How to be a breastfeeding champion
Breastfeeding can be tough. I’ve heard my share of horror stories, but my road to breastfeeding has been very smooth…so far!
My challenge initially was my own fear, the unknown. In the hospital, he had respiratory issues and I feared that as they were running diagnostics, somehow it was tied to a lack of nutrition and to me not being “enough”.
Without the support of the team, especially our NICU doctor, I probably would have given up.
She said point blank and in the most supportive way, my fears were unfounded, my expectations were too high, our experience was ‘normal’, he is getting what he needs, and we can supplement with a bottle to be extra certain but he doesn’t need to switch fully to formula. The nurses, lactation specialists, everyone shared professional and personal advice over the next week.
Turns out he’s really been a champion feeder, one of the nurses said he was the best-breastfed baby she has seen in her career. His respiratory issues were unrelated and he recovered quickly.
There was significant discomfort when he would latch, until about 7 weeks.
My techy-ways had me asking for telfa pads at the hospital on day 1 (used with coconut oil). After my milk came in (3 days post-delivery) I dealt with clogged ducts (hard/painful areas in breasts). Alternating heat and cold, with repeated feedings and pumping on that breast, it resolved within a day or so.
**Babies look hilarious by the way right before they feed when they are finding your breast. AND he does this ADORABLE petting me sort of thing with his feet while he feeds and my heart melts!!
So don’t hesitate to talk to people or show them your latch/nipples/breasts- had I not been there a week, I probably would not have connected with certain members of the team or felt comfortable enough to call them after. So even if you are there for 24 hours, get to know people, don’t hesitate to ask every nurse during a shift change, their professional and personal experiences, and connect with the lactation specialists.
Also, talk with other moms, which really helped me feel more confident. You’ll be surprised how not-awkward the conversation goes.
My tips for being a breastfeeding champion:
“Shove” his face onto you when his mouth is wide open and bobbing his head around.
Make sure the entire areola is in their mouth, with top and bottom lips puckered out.
Squeeze your breast so that it is flatter - more like the bottom of a balloon where you tie it off vs the top of a balloon. It stays in their mouth better, even if you have to hold it like that the entire session. This is especially needed when you are engorged.
You can also pump before feeding to relieve some of that and make it easier for baby to latch. (Your breasts don’t stay like that)
Don’t have marathon 45-minute feeding sessions, avg is about 20 min for newborns- the doctor said its OKAY to supplement with a bottle afterward if they are still hungry. (I did this)
Pain in the nipple upon latching does go away or lessens - closer to 6 weeks postpartum. Take different samples from the lactation specialists.
Buy some gel pads to protect and soothe your nipples. Ameda the first couple of weeks then I switched to Lanitosh - which can be hand cleaned to make them last longer. I have gone through a handful of pairs, and I still wear them.
Coconut oil was my best friend for the first few weeks, he didn’t like the lanolin ointment, neither did I.
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