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| Copyright Matteo Bagnoli 2009 - Creative Commons |
It seems the most natural thing in the world - the perfect expression of a mother's bond with her baby.
But boy can it be tough!
After a complicated birth - so many are - we struggled to get going. And continued to struggle for several long months.
And yet somehow, with help scrabbled together from all over we made it through, got into a rhythm and only finally gave up at 15 months.
This post - written with the help of 20 amazing mummy bloggers - brings together everything I wish I'd known and understood at the time.
Hopefully, our experiences can make breastfeeding a little easier for you ... and if you've got your own brilliant breastfeeding posts do add them to the link up at the bottom of this post.
Breastfeeding Tips
Get as much skin to skin contact as you can in first few days ...
Give nature the chance to work its wonders in the first few days and get as much skin to skin contact as you possibly can, even if it means lying in hospital with your boobs hanging out!
Rest, rest, rest and more rest ...
People will tell you to sleep when your baby sleeps - do it!
Housework, guests, Twitter can all wait ... just get as much rest as you possibly can in those first few weeks. Rest reduces anxiety hormones and they are the enemy of milk supply.
Let baby discover your boobs all by themselves ...
You may be shown "the best" feeding position in ante-natal classes that will give baby "perfect" latch ... hmmm ... this works for some but not for everyone.
In the first few weeks, many mums find it much more helpful to rest with baby - skin to skin - with baby's head between their boobs and let baby instinctively root for the nipple and latch all by themselves. Guess what - lots of them are darned good at it!
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| OK Dani struggled with pain for the first month before everything fell into place. |
It will take up a lot of hours of each day and often involves initial discomfort and even pain.
Feeds can easily take 40 to 50 minutes at the beginning but they will get quicker. Your phone, Twitter, box sets of DVDs and trashy novels are your best breast feeding friends.
Eat well ... eat oats ... and flax seed
Eating well is so much easier said than done in those first few weeks when you have had so little sleep and barely a minute to yourself to shower, never mind cook. But some food truly works miracles ...
A big bowl of porridge with a spoonful or two of flax seed stirred in really helped me and Good Morning Clementine has great recipe for lactation cookies - with oats and flax seed in - that she swears by to get the milk flowing. Fenugreek, alfa alfa and blessed thistle can also help stimulate milk supply.
A big bowl of porridge with a spoonful or two of flax seed stirred in really helped me and Good Morning Clementine has great recipe for lactation cookies - with oats and flax seed in - that she swears by to get the milk flowing. Fenugreek, alfa alfa and blessed thistle can also help stimulate milk supply.
Practice pumping before baby born ...
Lots of mums get in a vicious circle whereby baby doesn't feed well at first, so there's not enough milk to satisfy them. An electric pump - like this Ameda
that I had - will help stimulate demand. They are certainly not cheap, but personally it was really worth it as with such low initial supply it was the only way I could carry on breastfeeding.
The downside is that they are fiddly when you're feeling anxious and hormonal about not being able to feed your baby.
Try to borrow one before the baby is born and practice putting it together, using it, taking it apart, sterilising it and putting it together again! Several times ..
Don't be disheartened if you get tiny amounts of milk at first after ages pumping.
It can be time consuming and a bit soul destroying having to pump after a long feed - learning to pump off one breast whilst baby feeds off the other like Mummys Knee will take less time and produce more milk.
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Chloe Witters on breastfeeding a toddler beyond one. |
that I had - will help stimulate demand. They are certainly not cheap, but personally it was really worth it as with such low initial supply it was the only way I could carry on breastfeeding.The downside is that they are fiddly when you're feeling anxious and hormonal about not being able to feed your baby.
Try to borrow one before the baby is born and practice putting it together, using it, taking it apart, sterilising it and putting it together again! Several times ..
Don't be disheartened if you get tiny amounts of milk at first after ages pumping.
It can be time consuming and a bit soul destroying having to pump after a long feed - learning to pump off one breast whilst baby feeds off the other like Mummys Knee will take less time and produce more milk.
Line up support before baby is born ... and use it ...
