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If you have already decided on breastfeeding, congratulations! You are about to enter a wonderful world of bonding with your newborn. If you are still undecided then read on, as a number of myths you may have heard from friends are about to be explained.
Having a newborn in the house is a massive change from what you may be used to, and in this time of adjustment and extra stress, the last thing you will need is to panic about whether your baby is getting the right nutrition. However, you are now a mother and will panic about your child until the day you die: welcome to Motherhood!
The two most common problems during breastfeeding are sore nipples and engorgement of the breasts. Sore nipples can be caused by the milk rushing to the ducts and forcing them open, or by thrush and bad positioning. To heal them expose your breasts to air and sunshine and rub a bead of breast milk into the nipples. Get your GP to check your baby for thrush, and chat to your midwife or baby care clinic about positioning your baby for a feed.
Engorgement of the breasts is painful at best, and utter agony at worst. The breasts swell up so much that your baby can’t get a grip on the nipple and won’t be able to feed. To get the swelling to go down, place a cold compress on the chest. A friend, who had this problem repeatedly, swears by frozen corn in a tea towel held across her chest for fifteen minutes. Heat will also help your milk to flow so try lying in a warm bath on your stomach, or wrap your chest in a hot towel. If there is a hot or tender patch on your breast, rest more and ask your doctor to check you for mastitis.
Make sure you seek support before a breastfeeding problem overwhelms you. Speak to a doctor, clinic, nurse or the hospital where you had your baby.
If your child has six feeds a day and wet nappies, he’s thriving.
To build up your milk supply, feed more regularly, and if you and baby are having problems, then spend a day in bed feeding on demand, the break will do you both good!
Once your supply is built up, express milk and freeze it. Date and rotate your stock, and remember you can both bottle and breastfeed.
Ignore those who say your child will sleep better on a bottle: follow your instincts.
If your child is gaining weight, and eating properly, but he still sucks his fists, try a dummy, you can always take it away at a later time.
For baby's first month, feed him when he cries, but try to space his feeds at least two hours apart, otherwise the milk he is getting is sugary foremilk. Let him suck your finger if he is whiny.
If you try to breastfeed and find it too demanding or draining, it isn’t the end of the world. Just hold your baby close when giving him the bottle, and follow your instincts, you are now mom, and doesn’t mom always know best?
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