about breastfeeding, and they often have people to come and see you post-birth to help, and make sure you've got the latch right.
It is hard work, but absolutely worth it!
Good luck, and try not to worry too much beforehand, just enjoy your pregnancy!
xxx
with my first the hospital were not very helpful but my second baby i got offered lots of skin to skin and breast crawl where the baby "finds" you, i got help with latching and lots of advice which really made a difference
i never had fast let down but a lady at group did and there are different positions to help with that, i did offer both breasts at first but now one is enough usually although the option for more is there
Im in Ireland & we do not have birthing centres or childrens centres or any centres!! I intend on goign to a few breastfeeding support groups though before bump arrives. Was also going to try & find a private lactation consultant & get them out to the house to us. We have one in the hospitl but i dont think she works weekends & is probably sooo busy I may not get as much time with her as I'd need.
One thing that sticks in my mind is when I had my last lo, there was a lady in the bed across from me & she b'fed but her baby cried & cried & cried for an hour literally it was as if the baby was getting nothing & other babies were similar when i had my other children the contented babies seemed to be bottlefed. Im not against formula at all like lots of b'feeding mums are & I'd hate to think my baby was starving when i could give a bottle to fill him up!
ALFIE222 can i just ask you, when you mentioned hand expressing before the birth I'd do that no worries i hand expressed colostrum for my last little man, BUT would that not mean id express all the colostrum before he is born & all he/she will get is milk?? sorry if thats a ridiculous question! suppose i could freeze it??
:roll:
the starving baby thing is hard work - but the baby's are just programmed to stimulate, stimulate, stimulate by feeding lots to change colstrum to milk. the colostrum is very important for their immune system and supplementing with formula can interupt the important stimulation needed to bring the milk in. its a tough 3 days but once the milks in the really frequent feeding settles. breast milk does move more quickly through a baby's bowel than formula (hence they dont go as long in general) but this is better for their bowel and for establishing a good milk supply. its tough when you are getting over the birth, but so important to go with it...it gets easier and its fab when it does. your lo will robably behave very differently to your other child in the beginning, its good to be prepared for this.
i dont know anything about services in ireland, sorry, but i hope you can access everything possible. its a great bonding experience to feed and so lovely to know they've had the best. xx
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Food-Love-Formula-Successful-Breastfeeding/dp/0954930959/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326298440&sr=8-1
It's brilliant and taught me everything I know!
Mrs B xxx
You've been given great advice and I think going in knowing that it is a learnt skill and you need support and practice will give you a head start.
It can be hard to start with as you both learn but I found when it was tough I just kept asking the hospital/midwife/breastfeeding counsellors to show me again or explain again until I got it.
If you do get any sore nipples as much as you will want to stop feeding I found that they healed quicker the more I fed correctly.
The first few days when the milk is coming in are tough as the baby can be quite demanding but its simply your child asking for the amount of milk they will need in advance.
BUT....when you both relax you will find you can do it anywhere without hassle and you don't have a baby waiting for bottles to be made etc. It is so lovely for bonding as you have these special cuddles and you know your baby is thriving because of you...amazing!
Totally use the support around you and if there isn't enough ask for more. Best of luck and I hope you enjoy it x