The Breast Feeding Support Thread

angelfire9

Have to say I think its funny that 90% of mothers who breastfeed think its brilliant for weight loss
This is seriously not going to be a concern for me as the only weight I have put on is pure baby and I'm 99.9% certain i'll be back in my skinny jeans when I leave the hospital
That was the case with No. 1 anyway much to my sister in law's disgust
I just have one of those metabolisms I guess
Not that I give a damn either way

I just want to be able to sleep without getting the living daylights kicked out of me at 3am
And have a curry without stressing about heartburn

Thanks for the advice re feeding though girls

I guess I should stock up on nipple creams & shields
Any particular brands or recommendations????

lynski

I am a lover of The Green Baby Company, Nipple Balm, found it brill and you dont have to worry about wiping it off.
http://www.greenbaby.com/Green+Baby+Products/new+mums/feeding/breast+feeding/NIPPLE+BALM+70g_GBT015.htm

implausible

Lansinoh nipple cream. I found it great, no need to wash off either. My nipples were really sore for about 3 days, but then I was flying and I only used half the tube, it might be still good whenever I get round to #2:eek:

How Strange

I was told to start preparing your nipples in few weeks before your edd. Massage them with a little oil once a day.

Das Kitty

deemark wrote: »

Lansinoh nipple cream. I found it great, no need to wash off either. My nipples were really sore for about 3 days, but then I was flying and I only used half the tube, it might be still good whenever I get round to #2:eek:

It's great for the dribble rash. That's what I've been using my leftovers for.

How Strange wrote: »

I was told to start preparing your nipples in few weeks before your edd. Massage them with a little oil once a day.

I don't think anything can prepare your poor nips for the onslaught really!

A good tip I got to help your milk come in sooner was to hand express a little colostrum every day for the last 3 weeks.

lynski

How Strange wrote: »

I was told to start preparing your nipples in few weeks before your edd. Massage them with a little oil once a day.

NOOOO:eek: who told you that? that is really old advice and noone advises that anymore, also you can do damage.
The ONLY protection is to take the time in the early days to get your latch right. It is the ONLY thing that matters. for supply, for comfort, for feeding.
Take your time in the early days.

30lady

Hi everyone. I'm trying to help my sister who is a first time mum, by looking into the best breast pump for her.
She is currently using the one in the hospital a couple of times a day and has an avent one at home, which she finds rubbish in comparison. She has narrowed it down to Medela so I've looked at the Medela Mini electric single or double or Medela swing.
Can anyone recommend one and is it better to use a double one
Any input would be very much appreciated

Das Kitty

30lady wrote: »

Hi everyone. I'm trying to help my sister who is a first time mum, by looking into the best breast pump for her.
She is currently using the one in the hospital a couple of times a day and has an avent one at home, which she finds rubbish in comparison. She has narrowed it down to Medela so I've looked at the Medela Mini electric single or double or Medela swing.
Can anyone recommend one and is it better to use a double one
Any input would be very much appreciated

If cost isn't an issue I'd go for the double. I have a Swing myself, and while it's great, it takes time to pump both breasts individually.

30lady

Das Kitty wrote: »

If cost isn't an issue I'd go for the double. I have a Swing myself, and while it's great, it takes time to pump both breasts individually.

Thanks, great to get such a quick response.
When you said cost I had another look...it is mini electric single and double - I assume mini isn't quiet as good as the swing although it says suitable for 2 full feeds or several short uses in a day. The mini is cheaper than the swing. Unfortunately , she cannot stretch to the €300ish one.

Das Kitty

Hm. I didn't know there was a mini double. I would still go for the double (provided it can be used singly also).

30lady

Das Kitty wrote: »

Hm. I didn't know there was a mini double. I would still go for the double (provided it can be used singly also).

I discovered it tonight...and yes it can be used singly. It's € 80.70. It says it's lightweight and easy to carry......I wonder does that mean it's only good for occasional use.

