breastfeeding question?

Question

I am 25 weeks pregnant right now. And i am think weither or not to breast feed. i think that i am going to try it. I bought a breast pump and I am taking a breastfeeding class in January. But my sister just had a baby and she tried breastfeeding and she couldnt do it. she said it hurts. And it takes up to much time! she tried and tried and tried and then she just gave up! Please give me some advice that will help me not give up. Also how bad does it hurt when you first start breastfeeding? And is there anything i can buy to make breast feeding easyier.

Answer 1

You don't need to toughen up your nipples, they gave up all that nonsense. Sometimes your nipples ache a little, I mean come on they haven't done anything their whole lives and now you want them to work 10-12 times a day. But the pain goes away, although some women find let-down uncomfortable forever, but that is just a brief feeling at the beginning of each session.

I'm not going to lie to you and say it is easy for everyone. For some women it is hard work to learn, for some women it is easy and they wonder what is wrong with the rest of us. I had a hard time but it was totally worth it. And no it doesn't take up too much time (when done right, in the beginning when you and your baby are learning sometimes feedings take a long time). Nobody ever told you that being a mom was always easy though, and babies are always a lot of work.

Please join your local La Leche League. www.lalecheleague.org It isn't too early to go to meetings now, to become more comfortable with the idea and the more you see people breastfeed the easier it will be for you. You will know more what it is like.

Other things you can do:
-Switch your care to a midwife (if possible) they know more about breastfeeding and the midwife style of delivery is better for establishing breastfeeding.
-If you can not find a midwife: make sure they do not take your baby from you in the hospital. Definitly not for the first 4 hours. Do put the baby to breast often in those first hours. Sometimes if you put your baby on your naked chest they will crawl/move over and latch on themselves. This self latching is optimal, but not always feasable, and not all babies do it.
-Make sure your baby does not get any nipples except for yours in the hospital. (that means to pacifiers and no bottles)
-Do not let the hospital tell you your baby isn't getting enough, the belief that colostrum isn't enough for a baby is so ingrained in our culture that people that know it isn't true sometimes find any excuse to "top a baby up"
-If you feel you must "top the baby up" use the pump and offer the milk/colostrum with a syringe or cup. BUT a newborns stomach is the size of a chickpea/garbanzo bean. It doesn't take much to fill, and it doesn't take long to empty. Feed often and you will be fine.
-Don't let them take your babies blood sugar.
-DO NOT FREAK OUT IF YOUR BABY DOESN'T PEE FOR 24 or even 48 HOURS AFTER BIRTH. Lie to the nurses if you must. I can not stress enough how normal this is, it is just another excuse to "top up the baby"
-If you can hire a doula that may be helpful.
-Buy some good quality lanolin, put it on your nipples once a day the last month, and after every feeding the first while. This will help stop your nipples from feeling sore. The softer the lanolin the better.
-Find your local lactation consultants, and what they charge
-Find out if your area has Public Health Nurses who will come to your home and help you out, and what their qualifications are.

Seriously though, join La Leche League. Or find a mommy group with a lot of breastfeeding moms, they will help you a lot.

Best of luck and Congrats!.
e-mail me if you want.

Answer 2

Breastfeeding is best for your baby but it IS very time consuming and frustrating sorry to say. They don't teach you in the breastfeeding classes that sometimes you didnt make enough milk, the baby didnt suck right. I breastfeed my son for 1 month and he was not gaining weight like he should so they made me go to formula. I finished breastfeeding my daughter at 4 months of age. I had every problem in the world with BF my daughter. She had a very different way of sucking, I wasn't producing enough milk, I was even taking pills to stimulate milk production. I ended up pumping and giving it to her in a bottle. My biggest suggestion is to try to see if its right for you. You WILL know with in a week if its right for you or not. IF its not try to pump and give that way and even if your baby gets just a few weeks of breast milk its better than none. Do not feel bad if you are not miss milk bags( sorry for the description), some moms are made for it and some moms aren't. Good Luck!

Answer 3

Everything I read before I had my daughter said to give it at least a month before giving up because that's about how long it takes to get into a routine. After I had the baby, I told my husband to forget the month, just make me finish out the week because it was so rough. Breastfeeding at the beginning is NOT easy and I think that needs to be broadcast more. Nothing is going to make you keep doing it but your own sheer will. If you have the desire to NOT give up, then you can make it. Once you settle in and get used to it, it's a great experience. Another thing that was encouraging to me and kept me going was my husband. He continually cheered me on and asked what he could do to keep me going. That was something I also read... that if your partner is supportive, it will make it easier on you to keep going.
And if you are doing it properly (right latch, etc), it WON'T hurt after the first day or two. Good luck!!!

Answer 4

My wife went through this. She used Lansinoh liberally. It's designed just for this. It treats any chapping that occurs.

In the end, our doctors said (1) no formula out there contains everything the baby needs (2) you know nobody's tampered with breast milk, (3) it's free, (4) it reduced the risk of breast cancer (5) breast-fed babies have lower rates of allergies, ADD and SIDS.

That being said - it took some work, and we did use formula to supplement from time to time (and so Dad could feed the baby too!)

My wife says it was more "frustrating" than painful. She got so sick of know-it-alls telling her "it's perfectly natural" - because it made her feel like a bad mother when it didn't seem natural to her.

Answer 5

You know I went through the same delema with my first child...I then decided to breastfeed and had my mind set on it, then the choice was kinda taken away from me when she was born with some problems that didn't allow me to see her for 28 hours after she was born she was being feed my breast milk but using a bottle by time I got to see her she refused to take the nipple and I was so depressed I gave up....Now at the age of 5 she is always sick. I am not saying it's because of not breastfeeding but with the problems she had at birth made her have a bad immune system and I really think breastfeeding would of helped because when she gets sick she gets really really sick like 105 temp and I always feel helpless and to blame. So if you have your mind set on it please let everyone know not to use a nipple unless it is one that is hard to suck the milk out so they don't get lazy....

Answer 6

There are things you can do to toughen up your nipples before the baby is born. Get a book or call the LaLache Society, they also have good tips for breast feeding. Breast feeding, even for a little while, really boosts the immune system.

Answer 7

It does hurt at first but only for a couple of days. In fact the first couple of days don't hurt at all, it's about three days in when it gets sore, but like i said it doesn't last. But everyone is different. I would reccommend trying it and sticking with it as long as you can, but don't feel pressured. the nurses and midwives put a lot of pressure on new mums to breastfeed and for some people it just isn't for them. Give it a go, only you and your baby will know what works for you.
Good luck either way.

Answer 8

It hurts when you first start because you are not use to it. But after a while if it still hurt it is because the baby is not on your breast correctly. When you go to the class they will explain it to you and also when you give birth most place would ask if your going to breastfeed and if so they can have someone come in and assist you.

Answer 9

I breast fed both of my babies and am glad I did. You can always supplement formula with breast feeding. The less a baby nurses, the less milk you will produce. As far as pain I don't think it was bad at all. Maybe a little uncomfortable at first but that goes away quick.

Answer 10

Make sure you eat healthy foods and will help, I know eating a lot of watermelon supposedly helps women with their breastfeeding.......also it's healthier for the baby and it's great bonding time with the baby..........I assume there would be some discomfort when you start but if you continue it gets easier over time...but what's a little discomfort to making ur baby healthy?