There is support out there but it's hard to access in those first weeks when you're exhausted, emotional and scared.
Before baby is born find out what local, phone and online support available from for example, La Leche League, the NCT and Kelly Mom. Get details from your doctor or midwife of local breast feeding clinics and "cafes". And if you have private medical insurance find out what access to experts is available on it.
Have all the details together on a single sheet of paper or e.g. in your phone and then when you need to use them they're all ready to go.
C-sections, epidurals & other drugs can make babies very sleepy ...
Babies who've been exposed to a lot of drugs during labour may be very sleepy for two or three weeks and not wake often or long enough to establish demand. My daughter would sleep for 5 or 6 hours at a time without waking to feed and would fall asleep almost instantly on the boob.
Loads of skin to skin contact and pumping right from the start are key to get enough milk flowing.
If baby just can't latch ... check for tongue tie ...
If your baby can find the boob but just can't get or hold a latch they may have tongue tie. Tongue tie can be a big cause of painful nipples and can be easily fixed.
Mum to Mom and Love Being a Mummy both went through this and have great advice on making sure your baby is checked for it.
Mum to Mom and Love Being a Mummy both went through this and have great advice on making sure your baby is checked for it.
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| Mummy and the Beasties shares bitter sweet feelings at the end of the breastfeeding journey |
Feeding cushions that keep your hands free whilst baby is feeding can be a real help if baby needs some help latching well.
Unfortunately, a good number of mums do suffer severe pain feeding and may get mastitis.
My Mummy Just Cares for Me and Mummys Knee both went through this and have written about how hard it is to know, when you should start "making a fuss" about the pain. Their message is shout early and keep shouting if you are in pain - the earlier you the better the chance of relieving it.
If you do get mastitis you will almost certainly need medication but there's lots of natural remedies for mastitis that can really make a difference.
Really push for answers if something just feels wrong ...
A baby's failure to latch or feed can be a sign of some underlying problem. Woman Wife and Mum experienced this with her first son who struggled to suck on both breast and bottle due to a "sub-mucous cleft palate" and a condition called 22q11 that both went un-diagnosed until much later. She gives a heartfelt cry to mums to really push for answers if something just feels wrong.
Some babies thrive on a strict routine ... other's don't ... do what is right for you
Some very well known baby books advocate a strict routine. If you like strict routines it may work for you but even if you follow the routine religiously it may not work for your baby. If these routines don't work despite your best efforts, it IS the routine that is at fault and NOT you, whatever some "gurus" may say!
If you want a routine ... make sure it works for you ...
I tried very, very hard for months to follow a well known routine that tells you exactly when baby should feed. It was a disaster and made us thoroughly miserable. When we established a routine based on my baby's own sleeping and feeding patterns, we thrived!
Be prepared for growth spurts when they will feed non-stop ...
You may find that just when baby seems to have mastered your boob and is feeding quickly and easily, they suddenly need to feed endlessly all day. They will be going a growth spurt. Your milk supply should catch up after a few days and they'll go back to normal feeding patterns.
Pumping a little after each feed keeps you ahead of demand ...
You can keep ahead of growth spurts by pumping a little after each feed - that way you should be producing a little more milk that you need at any time.
Don't obsess about weight gain ...
If you've got a small baby who doesn't feed much, it is very, very easy to get anxious about weight gain.
But as, One Organic Mama makes clear in a wonderfully irreverent post, if they keep food down, wee and poo regularly and meet other milestones, they are almost certainly OK and the only thing likely to cause problems with your milk supply is being anxious about it.
Don't obsess about how long you take ... but tracking apps can be helpful
Try not to obsess about the length of every feed. But do check they're not just using you as a comforter at the end of the feed. There are loads of phone apps now that allow you to track the length and frequency of feeds and these can be really helpful if you're trying to establish a routine after the first month or so.
Some very well known baby books advocate a strict routine. If you like strict routines it may work for you but even if you follow the routine religiously it may not work for your baby. If these routines don't work despite your best efforts, it IS the routine that is at fault and NOT you, whatever some "gurus" may say!
If you want a routine ... make sure it works for you ...
