Unlock the Secrets to Successfully Breastfeeding Your Baby
Want to know my top tips for successfully breastfeeding your baby?
Breastfeeding your baby is a journey many women want to go through AND enjoy. Successfully breastfeeding your baby sounds like it should naturally happen, right? So many women actually have a lot of difficulties with being successful in their breastfeeding journey. It’s long, it’s laborious, and it’s the absolute best nutrition for your baby. (Sorry formula mommas, this is no shade. I also give my baby formula!). There are many reasons why someone would opt for breastfeeding. If you’re wanting to know all about successfully breastfeeding your baby, keep reading for my tips to help you achieve that goal!
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How to prepare for breastfeeding
Read and prepare! Plain and simple. Do your research. This includes reading books, maybe dabble in some social media, and ask your family and friends. I personally like ‘La Leche’ book. It gives you the ins and outs of what you can expect while breastfeeding. I learned so much and when I had a question about feeding my baby, I knew it would be in that book. It’s backed with some research and gives such great advice to truly give you the best shot at doing what you aspire to do.
Breastfeeding your baby is a SKILL
Know that breastfeeding is a SKILL. Yes, it does come ‘naturally’ for some, but there are still many unknowns and learning curves with it. If you have a special needs baby or you are chesty might require you to tweak how you feed and position yourself. If you had a c-section there are ways to optimize feeding where it doesn’t hurt the incision area. So while reading is super helpful, being hands on and doing the dang thing is another story.
Breast milk also doesn’t come in right away. You can collect colostrum prior to giving birth but some providers will not recommend this as it can put you into early labor. I personally wanted to because I knew my baby would be in the NICU but she didn’t want to risk compromising the scheduled c-section. It takes a few days for your milk to increase and this is totally normal. You don’t have to supplement with formula if you don’t want to. Your baby is not going to starve to death – COUNT THOSE WET DIAPERS TO BE 100% SURE THAT YOUR BABY IS HYDRATED. The babies stomach is so teeny tiny in those beginning days that a few drops are sufficient.
Get a Lactation Consultant
Ask for your lactation consult regardless of your confidence level. These professionals are so wonderful and can give you such great resources for your breastfeeding journey. These women will fight alongside you and encourage you to continue to the best of your ability. My lactation consultants both times were amazing. As a first time mom I had no idea what I was suppose to. I was told how to feed my baby in the most comfortable position because of my size. Bigger chested women do have different positions that can work for them! The second time I was pumping for my NICU baby and they encouraged me to continue pumping. On discharge day they came by to help me understand the best way to go from pumping to breastfeeding if I wanted to go that route.
Nursing Supplies
There are so many other items that you can potentially get online that are used to help with production of milk. I think a lot of these are BS if I’m being honest, so the above are just the most mainstream items you’ll probably want to have or buy. Instead of getting a massager that has heat, just take a shower if you’re able and hand express or massage the area to get the milk flowing. No need for spending more money if you don’t want to.
Transitioning to Pumping
If there is any reason why you need to stop breastfeeding, you can always try pumping. Pumping is the ultimate labor of love. I’ve done all three at this point – breastfeeding, pumping, and formula feeding. Spending hours a day pumping was always the worst part. I went crazy and pumped for half hour stretches every 3 hours. Even at night! While my second baby was in the NICU I was able to pump and produce a ton more. Like with anything, the more you do it, the more successful you become. Although my baby latched well, he was on a lot of feeding precautions and was on tube feeds for weeks at a time. He often would fall asleep quickly when breastfeeding so I wanted to pump instead. Having two babies under two years old is no joke.
Make a Plan for Your Transition
If you have to transition, start off small and make a plan! If you need to go back to work and want to stock up on breastmilk, make a plan! I wouldn’t suggest running into this and stop breastfeeding cold turkey. You can use a milk catcher like a haaka on the breast the baby wasn’t feeding on. When using this, you can freeze it until you have enough to make a bottle. There are rules on how to properly freeze batches of milk from different days, so I would suggest reading up on that.
Once you feel comfortable with the amount of milk that you have prepared, you can start easing off on breastfeeding and use that one session to bottle feed while you pump. Always pump when the baby eats. This is why pumping is so tedious if you want to be successful. It’s a long time being attached to equipment. I did this for over 7 months exclusively and it is DRAINING. I suggest you feed your baby in a container of some sort while you pump. My sessions were 30 minute sessions, but for my second I was able to do 15 minutes every 3 hours and only ONCE at night. If you’re new, I would still do it every 3 hours including overnight. You want to do your best to maintain your milk supply. Again, you can talk to a lactation consultant about this.
Top Tips Recap
- Be prepared by reading and researching
- Ask for your lactation consultant while you’re in the hospital
- Don’t panic at the amount you produce initially
- Not all breastfeeding supplies are needed – some are just nice to have
- If you are pumping: freezing and adding milk to frozen milk have guidelines – please freeze and store breastmilk properly to avoid risks with your baby
- Pumps that are hands-free typically won’t drain you as well as the other kinds
- Keep your supply up – stay hydrated and eat eat eat!
- Measure your breast for the best pumping size accuracy and get your pump through your insurance!