Comments on: Breastfeeding on the Brain

By: Breastfeeding! Boobs! Milking! Pumping! « There’s a Baby Out Here, People. That’s the Reality.

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 02:09:26 +0000

[...] it in the future. I wanted to do my own breastfeeding post after reading Ariana’s over at Becoming Mom. (Love her, by the [...]

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 01:22:14 +0000

I am a pediatric nurse so I went into pregnancy thinking, “how hard can breastfeeding be?” Wow! I was certainly in for a big surprise! I had a very difficult time breastfeeding my son in the beginning. My milk didn’t come in for 5 days so I did end up giving H some formula along with pumped breast milk using a small feeding tube that I taped to my breast. Those were long days and nights, and I am so thankful that my husband was sitting with me and encouraging me at 3am or I certainly would have given up. H’s milk protein allergy further hampered breastfeeding until I went dairy and soy free at 8 weeks. The following are just a few things I think are important for breastfeeding.
1. Support-I was so happy to read from some of you that you had no problems breastfeeding! I wish I had been one of you! However, for many, it poses an immense challenge. Part of this challenge is that you are suffering from intense exhaustion! I think it is extremely important to have people around you who are supportive of breastfeeding. Your mom, a girlfriend, this website (it has been an huge resource to me on many different topics), a LC and/or your husband/boyfriend/partner. Mothering magazine is a great publication that is incredibly supportive of breastfeeding, and the Le Leche Meetings I have attended have been wonderful. The Medela website (medelabreastfeedingus.com) also offers chat boards to reference.
2. Comfort-I highly recommend spending some time thinking about your nursing space. In the first month or two, you may be spending 6 to 7 hours per day nursing and you need a comfortable place to do this. Make sure that whatever you will be sitting in is comfortable and has a high back that supports your shoulders and neck. (I did not get a glider and I was very sorry that I didn’t!) I would also recommend a short stool (or you can use a phonebook) to prop your feet on. I never had much luck with the boppy pillow, I used the breast friend pillow and I loved it! Keep water, snacks, computer, phone and/or reading materials within easy reach. When your baby gets a little older, the mommy necklace (mommynecklaces.com) that Ariana (thank you!!) featured is an absolute necessity!
3. I, too, found nursing to be very painful in the first 3-4 weeks. I knew it was not in relation to H’s latch because the pain went away after the first minute or two. I used the Earth Mama Angel Baby nipple butter and Ameda Comfort Gel nipple pads that I kept in the fridge. I live in Target nursing tank tops, although, I have heard they aren’t supportive enough for larger chested women (I was a large B small C).
4. I breastfeed on demand. In the beginning, that meant every 2 hours day and night. Somewhere around 3 to 4 months, H went to nursing every three hours during the day and would sleep 3 to 6 hour stretches at night. Now, at 8 months, H still nurses every 3 hours during the day, but it only takes him 5 to 10 minutes and he sometimes wakes one time overnight to nurse. As Ariana suggested, kellymom.com is a must read website as well as the book the Nursing Mother’s Companion by Kathleen Huggins.
5. Is my baby getting enough? -This is such a common stressor for all nursing moms. I am a bit on the “Type A” side so I literally drive myself crazy wondering how many ounces H is taking in when he breastfeeds especially since he has never really taken well to a bottle. He has never had any more than 4 ounces in a bottle and usually it is only 2 or 3. Adequate weight gain of approximately 1 ounce per day and 6-8 wet and dirty diapers are your best indicators that your baby is receiving enough breast milk.
6. Pumping-I pumped a lot in the first month because I was worried about my supply. I have a Medela FreeStyle pump that I love, which I got from addalittlelove.com for $100 cheaper than babiesrus. In order to boost my supply, I would pump for 10 to 15 minutes after H nursed. I also eat oatmeal every day and drink mother’s milk tea. I took Fenugreek capsules for a few weeks in the beginning as well with great success. I also have always pumped one additional time during the day in order to stock pile milk in the freezer and have some on hand to mix in with cereals. Currently, I do this at 10pm but there was a time that I had to do it at 2am. You just have to experiment and found out what works best for you. I would also suggest freezing in relatively small quantities. I usually freeze 2 ounces at a time to cut down on waste.
Thanks for reading my long-winded post. Much love and luck to all of you who choose to take this journey, as it has been an incredibly important part of my relationship with my son. Be good to yourselves!

By: Katie

Katie — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:13:55 +0000

My baby is 14 months and I would agree with everything you said here. It friggin’ hurts…bad, at first. My husband would let me grab his arm and squeeze it as hard as I could during the latch. He said it made him feel better that he could take some of the pain away from me :)

By: Jane

Jane — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:35:11 +0000

If you’re returning to work, I recommend reading The Milk Memos. A very encouraging read on a not-so-fun topic: Pumping.

By: erin

erin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:47:00 +0000

And yes, please, a discussion on bf’ing and returning to work would be appreciated! I just went back yesterday. :(

By: erin

erin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:43:19 +0000

Oh… Ariana, can I just say, THANK YOU for sharing your struggles/successes with Jasper and bf’ing? I’ve been a loyal (if somewhat quiet) reader since just before he was born, and very soon after that I found out I was pregnant. I’ve enjoyed “watching” Jasper grow up, and when Hannah was born in May I discovered I had an oversupply and very active letdown as well. Most of the mothers in my mommy group worry about not having enough, and my mother said she did not have enough with me, so it was something of a concern beforehand for me. Lo and behold, I was not “the strange one” who had oversupply/overactive letdown! At the moment we generally have things under control, but it was/is really nice knowing that someone else has dealt with the same issues I have.