Again thanks for the help, it means alot

January

The Tommee Tippee electric looks very similar to the Medela... might be worth looking at

http://www.toys.ie/Tommee-Tippee-Closer-to-Nature-Electric-Breast-Pump-!H08572-prod.aspx?qwSessionID=3b0af778-f849-4247-8145-2b4fbb09180c

ani_mal

Hi
I tried Avent manual and I found it bad, then I went for medela manual (got on amazon) and I'm more than happy. Great value, simple, and efficient.
I would recommend Medela

30lady

Hello.

Thanks everyone for your advise. I'll pass it on to my sister and let her decide

Nicki123

The mini double is really only suitable for occassional use. The Swing and the Pump in Style would be the ones to use if she's hoping to use it every day. I had the Swing and have no hesitation in recommending it.

As an aside, well done you for supporting her by looking into this for her. The value of support cannot be underestimated especially in the early days.

cynder

lynski wrote: »

NOOOO:eek: who told you that? that is really old advice and noone advises that anymore, also you can do damage.
The ONLY protection is to take the time in the early days to get your latch right. It is the ONLY thing that matters. for supply, for comfort, for feeding.
Take your time in the early days.

From my own experience i totally agree with that, I never suffered with any sore nipples until my lady was 4 months old and bit me her tooth cut straight into my nipple and i had an ulcer where she bit, i still had to breast feed her and that was painful, she bit me twice in the 2.5 years i breast fed her, that was the only nipple/breast pain i suffered in the 2.5 years.

I never used nipple sheilds or nipple cream in the 2.5 years. I never expresed milk as she would refuse to take the bottle teet and at 1 month she got nipple confusion from me trying her with the bottle.

30lady

Nicki123 wrote: »

The mini double is really only suitable for occassional use. The Swing and the Pump in Style would be the ones to use if she's hoping to use it every day. I had the Swing and have no hesitation in recommending it.

As an aside, well done you for supporting her by looking into this for her. The value of support cannot be underestimated especially in the early days.

Thanks so much, I was worried that might be the case with the mini double, she's going to go for the Swing I think.

As for supporting her, I just wish I could do more. Her little man is still in the special care baby unit as he was nine weeks early so she's having a tough time. He is doing fantastic thank God, and putting on weight every day

littlemissfixit

I was writting a few weeks ago about the awful time I was having trying to breastfeed my first little darling and I am writting now for all those who might, like I was, be looking on here for some hope and support:

Long story short, my little one lost over 16% weight at the beginning because breasfeeding was not going well at all and it was hospital visits every second day, blood test, tears and worry...

I was determined, but 5 weeks in my determination was struggling. Well now nearly 2 half months my little champion is exclusively breasfeeding and putting on tons of weight.
So if you wish to breasfeed as much as I did, don't give up. I supplemented with expressed milk and formula, expressed 8-10 times daily for all them weeks, on top of offering the breast and top-ups everytime. It was hard work but well worth it.
At nearly 6 weeks, I was exhausted and told myself I couldn't continue this for the next 6 months so I made a deal with the little one, ditched the bottle entirely a few days before a visit to the GP was due to see if she would take at it and that her weight wouldn't drop suddenly. She took to it in 2 days (2 worrying days it goes without saying I felt terribly cruel towards her).

All the best to all breasfeeders!

implausible

littlemissfixit wrote: »

At nearly 6 weeks, I was exhausted and told myself I couldn't continue this for the next 6 months so I made a deal with the little one, ditched the bottle entirely a few days before a visit to the GP was due to see if she would take at it and that her weight wouldn't drop suddenly. She took to it in 2 days (2 worrying days it goes without saying I felt terribly cruel towards her).

That's great, well done! Sounds like it hasn't been easy for you, but your little one obviously knows what's good for her, she just needed a bit of...em...encouragement:)

Cat Melodeon

Bumping this up for the new mums and dads, hope that's allowed!

hibride

littlemissfixit wrote: »

.

I was determined, but 5 weeks in my determination was struggling. Well now nearly 2 half months my little champion is exclusively breasfeeding and putting on tons of weight.
So if you wish to breasfeed as much as I did, don't give up.

Congrats!!!

