please, share your breastfeeding tips and tricks that made it easy for you. my baby is mashAllah 3 weeks old, we have come a long way but it still not quite smooth, at times i get quite sore and my baby gets frustrated when he is super hungry.
Re: Breastfeeding
dekha… admiyo’n kay mou’n main har waqt kuch na kuch daali rakho, tabhi woh khush rahain gay.. ![]()
… i dont have any tips.. sorry
… congrats btw…
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^ lol. I hope the helpful tips and tricks come your way. have you been using bottle as well?
Luau first most important tip, hang in there it does get better. Make sure you use lanolin, I have always used lansinoh brand. It was amazing. Make sure you are seated comfortably. If your baby dozes off tickle his feet, massage his under mouth area so that he keeps sucking. Another thing is when he falls asleep at the breast give him a burp, and I'd you have specific questions ask away.
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^ autumn would u recommend any sort of breastfeeding pillow to help with the feeding?
Im nervous about it too.. since i had a real hard time with munchkin. We actually decided lastnight that this time round we're not gonna introduce formula (unless totally required) and keep trying hard with the breastfeeding...
Ive heard, the bigger the baby, the better they are with the sucking... is this true?
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Lusi there were a few threads very helpful on these forums around the time I was BF my daughter (about 2 yrs ago).You might wanna go through them.
Have you consulted a lactation consultant?They might be able to tell if there is anything wrong with the way you are doing it (not that I am suggesting you are doing it wrong..!).BFing can be tough,but it gets better once you figure it out.All the best..!
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sadzz, the best pillow is the My Brest Friend one- My Brest Friend nursing and breastfeeding products from zenoff products. i found the Boppy was completely useless- the baby just rolls off it and gets wedged between you and the pillow which only adds to the difficulty breastfeeding.
also, no, i didn’t find that to be true: re: the bigger the baby, the better the sucking.
he was 9.5 lbs mA but it just meant he was always hungry and he’d come at it like a beast. it was PAINFUL. i had abundant supply but the pain from his latch was so brutal (like hot irons being held to the breast, OW) that i couldn’t continue. the frustrating thing was all the nurses kept telling me his latch was correct but he was just really strong, i guess? what a nightmare ![]()
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lusi, watch for the following cues: shaking head from side to side, smacking his lips, sucking on his fist- thats when you need to feed him right away. if you wait until he’s crying, thats the very last sign he’s hungry and at that point, he’s starving, and he’s going to be crying and won’t latch on properly. that always frazzled me so once i figured out the signs, i’d try to latch him on right away. breastfeeding didn’t go so well for me for other reasons but at least with these things, we’d be a calmer, less stressed pair.
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^ thanks somegroovychic.. I had the same issues, except munchkin was tiny... she was not even 5 pounds but had a very strong suckly that I was bleeding from day one... and the pain was just horrendous.. I kept at it for about 4.5 months but gave up after 3 rounds of mastitis and an absecss... paiiinful. But I really want to get it right this time..
so u would invest in a pillow or go with the normal pillows at home?
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I had a Boppy but did not find it too useful when it came to BFing.the ordinary pillow from the bed worked better for me.But some people love the Boppy or the special Bfing pillows,so I guess it is matter or personal comfort & preference.
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Sadzzz I do the same pillow from my bed, I do use a bigger pillow though. I never used the breastfeeding pillows.
For both my sons their latch was goodband they did go hard at it, I used to use the lansinoh cream like my life depended on it.
I made the mistake of introducing pacifier to Jr. And that killed me, this time around we didn't give him anything.
If you must, pls take a break. Expressing milk is so handy at this time. I used Tommy tippee for Jr. And we got through a year of exclusive breast feeding (with solids) but alhamdulillah no nipple confusion.
Chips has given a good idea pls see a lactation consultant, she can judge whether the latch is good or not. For me around the 1.5 month mark is when it got healed and good by then baby was not so tiny either. I still get sore when growth spurts occur coz I don't get a break.
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breastfeeding was a nightmare for me when my baby was born....oh my god the nurses kept telling me that baby is latching on in correct way and i was like "help me it hurts!!!"....but Alhumdulillah i never gave up and felt comfortable after a month....
i've tried all the positions i could find on internet and now i am feeding only with "lying on your side" and lying the baby on his side---position...whether its day or night.....
i havent introduced paci to him...i did introduced bottle just for a week n then no bottle at all....now he is 7months and he doesnt need bottle....
the best tip would be "keep on trying" and "never give up".....it takes time to find a good comfy way...
p.s GTG posted a good article about breastfeeding as well the a youtube video about latching on somewhere in previous threads i found it very useful....
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the lactation consultants at the hospital are your best friends!!! The day after we were discharged, i called the L&D and cried sooo much that the nurse didnt let me hang up until she made sure I had someone around me because she thought I may committ suicide.. yep thats how depress I was with bfing!! I have had mastitis that hurts like hell so please try your best to avoid that and the key for that is keep bfing!!
lanolin cream is your other best friend..so are the hot and cold packs.. I dont remember exactly but I believe it’s hot before bfing and cold after or vice versa.. check that out before you try it!
and last but not least latch is important… if he isnt latching right, it will hurt and you will hate feeding him.. I know there were times, I dreaded his feed time! see if this video helps you.. “your baby knows how to latch on” Resources | Ameda.com
and last but not least, take it easy.. it will get better inshaAllah :hug:
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In order to prevent mastitis and avoid a screaming baby you need to breastfeed very frequently. My lactation consultant told me to breastfeed every two hours and every three hours during the night between midnight to 6 in the morning. The two hour intervals start from the beginning of each feeding so if you feed him at 1:00 and he takes 30 mins, the next feeding needs to be at 3:00. Also don't wait for the baby to wake up. If it has been 2 hours since the beginning of the last feeding, latch him on again. If he is sleepy, rub his feet, change his diaper etc to get him to start feeding. Frequent breastfeeding will prevent mastitis, engorgement and maintain your supply.
The boppy actually helped me a lot but different things work for different people. In order to prevent soreness, use lansinoh as Automn suggested.
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Yup the boppy pillow pretty much sucks. Used it a couple of times but it was of no use really.
Hang in there!!! It will get better. Baby and you will get a hang of it iA soon. The first few weeks are very hard. Just make sure baby latches on or else you’ll end up with very sore nipples ![]()
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thank you for all your replies. i can not use lanolin, i am alergic to wool, am scared it might cause a reaction, i dont want to take chances. i was told by the ped to give him a bottle at night as initially he was not gaining weight. i feed him all day and only supplement him at night but there are days when he refuses the bottle at night.
boppy pillow was useless, i ended up returning it yesterday. i havent had much luck with the breast pump, the milk dosent seem to come out when pumping but it does when i am breastfkeeding. yesterday, i tried really hard to keep on the breast no more then 15 mins and have him open his mouth wide when latching.
what should i do if the baby seems hungry even after 15 mins on each side? how do i know if he is really hungry or something else?
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I found the Boppy was useless until she was a couple months old. She needed to be a bit bigger for it to work properly. After that it was my best friend and I took it everywhere.
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Keep him on for longer on the first side to make sure he's getting the fatty milk that comes at the end. 20+ minutes.
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^yes...my ped adviced 20mins on each side n sometimes it took me 30mins too.....it depends on your baby that how much he needs to satisfy himself....