Tips for New Breastfeeding Moms

Having a baby is a wonderful thing and the experience is unlike anything! You are literally recovering from giving birth when your new baby is brought over to you and the nurse asks if you are ready to breastfeed. Unless you have made up your mind before this moment that you are not planning on breastfeeding, your baby is placed in your arms, some directions are given, and either it works or it doesn't. If everything goes well, your new little baby latches on, and it is the start of something amazing - breastfeeding!

I was one of the lucky ones that had success with my baby latching on after giving birth. I really don't remember much other than the nurse trying to show me how to hold her while nursing. It wasn't comfortable and I felt a little discombobulated, but I also couldn't feel half my body. A couple hours later when I was woken to nurse again, I tried holding my new daughter a more comfortable way for me, and away she went. We were set and ready to go.

Nothing more was said about breastfeeding when we left for home and I honestly didn't do much research prior to giving birth on breastfeeding. All I knew was that it is natural, been done for years and years, and free. It is also healthy for both baby and mom, so I just planned on doing it.

We got home and had a couple fantastic days of nursing and sleeping and basking in the glow from our new daughter. Then all hell broke loose, and the realities of breastfeeding sunk in. Over the next couple days and weeks, I learned a lot about breastfeeding, much of it on my own and without help. Not all of these things are going to happen to you, but I was definitely surprised that no one filled me in on some of these less than perfect parts of breastfeeding.

One of the first things I learned was that you think when baby first starts nursing she is nursing away on breast milk. In reality, your baby is feasting on colostrum, which is a high carbohydrate, protein, and antibody rich concoction that works with new babies' digestive system. After about 3-5 days, your breast milk will come in. Your baby will loose 10% of its birth weight during this time, which is completely normal. When your milk comes in, the weight should recover.

We had our first pediatrician visit about a week after our daughter's birth and her weight was low. My milk hadn't come in yet and our pediatrician was concerned about her weight. I was told to get a breast pump and start pumping my colostrum and also feed as often as I could. This would help my milk come in and give my baby as much nourishment as possible. Colostrum is an interesting brownish orange color and I was getting about 1 ounce out of each breast. Was this the right amount? Should it be this color? No one had told me. Guess what - everything was normal. I feed her round the clock, and the next day my milk came in. Everything was great!

That night was not so great. We were up every hour on the hour and my breasts felt like softballs. What was the problem? I had no idea what to do. My baby couldn't get any milk out of the softballs either, so she was wailing. It wasn't a great night. The next day, after a couple pain relievers and some research, I discovered I had engorged breasts and this happens to most women when their breast milk comes in. It was suggested to breast pump to expel more milk, and use a hot pad prior to nursing and ice afterwards. It helped, but I was still pretty uncomfortable and my little one was frustrated. I refused to give up and kept on with breastfeeding.

After a day or two, everything seemed to even out. I was nursing every 2 hours during the day and a couple times at night. The new problem was I had sore and abused nipples. The pain was extreme when my daughter latched on for a feeding. I wasn't going to stop nursing and she wasn't excited about the bottle. Then I found Lansinoh nipple cream. It was my savior! I put it on after each feeding and also after showering. It really helped heal my nipples and it did wonders on my daughter's chapped nursing lips.

We continued forth on our breastfeeding saga. Once again, my daughter and I settled into our feeding routine and everything seemed to be working just fine. Then my breasts decided that they were going to set their own nursing routine and start leaking at all times! This is completely normal and until a regular breastfeeding pattern is set, your breasts might leak occasionally. I purchased some disposable breast pads and they worked out great.

My daughter is now a couple months old and we are back on the happy trails of breastfeeding. After the few things I went through on my path to get here, I did some research and found that I actually got out pretty easy. There are many things that can cause frustration with breastfeeding and create complications. If you have made the decision to breastfeed, don't be daunted by the bumps in the road. Keep on trying and stay positive. There are experts out there to help and many websites devoted to assisting with breastfeeding issues.

What I learned is that there are no silly questions and to not be afraid to ask anything. Most of the times, problems are normal and there is nothing to worry about. Don't be afraid of breastfeeding; just make sure you are ready to take on the issues that might arise.

http://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding

http://www.babyzone.com