When Mr. P and I decided to adopt embryos, I was happy that our choice would give me the opportunity to breastfeed our child. I’ve always wanted to nurse my baby. When Baby P was born she latched on pretty quickly and our breastfeeding relationship has been great ever since. There are a few things I did before she was born and in the first few days of her life that I think have helped us have a successful start.
1. I attended a breastfeeding class – During my third trimester Mr. P and I went to a breastfeeding class taught by a lactation consultant at the hospital I delivered Baby P. We both thought it was incredibly helpful. We learned so much in that three hour window, like how much a newborn baby should eat, how many wet and dirty diapers to expect, and what to expect during growth spurts. The class was well worth the $10 and an afternoon of our time.
2. I watched videos on proper latching – I tried to read a breastfeeding book but didn’t take much away from it. Instead I learned a lot from watching videos on how to get a newborn to latch correctly. I liked seeing it in action. This video is my favorite. I also liked the video too. (They have a great video on hand expression as well). I watched them several times before Baby P was born, and definitely think they helped me get her latched on correctly from the first day.
3. I had her latch checked – The hospital I delivered at has lactation consultants on staff. One came by my room the day after Baby P was born to give me some advice. She didn’t tell me anything that I hadn’t learned in the class. I really wanted her to check Baby P’s latch, but she had recently eaten and was sound asleep so she wasn’t able to then. Fortunately the hospital offers a free weekly breastfeeding support group. I stopped by the day after we went home from the hospital and did a weighed feeding and had a LC look at Baby P’s latch. They let me know that her latch looked good and that she was getting plenty of milk during her feeding. It gave me confidence in our breastfeeding relationship.
4. I fed on demand – I nursed Baby P any time she showed signs of hunger. There were times when she just finished eating and I thought she couldn’t possibly want to nurse again, and I would be wrong. In the first few days I sat an alarm and made sure she ate every 3 hours. Once she was back at her birth weight her pediatrician told me I no longer had to do that. Feeding her so often helped my milk come in quickly and regulated my supply.
5. I had luck on my side – I know that you can prepare and do all the right things, but that doesn’t always mean you’ll be successful. There are so many things that can go wrong that are outside of anyone’s control. I was lucky that Baby P had no lip or tongue ties, that my supply was enough, that she liked to nurse (and still does), and that I enjoy breastfeeding her.
. . . . .
I feel fortunate that I’ve been able to accomplish my goal and breastfeed Baby P so far and I hope that we can keep going for the next several months. I do wish I would have introduced a bottle sooner than 4 weeks because she doesn’t want to take one!
Does anyone have any tips on dealing with bottle strike? Did you do anything that you think contributed to a successful breastfeeding relationship?
guest
This is so nice to read as a momma-to-be! So many things are always about all the challenges of breastfeeding and how difficult/painful it can be (which it totally is for some people, I know!)… But it gets overwhelming and makes me so nervous for breastfeeding when my little one arrives. It’s nice to be reminded that sometimes breastfeeding isn’t a battle and works out wonderfully!
guest
I really liked these New Zealand videos to familiarize myself with breastfeeding before I had my son: http://youtu.be/shhSsbEcqkI
There are seven episodes. If you can understand their accents they’re great!
olive / 62 posts
Thank you so much for this post. I feel like Hellobee tends to feature a lot of posts about struggles with breastfeeding that end in some degree of formula supplementation. I know a lot of people struggle with EBF –I sure did! — and like to know that they are not alone, but it’s so much more helpful to have advice on how to succeed, if EBF is indeed your goal. These are all great suggestions that will surely help any mom achieve their breastfeeding goals.
cherry / 222 posts
The only thing I would add is that I considered my partner a crucial member of my BF team. He went to class with me, he watched videos about proper latch and learned about different holds. It wasn’t just me trying to figure it out in my own. He could assess whether a latch was good or suggest a different position if what I was doing was not working. We were a total team!
Oh and knowing when you are doing too much….if you are able, taking a few days to just sit in bed, nurse and stare at your baby can help with supply.
