First before I go any further I do not mean for this post to hurt feelings. I am truly writing it to help people and to keep other from failing. We were made to breastfeed our babies but it is not something that comes natural to mom or baby especially when we live in a society where most child bearing woman have never seen a mom breastfeed her child. So this is my guide to survive! ;)
1) Everything that you have heard about breastfeeding toss it out of your mind. If you want good information get it from a good source or even better yet a mom who has successfully breastfed her child.
2) Get to a La Leche Meeting WHILE you are pregnant. You wouldn't go climb a mountain and just show up on the day you were going to do it. You would train, talk to people who have done it and read up on what you are about to do.
3) Do not listen to friends who have not successfully breastfed their babies. Woman for some reason are competitive by nature and they will want you to fail to. Maybe not intentionally but they will be the first help you get formula.
4) Make a friend who has successfully breastfed their baby. Better yet make 1, 2, or 3 friends. Even better than that make a friend who is pregnant, plans to breastfeed and is about to give birth the same time you are.
5) The first 5 to 6 weeks of breastfeeding will more than likely SUCK! Sorry but it is true. When you hear about how wonderful breastfeeding is people are not talking about the first few weeks. You have this floppy baby and have no clue what you are doing and your breasts will frankly hurt like hell. This is the cold hard truth. News flash though....parenting is not easy just in case no one told you. If you can get past the first few rough weeks it is smooth sailing. If you can get past the first 12 weeks you can kick back and feed your baby any and everywhere and relax.
6) Unless a certified lactation consultant has told you to use a pump put the freaking thing in the closet. Better yet put it in a locked closet that you don't have the key to. I often hear women say, "I did not have enough milk to feed my baby." When you ask them how they know they say because when I pumped I....The real truth is that there is a SMALL percent of the population who can not produce enough milk for their babies. When you pump early on you are messing with what mother nature has intended to work. Your milk comes on a supply and demand system and messing with it can cause you more problems than it is worth. And of course pumping milk and putting a bottle in your babies mouth in the first few weeks will more than likely cause you problems.
7) If you have problems ask for help IMMEDIATELY! There is nothing to be ashamed about asking for help to feed your baby. If something else was wrong with your baby you would probably not hesitate to ask for help but for some reason women just hope it will all get worked out by themselves. When you ask for help be careful about where you get it. Some of the worst advice I have seen given is from a pediatricians and their nurses. Believe it or not even with all of that medical training they were not given training on breastfeeding. If your pediatrician is a woman with children and she has not breastfed her baby then I would frankly get another one if you on planning on breastfeeding. Helpful people to get help from are friends who have successfully breastfed their babies, la leche leaders, and CERTIFIED lactation consultants.
8) Do not wait until your newborn is starving to feed them. It will just end up with you both crying and you desperate to shove a bottle in their mouth. A newborn cry sends your blood pressure up and you can't breastfeed your baby if you are not relaxed. Breastfed newborns eat VERY VERY OFTEN. Pretty much plan the first 2 weeks to do nothing else but rest and feed your baby. Look for other cues that your baby is hungry and try to feed them then.
9) Do everything in your power to ensure that you will not be separated from your baby when you give birth. Being separated from your baby after they are born does not make any sense in the first place and it surely will not aid you in breastfeeding.
10) You can breastfeed! We were meant to breastfeed and we just need help and guidance to get it done! AGAIN YOU CAN BREASTFEED your child. IT is really the best food for them! Their are so many benefits for you and for baby! Don't say you will "try" it, just decide you are going to do it and get the help you need to be successful!
2 comments:
This is AWESOME Janet! Fantastic article.
You might add that stress can really cause problems as well. My sister VERY successfully bfed her first 3 for over a year. Her 4th she struggled from day 1 with her milk production and was never really able to bf her exclusivly and then only made it 7 mo b4 she dried up completely. Not sure why this happend, but we assume maybe stress??? Anyway, just sayin...
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