My baby is 14 months and still breastfeeding on demand

How Strange

I've still to read through this thread; time is a precious commodity at the moment. My little fella is 3 weeks and I'm breastfeeding which is going very well for the most part. I'm a first time mum and I have to admit I find night times quite stressful. I tend to go to bed after the late evening feed at 10ish and leave Oisin with my husband so I can get some quality sleep as those couple of hours gets me through the night.

For the most part he's a great baby but because breastfeeding I can't get dad to help with night feeds and sometimes I just feel overwhelmed at the thoughts of another night of feeds.

Has anyone else felt like this? To be honest once i start feeding I'm
fine but it's the thoughts of it which I start dwelling on from late evening that I find overwhelming. Because it's my first time I've no previous experience to compare it to.

Das Kitty

I know I hated the night time in the early days. The feeling of lying down to sleep knowing you're going to be woken up fully more than once is awful. I used to feel panicky about it. Once it was after 7am it was morning and I used to love getting the curtains opened.

Everything seemed so much worse in the middle of the night. I had some dark thoughts at 4am.

I know there are people that cherish their middle of the night feeds as I've talked to them but it wasn't the case for me. It really was a sense of dread at bedtime!

It got better when he was 6 weeks and only woke once during the night. Then I had the rock hard boobs to contend with but god did I feel good that morning!

hibride

Just last night my daughter slept for 6 straight hours for the firts time.. in almost 15 months! I'm a stay at home mum, and I decided from the beginning to follow my daughter rhythm. I always hear that newborns breastfeed every 2 hours... ha! mine didn't want to let it go! Not until she was hmmm 9-11 months?? more or less, that she was able not to breastfeed for 2 and more hours. I'm sick of books stating that if you have a baby that doesn't sleep/eats/acts as an adult as soon as it's born, you better let her cry cos otherwise you are raising a spoiled "monster".

I understand that some mothers really have to get their baby used before returning to their job, etc, what I don't understand is people that do certain things just because books say so.

For 3 months after she was born she sleept on top of me; from time to time I let her on the bed to see if she will sleep on it. She ALWAYS waked up and cried, so she kept sleeping on top of me, until one day that she was happy to start sleeping on her own.

The next step was the crib. She has been breastfeeding more or less every 2 hours, every night, since she was born. Her crib has an open side and is side by side with my bed. She makes a little funny noise, I pick her up to breastfeed. Most times I fall asleep again and when she finishes I put her again in her crib. She sleeps really well, 12 hours more or less, she really doesn't wake up when she asks for her milk, she's half asleep

And tonight, aaaahhh tonight, 6 straight hours

I explain all this to give all those mothers that want to follow their baby rhythm hope! Babies have different personalities... if your little princess/prince doesn't fit in any book (or best friend/mother/baby world website ideas about what should be done etc), don't worry, if books were the solution to all baby problems, there would be no more baby problems, and thta's not the case!

How Strange

Thanks Das Kitty. I feel like such a bad mother for daring to articulate those feelings. It's definitely good to know others have felt the same. Lots of friends and other breastfeeding mums have said it gets easier and I'm clinging onto that idea.

Das Kitty

How Strange wrote: »

Thanks Das Kitty. I feel like such a bad mother for daring to articulate those feelings. It's definitely good to know others have felt the same. Lots of friends and other breastfeeding mums have said it gets easier and I'm clinging onto that idea.

You're a wonderful mother. You're also a woman and a human being. Your life has been turned upside down in the past month, you're getting feck all sleep. It's natural to have some negative feelings. It was easily the hardest time of my life personally. Thankfully it passes in a few weeks (even if they feel like forever at the time).

Nicki123

How Strange wrote: »

I've still to read through this thread; time is a precious commodity at the moment. My little fella is 3 weeks and I'm breastfeeding which is going very well for the most part. I'm a first time mum and I have to admit I find night times quite stressful. I tend to go to bed after the late evening feed at 10ish and leave Oisin with my husband so I can get some quality sleep as those couple of hours gets me through the night.

For the most part he's a great baby but because breastfeeding I can't get dad to help with night feeds and sometimes I just feel overwhelmed at the thoughts of another night of feeds.