I tried very, very hard for months to follow a well known routine that tells you exactly when baby should feed. It was a disaster and made us thoroughly miserable. When we established a routine based on my baby's own sleeping and feeding patterns, we thrived!
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| Best of Two Sisters confidence to feed in public |
You may find that just when baby seems to have mastered your boob and is feeding quickly and easily, they suddenly need to feed endlessly all day. They will be going a growth spurt. Your milk supply should catch up after a few days and they'll go back to normal feeding patterns.
Pumping a little after each feed keeps you ahead of demand ...
You can keep ahead of growth spurts by pumping a little after each feed - that way you should be producing a little more milk that you need at any time.
Don't obsess about weight gain ...
If you've got a small baby who doesn't feed much, it is very, very easy to get anxious about weight gain.
But as, One Organic Mama makes clear in a wonderfully irreverent post, if they keep food down, wee and poo regularly and meet other milestones, they are almost certainly OK and the only thing likely to cause problems with your milk supply is being anxious about it.
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| My Mummy's Pennies - breast feeding a toddler |
Try not to obsess about the length of every feed. But do check they're not just using you as a comforter at the end of the feed. There are loads of phone apps now that allow you to track the length and frequency of feeds and these can be really helpful if you're trying to establish a routine after the first month or so.
Have the confidence to bare all in public ...
It's pretty hard to keep up breastfeeding if you don't feel comfortable breastfeeding in public. Baby in the Sunshine has some practical tips for getting started and Eeh Bah Mum has a fabulous and funny post encouraging mums to go out there and do it.
But Best of Two Sisters have shared how easy it is for your confidence to take a knock when others are disapproving and Diary of a First Child reminds us that there is still a way to go before breastfeeding in public is as accepted as it need to be.
Watch what you eat to keep colic and reflux at bay ...
It can be very disheartening just when you're getting into a breast feeding rhythm after a month or so to be hit by colic or reflux.
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| Like Mama Like Daughter |
Some babies do bite when feeding once they're teeth start coming in - and some babies bite hard! Hello Bee's daughter was a biter and she has great tips for preventing and handling it.
If it's taken you 3 or 4 months to get really comfortable, there's a good chance like Birth of a Mum and OK Dani that you'll want to go on feeding beyond weaning onto solids.
And if everything is going well, you may find yourself feeding happily past one like Chloe Witters even if it wasn't something you planned. Unfortunately, mums who do choose to continue breastfeeding still face disapproval and as My Mummys Pennies explores, we do need all mums' choices to be respected
And if everything is going well, you may find yourself feeding happily past one like Chloe Witters even if it wasn't something you planned. Unfortunately, mums who do choose to continue breastfeeding still face disapproval and as My Mummys Pennies explores, we do need all mums' choices to be respected
As Mummy and the Beasties describes the end of the breastfeeding journey can be very bitter sweet whenever it happens for you. The end can come very quickly and be unplanned as it was for Mellow Mummy who breast fed until 8 months.
If the end comes earlier than you hoped it may also be wound up with lots of feelings of regret and guilt as Love Being a Mummy found but it's important to remember that however brilliant breastfeeding cannot come at the expense of the rest of the family and we all can only do what we can within the individual situation we are in.
If the end comes earlier than you hoped it may also be wound up with lots of feelings of regret and guilt as Love Being a Mummy found but it's important to remember that however brilliant breastfeeding cannot come at the expense of the rest of the family and we all can only do what we can within the individual situation we are in.
Sometimes in complete exhaustion you will just feel the love ...
Finally a beautiful post from Like Mama Like Daughter to remind us that sometimes in complete exhaustion feeding a sick child we can feel the most unbelievable love ...
Finally a beautiful post from Like Mama Like Daughter to remind us that sometimes in complete exhaustion feeding a sick child we can feel the most unbelievable love ...
If you're looking for more great blog posts on pregnancy and new babies do check out the Friday Baby Shower a weekly link up of latest bump and baby posts from bloggers around the world ... If you've got your own great breastfeeding posts do add them to the linky below - this post will be updated regularly to highlight new links ...
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