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
The stars def need to be aligned!
I did all those things, but my milk took a couple days to come in, and she had a minor tongue tie so her latch wasn’t great in the beginning. I also have flat nipples so we needed to use a nipple shield.
pomelo / 5084 posts
@snowjewelz: question – did you use the shield as long as you nursed? I have one too and so far DS won’t nurse without it (he’s almost 3 weeks). Is that ok? The LC said something about it being a “temporary” solution which worried me.
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
@wrkbrk: I think you should def try to wean from it if possible. I sadly used it for 6+ months, haha! I guess I could have tried harder to get her off of it, but we had enough issues to deal with, and it wasn’t hurting my supply, so we just kept doing it until after 6 months I really tried to get her off of it. I don’t think there’s any imminent negative, aside that it is very annoying to always be looking for it, and washing it!
pomelo / 5084 posts
@snowjewelz: totally. It’s so annoying. I have two and lose them every other day in the house somewhere!!
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
@wrkbrk: yeah, and it made nursing in public very annoying too! I say you’re totally fine at 3 weeks though! If I could go back in time I’d def be more consistent in offering without and encouraging latching naturally first. Good luck and congrats on your little one
pomelo / 5084 posts
@snowjewelz: ok I’ll try some more. He’s stubborn and of course at this point I just want him to eat! I didn’t consider nursing in public. You’re totally right. Thank you for the congrats! We like him
kiwi / 556 posts
@Herrade: I tend to see it a bit differently, as someone who struggled greatly with breastfeeding. Some who supplement wind up at that point as a last resort after trying everything they can to succeed. As the original author mentioned, luck is not something that can be learned but plays a big role in the longevity of breastfeeding. Those of us without that luck have done the best we can within our circumstances. All the classes, blog posts, herbs, and nipple shields in the world won’t make breastfeeding successful for everyone, regardless of whether it is a struggle or not. Sure, our success is maybe seen differently – maybe not seen as success at all – since we wound of supplementing or switching to formula entirely… but I’d like to still think of myself as successful since I tried so hard to make it work.
apricot / 422 posts
As far as bottle introduction goes, we had a rough go of it. I think it took almost 4 weeks to have a full “meal” from a bottle. Here are things that we tried:
Some babies do well being cradled, others if they are facing you (like in a R&P), warm milk, warm the nipple with warm water too, if someone other than mom have them wear a robe or something that smells like mom/milk, try to first offer the bottle right when they wake up and are still half asleep.
Good luck!
pea / 24 posts
@wrkbrk: Don’t worry too hard. I used one for 5.5 months. It totally saved our nursing relationship. Now she is 13 months and nurses like a champ.
pomelo / 5084 posts
@Kezzeranne: Thanks!!
pea / 24 posts
@Herrade: Exactly!
pea / 24 posts
Thanks for a great, encouraging post! I would add that for any mom learning to breastfeed is rough in those first 6 weeks. If you have any problems, get help quickly and keep getting help until the problem is resolved. Know what your insurance covers in terms of lactation visits before you give birth. It’s more than the free pump. Aetna provided six lactation counsultant visits free. I used them all. in the first 6 weeks. Totally necessary and worth it.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
@Tracey R: congratulations on your little one! I hope you have an easy and successful breastfeeding journey!
@Emily: thanks for the link. That’s a great resource!
@Herrade: thank you for your comment. I really appreciate it!
@merriment: that is such a good point. Mr. P was incredibly helpful when Baby P was first born. He helped me wake her up when she was sleepy, helped latch her on when she just wanted to chew her hands, etc. Having support is invaluable.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
@MsHangry: thanks for the tips on bottle feeding. I never would have thought to try placing her in the RNP. Her grandmothers will be visiting soon so we’re going to have everyone try to get her to take one.
@Kezzeranne: thank you for the comment!
That’s a great tip about knowing what your insurance will cover. If I needed to try to do that in the first few days after I delivered it likely wouldn’t have happened.
guest
Try the Munckin latch bottles- they worked like a charm for us