Has anyone else felt like this? To be honest once i start feeding I'm
fine but it's the thoughts of it which I start dwelling on from late evening that I find overwhelming. Because it's my first time I've no previous experience to compare it to.

Yeap, I've been that soldier and to add insult to injury I had incredibly sore nipples for the guts of 10 weeks so my dread of the next feed was twofold.
I will trot out the line that it will get better - it does and your memories of the tough times fade and suddenly you're thinking that it might be nice to go again :eek:
I don't know what your situation is but I got great support from my partner initially as he'd get up and change the nappy and keep me company in the wee small hours. I also learned to feed lying down so I could rest as bubs fed - I even managed to snooze sometimes.

Finally, be kind to yourself. You're just grown and given birth to a beautiful baby and now you're giving him the best possible start that you can. Don't be afraid to stay in bed in the morning - we didn't surface til after the 11am feed for months......possibly 6 months in fact and it did me the power of good to catch up on my zzzz's then and you'll never get the luxury again.

In the 19th century the 3 or so weeks after birth were known as the "lieing in" period. Mammy took to her bed with the baby. She looked after baby and everyone else looked after mammy - family and neighbours came in to cook, clean and look after other children. We've lost this tradition along the way and sometimes I wonder are we expecting too much of ourselves/each other straight after giving birth?

littlemissfixit

Yes, now that you mention it, I remember very well dreading going to sleep knowing I would have to wake up so often, tought it would never end, but it did. The apprehension was probably worse than the waking up itself.
On top of things, my beginnings breasfeeding were very rocky so every 2 hours I had to look forward to changing, nursing, preparing a bottle for top up, putting baba back to bed and expressing for 10-15 minutes everytime. By the time I was finished, there was normally less than 1 hour left for me to sleep until starting alover again.

From 6 weeks on, we had dropped the bottle so that was major improvement, and it wasnt long before she started stretching to 3 and now 4-5 hours at night, pure blissssss!!!
As someone else mention, once I got the hang of feeding lying down, it was a 100 times better.

My question to you all is: when do they start sleeping longer than 4-5 hours. My little one gave me the taste of a couple of nights at 6 1/2 hours it was amazing but reverted to just over 4hrs again and she is not budging. She is 4 months, feeds quite regularly every 2 hours during the day (total 9 feeds in 24h). I tried feeding her before I go to sleep even if she doesnt wake up, normally between 10h30-11h30, and I tried not to, makes no difference she will still wake up between 2-3 am no matter what and then again around 6am. I am lucky she then goes back to sleep and I can normally lie in until 8h30-9 am.

What did your little one do???

Das Kitty

At about 12 weeks our lad was sleeping longer. I put a routine in place where I fed him every 3 hours during the day regardless so he took most of his calories during the day. Then he started sleeping longer after a nice big feed before bed.

Cat Melodeon

How Strange wrote: »

sometimes I just feel overwhelmed at the thoughts of another night of feeds.

Has anyone else felt like this? To be honest once i start feeding I'm
fine but it's the thoughts of it which I start dwelling on from late evening that I find overwhelming. Because it's my first time I've no previous experience to compare it to.

Absolutely, I remember this. First off, you have to nap during the day. The few hours together at night are good, but not enough. Your body needs more than that, so after one of the daytime feeds, go to bed and sleep while your baby sleeps. Breastfeeding is a fulltime job at the start and you're effectively working nightshifts. Try and get rid of any guilt you might have that goes with napping. Turn off the phone, close the curtains, get into bed and sleep for two hours if you can (have lunch first). I usually slept from 1-3 once I'd eaten and fed himself. He still naps at this time (he's 18 months) so it's a good long term routine. I would too if I had the chance!

The second thing that got me through was cosleeping. Worked brilliantly - I'd wake up just enough to pull my lad into the bed (we had a cosleeping cot attached to the bed), he'd latch on and I'd go back to sleep. I'd usually put him back into the cot after a while, but usually would do it in my sleep. I used to wake up in a panic at the start thinking I'd lost him or rolled on him, but your instincts are stronger than that (provided you're a nondrinker & don't smoke) and there he'd be back in his cot. A month in and we were pros at it.