And as I said before, if you can, donate!

By: Dee B

Dee B — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 04:34:57 +0000

It was interesting and informative reading everyones comment. I am mother of a 7 month baby girl born at the same hospital as Ariana’s Jasper. I was totally unprepared regarding what to do after you have a baby. Infact I had not ready any baby books and didnt goto any of the prenatal/lactation classes. So, it was very difficult for me to figure out what I had to do. The LC who was supposed to visit me, showed up for just 5 mins and left without even explaining what I shld be doing. And also I had no idea that my baby had mild jaundice, neither the doc nor the nurse ever told us. And my baby would frequently cry if I removed her from the nipple and I had no idea whether she was getting enough colostrum! It was very frustrating for me and my milk didnt come in until the 4th day and the pedi said I shldnt stress myself out and give the baby some formula bcoz she was loosing weight. So, my MIL who was with me was stressed out that baby lost wt and I was even more stressed out with all this. I ended up crying after the pedi’s visit not knowing which direction to go. Also I had no idea abt Lanolin and ended up with cracked nipples for the first 3 weeks! But by God’s grace, once the milk started coming on the 4th day, it got better. I havent had the need to use Lanolin after the first month and I am still BFing my lil one along with some solids. However I had to deal with overactive letdown and my clothes getting soaked in the middle of the nite for the first 4 months! Also I agree with introducing the bottle earlier, I waited until she was 2.5months old and she refused to take it. She eventually got around to it but it was quite challenging. So if you plan to get back to work, please make sure you introduce the bottle early enough to avoid any problems. But I am glad I stuck with BFing inspite of the ignorance and the challenges. I think its very important to have a support system becoz it can get frustrating that you almost want to give it up. Thanks Ariana for posting this blog

By: Kristina

Kristina — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 22:44:21 +0000

I love this post, I’m a little late to the game, but wanted to throw in my two cents about dealing with BFing once you go back to work (if you do). I really had no problems BFing, it hurt at first, but all was well after about a week. When I got ready to go back to work I pumped a lot to build up a reserve, but once I started working, the reserve got used up FAST. Once at work I was pumping three times a day, and even though I never had any problems with supply before, I just wasn’t getting enough during my pumping sessions to feed the little guy the next day. I found myself pumping first thing in the morning (after the morning feed), pumping at work, pumping as soon as I got home and pumping after he went down to bed at night. It was exhausting, it hurt, and it was still barely enough – I was racing home to feed him every night. It was really really hard and I felt like a complete failure. I finally gave in and decided that we should buy some formula to supplement in case there wasn’t enough breast milk on a given day. We feed him formula probably once every couple of days and it has made all the difference in the world for me. I think that I was stressing out so much about having enough breast milk for him that I was not producing as much as I normally would, once I relaxed and let go of my all consuming desire to feed him nothing but breast milk, my supply got better, and now we usually have enough breast milk everyday. So I guess my advice is don’t underestimate how your own stresses and anxieties can effect how the breastfeeding goes. I know how hard it is to try to take it all in stride (particularly when you are sleep deprived and hormonal), but it is so important to keep everything in perspective. Is it ideal for me to have to feed my son formula every few days? No. Does it still make me feel some mom guilt every now and then? Absolutely. Is it having a lasting effect on the health and well-being of my baby? No way! Take it easy on yourselves.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:46:10 +0000

Know that it might not work out. With my first child I was hell bent on breastfeeding. I never considered it might not work. It had to work. I won’t get into it, but it didn’t. I was so depressed for being such a failure that my spiral into post partum was on the fast track. Completely unrelated to my child’s allergies and why I stopped – I also hated it. It hurt, I was uncomfortable, I was so unsure and confused. I expected it to be natural and easy and beautiful and with my son it was none of those things. BUT with my daughter – it was all of those things. She was an amazing nurser. She knew what to do, how to do it, she was a champ and it was such a different experience. Unfortunately she had even more severe allergies than my son and both were eventually bottle fed but, you know what – they’re growing just fine. I really beat myself up over not being able to nurse them, and this can happen for a number of reasons. It may not be popular to admit defeat but if you need to, know that it doesn’t mean you love them any less. Best of luck!

By: Judy N

Judy N — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:34:35 +0000

Ok…so not to be contrary, but really, I think the fear of pain discourages a lot of moms from BFing. I can honestly say, I have never felt any pain with breastfeeding. I know I’m lucky, but I have never even felt discomfort with BFing. I bought tubes and tubes of the Medela nipple cream, and NEVER even had to think about using it. I had a handpump early on…and THAT HURT! I used a hospital grade pump when I got back to work, and there was some discomfort using that initially, but after a couple weeks, I guess I got used to it. So, if you’re afraid of BFing just because of pain…know that I guess some people honestly don’t feel any. My son’s 10 months, and we’re still going strong…teeth and all…we’re still good.

I do totally echo the introducing a bottle thing. Introduce it early AS LONG AS BREASTFEEDING IS ESTABLISHED WELL!! But, I think you have to do a bottle fairly often. Maybe once a day if you can? We started a bottle at about 4 weeks…and he got it about 1-2 times a WEEK. By about three months of age…when he was smart enough to know the difference…he started to REFUSE the bottle. And I started work 2 weeks later. To this date…he will only play with the bottle and MAYBE take about an ounce…otherwise, he’ll wait for me to come home. :)\

The other thing I’ll say is…trust your instincts! Read a ton, but don’t think that any one book or piece of advice is going to work EXACTLY the same for you. If your baby is growing and pooping and peeing…be glad, all is right in the world.